Carcerem The Series Fantasy Fiction Audio Drama Series with Voiceover Actor Dana Powers

She's having a baby girl and you know, with no further ado, let's just have Dana and Dana. How are you?
I'm so good. Thank you for having me here today. And yeah, I'm, I'm do any moment. So when people are hearing this thing right now, I will officially be a mom, a little baby girl. So I'm very excited to hear this and see how I'm feeling that
Yeah, many blessings for you and your new family. And I'm so excited to know you and explore and just witness your journey and the development of it unfolding. It's such an honor.
Oh my God. Well, thank you. I'm happy to know you. I'm happy to, we, I feel like we've already been through, so like, like we've known each other for a while now. And I feel like there's been so much growth that's happened, you know, for each one of us and in the world and everything, and to be here, like celebrating this kind of thing and having this conversation right now is it does feel very special. So thank you for having me,
My pleasure. We've really gotten to know each other intimately and we'll deep dive into that, but I mean, we'll, we'll talk about that later, but you've really seen parts of me that other people haven't seen. So emotionally, you know, cause we together with voiceovers and that's kind of the through line of the topic is voiceovers today. I have a lot of people in entertainment who tune into the podcast, a lot of voiceover artists and you are a voiceover artist and you have a impeccable story you're from California and we both share loving Shakespeare. And so I would love to hear from you, like, you know, in a nutshell where you're from and your journey through your education of Shakespeare and like how you got to voiceovers.
Oh yeah, of course. Well, I started doing theater when I was really little I'm from Northern California, just north of San Francisco started theater when I was about eight years old. And then when I got to high school, that was when I was introduced to Shakespeare. I went to a performing arts high school called Marin school of the arts Hamlet was my first piece of Shakespeare that I ever experienced. I played Gildan stern, my best friend and I were Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, and that really opened that up to me. So when I got to college delved a little deeper, and then I met a woman, Melissa Chels, ma she was one of my professors and directors in college. I went to Cal state Northridge out here in LA. She runs a theater company called the independent Shakespeare company with her husband, David Melville.
And I joined their company right out of college. I was a part of IFC for about six or seven years. We did free Shakespeare in Griffith park, as well as there's. They have a studio in Atwater village and they were family. I did that for six, seven summers and all kinds of different shows we would perform. I actually, when I joined the company, they were in Barnsdale park before I joined. And then when I joined, we moved to Griffith park and the audiences went from, you know, 500 to a thousand to 5,000 people out there. And it was incredible. I had never experienced something like that before. It taught me so much about being a performer. And it was, you know, Shakespeare can be hard for people to get into it.
You know, it's like a different language. And if you don't, if you don't have an ear that's tuned to that poetic, you know, language I, I like to go, right. It takes even when you go and see a piece of Shakespeare or whatever it may be, you have to, there's like a 15 minute period in the beginning where you're like, okay, I gotta tune my ear to the S right. And there's these timeless themes that I think what's incredible is these kids, these young children would come to the shows, experiencing Shakespeare for their first time. And they would understand it better than most of the adults out in the audience because the themes are timeless, right? The characters and the relationships are timeless. That's why Shakespeare can be put in any time period.
You know, it's like Hamlet in space or whatever it is because it's not, it's not stuck in any one era. These are these themes of jealousy and love and betrayal and whatever it is, it's something that can exist forever. And these children would run up to us, you know, at intermission or after the show or whatever it was. And they would just, they would understand it on this deep level that I was always fascinated by. And I think it's credited to the company. I was a part of, we, we sort of knocked down that fourth wall, which is what I really enjoyed about being with ISC is we would allow the audience to see us and be with us and interact with us. And even when we were on stage, we would engage with them and we would stage the scenes sometimes from the audience and we would bring them up on stage.
And, you know, that's how Shakespeare is meant to be. I I've done Shakespeare with other companies out here and, you know, around, I won't name them all, but some of them were more strict than others. And I just don't think that that's how Shakespeare is meant to be. It was like, you're not allowed to be seen, you know, unless you're on stage and being with ISE. One of the most incredible things about them was they wanted the stage to reflect Los Angeles, which is such a diverse city. And that's what we tried to do with our cast and to make it as accessible to people as possible. So anyway, that's kind of my, my journey a little bit with Shakespeare voiceover I was introduced to,
But before we go there, I have a couple of things I want to say about Shakespeare.
Oh, okay. Yeah.
Okay. First and foremost, thanks for sharing that beautiful journey. And it, it just makes me understand so much of like, when I first met you, I'll never forget that bill home studio and you were just as graceful and as sent blossoming flower and you just had this energy of just, it was so healthy and just so calm and I really appreciated your energy and you as a human being and like, I understand why your values and how you were like groomed, you know, it's such a privilege and it's so beautiful. Like, you know, the people you were introduced to the programs you went to and then the community end, I didn't know, but because we are, you know, have the same interest in Shakespeare.
