Today is APAC day. A perennial question related to the event seems
to blossom around this time of year as well. I’ve heard it intimately murmured by
conversing narrators, mostly as an unplanned aside loosely interjected and then
loosely dismissed during conversations about other things that matter to them. The perennial question is, does APAC represent a worthwhile experience for narrators? Does
its perceived value measure up against the registration fee, and for those
attending from out of town,
the additional travel and lodging expenses? (FYI, Aunt
Mary has informed me that APAC is awesome if you know how to work it and she will
be utilizing her unique “escalator” job acquisition strategy she conceived and
has perfected. No gigs yet, she reported in her last missive, but her strategy
is, she assured me, “foolproof.”).
Aside from AM, whose opinions appear to me to be reflexively triggered
by something inherently unrefined, a more considered unpacking of APAC’s value
might include asking narrators what they most desire from this event and then
looking to the participants most capable
of responding to that desire for their take on APAC. In lieu of a survey that
specifically addresses narrator expectations, let’s invent a prototypical narrator
and invite him (I’ll reverse the gender for my second prototype) to tell us
what he’s most hopeful for upon entering the Javits Center.
Meet Pat. Pat has some pretty solid credits. Pat recently moved to
Phoenix where he works out of a home studio. Before leaving New York, Pat
recorded several audiobooks for major publishers at JMM and CDM. He was even once
lucky enough to have worked with the awesome director, Paula Parker. He has an
agent who, mercifully, gets audiobooks,
but sadly, not Phoenix. Pat now seeks work independently.
PAT: Thanks, Paul, for this opportunity and for saying you’ll
listen to my demo—oops, did you drop my card? Here’s another—and for references to
other publishers and for telling me really useful stuff, like, there’s a lot of
work out there for good storytellers. Totally inspiring. And did I tell you I
just love reading stories to my kids? Later. Okay, so, what do I want from
APAC? A JOB, A GIG. AN AUDITION. SHOWCASE MY STUFF. ASK HOW TO GET A RESPONSE
FROM PUBLISHERS AND PRODUCERS I’VE EMAILED, CALLED AND REELED PROSTRATE IN
FRONT OF, ALL TO NO AVAIL. Now, is there anything about what I want most from
APAC that you don’t get? Oh yeah, I also like the panels. I’ve learned neat
stuff over the years, like how to liquidate mouth bubbles with an apple and how
to create a more boffo sound with more boffo equipment and of course, reuniting
with friends, peers and fellow beseechers. But really, succinctly, categorically,
I JUST WANT TO WORK!
Thanks, Pat. I hear you.
To be sure, Pat may not precisely represent every narrator’s
outcome. But I’ll argue that if you’re a narrator attending APAC today, you
will relate.
What about participating publishers and producers who do the
hiring? Do they envision APAC as an employment “combine” (used as a noun, as in
a place to scout talent)? I created a
prototypical publisher who speaks unguardedly (my imagination was cranked up,
eh!). She’s attending the conference for the umpteenth time and definitely
hires talent. I asked, is hunting for narrators at APAC your priority?
Samantha: Well, funny you should put it that way. There are a few
narrators my publisher has regrettably employed and I did feel like hunting
them down when I got here, but I don’t think that’s capturing the spirit of
your question. APAC provides me various opportunities, including the chance to
meet new narrators, renew old acquaintances with those I already employ, and forget
about others as soon as I can cordially relieve myself from yet another
narrator palaver-fest I didn’t solicit but understand I must patiently endure.
Except that out of control Aunt Mary who once got me on the escalator and then,
I swear, had it turned off. The longest fifteen minutes of my life! Anyway, besides
working with my colleagues and attending to various job-related directives issued
by my superiors, am I actively seeking to employ narrators, even those with no experience?
Sure. Will I retain the card or demo thrust into the palm I kindly opened for
the sake of protocol rather than my sake? Absolutely! Would I hire a narrator I
met for the first time at APAC? Why wouldn’t I! What are the chances I will? I
once did. More than once, actually. Well, let me think on that.
Thanks, Samantha. I hear you.
Well, that’s Pat’s take on APAC and Samantha’s take on Pat, or
APAC’s Pats. All to suggest that if securing the next gig (or first one) is a narrator’s
priority, does APAC—along with its ubiquitous panels, occasional mini-audition- and numerous
schmooze-opps—meet the narrator’s fundamental need? Let’s assume Pat and Samantha
feel reliably close to attendees (including ourselves) we’ve all witnessed
distractedly skittering nonstop around APAC. If they do, might reflecting on
their commentary stimulate new insights that address whether forking over the
bucks required to attend APAC should be regarded as de rigueur, or merely whimsy?
The eye of the beholder may be the location for life’s most
salient truths. Through that lens, when assessing APAC as a value added
proposition, might one argue that narrators should consider not only what’s in
their eye but the eye of those they behold?
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