THE CHOKER
Bridget Bordeaux for Female Narrator (American) (plus additional voices)
THE CHOKER
Project overview
THE CHOKER is a 90s teen gothic campfire tale from the SPARTANS! anthology: one narrator at the fire, slipping between confession, fairy tale, and a whole cast of Maplewood-Sparta kids. Think "Are You Afraid of the Dark?" meets "My So-Called Life" with a supernatural twist, told by a woman who was there.
This is episode 5 of the SPARTANS! audio-fiction podcast. Listen to previous episodes to get a sense of the style of performance we tend to choose.
Format
Single-episode audio drama. One performer reads ALL narration and voices ALL characters.
Setting: Maplewood-Sparta (somewhere in suburban America with seasons. Loosely based on Upstate NY but no regional accents of any kind required).
Date: Autumn1993 - Spring1996
Tone: 90s teen gothic
For THE CHOKER, we’re seeking a single female actor to voice the narrator (GABRIELLA) and also side characters ETHAN, JENNY, LAURA, COURTNEY, ALISON, and a few other one-off character lines.
Some performance notes:
These are teens, but I find it's best to use young adult voices for these characters, not make them sound too young, cartoonish, or high-pitched.
Less is more. Warmer is better than colder. Nuance and naturalness are king and queen.
These are not separate roles—just a guide to the range we’d like the narrator to be able to inhabit.
GABRIELLA (the Princess and the Choker Girl)
A kind, polished, popular "princess" with a sensitive interior who begins to split into two separate personalities after a trauma: Princess and Choker Girl.
- Teen Gabriella (princess): polite, composed, steady, smooth register
- Teen Gabriella (choker girl) gets sharper and darker as the choker/trauma work on her.
- Older Gabriella: lower, steadier, almost like she’s telling a ghost story to people she cares about. Occasional cracks when she touches real grief.
- Princess/Fairy-tale voice
Still Gabriella, but slightly heightened—like she’s telling herself the story to survive it.
- Gentle storybook cadence, without going Disney.
JENNY – queen bee
Cutting, sharper voice; quick, precise consonants.
Snark is effortless; no need to “cackle”—just confident, cutting.
Rare, tiny moments where you can hear the insecurity under the control.
Ethan – secret boyfriend
Warm, slightly low, relaxed; doesn’t need to be super deep, but lower register than the girls.
Speaks like someone who lives inside music: unhurried, sincere.
The Girls (Alison, Courtney, Laura, Dana)
Alison: fun, slightly performative; goes brittle when defensive
Courtney: brighter, anxious; “nice girl” energy, shakier when hurt.
Laura: smart, clipped; lower register, a little more grounded and annoyed than scared.
Background Characters (one-liners)
Dana: softer, defensive crushy/hopeful popular girl
Wendy: low register, dry, no nonsense, 80s metal chick vibes
Lunch Lady: one barked line, world-weary amusement.
Noah: sincere, a little shaky, freshman energy
- Storybook
- campfire
- warm
- female young adult
- Sad
- smooth
- female adult
- gothic
NARRATOR (GABRIELLA) (an adult looking back, wry, sad, but warm): Once upon a time in the 90s, there was a girl who loved a boy. She didn’t want to love him. It was social suicide. But she did.
NARRATOR (GABRIELLA) (existential horror but keep it understated. She is seeing something in the photo that can't possibly be there): But there she was. In the photo. The other one. Feral, mascara still smeared. Still in velvet, the black band at her throat.
ETHAN (in response to the question "We're so different, how can this work?" Spoken warmly but plainly): Because you belong to me, and I belong to you.
