The past two Sundays, instead of recording the podcast, we’ve been recording the audio for a story T.J Lockwood wrote. There were 5 of us in total, and she gave out lines as we read through. I’ve never really been good with reading out loud, it’s probably one of my biggest fears, however having the ability to stop and regain composure after making a mistake was really helpful. Or even just reading a line again because it didn’t feel right. It reminded me of doing plays in highschool. While all of us were in the drama room there were mistakes left, right, and center. But you don’t dwell on it, you just take a breath and try again.
It was more different than the podcast episodes. Script reading vs basically improv. Like I said, I’ve read scripts before, however it was months of memorizing before actually performing it. I did get to read through the story before hand, but I didn’t know who I’d be reading, so that makes it a little different. But I will say it was better than if I was reading it for the first time. All in all, it was fun. I could see why voice acting is difficult. Portraying everything in just your line, without the body is a challenge. On stage, I feel, one can flow with just the momentum of the scene, the environment, and even other actors. By no means am I saying that this recording was bad, I’m simply pointing out that sitting in a living room with 5 people is a whole new ballgame compared to 5 people on a stage.
I have to say though, having read it before hand, there is definitely something to be said about hearing it in my head, and hearing it out loud. I caught things I missed the first time through, and hearing different voices for all (most) of the characters added a neat layer to the story. I’m quite interested to see how it turns out once Steven is done playing with it.