So I'll definitely leave those in the show notes for people. So they can go to the links and find out how to get involved in some of those programs, because yeah, it still happens in LA and it's also in New York, they have it in central park. And the other thing is like the first time I saw a Hamlet was at Stratford upon Avon.
Oh, wow.
Yeah. And so I that's what
Romeo and Juliet there. I mean, that is like, that's like an experience that, and going to the globe, I feel like it is like, those are epic Shakespeare, you know, experiences, theater-going experiences.
Oh yeah. I'm so happy. I didn't even now I know like you went there to, I saw when I was there for a Shakespeare program in London, I, so I went to two of Shakespeare's plays at the globe, and then we took a field trip to Stratford upon Avon. And like you said, the diversity of Hamlet and what it is, the costume designer, everyone was wearing Basquiat and everything was like, they incorporated colors and paint and it was so cool. Cause like I'm a painter. It was awesome to see like the costume designs of Basquiat there. That was really neat. Love
That.
Yeah. And then the other thing that comes up is, you know, your, a person in our community and in your nest of who's the lead of car CRM, the series, you know, that we'll talk about the hearing, his journey and program. We'll, I'll put it in the show notes too, so people can listen to that episode on she's all over the place. Shane was on season three, his background also when he went to school, he was into the theater and got involved in tech. And so like you have that bond and it's so cool to hear people's journeys and stories, and then how people are connected, you know, like, so you have that same palette of the theater and language and the respect of discipline in the community of working together. And you have a goal, but like you're learning and you're growing and you're there for like the passion and love of the curiosity and the play.
Like you said, it's not just like about like the end result of how it's supposed to be, but being in it for like the right intentions. And so I really hope the person tuning in connects those dots, how I'm connecting the dots right now,
A hundred percent. I think if you're, did you do theater or you, do you come from a theater background? I mean, I know you just said you did these Shakespeare programs, but are you, did you come from stage originally?
Not like you did. I definitely did communication in some programs plays in school, but I didn't go for it, like all the way like you and Shane did, but my love was going to the theater. So like, yeah, like, I mean, I've been going since I was a teenager, always going to the gem theater in Detroit and not only just like musicals and Broadways in plays, but operas too. And when I was in London in five weeks, I saw 45 productions, five weeks. Sometimes I went twice a day. That's how obsessed I am with theater. So, but I never in New York city, I've always been in TV and film, but I never, like, I haven't been like in a play.
Yeah. Yeah. Oh God, that's, you know, theater is just this living, breathing art that is unlike anything else. And I mean, I'm, I'm sorta jumping forward to voiceover, but it's a, there's so many mediums to get into as an actor and you can love and get involved in so many. But I think theater, I know for me, there's nothing that will ever compare to it. You know, that I've never done standup or anything like that, but that connection between you and an audience and then the connection that the audience is having with each other, all these people from different walks of life, having this shared experience. And, you know, I know you're really into energy and everything as well.
You know, we talk about that kind of stuff, the energy in the room when you're telling a story and how different it can be night tonight and how that affects you and to tell the same story every night and yet it feels so different. And when you meet other people who have experienced that and they have that shared love, like, like Shane and I, like you were saying, and we'll get to car serum and we'll, you know, elaborate on that. So many of us are theater people and in the recording of car serum, we certainly, you know, used that training, that background that love that passion in our process of, of how we would approach these episodes and everything.
So, yeah.
Well, and I want the listener to tune in because some people did have the brushstrokes or the experience or the privilege of being in theater, of being educated at a university or a part of these communities. So they feel like they're missing out or underprivileged or it's too late. So it's not too late, especially with everything available. Now you can attune hack and get involved now. And also it just, it's just a brush stroke of someone else's experience. We all have our own experiences and we identify in different ways. So, oh yeah. It's not like, oh, this person had this. Cause when I was younger getting involved into Hollywood, I thought, oh, because I didn't go to NYU or writing, like go to school for acting and get a degree that these people who went to Columbia or they went to like NYU, they were like upper hand.
And yet like all those people, they don't have the skillsets and the brains and the talent and the drive that I have. And I'd gone off to do many more things than they have. And they're like, yo, how do I get involved? Like I would just school for four years and I can't get involved. So it doesn't matter. Like if you have the experience, it's just your experience. But if you did it, it's not like you you're less than, or you miss out on something. Just, we have to appreciate who we are and what we were given as gifts and acknowledge those things and utilize those and put them into our work.
