Home Forums Palm Springs Retreat Oct 20 – 22, 2023 Assignments – what to bring to work on!

Viewing 8 posts - 1 through 8 (of 8 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • #9167

    RonnieB
    Participant

    For LISA CAHN

    Please bring a few pages/about 3(ish) minutes of fiction and the same for non-fiction.

    For fiction: As a producer with a mainstream pub house, I would encourage people to narrate from fairly mainstream pop-fiction. If the material is from Hachette, then something like a Baldacci, a Patterson, Elin Hilderbrand, etc. Basically beach books. (I also secretly call them airport books because they are the kinds of books people will only buy anonymously in an airport kiosk). As much as everyone would love to narrate Umberto Eco or Nabokov, that kind of erudite writing is not our bread and butter and generally not the kind of work (sadly) for which I cast narrators…
    And if a narrator has a particular skill they would like to highlight—fluency in another language, an uncanny ability with certain dialects, the ability to voice a variety of ages and genders, etc.– they ought to find some text that highlights their talents.

    For non-fiction: Any kind of narrative non-fiction is helpful for me to get a sense of how a narrator translates and conveys the author’s intent—it could be memoir, history, travel, science, religion and spirituality, politics (liberal and conservative—they might want to challenge themselves and cross their comfort line…), etc.

    For RONNIE

    Stacy — If you have any proficiency in Spanish or Finnish, please bring a sample that demonstrates that — dialogue would be great. A second selection should have either high emotional stakes or “large” characters.

    Shiromi — An action/thriller selection where there is a dialogue, and where character is very seriously injured. Alternatively, a deathbed conversation.

    Janet — A selection with at least three characters in conversation. They should be close in age and/or background — sisters, colleagues, close friends, etc. (Jane Smiley’s “A Thousand Acres” comes to mind…)

    Gail — Please bring three selections, no longer than 3 minutes each. One should have dialogue, one with should be action/thriller/lit fic with high stakes (someone being chased, or hiding, or involve confrontation), and the third from YA or middle where a child is lost, or seeking understanding to a large question. (We may only have time for 2 selections, but please prep 3.)

    Maria — One or two selections. One with vigorous confrontation (dialogue). Another, if you wish, from Sci-Fi, Fantasy or Middle Grad (monster, alien, etc.). If you rehearse these, speak only at a normal conversational level — think about placement, pitch, pace and resonance — not volume.

    Curtis — two pieces not exceeding three minutes, from two genres or styles that you want known as your brand (whether or not they are already). Also, prepare a 1-minute (or less) pitch as to why and how these are your brand. (By style, I refer to “essence”. For example someone good at “snark” may work across many genres .)

    Torian — A selection with at least three characters in dialogue. No middle grade. Otherwise any genre as long as there are no monsters, aliens, or creatures. For your preparation, list each character’s overall objective (or what they want to achieve) for the entire book, as well are their objective for the selection you’re reading from (these may or may not differ); bring the list with you to our session.

    Alexandra — Two selections (not exceeding 3 minutes each). One with quiet emotional intensity and dialogue. The second should be purely narrative third person description what a character sees as they move through scenery, location, or landscapes.

    Kelly — A romance selection. Two different scenes: one with a first meeting and/or flirtation; the second with conflict and confrontation between the hero and heroine.

    Amber — A selection with at least three characters in dialogue. For your preparation, list each characters overall objective (or what they want to achieve”) for the entire book, as well are their objective for the selection you’re reading (they may or may not differ); bring the list with you to our session.

    Matt — two selections not exceeding 3 minutes. One should be MG/YA including an accent. The other should be lit fiction with adults trying to negotiate their emotional life or relationship.

    Claudia — One long piece ( 5- 8 minutes) that covers an real emotional arc. Preferably with some dialogue. Here’s the real assignment: you may read the chapter and book from which the selection is taken; you my take notes about character and objectives; but you may not read your selection out-loud more than once before our session. 🙂

    #9168

    RonnieB
    Participant

    For LISA CAHN

    Please bring a few pages/about 3(ish) minutes of fiction and the same for non-fiction.

    For fiction: As a producer with a mainstream pub house, I would encourage people to narrate from fairly mainstream pop-fiction. If the material is from Hachette, then something like a Baldacci, a Patterson, Elin Hilderbrand, etc. Basically beach books. (I also secretly call them airport books because they are the kinds of books people will only buy anonymously in an airport kiosk). As much as everyone would love to narrate Umberto Eco or Nabokov, that kind of erudite writing is not our bread and butter and generally not the kind of work (sadly) for which I cast narrators…
    And if a narrator has a particular skill they would like to highlight—fluency in another language, an uncanny ability with certain dialects, the ability to voice a variety of ages and genders, etc.– they ought to find some text that highlights their talents.

