Carol Monda is a formidable actress, voice-over artist, multi-award winning narrator,  teacher and coach. A partial bio is as follows: Off-Broadway: Manhattan Theatre Club, Perry Street Theatre, American Opera Projects’ Darkling: NYC premiere and tour to Germany and Poland
Off-Off Broadway: HB Studio, EST, The Committee, Emerging Artists Theatre (company member), Spotlight On Theatre (Best Actress Award)
Regional: Arena Stage, Kennedy Center, Ford’s Theatre, Roundhouse, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company (Helen Hayes Award Nomination, Morticians in Love)
Film: The Gentleman, Out of Season, Thou Shalt Not Mysogynate, After You Left
Voice-Over: Documentary narrator, commercial voice-over artist, and Audie Award-winning audiobook narrator for Recorded Books, Harper Audio, Audible.Com, Hachette Book Group, Books On Tape, listentogenius.com, Clipper Audio, Academic Merit, Edge Studio, HighBridge Audio, MetaBook, Redwood Audio, and Edge Studio.
Member: SAG-AFTRA/AEA.

Carol also teaches Acting, Audiobook Audition, Commercial, Documentary, Narration and Promos at Edge Studio in NYC, and is available for coaching.

Carol can be found on the web at : carolmondanyc.com

The above is a partial list of the talented Carol Monda’s achievements. Read on and you will discover that she’s a bit of a renaissance woman. I’m not sure where she gets the time, so frankly, I am starting to believe the rumors that she has a secret twin. And with that…

Talking with…Carol Monda         An Abbreviated Audio Interview  

About Audio Books:

AA/JP: How did you first get interested in the art of narration and the labor of audio books?

CM: In 5th grade, I was cast as the narrator in Oliver. I wanted to play Nancy, but my teacher was prescient. I loved it. In 1993, I had downtime between shows at Arena Stage in DC, and Grover Gardner suggested I “monitor” Flo Gibson, a Chicago radio gal from the 30s who was by then narrating for Books On Tape and others. It was fascinating and wonderful work. Then I proofed a number of Grover’s and others’ books, and eventually engineered at other studios. I made a demo for BOT and got my first narration gig in 1998.

AA/JP: Carol I know you record for many publishers, but I am personally aware of your close relationship with our friends at Recorded Books. It’s safe to say that you are truly part of the family of narrators there. How did you first become involved with their studios?

CM: I’d worked on stage with Kristina (Stina) Nielsen in DC, and when I came to New York a few years later, she’d moved here and told me about her work at Recorded Books. I auditioned for them and proofed some of the books. It was some years later that Norman Dietz was given my name, and he sent word to Claudia. She had me come in to read. It was one of the best days of my life. I got a book soon after. That was another of the best days ever…

AA/JP: What is your process for preparation before recording? Are you a meticulous researcher or is it more organic and personal?

CM: I’m fairly meticulous. I mark up the text in a few different ways having to do with structure and tone. I make a character list with a few adjectives and some general bio info. I try to re-read the sections of the book I’ll be recording the next day to become more immediately familiar, and to make any adjustments to the text mapping (marking) I’ve already done.

AA/JP: Consequently, you would handle the preparation as you would a stage or film script?

CM: Yes! Mainly by incorporating “beat changes”. I’ve since been taught to call them transitions, but they’re the same thing.

AA/JP: I’m sure you are aware that there is a slight “controversy” among narrators regarding the basics of narration. Some people claim they read cold without prepping. Others believe prep is most of the battle, and that once done, it frees up the creativity. I wonder if the take might depend on the performer and their connection to acting training. I find that many individuals, who have been through rigorous stage work, are robustly schooled into an intense prep mentality. What do you think about cold vs prepared narration?

CM: I think it’s wonderful to be in moment-to-moment discovery, and cold readings certainly offer that. But our larger job is to help the audience discover, and to do that, I think we need a full grasp of the world of the piece, its inhabitants, its metronome, its trajectory. It’s like telling any story of our own; we know what happened, but every time we tell that story to someone new, it changes slightly; it allows for a rediscovery and freshness – but has the underpinnings of that farther sight, that sense of knowing where it’s going.

AA/JP: And, while there are some wonderful narrators out there who are not actors per se, is narration acting, or is it ain’t?

