Behind the Mike: Alan Sklar
LJ audio reviewer and Audie Award judge Lance Eaton talks to the distinguished narrator about his own favorite readers, his prep, and his escapes.
By Lance Eaton -- Library Journal, 03/01/2009
You know when you're listening to Alan Sklar: his deep yet gentle voice, which can be heard on more than 100 audiobooks, is unmistakable. Sklar has twice been nominated for an Audie and was dubbed by AudioFile magazine a Best Voice of 2008 for his reading of Ron Suskind's The Way of the World (HarperAudio). His latest recording, of William D. Cohan's House of Cards, is available this month from Tantor Media..
How did you get into audiobook narration?
I was doing voice-overs for commercials and narrating corporate and medical videos. I started listening to audiobooks, and I loved them. I said to myself, "I can do this." So I sent Recorded Books my cassette voice-over demo and résumés, and, lo and behold, a few weeks later they called me in to audition. My first audiobook job was Confessions of a Medical Heretic (1993) by Robert Mendelsohn. I still have a framed xerox of the Recorded Books check, about $800.
What's been your most rewarding book to narrate?
The Way of the World (mentioned above); The Looming Tower (Tantor Media, 2006) by Lawrence Wright; and John Spong's Jesus for the Non-Religious (HarperAudio, 2007)—in that one I got to read like a preacher on a cable channel.
Name your favorite narrators.
I have stolen technique from some great ones: George Guidall, Robert Forster, Graeme Malcolm, Ray Lonnen, and Alexander Scourby. The first dozen books or so I read were my imitations of Mark Hammer, a stupendous actor. I've listened to his reading of Lawrence Block's A Walk Among the Tombstones (HarperAudio, 1992) perhaps six or seven times. Absolutely mesmerizing!
Which genre do you most prefer narrating?
Business books. I was a salesman in the paint and hardware industry for over 20 years in an earlier incarnation and am probably the only actor who feels that sales is not only a noble profession but also often more fun than acting.
How do you prepare for a reading?
By doing as much homework as possible. Sometimes I have a month to study the text and select character voices, look up pronunciations, chat with the author online or on the phone to get some coaching. With The Way of the World, [I only had] about three or four days to prepare. So the last 20 percent was a cold reading by yours truly. But by that time I had become comfortable with [Suskind's] style, his language, his humor.
What's something about the whole narrating process listeners might be surprised to learn?
That reading an audiobook is exhausting! At the end of a full day (seven hours of reading), I want to go home, take a hot shower, sip a few cold Bass Ales or a Jack Daniels on the rocks, and go to bed.
Do you ever listen to the books you've narrated?
Yes, I do, because I want to hear if my skills are growing…Lee Strasberg used to say that "it is the actor's job to illuminate the author's intentions." That has always both haunted and inspired me. Feeling well aligned with the author is a joyous feeling; dancing with him or her through the text is a delight.
