meet-up Voice actors

[Spike]

hey, I recently joined a little group that meets weekly for table reads on the zoom. I'm up, next Sunday, and if anyone wants some voice-acting practice, let me know, either here or PM. It will be around 30 pages, at 7 Pacific, on July 6. Thanks

 

[directorik]

This sounds like a great idea.

 

[indietalk]

 

[Spike]

Yea, I thought it was a cool idea, and the group seems pretty cool, so after sitting in on several sessions, I was asked if I had anything ready to be read. I said yes, and am now on the schedule. There's a pool of actors who occasionally, for some reason, get involved, and the other group members usually will pitch in and take parts. But it's up to me to cast the thing, which means composing and sending and responding to emails, includes things like, you know, talking to people--stuff that I've always assumed would be somebody else's job.

Oh well. Comfort zone and all that. So . . . anybody want to be an early 18th century German Prince? Anybody want to be Bach, or Handel, or Telemann? Or maybe second hurdy-gurdy? . . . Anyway

 

[CelticRambler]

A few days later and I could probably have arranged a live backing track with a couple of hundred hurdy-gurdies all playing very slightly out of tune with each other (and maybe some real Germans chatting about their kühe) ...

But for now, I'm shadowing your casting experience, trying to shove 20 squarish pegs into 20 round holes (whaddymean 10am is too early ... ? no, you can't be the only person to opt out of all the late night duties, yes you'll get fed, no you can't just turn up and wing it ... .... ..... )

 

[indietalk]

I'd help you out too if I was available. Maybe next time @CelticRambler and I can join.

 

[Spike]

Would be wonderful, and thanks for the offer and the response. I'm imagining you as Johann Sebastian Bach, and maybe Mr. Rambler as... Maria Barbara? (Maybe with a Monty Pythonesque falsetto--"but i don't like schnitzel!" ) --no, as Prince Leopold. Actually, for the thing this Sunday, I still need a narrator, and a sonorous vaguely European voice would be perfect, if any such voice exits.

 

[CelticRambler]

Seeing as I'm the one with the keys to the castle (if only for a week), Prince Leopold would probably be the more appropriate role!

Then again, if I get this new dress finished in time, maybe that'd be a vote for Maria ...

 

[Spike]

Here's what I learned this morning! Learning is fun-damental!

Understanding Singular and Plural Forms​

In German, the singular form “Kuh” refers to one cow. It is a feminine noun, hence it is preceded by the definite article “die” (the) or the indefinite article “eine” (a/an). For instance:

Die Kuh steht auf dem Feld. (The cow is standing in the field.)
Eine Kuh gibt viel Milch. (A cow gives a lot of milk.)

When referring to more than one cow, the plural form “Kühe” is used, and the article changes to “die” in the plural irrespective of the gender.

Die Kühe grasen auf der Wiese. (The cows are grazing in the meadow.)
Ich sehe drei Kühe im Stall. (I see three cows in the barn.)

The Challenge of German Plurals​

The transition from “Kuh” to “Kühe” is an example of one of the various ways that German nouns can form their plurals. Unlike English, where the addition of an -s or -es suffix is often enough to form a plural, German plurals can involve changes in vowels, consonants, or both, and sometimes with no changes at all.

The plural form “Kühe” is formed by changing the internal vowel ‘u’ to ‘ü’ and adding an ‘e’ at the end. This type of vowel change is known as umlaut. Umlauts are a crucial aspect of German grammar and are seen in many other nouns as well.

 

[Spike]

I'm still trying to cast a narrator, to read my Opus subscript a, for a table read, on the Zoom--30 pages, Sunday 6th @ 7 Pacific. I have two real actors and two writers to fill in all 24 parts! And with the exception of Leopold, they are all women, an idea that i like a lot.

This whole thing is probably mundane, for most, but to me it's kind of a big deal.

Because, I'm beginning to understand that I am 100% incapable of assessing the quality or value of my own thing. I waste time trying, and then fall into, not a rabbit hole, but a medieval oubliette; into a labyrinth of infinite regress, housed in a life of infinite regrets. Yipe. Anyway.

If I were to pick a writer to be, it would be Thomas Pynchon, a dude with no public persona whatsoever, who has only communicated with the world, probably since he was 12, through text.

Anyway, I've spent more time on the action lines in this thing than on the actual dialogue--they are my voice--and I imagine hearing them being read by a real voice.

I don't know if, among my Indie Friends, anyone is interested, but just in case, here's the first scene, (3.5 pages) which is either pretty freaking great, or is embarrassing sophomoric junk. Honestly, don't ask me.

Scene 1.pdf -- 60k

a Keep&Share shared Document

kvisit.com

(Has, now, an intermediary link, which I don't like--guess i have to learn how to use the google docs or something)