CM: Oh, it be, it be! No, I really do think that at the very least, one needs imagination and compassion and insight. I’ve met a few great narrators who may not have had acting training, but they have those elements coursing through their blood, just as good actors do. Still, the learned, more immediate access to those things, the refinement of those traits – through training and working – allow for a sharper, deeper connection.  And, I’ll say the T word – technique helps to hone instinct and to more effectively convey the humanity, imagery and feel of a good story.

AA/JP: You’ve mentioned to me that you firmly believe in the art of storytelling. Moreover in practicing that art, it seems to my ear, that it instills your narrations with a special genuineness or authenticity. You’ve also been training as an actor in one way or another since you were seven years old and started taking classes. How has that enriched your inner life, and how has that informed your storytelling ability, and thus, your audio book work?

CM: Oh, Jo Anna. I want to take a weekend on Crete with you. First, thanks for associating me with genuineness or authenticity. These are like breathing to me – precious, vulnerable, and necessary. That doesn’t mean I practice them easily or even often, but I try. I strive to be real and in it.

Training as an actor has been a well-deep source of self-identity and purpose for me. It has informed my storytelling ability in many ways; by reading so many ‘stories’, by hearing and seeing so many shows with an attuned ear and heart, by listening to other characters on the stage, connecting with their stories as I do, and, of course, by telling and telling and being and telling some more my own story. One of the greatest aspects of audiobook narration is that now I get to tell all the stories within a piece of those who populate it.

AA/JP: As a narrator, you have many recordings under your belt. Is there one that stands out, and if so, why?

CM: WOW. Well, My first book ever was just fantastically written – Wait Til Next Year, by Doris Kearns Goodwin about baseball and growing up in NY in the 1950’s; my 3rd book ever, The Most Wanted, by Jaquelyn Mitchard, because it was one of the most tender and funny books I’d ever read, the Audie-award winners because I really knew with both of them that they were special, and two more recent series of Elizabeth Hand and Sara Gran books. But there’s also a YA series, The Seven Realms by Cinda Williams Chima, that kept me creatively challenged and took me away for several years over the course of its 5 books.

AA/JP: Is there an audio book that has been the most challenging, and why?

CM: I’m now reading The Last Cato, by Mathilde Ascensi. Within its 869 pages, it has about 550 words in 6 different languages including Ancient Greek and Coptic. We had 2 researchers on this, one just for the Greek, and I’m working with a 12-page single-spaced word list. It has sometimes taken 4 hours to get 50 minutes of recorded material. Interesting story, thank goodness. This has been by great bounds the most difficult book for me to date.

AA/JP: Wow. Sounds daunting! Do you think that there are some books, perish the thought (!) that just aren’t meant to be narrations?

CM: Ha! Sure! Beckett thought his radio plays shouldn’t be on the radio, let alone on stage. I don’t agree, and I digress. I prefer most of the tome-like classics be read in the good old-fashioned (and please, still-in-fashion) method of eyes-on-the-page.

AA/JP: You teach audio book technique and audio book coaching at Edge Studio here in NYC. Is that something you find enriching? Do you feel you are passing on the baton, so to speak?

CM: It’s very enriching, yes! I began teaching acting the summer after college graduation through Louise Manske, one of my acting teachers in the CUA BFA (Catholic University of America) department. That continued for many years and eventually expanded into voice classes. Coaching in audiobook narration and voice-overs is a great way to share what I’ve learned and to help guide and cultivate students’ talents, of course, but it also helps keep my finger on the pulse of the fundamentals and reminds me that no 2 voices, minds, nor skill sets are alike. I suppose it’s generative, too. I’d like to think that sharing what I know gives some people an ‘aha moment’ once in a while, and ahas keep that baton in the air.

AA/JP: What are you working on right now?

CM: Right now I’m reading the book I mentioned earlier, The Last Cato, and after that I’ll be doing a non-fiction on the breast cancer gene for Audible, and then 3 novellas for Recorded Books.

About Production

AA/JP: Recently you entered the legion of home studio narrators. Welcome to heaven, or hell, depending on how you look at it, and whom you talk with on a particular day! What prompted that, and how do you feel about the transition?

CM: It’s the wave of the now, and many publishers work only with home studio narrators. Also, it is a bit of heaven to walk out of my kitchen and into my “office”. The hell rears its head as I’m learning to deal with an array of recording issues. I’m happy with the new use for my closet and very excited about all the toys that make up a booth.

AA/JP: There are many options out there for the home studio narrator, from Whisper Booths and Studio Bricks, to built-ins, and even, as in your case, the bedroom closet. Can you tell us a little about the brick and mortar of your studio set-up, including your decision on software for recording?

