JB: Agreed. You have a long acting career spanning several continents which we haven't touched on yet. How do you juggle audiobook projects and acting? What do you get out of acting that narrating doesn't give you?
BR: The only real 'juggling' I had to contend with was during my first Broadway show, "The Secret Garden". Along with creating the role of 'Mrs. Medlock', doing eight shows a week and keeping all the dialects up to snuff as production dialect coach for both the NY cast and the national tour, I was recording audiobooks during the day and attending auditions. One of the proudest statements someone in that position can make is, "I am a working actor". We know all these projects are short lived so one must embrace the moment regardless of the pressure. This is where you learn to take care of yourself as an actor. I address these themes in my book.
Performing live is so very different from audio or TV. There is instant gratification from a live audience that wants to be present for what you have to offer. And, each night is different, allowing me to grow and learn in the role. Even after two years on Broadway, no two performances were alike and I continued to plumb the depths of my assigned role.
A few years back, I got to play the 'all singing, all dancing Gertrude Stein' in an Off Broadway musical called '27 Rue de Fleurus' at Urban Stages. The house was small and one is so close to the audience you can smell their cologne. That makes every performance fraught with even more pressure to 'connect' with the audience. I loved that. Remember, when it is live...there is no net!
JB: I get that! So, what are you working on now, as we speak?
BR: Things slow down in summer but there are a couple of things going on.
Some colleagues and I started a new audio theatre company called Voicescapes Audio Theatre where we produce and perform new work with some of the brightest sonic story tellers out there. One of our latest pieces won first prize at this year's Hear Now Festival in Kansas City, Mo. It's called 'Kidnapping 101' and can be enjoyed on our website.
I have an audiobook on the back burner: 'Chopping Spree', a culinary mystery series by the wildly popular Diane Mott Davidson.
And I'm in the planning stages of a masterclass in the audiobook art form for later this year. Details will be available on the Barbara Rosenblat Audiobook Narrator Facebook page.
Have I mentioned that I am a very lucky camper???
JB: You love what you do and do what you love. You are lucky! I understand that you're also acting in a popular Netflix series. Would you like to talk about that for a moment?
BR: I don't think I had ever heard the phrase 'binge watching' until Netflix started creating original content starting with 'House of Cards'. That one could have one's fill of a new product was a transformative concept. And yet, if you think about it, people have been 'bingeing' on novels for centuries. No one would ever direct the recipient of a new 'Harry Potter', say, to read only one chapter a night or week. No, you go to bed, beginning this blissful indulgence, and, before you know it, the co*k crows. Or, in many cases, the jackhammers start their playful reveille. And, of course, the same holds true of a good audiobook.
When I learned about 'Orange' and that it takes place in a women's prison, I thought, "Well, there's gotta be something there with my name on it." Little did I know that two years hence, I would be a part of a new kind of television with daring writing, astonishing character development and a display of demographics rarely heard from in TV drama. Jenji Kohan ('Weeds'- Showtime) embraced this cornucopia of womanhood (not to mention some fascinating fellows) and gave the world a reason to care about all of it. My little corner of this tapestry is playing a cancer-ridden inmate, Miss Rosa, who had a storied criminal past and now faces death within the walls of a federal facility that is not prepared to do what can be done to keep her alive. Three-time Emmy Award winning special FX makeup guru Josh Turi spent three hours every time, creating my look and maintained all that delicate artwork all day.
This helped me dive into Miss Rosa to the point where I practically disappeared as far as everyone else was concerned. Season Two opened up my character and I will always be grateful for the trust the various directors had in me to meet that week's challenges.
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