The first thing I would [say] if you want to break into the audiobook industry is to start listening to audiobooks. Listening and understanding the medium is the first thing you can do when you want to enter into recording.
Dan Zitt
Penguin Random House Audio Senior Vice President, Content Production
The SAG-AFTRA President’s Task Force on Education, Outreach and Engagement hosted Audiobooks: Expanding Opportunities for Actors on Feb. 17. The panel was moderated by audiobook narrator Ron Butler and featured narrators Vikas Adam, Kyla Garcia, January LaVoy and Emily Woo Zeller, and Penguin Random House Audio Senior Vice President, Content Production Dan Zitt.
Audiobook narration, like other sectors of the voiceover industry, continues to yield opportunities for performers interested in utilizing their skills in new ways. During the panel, speakers discussed how they got their start in audiobook narration and what their work entails, and provided insight about creating a demo.
“You should establish that you have the range, but you don't need to try to show them the entire color wheel,” said LaVoy. “What [employers] really want is to know that you have some skill that they can apply to all these different books. It's just really important to be able to think in terms of fishing and reeling them in with the sample, as opposed to, ‘These are all the things I can do.’”
As the event moved into the Q&A session, panelists discussed their methods for building endurance to perform, the basics of creating recording space, and how to find opportunities for networking and work.
To watch the panel in full, scroll below. For more panels and videos, visit sagaftra.org/video.
The views expressed by the guests are their own and not that of SAG-AFTRA. Any mention of products or services does not imply SAG-AFTRA’s endorsement.
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