Blog | Shearwater Productions

Vocal warm up techniques for audiobook narrators: Part one

September 29, 2022

I’m not gonna lie, recording long narration (audiobooks) can be vocally brutal. A bajillion characters, lots of booth time, plus whatever else you have going on in your life, especially if you are doing outdoor shows or working with kids. Despite years in the theatre, including numerous musical theatre leads, I struggled at first with the extended booth time. Even a singing heavy show, you should only have an hour or so of vocal performance — max. I’m often doing a book a week, plus other performance work, meaning I could spend 8 or 9 hours recording on a heavy

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

Hey! Let the Kid Become an Artist

July 26, 2022

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

Holly takes a selfie in front of her microphone

5 Steps to Hiring the Perfect Audiobook Narrator

June 16, 2022

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

Holly records an audiobook in her home studio

What makes a good audiobook narrator

June 16, 2022

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

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

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

June 16, 2022

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

A group of students planning out their project

How does the collaboration circle work

May 7, 2015

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

Living Art: creating common beauty

January 18, 2015

It’s winter, and winter wonderlands bring to mind evergreens and warmer climes — for me, at least! So this blog is focused on Living Art—projects to do with your school or community that engage everyone, are stunningly beautiful, functional, and full of science and history exploration opportunities. What the heck is Living Art? In a nutshell, structures and sculptures made from alive plants (and some people would include running water). These are not just your king’s topiary! I was recently in Texas, and visited the Houston Museum of Natural History and it’s adjacent Japanese Gardens in Hermann Park . Gracing

Mask making, part three: Manila Folders

October 5, 2014

Masks are a wonderful way to discover differences in cultural perspectives, character nuances, and the ideas of subtext and implication. They allow students to dive into the past and see into another’s eyes — literally. For that reason, I highly recommend them as a tool for many teachers in many subjects. But what if you are prohibited from ordering art supplies (and therefore aquaplast)? Well Ta DAA! Enter Manila Folder Masks. Made almost entirely out of Office Supplies!!! Manila Folder Mask: What is it? Believe it or not, Manila Folders have different properties than any other paper product, including card

War on Play?

September 28, 2014

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