Over the last two weeks I’ve been listening to voice
auditions for Fangbone!
When writing the books, I always had a clear impression of
what Bill would sound like, mainly because I spend a lot of time with
kids. But I never got a grip on
Fangbone. I knew what he would say in
any given situation, but I could never zero in on exactly how he sounds.
I’ve heard many different interpretations of Bill and of
Fangbone himself. We’ve also been
hearing readings for Drool, Bill’s Mom, Principal Bruce and the teacher Ms.
Gillian. It’s very hard to put a voice to an image, much harder than I thought.
Some are too cartoony, and some are too straight. Some try to make every word funny, and some
are a bit to restrained. The truth is,
we haven’t heard anyone who is “bad,” just not “right.” The talent is there; it’s just a matter of
finding the right voice, and the right personality to carry the character. At this point we have some strong contenders,
and I am getting to hear some longer audition recordings.
While we did listen to a few children, we’ve decided to go
with adults, mainly because of the comedy in the show. We are also hoping to use a bit of improv,
especially for the person who will eventually be doing Bill.
