COMPLETE[PLAY]Alice Sit-by-the-Fire by Barrie - thw

[ToddHW]

Alice Sit-by-the-Fire, by J. M. Barrie (1860 - 1937)

"The ever-delightful classic ... produced by Charles Frohman at the Criterion Theatre, New York, on Christmas day, 1905, and which has always been a triumphant play for the talents of the greatest ladies of the theatre, from Ethel Barrymore down to Helen Hays. Alice is the central figure who returns from India to England with her husband, and has the problem of readapting herself to the home and children she had left behind." (Author)
(Summary by Author)

This project is complete. Audio files can be found on out Librivox catalog page at https://librivox.org/alice-sit-by-the-fire-by-j-m-barrie/


I was hooked by a play that labeled itself as "The ever-delightful classic". Let's see if that is true. (I mean, he did do Peter Pan, so maybe it IS true.)

Gender neutral.

Kitty will be the Nurse, but as your DPL she will have to momentarily put aside her nursing duties for the family in the play to cast her stern ears upon your readings; probably checking your pulse and temperature as well, I am sure. Do not disappoint her - she has a bottle of castor oil and knows how to use it!


Source text (please read only from this text!): https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/6965
However, the first half of the first act is written as text in the Gutenberg source file, so I have formatted it as a normal play here: https://librivox.org/uploads/toddhw/Alice_Act_1_Script.zip - switch to the Gutenberg file at the end of this.

Deadline: Please submit your recording within 2 months of placing your claim. If you cannot complete the recording within this time, please post in the thread to relinquish your claim or to ask the BC for an extension. If your recording is not completed by the deadline, your claim may be reassigned at the BC's discretion.

Claiming roles: Look in the Magic Window below for the list of available roles. Post a reply in this thread asking for the role you would like to record.
Please note: All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. When you submit your recording, you will be placing your recording in the public domain as well.

New to recording? Please see our Newbie Guide to Recording for further instructions. A quick guide to our required technical settings can be found here. When you post your file, please tell the BC what name you would like to use in our catalog.

Prooflistening level: Standard
Prospective PLs, please see the Guide for Proof-listeners.

Please don't download or listen to files belonging to projects in process unless you are the BC or PL. Our servers are not set up to handle the greater volume of traffic. Please wait until the project has been completed. Thanks!

Magic Window:

BC Admin
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This paragraph is temporary and will be replaced by the MC with the list of sections and reader (Magic Window) once this project is in the admin system.

• Project Code: RfhwWE3H
• Link to author on Wikipedia (if available): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._M._Barrie (J. M. Barrie)
• Link to title on Wikipedia (if available):
• Number of sections (files) this project will have: 25
• Does the project have an introduction or preface: No
• Original publication date (if known): 1905
• If you are a new volunteer, how would you like your name (or pseudonym) credited in the catalog?
• Do you have a URL you would like associated with your name?:

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Genres for the project: Plays/Drama

Keywords that describe the book: return from india, readapting

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LibriVox recording settings: mono (1 channel), 44100 Hz sample rate, 128 kbps constant bit rate MP3. See the Tech Specs

For individual roles:
Submit one file per act. At the beginning of the first file, say:

"Character, read by your name."

Leave 3-5 seconds of space between your lines (room noise, not generated silence).

For narration/stage directions:
Leave 0.5 to 1 second of silence at the beginning.

Say:

"Act # of Alice Sit-by-the-Fire, by J. M. Barrie. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit librivox.org."

At the end of each file say:

"End of Act #."

At the end of the last act, add:

"End of Alice Sit-by-the-Fire, by J. M. Barrie."

Leave 5 seconds of silence at the end.

Filename:
For individual roles: alicesitbythefire_role_#.mp3 where # is the act number. (e.g. alicesitbythefire_romeo_1.mp3)
For final files: alicesitbythefire_#_barrie_128kb.mp3 where # is the act number. (e.g. alicesitbythefire_1_barrie_128kb.mp3)

Upload to the LibriVox Uploader: https://librivox.org/login/uploader

(If you have trouble reading the image above, please contact an admin)

MC to select: toddhw

Copy and paste the file link generated by the uploader into a new post in this thread along with the file duration (mm:ss). Watch this thread for prooflistening notes.

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask! Just post in this thread.

[jennlea]

May I claim Amy?

[ToddHW]

Thank you.

To all: by request, I am now putting claim expiration dates in the MW instead of the date claimed.

Thanks, Todd

[Kitty]

putting this on my DPL list and claiming Alice. I see Jenn is my daughter (and imagined rival) again

Sonia

[gracebird]

Could I claim Ginevra?

