Let the Old Wives Tell It: Ep 1 - Red Riding Hood
Project Overview
Hi guys! I've been working on a fairy tale podcast - it's 1 part discussion/investigation into the stories and 1 part audio drama - kind of like Miser’s Dark Winter was a mix of discussion and storytelling, but more concise. The first episode is about Little Red Riding Hood. I'll be using the same voices for Red, Granny, and the Wolf in each of the versions I'll be referencing during the discussion portion as well as the retelling I've created. I also have roles for Narrator and Mother.
All voice types are encouraged to apply. All genders are encouraged to audition for any role.
This is about fairy tales, but these stories aren’t really for kids. It can get gory, scary… So just keep that in mind.
Deadline: March 25 at 11:59pm PST. (or are we in PDT? Whatever, you get it - California time) If you need a tiny bit more time, just let me know.
Upload here or send files to [redacted] - mp3s only - please make sure it's just the file so I can listen without downloading - 44100hz 192 kbps. Raw audio please.
Name your file: Character_YourName.mp3
If submitting for more than one part, please don't zip them - just upload the mp3s. If for some reason files are too big, you can send via google drive or dropbox. 2 takes minimum, 5 takes max.
You will have 2 weeks to record lines once cast. This schedule is flexible if you communicate.
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask. This is an unpaid labor of love. Play, and have fun.
(PS that art isn't for this podcast. Still in production on design.)
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Red has a huge narrative bit of like 10 pages in addition to her lines in the old stories. I am debating on using myself, but I'd rather include another voice besides my own because I get tired of editing my own voice. I'd like someone able to switch between sounding like a young teenager and a wiser, older sound (doesn't have to be ancient - mid-twenties is fine). Your teenage voice does not have to be a believable teenage voice, I just want it to be an obviously younger, more innocent sound. If you are uncomfortable with gore, maybe don't audition because she does describe stabbing her way out of the wolf.
(trying to sneak away from the wolf, this is the youngest Red)
I have to go to the privy. I don't have to go little, I have to go big.
(10-14 years old)
Grandmother! What big teeth you have got!
(older - she doesn’t die, but this is the darkest part of the story and she is in fact in the belly of the wolf)
There are certain moments that define who we are... that shape us... that destroy us. They make us in other ways.
I realized the wolf had used me. Looking back on our conversations, I felt so stupid for telling him so much. He had seemed so nice, so affable, so considerate.
Inside his belly, I felt things I didn’t want to think about. I especially didn’t want to think what he’d done with Grandmother. I considered that perhaps if I’d gone with the wolf through his shortcut he may have had his fill of just me, and left Grandmother alone.
It seemed a naive consideration in light of his apparent gluttony. I couldn’t think of what he’d done to her, of how he might have used her before eating her too.
I hated myself for my naivete. I had destroyed us both.
Info: The wolf is all changing tactics. He is smooth, he is winsome, he is scary, he is helpful. You will be doing the part of the wolf in 3-4 variations of the story, so show me as much range as you can.
(as granny)
You must be so tired from your long journey. Do have some of the meat and wine on the table, my dear.
(friendly)
I know a shortcut you could take. I’d be happy to show you the way, it would make up for the time we lost.
(to himself)
Now that sweet young thing is a tasty bite for me. She will taste even better than the old woman. You must be sly, and you can catch them both.
The better to eat you with, my dear!
Info: I may use the same actor for Granny as I do for Mother. She only appears in my retelling - she barely speaks in the old stories. She is kind and open-hearted in mine.
I forgive you for it, because I would give you anything you asked for. But not asking was wrong. And there are things some men would take from you without asking, things neither of us would want to lose and could never get back if they did. Things that would be irretrievable if lost.
(playful with a hint of strictness)
We do not grow up all at once, my sweet, so you must promise me you will do exactly as I instruct. You still stray when we walk together, and I would not have you get lost when I cannot guide you back.
(hearing her daughter has lied to her for the first time)
You did all that without me noticing? I just thought you were getting bigger...
She varies between innocent and cunning, just as Red does. I'd like an older voice, but I'm okay if it's a little cartoony. I may use the same actor for Mother as I do for Granny.
(scheming to kill the wolf) Fetch a bucket, Little Red Cap. Yesterday I cooked some sausage. Carry the water that I boiled them with to the trough.
(weak and feeble) Hello? Oh, do come in my dear.
Tell the story how YOU would tell it around a campfire or to a child, in your natural voice. I don't want a somber audiobook narration - I want to be told a story. Your words don't need to be verbatim - if the phrasing is awkward, say it how you would say it.
There lived a girl in a village who was sent to her grandmother’s house by her mother to deliver a basket of goodies. As she walked through the forest, she met a wolf.
The young girl did not know the nature of wolves, and so told him she was off to her grandmother’s house. They bid each other adieu and the girl continued down the path and on her way. The wolf, knowing the woods well, sped off with haste to find grandmother’s house first.
And so the girl climbed into bed with the wolf. So close she got, she was able to see that it was not her grandmother, and was in fact the wolf. She became frightened and knew she must get away.
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