    For non-fiction: Any kind of narrative non-fiction is helpful for me to get a sense of how a narrator translates and conveys the author’s intent—it could be memoir, history, travel, science, religion and spirituality, politics (liberal and conservative—they might want to challenge themselves and cross their comfort line…), etc.

    For RONNIE

    Stacy — If you have any proficiency in Spanish or Finnish, please bring a sample that demonstrates that — dialogue would be great. A second selection should have either high emotional stakes or “large” characters.

    Shiromi — An action/thriller selection where there is a dialogue, and where character is very seriously injured. Alternatively, a deathbed conversation.

    Janet — A selection with at least three characters in conversation. They should be close in age and/or background — sisters, colleagues, close friends, etc. (Jane Smiley’s “A Thousand Acres” comes to mind…)

    Gail — Please bring three selections, no longer than 3 minutes each. One should have dialogue, one with should be action/thriller/lit fic with high stakes (someone being chased, or hiding, or involve confrontation), and the third from YA or middle where a child is lost, or seeking understanding to a large question. (We may only have time for 2 selections, but please prep 3.)

    Maria — One or two selections. One with vigorous confrontation (dialogue). Another, if you wish, from Sci-Fi, Fantasy or Middle Grad (monster, alien, etc.). If you rehearse these, speak only at a normal conversational level — think about placement, pitch, pace and resonance — not volume.

    Curtis — two pieces not exceeding three minutes, from two genres or styles that you want known as your brand (whether or not they are already). Also, prepare a 1-minute (or less) pitch as to why and how these are your brand. (By style, I refer to “essence”. For example someone good at “snark” may work across many genres .)

    Torian — A selection with at least three characters in dialogue. No middle grade. Otherwise any genre as long as there are no monsters, aliens, or creatures. For your preparation, list each character’s overall objective (or what they want to achieve) for the entire book, as well are their objective for the selection you’re reading from (these may or may not differ); bring the list with you to our session.

    Alexandra — Two selections (not exceeding 3 minutes each). One with quiet emotional intensity and dialogue. The second should be purely narrative third person description what a character sees as they move through scenery, location, or landscapes.

    Kelly — A romance selection. Two different scenes: one with a first meeting and/or flirtation; the second with conflict and confrontation between the hero and heroine.

    Amber — A selection with at least three characters in dialogue. For your preparation, list each characters overall objective (or what they want to achieve”) for the entire book, as well are their objective for the selection you’re reading (they may or may not differ); bring the list with you to our session.

    Matt — two selections not exceeding 3 minutes. One should be MG/YA including an accent. The other should be lit fiction with adults trying to negotiate their emotional life or relationship.

    Claudia — One long piece ( 5- 8 minutes) that covers an real emotional arc. Preferably with some dialogue. Here’s the real assignment: you may read the chapter and book from which the selection is taken; you my take notes about character and objectives; but you may not read your selection out-loud more than once before our session. 🙂

    #9455

    Matt Pittenger
    Participant

    Hi Ronnie,
    Getting more and more excited for next week!
    I want on make sure I’m on the right track for Lisa’s Beach Book assignment.
    I’m looking a title by Stephen King, called Later.
    Am I in the right ballpark?

    #9457

    Andi
    Keymaster

    Hi Matt – Ronnie is on vacation but I would think Stephen King fits in the beach book category. I’ll let him chime in when he gets back.

    #9458

    Matt Pittenger
    Participant

    Thanks Andi!
    Ronnie emailed me directly.
    I’m gonna stick with Stephen.

    Can’t wait for next week!

    #9468

    Janet Metzger
    Participant

    Should we bring additional copies of our selections for Ronnie and Lisa?

    #9471

    Kelly Wilkinson
    Participant

    Quick question about the few pages…most of what I have are in ebook format and will have to print off pages. I plan to print off hard copies BUT wanted to see if there is a Dropbox that somehow we can upload our respective copies. Lisa and Ronnie can then download or view from the Dropbox…

    #9475

    RonnieB
    Participant

    Hey Everyone — We’ve created a google drive where you can upload PDF/electronic versions of your scripts. Please name the scripts in this manner so we can find them: “Your name”_”Title”.pdf.

    https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1NdPHToJUqEqcSzVKIhdGgWdHEPGu64PH?usp=drive_link

Viewing 8 posts - 1 through 8 (of 8 total)
  • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.

Ready To Map Out Your Journey?

TAKE THE NARRATOR CAREER QUIZ

[convertkit form=7014814]