About

Steven Ritz-Barr

I began narrating audio books full-time in 2018, after 4 decades as a professional puppeteer in the film, television, and theatre worlds in Paris and Los Angeles.

My journey to audiobook narration is a personal one.

I witnessed my father’s years of macular degeneration each day when I was a young teen. A non-reader his entire life, the Blind Association sent him cassette audio books and a tape recorder to listen to them. Watching the joy he experienced everyday because of Audiobook listening was palpable. It transformed his life in tangible ways regarding empathy, and tolerance of others. With this in mind, in the early 2000s I narrated Textbooks for the Blind and Dyslexic as a volunteer, and listened to audiobooks frequently.

My unique experience and expertise includes:

• - Clear narrator point of view
• - Character interpretation
• - Natural performance timing
• - Vocal dexterity for characters and
• - Many types of accents (including English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh, French, German, Spanish, Central European, Russian, Chinese or different regional American accents)
• - Over 4 decades of storytelling through puppetry arts (I.E. writing, directing, stage designing, performing, marketing and distributing puppet films)
• - Fluent French speaker, with basic understanding of German and Spanish
• - SAG-AFTRA member since 1990
• - Long list of film, television, commercials and theatre productions since 1980 available upon request.

 

EDUCATION

BA in Theatre - Whitworth University;

MFA-equivalent in Mime and Movement - LeCoq School, Paris

AUDIOBOOK  Workshops:  Andi Arndt - Joe Arden - Pat Fraley - Ron Butler - Emily Woo Zeller - Vikas Adam - Hillary Huber

Voice Over (Animation): Steve Bloom

 

 

 

If you're curious about my films, check them out below or at ClassicsinMiniature.com.