Rachel Jacobs: Audiobook Narrator
Rachel Jacobs: Audiobook Narrator
Audiobook Narrator for The Last Train to Key West by Chanel Cleeton
Rachel Jacobs is a Los Angeles-based narrator and actor, originally from San Francisco. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Theater from Oberlin College and studied with the National Theater Institute, the St. Petersburg Theater Arts Academy, Shakespeare and Company, and the American Conservatory Theater. She has performed on stages in the Bay Area, New York, and Los Angeles and toured in Hong Kong, China, and along the west coast of the United States. In the course of her stage acting career Rachel has performed in productions such as In the Next Room (Mrs. Givings), Charlotte’s Web (Charlotte), Beauty and the Beast (Belle), and Hairspray! (Penny Pingleton). Rachel fell in love with audiobooks at a young age, and is now delighted to focus professionally on her work as a narrator. She has received multiple Earphones and Parent’s Choice Awards.
Rachel Jacobs: Audiobook Narrator
How did you prepare to narrate The Last Train to Key West?
When I prepare for a narration project, I always start by reading the book, paying close attention to setting, tone, and characters. It’s important to note not just simple things like accents, but also vocal mannerisms or peculiarities that have to be included in my performance to do justice to the author’s words. I actually prepare similar to the way I would for a play. I note how a character describes themselves and what other people say about them, and I try to reconcile the two while keeping in any explicit vocal clues the text provides. I also mark words in the text that are unfamiliar, so I can figure out pronunciations (and yes, sometimes definitions). Ultimately, I want to be relaxed and comfortable so I can do my best job telling the story while I’m in the booth. I want to make it easy to just read while I’m recording.
In Last Train to Key West in particular, I was working with two extremely talented narrators (Karissa Vacker and Kyla Garcia). In places where I spoke dialogue in their voices, I tried to match as closely as I could to how they performed their characters. I also listened to some of their other work; for Kyla in particular, I made sure to listen to some of her past projects with Chanel Cleeton. Our director (Jessica Kay) made herself really available for questions about the text, she was wonderful to work with.
Rachel Jacobs: Audiobook Narrator
Other books narrated by Rachel:
Rachel Jacobs: Audiobook Narrator
Rachel Jacobs: Audiobook Narrator
Rachel Jacobs: Audiobook Narrator
Learn more about Rachel here:
twitter and instagram: @racheljnarrates