CM: My bedroom closet is fully lined with Auralex Foam that a friend glued to Luann boards and attached to the walls, door and ceiling. Another friend made custom shelving including a beautifully stained wooden desktop with arm rests. Against my natural aversion for wearing or buying fur products, I got a sheepskin rug on eBay for noise reduction. And it’s so soft! The only tricky part is that one of my cats is very interested in it as well.

I decided to go with ProTools, as it’s still the industry standard, and I use it in my coaching and auditioning for my agency. I have an Apogee Duet, which I was convinced to buy over an M-Box, as it seemingly does more in a cleaner way, and interfaces with apple products nicely. The sweetest purchase was a tricked out MacAir, although its fan does make noise occasionally, which I’d been told would not happen.

A great musician at Guitar Center educated me on the value of really good cables, so I have a wonderful Monster XLR mic cable. She also helped me choose a power conditioner for extra electrical protection. And, I now have a Shure SM7B. Eddie Vedder and other cool folk use it. ;~)

AA/JP: What were the challenges to your home studio set-up? And did you/have you had any extra problems in counter-acting the noise indigenous to recording in NYC? For instance, I know one narrator who had portable soundproofing panels made for his windows to cut off traffic noise. Hopefully, you didn’t encounter anything that extreme.

CM: The biggest challenge was the cost of the equipment, but I was extremely fortunate to have a Foley pro who helped me attach those foam panels to the closet walls and another to build those shelves. I did have to tweak the settings several times to reduce the noise floor. I’m lucky to live in a corner unit facing a brick wall, so the fire company on my block and the sirens are usually the only “street noise” I must contend with. I do have a panel for the window, but I haven’t had to use it!

AA/JP: How deeply do you see yourself getting acquainted with the intricacies of your recording software? For instance, I am of the opinion that I should definitely know my way around my software (ProTools) but I draw the line at mastering. It’s hard enough to focus, record, and enjoy a sense of art, while keeping the levels, etc. in line. I leave the professional end to the professionals, and feel that’s where it squarely belongs. What are your feelings on the subject?

CM: I, too, feel it would be ideal and even fair to be able to do a continuous record inclusive of mistakes, and allow professional editors to do the full mastering. But the companies for which I work ask for a fairly clean edit. It’s not full mastering, but it’s very close. I’ve been working with ProTools as a coach at Edge Studio for years, so I have the advantage of a smaller learning curve. But I’m learning more every day, and I still have a way to go before I feel I’m availing myself of all the features the software allows. I feel it’s necessary to “know it all”.

AA/JP: Having recorded in professional studios with a director and/or engineer, how do you feel it compares to using your own studio?

CM: I love recording in studios. It allows me to focus on the work instead of the editing. I also find it’s extremely important to have a second pair of ears, and I love everyone I’ve met who sits behind the glass. On the other hand, it’s nice to get out of bed and start my work, take breaks whenever I like, and edit more selectively.

AA/JP: Do you think that the era of home studio recording has had an effect, positive or negative, on the modern audiobook release? Is it better to not self-direct in terms of performance?

CM: If every narrator could have the direction of a Paul Ruben and the freedom of a real-time engineer, I feel the product would be undoubtedly and immeasurably better. The economic demands of this industry have created a largely lowered recording quality, and I lament the change. While there are narrators out there who can wear both hats beautifully, I hear a lot more tin and whistle than I used to.

About You:

AA/JP: If I remember correctly, because my ego was sorely bruised when I read the personal history bio I asked you to send me, you have a background in Clinical Psychiatric Social Work, Drama Therapy, and international travel, among other things! Apparently I have been living in a vacuum. You, not so much. Would you care to elaborate?

Clinical Psychiatric Social Work—At one point you were working on an MSW in Clinical Psychiatric Social work at Virginia Commonwealth University and you did an internship at Walter Reed Medical Center. What can you tell us about that experience; what was the nature of your work there?

CM: It was right before The Gulf War’s Operation Desert Storm, and I was working on the psych ward. That was my area of study and was deeply fascinating to me. Then there’d been a scud missile attack on some of our Army soldiers in Kuwait, and we were suddenly moving patients from one ward into another to make room for this influx of soldiers, – the most riveting and disturbing being a former high school track star who got engaged just before he shipped off at age 19. He lost his legs in a mine explosion soon after. It should be a book, the story of this young man’s coping and not coping with losing his limbs, his fiancée after some months, and his entire life as he’d known it.