[ToddHW]

Thank you and Welcome to Librivox. Glad that you have already completed the One Minute Test so we know your equipment is all set up properly (once the speaker selection issue gets handled). Did you also get the addiction warning?

Most of how things work is the same everywhere at Librivox, but there are a few special things about dramas. Here is a short summary for the important special rules in drama:

1) you don't have to read an intro or outro disclaimer, this will be done by the narrator. Instead, record your voice credit at the beginning of the file using the words in the MW, which for your role should be something like: "Ginevra Dunbar, read by XXXX" (whatever you use for your reader name - it does not have to be the same as your forum name)

2) then browse through the text and record all the lines you have to speak. Also include any "All" lines while your character is on stage. For a big role it may be good to read the entire play to get into character, but at least it would be good to read a bit around your lines, see what the others are saying, so you can better "react" to them. Just be as expressive (according to the character) as you can in your role.

3) if there are pointers in the text qualifying your voice, like [laughs] or [whines], an added bonus would be that you act those out in your reading, if possible, to make it all more interesting.

4) You prepare and upload a separate file for each Act that your character is in. (Note - the section numbers change as I move stuff around on the MW, so remember character name, not section numbers.) Your file will be proof-listened, and you may receive some notes on corrections and their time locations in your file. These will be posted in the forum and show in the Magic Window marked as "See PL Notes" - please cut corrections into your file to update it (don't re-record the entire thing! that makes more work for everyone and risks new errors) and upload a new file (SAME NAME) in a reasonable time - like before your voice and equipment setup change and everything sounds different!

5) and most importantly: please leave enough space between each of your speeches, preferably 4-5 seconds or more. Even when you have the stage directions in the middle of your speech (for example: [kisses her hand]), also leave 4-5 seconds of pause there, because our editor (me) later on has to copy all your parts and paste them into his (my) master file and it's helpful if he (me) has enough space to fiddle with

That's it, I think. Just have fun acting out. And post any questions here.

Thanks, Todd

[adrianstephens]

May I play Steve Rollo?
Thanks,
Adrian

[ToddHW]

Thank you.

Todd

[adrianstephens]

Thank you.

Todd

Here you are:
https://librivox.org/uploads/toddhw/alicesitbythefire_steverollo_1.mp3 2:58
https://librivox.org/uploads/toddhw/alicesitbythefire_steverollo_2.mp3 12:30
https://librivox.org/uploads/toddhw/alicesitbythefire_steverollo_3.mp3 6:24

I found my character strangely spineless - allowing himself to be pushed around by everybody else - and clueless.

I'm curious Todd about the statement I've read many times: "Leave 3-5 seconds of space between your lines (room noise, not generated silence)."
Why do you prefer noise to silence? The reason I ask is that my normal processing results in an effectively silent background. Is this causing you
a problem?

Regards,
Adrian

[ToddHW]

Thank you. I am sure that I am one of the pushers.

The stage directions file becomes the basis of the completed act, and it will likely have some noise in the background. I try to cut speaking portions of character files very close when grabbing them in my cut and paste so as to not have jumps in the final file from stage direction background to their background before the character words start; it might be worse to jump from stage direction background down to true silence up to speaking down to true silence then to stage direction background again.

Thanks, Todd

[Bookworm360]

I'll claim Fanny the maid if that's all right.

[adrianstephens]

Thank you. I am sure that I am one of the pushers.

The stage directions file becomes the basis of the completed act, and it will likely have some noise in the background. I try to cut speaking portions of character files very close when grabbing them in my cut and paste so as to not have jumps in the final file from stage direction background to their background before the character words start; it might be worse to jump from stage direction background down to true silence up to speaking down to true silence then to stage direction background again.

Thanks, Todd

Ah, thanks for letting me know. I've recognized (and heard) the issue with differing backgrounds.

For what it's worth, to my (not very good, thanks to tinnitus) ear, the change in the recorded acoustic (echo vs dry) is equally jarring.
And, I don't see any way we can reasonably address that one.

Regards,
Adrian

[ToddHW]

I'll claim Fanny the maid if that's all right.

Thank you.

Todd

[gracebird]

Here is Ginevra for Act 1:
https://librivox.org/uploads/toddhw/alicesitbythefire_ginevra_1.mp3 (6:11)

[ToddHW]

I had to change the text link to Gutenberg in the first posting. Hopefully no differences as the files already submitted will have to be PL'd against that text now.

Thanks, Todd