Oh yeah. And to piggyback on that same kind of thought, you know, I, I went to Cal Northridge, which is not a fancy school by any means. My parents even laughed when I chose that school because they grew up in Lancaster, out here in the desert. Okay. And they went to Cal state Northridge for like a semester. It's like a commuter campus kind of school. Okay. Before they went off to my dad, went to Berkeley and my mom went to long beach. Anyway, long story short, not a school that's known for, let's say like Cal arts or NYU or Julliard. Okay. Not a school of that stature. Now what I discovered though, once I graduated and I was out and I was in the world and I was performing in theaters, I would have cast members who did go to Julliard, who did go to NYU.
We were doing the same shows together. Okay. We were experiencing all the same stuff and I very quickly learned it. Doesn't matter where you went, where you studied, or if you even studied, we are all you fast forward, five years, you fast forward, 10 years, whatever we are all in the same place. Because it's, it's what you said. It's what you're born with. It's what you're passionate about. The path that you took to get to that point. It, it evens out. It's what you take from it. And for me, I didn't go to the fanciest school, but oh my God, did I meet the best people? I met these people who brought me into their Shakespeare company.
I was introduced to voiceover at Cal state Northridge as well. So my entire career is thanks to the people that I met there, let alone, you know, and my best friends am I this and that it is really just like, if there are any young artists or even if you're not young, whatever it is, wherever you are at your point in this journey, if you're just now deciding you want to get into this and you're 65 years old, it doesn't matter. It is so not about the names, the name of the school, the name of the program, the name of the, this and that. It's what you take from it. It's how you apply yourself and how committed you are and how much you love it. That's what's going to move you forward in this career.
Yeah. Speaking of moving, I was like literally vulnerable and moved to tears. When you were welling up, when you were saying that, because, you know, I felt very insecure and less then. And although I had a lot of privilege in life and gifts, I, you know, it's the, they call it FOMO. Now the fear of missing out or, you know, the imposter syndrome
Syndrome,
Perfectionist thing. So I'm really glad we were able to like connect dots and demystify that for the person tuning in, like you said, it doesn't matter what age are, 65. It doesn't matter what you look like in voiceovers. Like, and, and you can be anywhere in the world after the world blew up in 2020, it really opened up for a lot of different voiceover actors and theater people pivoting to voice-overs and podcasts. They're starting their podcasts. And now there are so many podcasts, you know, projects. And whilst this voiceover actors were auditioning for more audio dramas and things for podcasting. But before we go there let's pivot. Okay. So Shakespeare, and then you were going to say you got into the voiceover.
Yep. So, you know, the nature of going to school out here in LA, regardless of, you know, whatever that school is, is that you are kind of in the middle of it. Right. So I went to school in the valley. We had some, I think it was my senior year, right before I was going to graduate. We had, what was her name? She's a Nickelodeon casting director.
Sarah noggins.
Oh my God.
Nick Nickelodeon, casting director, wait, Sarah Jane Sherman used to be the head of casting at Disney, but Sarah
She's at Disney there. You know, she just popped up this person it'll it'll come to me because she just popped up in an audition I had. And I was like, Hey, full circle. There she is Meredith lane. Okay. She came to CSUN to teach a voiceover workshop on animation. And then Kathy Kalman Sen did a workshop for commercials. Now there are so many voice actors out there who have this same story of like, oh yeah. Ever since I was a little kid, I love doing impressions. I love doing voices. I dreamed of being a cartoon. That was not me. I didn't, I didn't do that.
I I'm still not a voice actor who does impressions are or whatever it is. And that used to make me really self-conscious because I thought you had to be like, when I got, when I got into this, I that's kind of, all I knew was, you know, the, well, first of all, I didn't even think about it. So I was introduced to it when I was, you know, 20 years old, 21 years old. Okay. I had never considered voiceover as a career or even it's like, most people you meet who don't know anything about voiceover, they've never thought about the person behind a commercial. They've never thought about the person behind, I don't know, a cartoon or video game or whatever they did. They don't think about that, especially in commercials. Right. So here I am about to graduate college.
I know I love theater. Right. I know I love acting, but I don't want to move to New York. Like I know myself and I'm like, oh, I'm a California girl. You know, I know I need to move to New York or Chicago or London or something. If I want to get into theater. And I know myself, I don't think I want to do that, but you know, I'm not going to worry about it. I'm just going to follow this path. I was like, oh, I'm kind of interested in on camera, but not really. And then all of a sudden this world of voiceover is introduced to me through these, these workshops. And I'm like, what is this voiceover thing? Like I had never thought about it. And it just kind of opened up this door. Like it opened up this curiosity in me and I graduated college.
