Narrator/Monitor
Description: Narrators and Monitors record books at the The Clive W. Lacy Recording Studio at Perkins. The studio is equipped with state-of-the-art recording booths where audio books are produced and added to the ever-expanding Braille & Talking Book Library.
Program: Braille & Talking Book Library
Time Commitment: Approximately two hours per week for one year.
More Information: The studio is open Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Because of the specialty of the job, becoming a narrator/monitor requires a selection process. The studio manager first interviews potential volunteers and schedules an in-house audition. Auditions consist of the candidate reading both prepared and unprepared materials; audition tapes are evaluated by a committee. Narrators/monitors must have effective communication skills and a high degree of self-motivation. A good command of the American English language is necessary and a broad literary background is helpful. Volunteers must pay attention to detail and have good hearing and vision. Narrators/monitors must also have the ability to become competent in running audio recording and playback equipment.
Each successful candidate participates in several weekly training sessions at the studio in order to become as familiar with the equipment and recording procedure as possible. Volunteers are trained by the studio manager and work in teams of two -- one narrator and one monitor. Narrators and monitors alternate reading the material and running the equipment. After the training period, each narrator/monitor is assigned a partner and a book. Every team records in the studio once a week at a convenient and regularly scheduled time.