Laura Bannister is an actor with a life-long love of reading, and she is thrilled to get to narrate audiobooks. Laura grew up in Virginia, studied theatre in college, and now makes her home in Seattle. She toured for six years with Taproot Theatre’s road company, performing plays all over the Pacific Northwest. Along with performing in Seattle theatres, Laura has also taught theatre in Seattle and in Cairo, Egypt. When not in the booth, she enjoys hiking, international travel, and a nice cup of tea.
How did you become interested in doing audiobook narration?
I’ve loved reading since I first learned how to read, and I’ve been an avid audiobook listener since I was in middle school. During the summer, I would go to the library with a crate, and fill it with books and audiobooks on CD and cassette tape. Those were some great summers. When I went to college and got my degree in theatre, it occurred to me that audiobooks are something I’d love to pursue in my acting career. But I was so busy doing theatre for years, and really didn’t have time to pursue audiobooks. I’ve done a lot of shows in Seattle, for both youth and adult audiences. But in 2016 I was in transition (returning from Egypt), and had time to actually get started with audiobooks, and it has been an exciting journey!
What advice did you find especially helpful as you started out performing audiobooks that you like to share with new narrators now?
I wish I’d done things differently when I got started, but I found out a lot of information on doing audiobooks after diving right in. If I could go back and do it again, I would spend more time learning about the craft and the business before auditioning for audiobooks or accepting any contracts. There is so much good information out there, and the audiobook community is very giving and very frank with their advice. I appreciate that, and I wish I would have known more going in. I’m still a fairly new narrator, but to anyone who is totally new, and interested in doing audiobooks, I would recommend doing a significant amount of learning before you get started. Even though I was already a professional actor, there’s so much to learn. It’s an acting job, but one with specific skills and challenges.
How do you prepare to record an audiobook?
I read the entire book, and as I go I make notes in the text, look up any pronunciations I’m not sure about, and make a list of characters who speak. I research pronunciations, and words/concepts I’m not familiar with. I read from an iPad, which also lets me highlight words and sections when it’s helpful.
What has been your favorite character? What character has given you the most grief?
I don’t think I have one favorite character, but my favorite character type is definitely strong, adventurous, emotional teenage girls. That’s the type of character I feel most confident voicing. Probably the most difficult is when there are three or more men having a conversation together.
How long do you record at a time, on average? What is it about a book that will shorten or lengthen this?
I usually record about 45 minutes at a time, before taking a brief break. I’ve found that taking breaks helps me be able to continue recording with better accuracy. The length of chapters and scenes in a book can affect this, as I like to get to a good stopping place before taking a break.
As an avid reader, what do you most enjoy reading for fun?
My favorites are classics, mysteries, and fantasy. Some of my favorite authors are Dorothy Sayers, Leo Tolstoy, Ann Patchett, JK Rowling, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and Mary Doria Russell. I could go on and on, but that’s a good start!
Do you prefer to perform the same types of audiobooks as you like to read for fun?
To a degree this is true. I definitely love getting to record well-written and compelling work. But my interests as a reader go much wider than my range as a performer. There are a number of books that I love that would require a different accent, or a male voice, or an older narrator.
You have voiced audio descriptions for visually- impaired attendees of Seattle-area theatres. What unique challenges do such descriptions require?
The challenge of audio descriptions for theatre is that they happen live. To prepare, I would go see the show at least twice and take notes. Then for the actual performances, I would be in a booth watching the show and speaking into a microphone, and my voice would go directly to the headsets of visually impaired theatre patrons. Kind of like audiobooks, it requires both preparation and being able to focus and be “in the moment.” Fast paced physical comedy is definitely the hardest to do, because there is a lot to communicate and very few opportunities for the describer to speak. An audio describer lets listeners know about any important stage action that isn’t obvious by the lines, and it’s important to not speak at the same time as the actors on stage.
You taught theater classes at the American International School in Cairo, Egypt. Does the Egyptian approach to theater differ from the American?
What I found was that current Egyptian culture is very interested in film, but live theatre is less studied and performed than in the US. Many of my students had limited experience with theatre, but for the ones with an interest, they enjoyed performing. My favorite memory of that teaching experience was directing Fools by Neil Simon with a group of high school students.
What narrators do you turn to for inspiration?
Some of my favorite narrators are Barbara Rosenblat, George Guidall, Simon Prebble, Cassandra Campbell, Stefan Rudnicki, Mark Bramhall, Hillary Huber and Nick Podehl.
One of my favorite audiobooks of all time is
Check out Laura at www.laura-bannister.com/
