Shaina Summerville

What was the first audiobook you performed?

Alaskan Malamute 101 by Catherine Thompson

What title or series are you best known for?

Court of Ravens by Liv Zander

If a listener wanted to get to know your work, which of your audiobooks would you point them to?

A Date with Death by Kelly Creagh
Compost After Reading by Cassandra Marketos
Promchanted by Morgan Matson
A Field Guide to Murder by Michelle Cullen
The Safari by Jaclyn Goldis

What do you always have in the booth?

I always have water or hot tea in the booth plus a variety of stuffed animals (a manatee, an octopus, a stingray, an otter, a pineapple, and more), and photos of me with Christopher Eccleston and Catherine Tate at conventions (my booth is designed to look like the Tardis).

How did you come to performing audiobooks?

A few years after graduating with my BA in Musical Theatre, I was living in Chicago, starting my professional theatre career. I wanted to find more ways to use my acting skills, so I took a VO Exploration workshop with a local voice actor, who recommended I look into audiobook narration. I started coaching with Sean Pratt and Shannon Parks and auditioning for books, my dad helped me build my Tardis booth, I attended my first APAC in 2019, and the rest is history!

Anything else you’d like a listener to know?

“Take the art seriously, not yourself.” ~ Mark Goodman

This quote is from one of my favorite tap dance teachers, and I think it is so relevant for any art form, or even any situation in life. It’s something I still have to remind myself of constantly. Storytelling is important to me, and I love using my skills to make the world a better place. But as a perfectionist, it is easy to, in that endeavor, take myself way too seriously. If you’re like me, remember that you can take the art seriously without beating yourself up too! (Still a work in progress over here)