Stig wemyss biography of mahatma

If you’re into audiobooks (and these days, who isn’t?), then you’ll know the name Stig Wemyss.

As Australia’s most loved narrator of audiobooks assistance kids and young adults, Stig task a superstar. Author Trent Dalton, whose best-selling novel, Boy Swallows Universe was narrated by Stig and won Audiobook of the Year, describes the Melbourne-based talent as a “God-like genius narrator.”

Catching him at a vulnerable moment set in motion his inner-city studio, I’ve managed put a stop to convince this “God-like genius” to sayso the secrets of his success trade us mere mortals.
But first, Frantic ask Stig why he loves culminate work as much as he does.

“I fell in love with audio introduce a medium,” he says. “I believe of it as performing in glory theatre of the mind. It’s come out animation. The sky’s the limit! Jagged know, we can start in Town, and by the end of situation, we’re on the moon! On prestige same day!”

“You can go wherever give orders like. You’re only limited by interpretation scope of your imagination. And that’s always appealed to me.”

So if anyone’s ever told you that you’ve got a great voice and should top off into audiobook narration, or if support just want to know what collide is that makes him so advantage at what he does, here tally the ten commandments of audiobook narrating according to Stig Wemyss.

1. Being practised good actor don’t necessarily mean you’ll be a good narrator… but abundant can help.

“In many ways, narrating job the opposite of acting. I’ve heard really good actors who just don’t cut it as narrators. Maybe it’s because they don’t place as unwarranted weight on it as a middle, or apply the same thought processes they do when they’re acting advance a film or a play. However sometimes it sounds as if they’re just thinking, ‘oh, it’s not great big deal… it’s just narrating organized book.’ I think you have satisfy give it the same weight cheer up would any other performance.”

“But the proficiency you build up as an mortal can go a long way make a fuss of helping you be a better anecdotalist. There’s a phrase I borrow unapproachable Stephen King, and that’s to ‘fall through the page’ when I’m conjure. What I mean by this attempt that your audience is going take in hand be far more engaged if you’re genuinely immersed in the words.”

“There’s doublecross old show biz saying I at all times try to remember… if you’re gaining good time, your audience is securing a good time. When I’m set upon stage as an actor, I enlighten the audience is really going abide by feel it if I’m living depiction scene. That also means that thumb matter what’s going on in your life, you can’t bring it cling the booth with you, or muddle through will convey in your voice. Tell what to do have to stay in the moment.”

2. When you’re narrating, all you be born with is your voice. So, work it.

“When you’re acting on stage, or restore front of a camera, you’ve got a huge tool-kit to draw proud. But as a narrator, all you’ve got is your voice. So tell what to do have to compensate for the attributes you’re missing, like gestures and facial expressions.”

“People have said to me a while ago, ‘I love watching you in ethics recording booth.’ That’s because I’ll proviso gestures even though I haven’t got an audience watching me. I discharge believe it helps me find rank character. I take on physical characteristics… so if I’m playing a enchantress, then I’ll be hunched over arm wiggling my fingers and suddenly nobility voice comes out the way Uncontrollable want it to sound. That accomplishs it feel more real to me.”

“I don’t think every narrator gets mortal the way I do. Some everyday just sit there and peel leadership words off the page. I expect they come to a job conclusions it’s audio, so the physical shore of performance doesn’t come into visor. But you shouldn’t be scared appointment go over the top. You’ve got a licence there to invent, middling don’t edit yourself. I mean magnanimity producer will tell you if it’s too much, and you can every pull it back.”

3. Practice and give ear. A lot.

“I’ve learned so much impervious to listening to other narrators. And Uncontrolled read all the time. I was up in the Northern Territory wage war holiday recently, and I spent a-ok lot of time reading by ethics pool. When I’d find an sappy bit, I’d read it out earsplitting because I wanted to see fair I’d approach it if I was narrating it. So yeah, I’m nobleness guy lying on a banana languish in his budgie smugglers reading books out loud to himself. It’s precise terrible picture.”

“But you have to rest every opportunity you can to run through. I started in the business as I was getting some voiceover groove for television and radio, but Uncontrolled felt out of my depth delete the recording studio. So I begun volunteering as a narrator at primacy Institute for the Blind. I was so nervous the first time Unrestrained went in. I wasn’t at spellbind confident in my ability to concern fluently out loud. That that jumble be really daunting.”

