Actress and audiobook narrator January Lavoy delighted students at West Hartford’s Hall High School as she educated them about her craft.
Hall senior Grace Gamester reads a passage of ‘Snow Falling from Cedars’ in the voice of a ‘teenager in love.’ at left is junior Andrew Hobbs. Photo credit: Ronni Newton
By Ronni Newton
January Lavoy didn’t start out planning to be an audiobook narrator, but as her career developed, her love of the performing arts has combined with her love of reading into a rewarding and lucrative occupation.
Lavoy spoke with English classes and theater students in a presentation in West Hartford’s Hall High School library on April 19, as part of a PTO-sponsored program of author visits.
Lavoy may be best known publicly for her role as Noelle Ortiz-Stubbs on the long-running ABC daytime drama “One Life to Live,” and she also has appeared in primetime network shows, and Broadway and off-Broadway productions. She can be heard as many commercials as well, for organizations that include Revlon, Toll House, United HealthCare, Dannon, Asthma.com, Home Depot, and Obama for America.
“I’m lucky that I don’t have to audition anymore,” she told the students regarding her career as an audiobook narrator. “Early in the process I would be coming in and doing a cold read.”
When doing a cold read, Lavoy said she has to make a quick and strong decision about what the character is like, and then stick with it.
To illustrate the challenge of doing that, she played a game with the students – where a random “voice” was required to read a passage, in this case from David Guterson’s “Snow Falling on Cedars.” Lavoy read as a “crazy parrot,” senior Grace Gamester read the passage as a “teenager in love,” and junior Andrew Hobbs read as a “scared football coach.” Another student had to take on the challenge of being an “angry Scottish elf.”
It takes anywhere from three to six days to record an audiobook, Lavoy said, using a recording machine that is very sensitive. “It magnifies everything,” she said, like when the reader has a cold or has been out late the night before.
The goal is to create a connection with the listener. “It’s like sitting in a car, telling you a story,” Lavoy said.
Lavoy’s first audiobook was recorded in 2006, and was 54o pages long, she said. She had to read the paper copy first, which was delivered by messenger. Now she reads from her iPad.
She doesn’t just narrate in her own “neutral” voice. “I am a mixed race woman and I play all kinds of humans, creatures, children … There are no limits to what I can be vocally,” she said, adding that there is no “neutral” sound other than the authentic sound of your own voice.
According to her website, Lavoy has recorded nearly 200 audiobooks, and has won numerous Audie Awards. In 2016 she was recognized for her work on Libba Bray’s “Lair of Dreams.” She was also named Publishers Weekly’s “Audiobook Narrator of the Year” in 2013.
Hall media specialist Carolyn Shea said that Lavoy was wonderful, and she appreciated the PTO grant which allowed the presentation to take place.
“The students were really into it, more than we thought they would be,” media specialist Monica Ahern said.
Ahern said that the focus was on the literary portion of audiobooks, and the challenges that readers may face that can be helped by being able to listen to a book.
“We have a very large and growing digital collection, and our circulation has now increased four-fold,” Ahern said.
Audiobooks can be helpful for students who have concussions and are unable to read, Shea said, as well as for those who may struggle with dialect, or who have dyslexia.
In addition to audiobook recording, theater, and television roles, Lavoy does commercial voiceover work. She is a member of Actors’ Equity Association and SAG-AFTRA and is passionate about her volunteer work at The 52nd Street Project in NYC’s Hell’s Kitchen.
For more information about Lavoy, visit her website.
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January Lavoy speaks with a group of Hall High School English and theater students. Photo credit: Ronni Newton
Hall junior Andrew Hobbs reads a passage of ‘Snow Falling on Cedars’ in the voice of a ‘scared football coach.’ Photo credit: Ronni Newton
A Hall student reads a passage from ‘Snow Falling on Cedars’ in the voice of an ‘angry Scottish elf.’ Photo credit: Ronni Newton
Students do a cold reading of Harry Potter. Photo credit: Ronni Newton
