While so much of what we do here at Babble-On is related to radio and television advertising, we’ve been having more and more fun of late working on projects that stroll a different neighborhood – storytelling – as in October, when we paired with Cygnus Storytelling to create a CD of stories for children (see the last part of the October Babble-Blog)
This time out, it was to record a wonderful book on tape called, The Labrador Pact – a tale penned by author Matt Haig. The tale, a Labrador’s eye view, covers the endless dilemmas that our hero, Prince, must face in managing the errant behaviors of his masters, the Hunter family. Prince takes this job seriously, struggling to adhere to a stringent code of ethics called, The Labrador Pact. This is no kid’s book – the themes are adult and explore even broader issues of resurrection, redemption and the powers of faith and love. Heavy? At times, yes, but there is an artful hand behind the pen and there’s plenty of humor to move things along.
And, hearing a story of this nature told to you by master storyteller and Guthrie actor Simon Jones is compelling – it was all we could do not to grab a hot chocolate, park our arses on the couch and gaze out the window as Simon knitted himself around each phrase – seamlessly shifting from character to character, narrator to wry observer.
Frankly, there was concern that during the course of two sessions – each requiring six hours in the booth, that Simon might present us with a Marie Osmond moment – requiring the waving of a ham on rye sandwich under his nose just to revive him. But, that was not to happen – the word, “tank” comes to mind – armored, and with a full complement of shells in the breach – he was truly inexhaustible and, mercifully, handled the long spells in “the terrarium” with a sense of humor.
If you’re interested in scoring your own copy of this wonderful book, produced by Paul Ruben Productions, it will be available through Highbridge Audio soon. Here’s a small sample of the fine work of Simon Jones….
Get the Flash Player to see this player.