AUDIOBOOK

In August, 2021, Scott decided it was the right time to make good on a goal he had for a number of years. He traveled to the storied Cybersound Studios on Newbury Street in Boston, Massachusetts to record the narration for his Young Adult (YA) novel, Isosceles. The process was three days long, but only the beginning. While his character was the story’s protagonist looking back on his life from the age of 6-20, he knew he didn’t just want his voice to tell the tale. Inside the pages, there were approximately 50 speaking parts, and Scott was determined to cast them all.

First, he approached three people he knew from previous collaborations about playing roles. The first was the versatile improviser and former stand up comic, Mike Cox to play the main character’s father, “Pop”. Cox began an online pun fun extravaganza to help people cope during the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, in which the two men constantly swap host and participant roles on a weekly basis. The second individual contacted was Judy Jerome, the star of Scott’s first film, “Trust Fall” whom had in the years since that project gone on to do numerous films and theatrical productions in New York City where she lived and would play the role of Wanda McIntyre, Sean’s mother remotely.

The third and final performer that Scott talked to was David d’Arville, a musical theater veteran whom played a enigmatic character who was possessed by a ghost and spoke in three accents in “Polter-Heist”, the play Scott directed and would portray Bill, the tough but vulnerable father of Madeline Edwards.

Once these three roles were cast, Scott placed an ad on social media to reach members of the community for ImprovBoston and Perry Geyer, the generous and supportive Cybersound owner would also talk to people he knew to see if they would like to audition for a part. Almost immediately, resumes and reels came in to flood the inbox designated for applicants. Auditions were held on Zoom with participants sent sides on the day of, typically when they “came in” for a reading.

Before long, the roles started to become filled with people with varying levels of voiceover experience but what they all had in common was a goal to get forth the moments on the pages and bring their characters out of the imagination of Scott and into the ears of listeners. Whether an individual had one line or hundreds, they wanted the same thing, to be present, to give the storytelling an earnestness. When they recoded their lines in the studio, or in their homes, everyone would support one another.

This was especially crucial where two of the main characters, Sean and Trey were each  played by a woman, Susie Frisch for Sean and Clairees Luree for Trey from the ages of 6-12, then from 16 on by Joseph Szafarowicz as Sean and Nate Haskell as Trey. Because both roles were embodied by two performers each, they would have conversations with their counterparts moderated by Scott.

Equally as impressive as the feat of them matching their performances with their younger/older selves, the highly-skilled Jess Cashin played Madeline Edwards from 6-20, and while she would alter her voice depending on how old the character was in a given scene she would imbue certain character ticks so the reader would always know it was the same person being portrayed.

Mai Delapa was a client at Cybersound recording ADR (Automated Dialogue Replacement) for an episode of “Creepshow”, a Shudder streaming series was told about Isosceles by Perry. She auditioned and got the role of Mrs. Grace Goodsby, the sweet, but strong mother of the troubled Trey. Mai, who once played an uncredited role as a Jedi in “Star Wars: Episode II: Attack of the Clones” had the Force strong within her as she masterfully recorded all of her lines in various parts of the book in just about an hour.

Kayleigh Kane, an actress of the stage and screen, who also co-owns a theater company, teaches improv, and wears multiple other hats was the voices of four separate characters in the piece. Newcomer Jonathan Manheim plays five roles masterfully and many on hand in the studio were surprised it was his first project. Many other performers would play double duty on the mic. Some, would do dual roles, behind the scenes as editors or interns would also go on the mic to say a line or two. One major role in the production was Hardy Green, who is unpredictable and more complex than meets the eye. He was played by Sound Engineer/Co-Producer, Mike Midura.

There are so many other voices that this page could not possibly tell you backgrounds on all of them. However, we have compiled a list of all of the cast and crew so far, because Scott believes very firmly that this project is not his, for everyone who worked on it in the studio or recorded their lines remotely in New York City, Richmond, Virginia, or LaPorte, Indiana, this project is all of theirs.

This camaraderie was never more evident as it was on Friday, May 13, 2022 when the last touches were put into place on the audiobook project. Mike and Scott were in Studio A at Cybersound. Joining them in the room were a few notable collaborators; Perry Geyer, Ryan S. Adams, Clayton Rogers, and Michael Cotton. They offered support and feedback as they constantly did throughout the process whenever they were in the studio.

All totaled, there were 44 people who lent various talents on the mic playing 78 different roles including a decent number who performed in at least one behind the scenes position. The total runtime is approximately 6 hours and 45 minutes, within minutes of Perry’s original educated guess based on his deep knowledge of the business of recording and only the novel’s word count to go on.

To learn more about the production, Mike and Scott created two featurettes down below. You can also see many pictures of the process and the expanse of the enormous cast and crew performing their roles in the stellar surroundings of Cybersound, or in their home studios. And, please take a few moments to see all the names of the individuals in the aforementioned cast and crew list.

The story started with Scott, and it was his directing that guided the story. But, it came to life with all of those who worked alongside him. In an isosceles triangle, at least two sides are equal with one side coming up short. However, in Isosceles the audiobook, all were equally important, and Scott never wanted anyone to feel they were coming up short.

This behind the scenes featurette is an informal conversation between Engineer/Co-Producer Mike Midura and Scott R. Caseley, Writer/Co-Producer/Director. It covers both the engineer and director’s unique points-of-view about the steps taken to record performers playing their parts in-studio or remotely.

Engineer/Co-Producer Mike Midura and Writer/Co-Producer/Director Scott R. Caseley discuss the process by which music is added to the audiobook production of Isosceles. They cover the technical and creative process of building an organic soundtrack featuring songs in various genres such as techno, country, pop, heavy metal, elevator music and more. Each track has the same goal to complement the forty-four voice actors’ performances and adding layers to descriptions of tone, theme, plot points, or in a few key places, the locations. It’s all about serving the story, and to not overwhelm it, in focused heightened reality just as the performers were directed to do, either in-studio, or remotely when they portrayed the countless speaking roles populating the world of the novel.

Crew

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