Sibongile Mlambo discusses using her voice in Hindsight: The Day Before
Sibongile Mlambo is taking on a different medium of acting in Hindsight: The Day Before. The audio drama has Sibongile Mlambo take on the role of Bess Houdini in a period-setting. Sibongile Mlambo flourishes in this environment by utilizing her voice to tell the story. Sibongile Mlambo discusses what made working on this project different from traditional voice roles, how it was a unique experience from on-screen acting, and the significance of what it meant to use her voice to bring her character to life.
Culturess: What was the audition process like for Hindsight: The Day Before?
Sibongile Mlambo: Well, this was one of those lucky times that I did not have to audition. I was given an offer. I was sent the material by a wonderful casting director called Russell Boast. He got in touch with me and my team. I've worked with Russell on a couple of projects, and so he's familiar with my work. He brought this project to me, and I was interested. I was drawn to it. It seemed interesting and also, getting to play a character like, I play Bess Houdini, and that was just something that I hadn't done before, and something that I couldn't really see myself actually doing as an African woman, and so it was just a really great opportunity.
Culturess: What is the difference between acting on-screen versus the experience you had performing this project?
Sibongile Mlambo: Well, we didn't have to worry about hair and make-up, which is probably one of the best things about it. You could just go. We went to the studio, obviously, but we were able to just be in relaxed clothes. I was wearing sweatpants and sneakers and T-shirts. That's what I wore to work, and then they would mic us up. So, not having to worry about what you look like is always a wonderful thing. Typically, if you're gonna do something like this, you would be in, say, a recording booth. But we didn't do that. We still got to act with each other, so that was nice. That's what was similar to acting for film and TV was that we still get to play with the other actors. Whereas in a setting like this, you usually just might record all of your lines by yourself, you're not actually talking to anyone else, and then it's just all put together. But, in this case, we got to share space with actors that we were in scenes with.
Culturess: What went into developing your character?
Sibongile Mlambo: Research. I think researching the time period and who she was and of course the Houdini, and choosing her voice was also important. I kept my natural tones but then also leaned in to making it period, of the time.
Culturess: This show was originally meant to be filmed as a traditional television show. At what point did you get involved with the project?
Sibongile Mlambo: I got involved when they decided to record the audio version, the audio drama.
Culturess: An audio drama differs from an animated series because you do not have the character's facial expression to help rely on for the performance or for the audience to connect to. How do you, when you're voicing the character for an audio drama, bring the character to life?
Sibongile Mlambo: I think you get to play so much more because you don't have your facial expressions or your body language to help tell the story. The story is being told completely with your voice. So I think, and I got to discover this during the process, the nuances and the different choices and, 'Okay, how can we make this sound more intimate?' or just the rollercoaster of things that you could do with your voice to tell the story.
Culturess: How has this experience been unique to other projects you have worked on?
Sibongile Mlambo: Oh, it's completely different. It's in its own bubble. I think especially the aspect of recording all of us together. That was really nice about it. Also, because we're in carriages and there's also these scenes when we're at home, and we're eating or drinking tea, getting to actually drink the tea and keep the sounds because I think with on-camera performances you have to be careful about not making noise with your prop while you're speaking. Whereas, in this case, you want all of the sounds. You want to include all of that because that's part of the immersion that people are gonna hear when they're listening to it. Whatever is playing in their mind, you need all the sounds for them to be able to picture the scenes that are happening.
Culturess: In what ways do you, or do you not, relate to your character?
Sibongile Mlambo: There are so many ways that I do not relate to her. Well, I'm not from the time period. Me personally, if I was from that time period, I would either have been back on the continent of Africa with my Tribe, or I would be a slave, so there's that part of it. There's also, I'm an unmarried woman. But, I think the ways we relate, I think she's smart. I'd like to think that I am smart as well. She's witty, I am not. I'm not witty. She's much more cheer than I am, much sassier than I am, I think. I always like to play characters that I aspire to be like and then hope that once that job is over, some of those traits get to stay with me. So, there are parts about Bess that I hope have stayed with me. I hope I am funnier now and wittier. But she is very smart, and she really loves her husband.
Culturess: What drew you to this story?
Sinbongile Mlambo: It's a project that I, personally, would never have pictured myself being able to do just because of the time period. But it's fictional, and so here I am doing it. It's also such a fun story. When you listen to it, there's so many different characters. You hear so many different accents and it's really fun the way it jumps from the present day to the past to the present to the past. So you're constantly shifting worlds and the storylines that get added to it. There's the students and the Houdinis and the adventures that they're going on. So there's a lot of things going on to keep you hooked and interested, and I guess that's what got me hooked and interested.
Culturess: What was your favorite part of working on this project?
Sibongile Mlambo: My favorite part was doing the acting thing. That was my favorite part because that's always fun. That's always the fun part is when you just get to play. So, getting to work with Santiago, who is an incredible actor. He's so talented and so generous. So, getting to just be there and meet everybody and work with everyone and just be Bess, that I would say was my favorite part.
Culturess: Did the medium of the show being an audio drama alter the way you worked toward portraying your character?
Sibongile Mlambo: It did. It meant that I had to concentrate a whole lot more on my voice, on that particular part of the instrument. I had to pay attention to that.
Hindsight: The Day Before is available on all podcast streaming apps.
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