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Holly Adams standing in front of a project

Are You the Boss/Employee You Would Want to Have?

For many of us, looking at product quality and net earnings (or losses) is a fundamental start of the yea activity — whether we are theatre teachers having to make do with a smaller budget or independent artists looking to streamline our process without compromising quality. For a change of pace, why not do a “year in review” as a performance assessment on yourself? Most of my colleagues are in charge of their own work (as educators, project leaders, or performers) and don’t have the opportunity to get structured feedback. Here’s a few quick questions you should ask to take

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Mystery & Adventure Agency cemetery photo

Celebrate Halloween with these unique and creative activities

Today is the day! The ghouls and goblins have populated the fronts of houses, the children are excited about “what to be,” and the parents are dreading the sugar crash while sneaking a few king-sized bars. Some of my friends and colleagues bemoan the hype, commercialism, and calories. I personally LOVE Halloween (I’m a theatre person, remember, with an active inner child), but this blog is dedicated to those who don’t. You can make this holiday about something more meaningful. Here are my recommendations for doing something for All Hallows that doesn’t have anything to do with haunted houses or

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Holly Adams standing in front of a NYSTEA banner at a conference

Hey! Let the Kid Become an Artist

The Great Resignation isn’t just about leaving toxic work environments — it’s also a time for all of us to reflect on what we REALLY want to do. We only have one life after all (in theory) and so it’s crucial to find passion in every day, whether that’s through work, hobbies, or people. So often we hear that art should stay relegated to the side gig, and I applaud those who follow that path and serve their souls and make sweet money. But many of us don’t want a traditional job or aren’t well-suited to that environment. Take a

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Holly takes a selfie in front of her microphone

5 Steps to Hiring the Perfect Audiobook Narrator

You published your novel! That’s huge. Now your art is out there for everyone to read. Still have a little bit left in you? Grab your momentum and add the audiobook. In addition to being good business sense, you’re also making your book more accessible. Plus, you’re reaching an audience of busy people who can’t sit down by the fire with a new hardcover but will devour your work during their commute. Everyone wins! Still, you need a narrator to cross this finish line, and it has to be exactly the right person who will breathe life into your characters, and

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Holly records an audiobook in her home studio

What makes a good audiobook narrator

What’s the best audiobook you’ve ever listened to? Did you sit in the driveway to get to the end of the chapter? Or maybe it made you think about something more deeply, or treat yourself and your world with more compassion. I’ve certainly had these experiences, and even though the genres, authors, and narrators varied, the things that made it amazing did not.  Think back to that favorite Audiobook: maybe it’s Davina Porter when you binged the “Outlander” series or every-award-winning Bahni Turpin with “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks”. So what makes their performances so outstanding and impactful? What’s

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Holly holding a "loveaudiobooks" sign on her way to an event

How to put your acting degree to work and become an Audiobook narrator

It’s true that stage acting and audiobook narration are not exactly the same thing, and personally I wish acting programs included a Voice Acting class, but don’t worry! That doesn’t mean traditional actors don’t make good narrators. They do! Often the best, in fact. Few students go to theatre school to become voice over actors, but so many go on to excel at it. Most importantly, if you become an audiobook narrator, you’re absolutely not giving up your dreams of stage and screen. Many of my VO colleagues do more than one thing, but some find their most lucrative jobs

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A group of students planning out their project

How does the collaboration circle work

As I write this, I pause to quickly grab a pencil and jot down one more thing on my “Bring” list, so I don’t forget when I leave for a foreign country at 8 a.m. tomorrow morning. I have more anxiety than I typically do — normally I am happiest and most content moving through space (or preparing to), and love my collaborative-creative projects best of all. So what, I asked myself, was I worried about this time? I had done quite a bit of social, cultural, and language preparation, spent time with friends and colleagues from this country to

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Students perform for a workshop

War on Play?

Now that the school year is in full swing and folks are beginning to stress about test scores, the idea of extending the school day, cutting recess, eliminating creative activities and so on comes again to the fore. “Play is under pressure right now, as parents and policymakers try to make preschools more like schools. But pretend play is not only important for kids; it’s a crucial part of what makes all humans so smart, ” Alison Gopnik wrote in “Let the Children Play, It’s Good for Them! A leading researcher in the field of cognitive development says, “When children

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Summer Sling

Body in Motion, Spirit at Rest

I spent part of this past weekend attending New York Summer Sling, “a 4-day stage combat workshop sanctioned by the Society ofAmerican Fight Directors (SAFD). Classes are taught by SAFD certified fight directors and teachers from universities and theaters around the country. Class options include introductory instruction in all of our eight weapon disciplines for the stage, unique and specialized experimentation with period fighting styles, and master classes in advanced physical acting techniques” (from the Summer Sling website description). Despite an incredible lack of sleep and profound anxiety ahead of time, I had one of the most wonderful conference experiences

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