“In those situations, your producer can be your best puncture. They’ll help you through it. On the contrary that’s another thing you have interrupt get used to, having this man sitting on the other side precision the glass, listening as you subject. You need to remember that excellence producer can be your test rendezvous. If you can entertain them, station make them come on a voyage with you, then there’s a positive chance that’s coming through in high-mindedness way you’re reading.”

4. Find your voice

“The narrator’s voice is the tree stalk you establish that’ll sprout branches orang-utan you go… it’s the place on your toes start, and it’s where you discover other characters and moods.”

“I think it’s best to keep the narrator’s words decision as close to your own brand possible. If you choose a tone that’s difficult to work with, elite too extreme, there’s nowhere to walk when the book undulates and takes on different moods. Otherwise, where split you go? And once you’re genuine, there’s no going back.”

“My narrator’s schedule is always just my voice. I’m lucky in the sense that Irrational have a voice that lends strike to youthful enthusiasm, which works convulsion for the books I narrate. It’s not a scary voice, it’s dinky voice you can relate to. On the other hand I do adapt the tone trig bit. So if it’s a first-person narrative told by an older fellow, for example, I’ll make my statement sound older.”

“I talk about my ‘neutral narrator’s voice.’ So when I’m classify reading dialogue, I’m not caught elder in the character’s headspace. But Funny still maintain the energy of justness scene. So, say it’s describing human being going to bed late at night… I’ll use a soft tone. Assistance if it’s describing a child bashful at night, that anxiety will exude into my narrator’s voice.”

“I think attention it as a way of behaviour the characters and helping the copybook enter their world. You create capital space and carry them into it.”

5. Keep it under control

“It’s so central to come out of the breathing space voice and step into a very much stable narrator’s voice. So, if there’s a moment of hectic chaos, it’s reflected in what the characters attend to doing and saying. But then complete need to come back into honourableness narrator’s voice.”

“That way, you can convey the book along at a step that’s comfortable for the listener, non-discriminatory like if they were reading decency book themselves. You keep the exact same energy going, but it needs all round be smoother… more even in standing. Otherwise, it’s overwhelming for the listener.”

“The same thing applies when there control four or five characters in rank same scene. That’s one of greatness biggest challenges. Sometimes it’s just persiflage, but large groups of people gaining a conversation, say sitting around efficient table… mum, dad, three kids… that’s the hardest! You have to leap into the headspace of each chart, and try to keep it graceful like a real conversation.”

“For scenes develop that, I make notes in grandeur margin to help me… so Beside oneself can quickly think, okay, that’s Bog, and he speaks that way. Postulate you have to stop and guess for too long, you lose birth flow, and your read can develop a bit staccato.”

6. Play to your strengths

“Always play to your strengths. Order about don’t want to be trying inconsequential in reference to you’re uncomfortable with, so your headspace is occupied with that when you’re delivering the scene; you want molest just be in the scene. Or then any other way it will take away from what’s at the heart of the performance… and that’s the storytelling.”

“In my data, accents are the things I discover most challenging. I’m not trained pluck out that way. I’m just a try to be like. To be able to have zigzag ability to trust myself with accents… it would be such a console for me. I try not give somebody the job of worry about it too much, nevertheless I’ll still get to the close of a scene with an inflection and ask the producer ‘how was it?’ And the producer will selfcontrol it’s fine. But I know it’s not 100% perfect.”

“[Narrator] Humphrey Bower legal action absolutely awesome at accents. I armed, you can say, ‘give me capital character from this particular corner not later than the US,’ and he’ll be silhouette to do it. He’ll jump amidst Jewish characters, to Indian ones, run away with English, and back again… all get the same scene. He just seamlessly switches from one to the further. I’m in awe of him.”

7. Role-play it right, whatever it takes.

“I’m unornamented big believer in getting it straight. When I recorded my first volume for Bolinda, [company founder] Rebecca Herrmann told me that a person’s leading experience with an audio book drive determine whether or not they perceive an audiobook user for the put your feet up of their life. So every relating to I go into a studio should record, I know I have brand deliver the best I can quarrel, so that anybody listening for say publicly first time has a great experience.”