I also worked on the cancer and AIDS wards. Each set of challenges for the patients in all of these units/wards/wings was indescribably unique relative to diagnosis, prognosis, and personality. It was indeed life-changing – obviously for every patient in that hospital, but also for every staff member, and certainly for me. I learned how to cope differently with suffering, and I got a serious dose of my own limitations in coping. It was like a haze of grey for months on end inside and out of that internship. But I did love the work. It felt important and real, and I was very motivated to try to help or make a tiny difference even in a moment of these patients’ lives.

True caretakers are saints. They humble and awe me.

AA/JP: Drama Therapy—-something that in hindsight, I would have exchanged or at least merged my Drama/Lit degree with and for: If I remember correctly you worked with people who had drug addictions. Can you give us a brief idea of what is incorporated in Drama Therapy, and did you find it was helpful to the patients involved?

CM: The drama therapy we did was very ‘acting class-y’, but, of course, the characters were the actual residents, and the ‘plays’ were their real lives. We did ‘live sculptures’ a resident molded by another resident based on how that ‘sculptor’ saw him/herself and others; pillow scenes with a pretend parent or child or friend or enemy in which the pillow was used as protection and/or an object of frustration; we drew and acted out images and freeze-frames of their lives before using, in the course of using, hitting bottom, and being in recovery.  And other stuff…

AA/JP: International travel—As I found the list boggling, would you give us a run down? And why did you pick those specific locations, and what has this rampant gypsy trekking taught you? Have you always been a nomad at heart?

CM: I’ve been to 20 countries, but each of my siblings has been to about 40, so I’m a novice in my family. I loved my first trip abroad to London and Paris (I’d been to Canada before that, but Europe felt more truly foreign). How freeing and exciting and new and full!

Then, as I was able to choose where I could go and given gifts of travel, it became important to see the really different-from-us parts of the globe, so India, Turkey, and Thailand have been extremely special to me.

But my deepest love is of the motherland of Italy. I’ve been a few times to many of its cities, and I’ve been enthralled with every step. As you know (I think), I moved 10 times by the time I was 12, so I suppose I turned what seemed then like upheaval and transferred it to an interest in other places, people, things, and ways of living. I also think it helps my acting, just as psychiatric work did, because I have met a lot of very unique and novel ‘characters’ that I would not otherwise have been exposed to (sorry for the dangling preposition).

AA/JP: Lastly, I wonder if you can elaborate on your union work with AFTRA, now SAG-AFTRA. I know you have been on Executive Committees and Boards as well as Steering Committees, both presently and in the past. How did you get involved with the inner workings of the unions, and how important do you feel membership is to each narrator out there?

CM: Fellow audio book narrator, actor and mentor, Richard Ferrone, suggested I run for delegate about 5 years ago, and the rest took off from there. There are others who championed me, Ed Fry and Holter Graham (another narrator, actor and mentor), especially, and I am eternally grateful for their counsel, support and brotherhood. It is really true that this union holds itself as an honored and honorable collection of sisters and brothers working together for a cause.

I feel it is vital for artists of all media to join this union, but the American union audiobook narrator has been uniquely gifted with a stunning staff of negotiators and organizers. Starting with and staying at about 3 contracted audiobook publishing companies for nearly 30 years, we now have over 30 contracts developed over 10 years, and most of them have been formed within the last 5 years. And the number is rising even today. Literally. I’m on the National Audiobook Steering Committee and 4 other SAG-AFTRA committees. The NASC (I made that up) meets 10x more often, and is always, always working on some aspect of protecting and enhancing our wages and working conditions.

Just for the Hell of it:

What is in your refrigerator right now?
CM: Ok, you caught me; 2 cans of seltzer, a dozen organic eggs, a jar of artichoke tapenade, Dijon mustard, a ¼ pound of alpine swiss, and a quart of lowfat milk. But I really like Kale!

If an audiobook falls onto a download site, and nobody downloads it, was it actually ever recorded?
CM: You better believe it.

JP/AA: I’d like to thank Carol for joining us here at Abbreviated Audio.  Our interview was, for me, a wonderful excursion into the world of Monda, and I mean that with the greatest affection. This interview is only a small glimpse into not only a wonderful actor sharing her craft, but a truly warm and giving woman that it is my pleasure to know.  If you haven’t heard her narrations you really should make that acquaintance, and if you are looking for an astute teacher with a particular gift for insight, I suggest you follow the links above.