Holly Adams, narrator of Opposites Attack, isn’t just a voice actress. She works in contemporary film, easily tackles Shakespeare, teaches how to be a clown, walks on stilts, and more. Earphone and Independent Audiobook Award winner, and Audie Finalist, I was thrilled to have her inhabit the multi-cultural cast of my novel set in Provence at a language school. Here’s more about this phenomenal SAG-AFTRA actress.
Q: Tell us a bit about your professional background.
A: I’ve believed in the performing arts as the way that we process our lives, our relationships, our personal and community trauma, our hopes and dreams for a long time. My mother (now retired) was a social worker with a degree in theater. She was on the cutting edge of play therapy. She also directed community theater and believed in the joy, empathy, and connections that could grow from those projects. So, I grew up in that environment.
Flash forward— I have been a professional performer and teaching artist (and director and playwright) my whole life. It’s my full-time job. I also have conservatory training and have continued to take workshops, coaching, and seminars. Gotta keep growing! I love stories, and I love my work as an audiobook narrator. I also love the other ways I tell stories. I continue to do stage, film, circus and other kinds of VO projects along with my audiobook work.
Q: When did you start narrating audiobooks, and are there genres you love to read more than others?
A: I started doing full-cast audiobooks more than a dozen years ago after having done some radio plays. I still do full-cast projects (audio dramas, dramatic podcasts, radio plays) as well as single-narrator (and dual narrator) audiobooks. Favorite genres to narrate: mysteries, fantasy, adventure, romcoms, historical fiction, southern fiction, children’s books. Anything with joy in it.
Q: Walk us through the prep process for an audiobook.
A: I get as much info from the author or Rights Holder as I can to begin with, then I read the book deeply, like I would a script. I try to experience it as a consumer while also diving deep into the arc of the story, the tone, the breath, the scenes and structure. I note the characters: when they appear, what is said to or about them, how they talk, what they know, what they believe. All the things I do when I prepare for a film or a play. I also note names of places/people/word pronunciations I need to research.
Q: What was most challenging about narrating Opposites Attack, and what did you enjoy about it?
A: Most challenging? Hmm. There were a few times I had to double check who was speaking in a highly populated scene! What did I enjoy? I loved all the characters. Even the ones that could have been ‘thrown away’ were not. They were also three-dimensional.
Q: What was the last book you read for your own pleasure?
A: I’m always reading at least four books. I’m currently reading a mystery by Will Thomas, The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison, Eighty Days by Matthew Goodman (nonfic about Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Bisland), and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s Mycroft and Sherlock. And a bunch of magazines.
Thank you, Holly!
Pick up the audiobook for Opposites Attack on any platform, including your library and indie stores (you may need to ask them to order it). Here are just three options: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Chirp
Connect with Holly on Insta @hol.adams and Facebook
Check out these links for more.
VO Work and what studio equipment she uses