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| MacLeod Andrews records The Sounds Below - Once more, with feeling! |
Did everyone have a lovely October? We certainly did and, as is usually the case, now that it's over we're feeling slightly melancholy. Somehow a table full of turkey and stuffing doesn't sound as exciting as a table full of candy. So as we move on into November - the month where you don't shave and you write a novel - we can ease into it by taking a dip in the treasures October had to offer. If you haven't heard The Sounds Below yet, be sure to check it out. The lead, MacLeod Andrews blew us away with his performance and we definitely are inviting him back. That is, if he's not too frightened.
We also locked MacLeod in a room with our interview-cyborg (we all pitched in in building the thing which is half human, half David Brinkley, half robot). Here's what Interview Cyborg (aka ICY) was able to glean from MacLeod!
ICY: You've worked in movies, commercials, and many other media, but your chief claim to fame is your work in audiobooks. When did you learn that your voice could really bring a story to life?
MA: I always enjoyed reading aloud. In elementary school I often chose to keep my hand down whenever a teacher asked, “who would like to read this for the class?” not because I was shy, but because I didn’t want to appear too eager in front of my classmates. I think I channeled that impulse to read into an interest in theater. I specifically became interested in voice over and narration when I was about 24 and booked some promo spots and my first audiobooks.
ICY: Your character, Chris, seems to be in a pretty bad place in our story. What excites you the most about exploring dark material as an actor?
MA: Generally speaking what’s fun about darker material is how unrestrained it can be. There’s screaming and crying and insane laughter or on the opposite end of the spectrum you might play a sociopath and do an end run around all feelings of empathy. But I think what’s most enjoyable is that, in a safe environment, you get to play with circumstances and behaviors most of us avoid at all costs in our day to day lives. It’s like bumper bowling with your id.
ICY: What projects are you working on right now that you think our listeners would love to know about?
MA: We’re about to finish up post production on a film called They Look Like People which I’m really proud of. It’s about two friends struggling with trust and mental illness. It has elements of horror but is a drama at it’s core. I’ll be doing a play by Charlotte Miller with Rising Phoenix Rep in LA next Spring called Thieves. It’s a rural family drama. Very excited about that. If you’re in the area come see it! Short run from March 18- April 4.
On the Audiobook front, I recently recorded the sequel to Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, a Star Trek spoof called Willful Child, and am about to start recording Firefight: the next Brandon Sanderson novel in The Reckoners Series.
ICY: What sounds give you the biggest heebie-jeebies?
MA: Fingernails on chalkboards. The sound of a big bug skittering across something crinkly like a paper bag. The dead people who talk to me.
ICY: Is there a sci-fi/fantasy/horror novel that you would sell your soul to narrate?
I’ve gotten to narrate some pretty awesome sci-fi. I really wish I was British and Stephen Fry so I could do Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. I’ve always loved Frankenstein. “I should be thy Adam!” “Glut the maw of death...” and what not.
Very nice. Nice guy, great talent. Have a good November everyone, we'll be back soon with a piece that's a bit different, titled BUBBLES... We think... we think that's happening. You'll just have to stay tuned.