Turning the page: Tulsa man finds work in living room after years of travel | Whatareyou | tulsaworld.com

Turning the page: Tulsa man finds work in living room after years of travel | Whatareyou | tulsaworld.com

Tulsa voice artist and audiobook narrator W. B. Ward talks about his craft:

"Ward said he never listened to an audiobook before taking the plunge into his current profession. He said it's recommended that people who voice books listen to others to see how they handle the job.

"'I don't like doing that, and I almost refuse to do that,' he said. 'Instead, I listen to a lot of real old-time radio -- the old Dragnet and the old Blondie. Father Knows Best is my favorite because these guys were actual masters at telling a story through vocals only and making it carry over, and they had to do this on a live basis seven days a week in some cases. So I consider these guys to be absolute masters and, all of us, we are just kindergartners playing in the sandbox right now.'

"Ward enjoys the old radio shows, and he said he uses them as 'sleeping pills.'

"'I used to watch TV to go to bed,' he said. 'But when you are listening to an old radio show, it doesn't matter which way you sleep. If you are watching TV, you had to lay a certain way to do it. With a radio program, it doesn't matter what position you are in or what room you are in. I love it.'"

(Good points. I used to use C-SPAN as a "sleeping pill" when traveling, but I found that light from a TV screen in a dark room would interfere with falling asleep. Also, old-time radio -- "Hancock's Half Hour" is my current favorite -- tends to have a more subdued dynamic range, where the brighter sound of contemporary radio -- car dealership ads, for example -- can rouse you from your slumber.)