My interview with James Oliva about WTF Frequency
What originally got you interested in acting?
This may sound weird... but role playing games.
Alexander Danner, co-creator of Greater Boston, and I have know each other since we were 9 and used to play Cyberpunk 2020 RPG throughout high school.
Eventually we stopped playing for the purpose of role playing for the action and focused more on mundane life events. Like going to work or trying to maintain a relationship.
When we stopped playing I really missed it but soon realized that I could get the same feeling from acting in theater and such.
Playing that game taught me and prepared me a ton for the work it takes to get into a characters headspace.
What do you like and hate about being a VA?
I really love having to rely solely on my voice to paint what is happening in a scene.
I can't fallback on actor tricks such as gestures and facial expressions to fill in the gaps where my acting may be lacking.
It's that challenge that makes it fun. I also really love doing character voices. I love surprising people with the range I can conjure up.
Something that I hate... hmmm... I'd have to say I hate waiting.
What I mean by that is when you are a VA you send in a lot of auditions and a lot of time you receive zero feedback. Not even a "Hey, thanks! We got it!".
Then again no one is here to hold my hand and make sure my insecurities are cared for. That wouldn't be fair of me, so I take that stuff in stride.
What major challenges and problems did you face while getting in character?
There are actually a lot of challenges.
Most of us VAs are working from home with varying degrees of a home recording setup.
My setup is pretty good. I have a walk in closet that I loop in front of me a moving blanket between two shelves. Gives me that semi-pro sound but there are still issues with noisy neighbors, dogs, airplanes and the people you live with.
Environment is a big issue for us VAs. Also there are somedays you just ain't feeling it but you still have to dig it out from inside of you.
Usually because someone is waiting for you to send them the audio they need to finish their episode. Those days can be rough but you power through anyways.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to be a VA?
Take a class or attend a workshop.
Having a great voice isn't everything, you have to hone your acting skills as well.
You learn so much even in a short two month workshop.
How did you end up playing Michael Tate in Greater Boston ?
Sort of touched on this in a previous answer but Alexander and I are platonic soulmate/sibling/bffs and we have been all up in each others creative business for an incredibly long time.
We've always looked for projects to collaborate on and this finally became that thing!
He basically called me up one day to tell me I had been cast in is audio drama which resulted in me asking "What is an audio drama podcast?" and "Who am I playing?" because... you know... he hadn't exactly warned me or anything.
What are your favorite things about playing Michael?
I love love love Michael!
We are in a lot ways closely knit personality wise. We both can be really oblivious and naive. We both love hard and are fiercely loyal.
Michael doesn't care about how he outwardly appears to anyone else because he always knows his intentions... and his intentions are always good. <3
If you had the chance to play another character in Greater Boston, who would it be?
OoooOOOooo... Dang. Is it crazy to say Mallory? Because I want to say Mallory.
I hear you're starting your own AD, what inspired you to make your own?
I've been a writer longer than I've been an anything else.
I've always written stories and plays and screenplays. I wrote a horror screenplay early last year and felt there were some elements I could have used better so I borrowed from myself and started building a new story around that.
I took that and blended it with elements that intrigued me about audio drama storytelling and in some cases what I thought was lacking in audio drama storytelling.
I wanted to devise a story that challenged the audience but in a way where they get to grow with the show as it evolved.
I suppose the answer to this question could more simply put by saying I was inspired by the challenge of telling this particular story in this particular way.
You recently casted the VAs for your characters, what was the process like?
I truly did receive an amazing amount auditions so the decision making process was really rough.
I had an embarrassment of riches which was wonderful and horrible all at once.
That said I believe I walked away with an amazing cast. I can not wait to share the fruits of their labor.
How did you decide who was the perfect VA for each character?
Great question!
The first thing I did was build a casting sheet in Google Docs and would update it as each audition came in. So at any given moment I would have some picture of who I would like to see where. In some cases I had callbacks for certain characters but each main and supporting character had more than one possible actor attached.
Keep in mind I was very open to gender flipping most roles for the show. In fact we did gender flip one role from a man to a woman in Det. Joy. We just had way too many amazing women audition and had to find ways of getting them in there.
I whittled most of the cast list down myself but used Alexander as a tie breaker on ones that were tougher for me.
I should take a second and also point out that we are an international and multi-ethnic cast. There were no perimeters put in place that we couldn't accept a POC in any given role. It's something we are deeply proud of.
When do you plan to get this AD into the public ears?
We've created a short production schedule.
From script to casting it was two and a half months. From casting to rehearsal it was ten days. We feel pretty confident that we can get the show up by September 2017.
We will however be releasing a teaser trailer soon and that will be followed by two more full trailers over July and August. We're moving pretty fast. .
