Julie Nathanson is known for a number of roles in animation and video games. Some of the more popular projects that she's been involved in include Avengers Assemble, Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay, Final Fantasy, Guild Wars, and many more.
Recently, Julie began lending her voice to a new type of project: an audio/video hybrid podcast. The sci-fi thriller Ride Share utilizes a motion comic animation style to deliver a video component to the audio series, making it a draw for comic lovers.
We chatted exclusively with Julie about Ride Share and several of her other projects, and we learned a lot about the characters she plays. To listen to our chat with Julie, click the podcast player below. We have also included our conversation with Ride Share producer James Gavsie in the transcript for those interested in learning more about her newest series.
5m 9s Literary Joe: Is it only one Episode of Ride Share that's come out so far? I think it started on the 15th.
5m 16s Julie Nathanson: Amanda is Episode two. So Episode one came out - I don't have its title in my brain right now - but episode one came out. Was it maybe the week before? And that's on Apple podcasts and already on YouTube, as is Episode two, Amanda, where I am Amanda. This was an interesting experience for me.
First of all, we recorded this during what is ostensibly still lockdown time. I'm doing all of my work in my home studio, and I haven't had many opportunities for group reads. I've been working a lot. Thank goodness. I'm knocking on wood nearby. It's been lovely, but I haven't had a lot of opportunities to be able to play off of other actors.
And this was a group record. So being able to feel out this character through what was developing with chemistry with Eric was exciting. I left exhausted from how much fun I'd had. Still, in terms of choosing Amanda's voice, that was one of those situations where having read the script and empathizing with the character and trying to figure out where she's coming from. I didn't pay attention to the voice. It just kind of fell out of my face.
9m 50s Literary Joe: I know this is not like any regular Podcast; it's an audio-video hybrid, right? Is this the first podcast in general that you had been a part of?
10m 13s Julie Nathanson: It is. What was again, so special about it to me is because I didn't have to worry about somebody animating every word, every lip flap. Whether it's part of a video game and it has to be timed out perfectly for that moment or that particular quest or animators needing to leave room for the mouth to move appropriately or an action to take place.
It just had this freedom and felt so much more like a little closer to live theater and a little bit closer to improvisation, even though we certainly had a script. That the feeling was that there was room, there was room to make it real. There was room to play and room to discover what happened when I started working with Eric, and we had to kind of jump in and see what kind of chemistry we had and see what happened in that relationship.
I'll speak for myself. I was surprised by where it went. I read the script ahead of time, but I was surprised by how that connection formed during the recording session. And he's terrific. Eric Martsolf is a fantastic and very generous scene partner. And I felt like he was fearlessly willing to go to some vulnerable places with me, this person that he'd never met.
And you were saying about Amanda; I think one of the things that were so fun and so special about doing that Episode of Ride Share is that I was not concentrating on making her anything specific. I just wanted to be there, if that makes sense. And I think it's done in such a realistic way, even though it's a heightened situation.
I just sort of let the scene happen instead of choosing a voice for her. I will say that when I get excited, my voice gets higher. So right now, I'm choosing to sort of use a softer tone in my voice because I don't want your listeners to be annoyed. If I get excited, I'm like, "Oh my God, you guys, this is so cool." And I can do that.
I think it's a process of elimination too. You have to know, not to hype up, you learn to sort of pump out the character with a voice that doesn't match her. So if I had done something too cartoony for Amanda and she gets into the ride and here's Keith and he's offering her water. She answers and is like, "thanks so much" that you're not going to be interested in anything that happens between them because Eric's performance is more grounded. Right? So a part of it can also match the tone and match the other person's energy.
21m 58s Literary Joe: Since you brought up energy, you didn't do any of this in person, right? This has all been done remotely?
22m 5s Julie Nathanson: Right. It's done remotely - actually where I am now, which is in my home studio. But the way they arranged it, I could hear Eric. I could also hear Stacie and Adam, who were earlier in the Episode, both friends of mine, wonderful voice actors. And so I can listen to what they were doing. And so, because again, we could play off of each other, at least, for my scene with Eric, my scene with Keith, we were able to hear each other and then play. But we couldn't see each other.
I've never met Eric, and so, without spoiling the episode, there is a degree of intimacy that happens in this one section in Episode Amanda, Episode two. And all I have to tell you is that there's a level of intimacy that had to happen. And not only have I never met Eric, but I'm not seeing him, there is no way to play off of each other in terms of visually having that experience.
And what was so interesting is as we began small talking, I was able to tell him that one of his first soaps was Passions. So one of my best friends in the world is Natalie Zea, and she played the second Gwen and Eric played, I believe the second Ethan. So, Natalie and Travis, Travis was the first Ethan, they are now married.
So basically, I was able to say, "Hey, by the way, Natalie Zea is one of my best friends. How are you?" There was this thing when it's like, Oh, any friend of that person, is a friend of mine. It created this instant connection and banter, especially because Natalie is such a funny person. So I jumped into this comfort level, knowing that if they were friends, that I can be as loose and add humor where possible in our connection.
And it made this instant chemistry. I honestly think that added to it. It was a funny little moment for me. And I think for him too. He was like, "that's amazing. And I was just listening to her podcast about Passions," and I said, "yeah, she mentioned me on it. I am the Julie in that". So we look for connections everywhere.
But I will say about Ride Share that it has a realistic feel to how the performers are playing with each other in a slightly more heightened situation that has this almost noir feeling to it. It's very different and special in that way. And I find it funny, and I find it heartfelt, and I like that there's a moment to step away from that heightened place for vulnerability. I think there is something really special going on with this project. And I encourage anyone who hasn't listened to it or haven't seen the YouTube with the stop motion to check it out. Cause I think I think it's cool.
*This interview has been edited for clarity. Audio is co-hosted by fellow writer Comic Brooks.
Escape Reality with a thriller fiction podcast to get lost in. Ride Share is the series premier episode of DIGITAL SKY, an anthology podcast series of social and science fiction about the apps that control our lives. Fans of Twilight and Black Mirror will love Ride Share! Trapped in a Car with Strangers!
On his ride share app, Keith decides to choose the carpool option. They all take a drive they never expected. Hang on for an awesome sound experience that will take you on a wild trip, projected like a movie inside your mind. If you’ve ever used a ride share app, it probably crossed your mind that you are getting into the car of a complete stranger. Our hero Keith decides to make it even more interesting by choosing the super-saver carpool option, which adds even more strangers to the ride. Now Keith appears to be trapped in a car with three people, who are very strange indeed.
You can check out Ride Share on Youtube and all other podcast platforms, with new episodes releasing every Tuesday.