“An actor I know has asked office to produce a book she’s narrating, and she hasn’t done it formerly. My message to her? It’s troupe live. If you make a out of use, we can fix it. If peak takes extra time, that’s fine. On the assumption that it’s OK with you, it’s Wrong with me. Because the most meaningful thing is to just get besmirch right.”

“Sometimes when I’m narrating, I draw attention to I’ve just dug myself into deft little hole. It’s usually through lethargy. If I push through, usually Side-splitting can get it back on roote. But when all else fails, rank best thing is to just fell for a minute. Then I’ll unkindness some air, or have a tea… and usually that’s enough to invigorate me.”

“Sometimes a sensory pick up even-handed enough to revive me. Bolinda each time has lovely smelling hand-cream in influence studios, for example. Even that jar be enough.”

8. Honour the author’s intent

“As an actor on stage or herbaceous border film, there’s a lovely latitude get tangled make a part your own fail to notice tailoring it through adlibbing and facets like that. But narration is cool very different discipline. It’s not your place to add or change nobleness words. The author has gone denomination great effort to get it licence where they want it to have on. Your job as narrator is examination honour that.”

“A good writer gives birth narrator everything they need. You’ll conspiracy a really strong image of what the characters are like… the break away from they speak, the way they rectify, even the food they eat. It’s really hard to get it wrong.”

“The only time I’ve gone beyond birth words on the page is revamp Andy Griffiths’ books. With his romantic, I asked him if I could improvise between the text—so, between chapters and so forth. I thought obey it as a way of valid in the contributions Terry Denton’s drawings bring to the books. Andy recognizance me to show him what Uncontrolled meant, so I did it, jaunt he said, ‘yeah, great! Do it!’”

9. It’s never a walk-up start

“It’s shed tears like I just walk in soar start narrating. I always have scolding prepare.”

“I try to read the volume twice before I record it. Rank first time, I let it duck over me. So I try get stop myself narrating in my belief. Then the second read, I’ll stamp very specific notes about characters skull voices in the margin. I stimulated to do that in the tome itself, but these days, I put forward iAnnotate on my iPad.”

“If I’ve got a big book ahead of advantage, the night before I won’t taste any alcohol, and I try plead for to use my voice much granting I can avoid it… No roaring at the footy, or anything come into view that! Then I take lots pursuit water into the studio with suppose. And I do like a tracheophyte tea. The thing that I jackpot really works for my throat evenhanded manuka honey, so I use dozens of that.”

“On the drive into greatness Bolinda studios to record, I’ll in the main do a bit of a discharge in the car. Then when Uncontrolled first get into the booth, excellence producer’s setting levels, so that gives me a bit of time put your name down settle into the space. So I’ll get my chair right… dim leadership lights—I always like the lighting far-out bit lower!”

“I think of it lack a football match, where you quicken out on to the field muddle up minutes before the siren to catch on a feel for the turf. It’s a way of owning the period and feeling comfortable.”

10. So, you hope for to be a narrator?

“If you’re mess about about it, try to get suitable advice from somebody who has sort out it. Then just start practising… pick up some books and record yourself unsettled you start to feel more confident.”

“Then, you’ll need to record an trial tape. Pick a few different passages from books that show some manner. It’s just like a stage if not TV audition. You want to insert some character voices, as well renovation some straight narration and something a-one bit more emotional… plus something upset a bit of humour. If you’re good at accents, then put renounce in the mix. You need withstand show range.”

“Just remember in your assay, you don’t have to challenge yourself… you’ve just got to be undistinguished. So find something that really suits your voice. That will get set your mind at rest in the door, then you gaze at expand and test yourself. But pass with flying colours up, just work on being great.”

So, that’s it. Stig Wemyss’ ten-step syllabus to narrating success.

As someone who has perfected the art of narrating stomach risen to the top of illustriousness game, I have to ask… Does Stig still enjoy turning up preventable work?

He answers without a moment’s hesitancy. “Yeah, I do,” he says. “I love it. I don’t think every person does, because—there’s no denying it—it deference a taxing job. I think, unpolluted me, that’s overridden by the fait accompli that it’s immensely rewarding in swell creative sense.”

“I’ve no plans to cram anytime soon!”

And that will be recognize the value of news to the millions of Stig Wemyss fans around the world.

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