And then I just started taking more and more classes. I was doing a lot of theater. I was taking. I was just consistently keeping up with the voiceover thing and then fast forward, all of a sudden it's my entire career. And it's, it's what I do. And I never, that was not the trajectory that I ever thought was going to happen. But I think one of the best things that I've done as a performer is I've never had a certain expectation for how my career had to look. I I've never, and it's not that I don't, I'm, I'm sort of obsessed with setting goals for myself. I'm, I'm definitely type a, when it comes to making my lists and making my goals and checking off my list and whatever, but I've never painted this like picture that I need to go and fulfill.
And I think that has helped me remain really open with just the way that my career naturally was able to unfold. I just, I just kept following what felt good.
Call it the flow,
The flow. I was just in my flow and I trust that flow. I knew I loved theater. So I did that as much as I could. I, I knew I was intrigued with voiceovers. I've followed that as much as I could. And like I was saying before, I felt like with voiceover, that I had to be this person who did characters and impressions and all this stuff. And I was like, oh, that's not me. Am I going to be successful? If that's not me? And I've quickly found out. Yeah, just by being you, you can be successful, you know, when it comes to commercials. But then also with video games in animation naturally, well, it'll keep shifting. But right now you sounding like you is what's popular, right? Regardless of what corner of voiceover you're in.
And that was a comfort to me personally, because I wasn't necessarily the person putting on the characters and whatever, but I found success in all the different genres of voiceover just by being myself and being a good actor and applying the training I had from theater and whatever. And you quickly find out it, all, it all blends together at the heart of it. Acting is acting. Whether it's voiceover, it's on camera, it's on stage. It's all proximity, right. Are you on stage out in the park with 5,000 people in the audience? Do you have a camera three feet from you? Do you have a microphone, six inches from you it's proximity, right. That you're adjusting to, but at the core of it in your heart, the work that you're applying, the way you're showing up to it is all the same.
And it strengthens you as an actor to work in all these different things and be really honest with yourself, with which one you're enjoying. Right. I think we feel like we have to really enjoy, you know, I felt there was definitely a time period where I was like, oh, I need to enjoy on camera because I'm out here in LA and whatever. And he did it for a little while. And for me personally, I was like, I'm not my heart's not in it. You know, but my heart is in these other areas, but you, you gotta dip your toe. You gotta, you gotta, you gotta figure it out. Or maybe it's for me, it was that I loved creating things with friends when it came to any on camera work. But the rest of it didn't call to me in the same way that theater and voiceover dead. Yeah.
Yeah. I will. Thank you. I list, I love the power of the choice. Like you made the choice to follow the flow. You made the choice to do it felt good, but you also made the choice to explore different things as a human being, you know, and then you were honest with yourself, then you checked in with yourself. Those are all gems, you're laying down. So I hope the person tuning in and listening, like understands to trust themselves more, just start messy. Cause a lot of us don't have authentic relationships with ourselves, like, because we're not being truthful and we're doing a projection of how we're supposed to be. Are people pleasing, have an expectation that we want. So to dismantle an expectation and get to the basics like the ABC building blocks of basics.
So we can find that a new again and not shame and blame ourselves for not doing it or for doing it for this way for such a long time. And just, just to be kind to ourselves and kind of go on a curiosity journey to find out what this new path could look like, you know, and explore. So it feels really like you are, you're a flower you're so graceful and like you just unfold in that way. And it's just, it's really, really beautiful. Cause a lot of people are so detrimental and so pressure society,
The comparison is the killer of creativity. Is that what it is or comparisons to killer of joy? I think all of those apply don't they, and the flow that you're talking about is so important for people to get in tune with in life and in so many different areas, whether it's career or romance or whatever it is knowing when something's flowing and trusting. That is huge. And I think a lot of us don't slow down and acknowledge it. We're so busy comparing ourselves to what we're seeing out there in this, in this sort of social media world that, you know, you got to give yourself the grace of figuring it out and everything I've enjoyed getting older because I feel like with every year I'm more in touch with what's authentic for myself and, and not just me testing the waters and comparing myself and seeing other people do things and thinking I need to do them that way.
It's like with every year I've been like, wait, no, this is, this is, this is my flow. This is more natural for me. I thought maybe that was what I wanted, but nah, this is what I want. And I, in my opinion, that that comes with every year. So I like, I have friends who feel very weird about getting older and whatever, but I, for me, it's you find your more, your most authentic self with time,
The way you just said it. Like, I totally feel it in my heart. And like I just turned over a new leaf of my perception of it as well because I too feel more graceful and happier as a, as the days go on and I get older before I didn't. I was like, oh, when I was 17, I was crying like, oh my God, I'm going to be 18. I'm old. And I'm like, it's been that way because always the stigma of Hollywood and being useful, but the way you're right, like I am so empowered at this women empowerment series we're in the 21st century and the, as the days go on, I get more and more fired up and excited because I'm attuning to more of who I am that I've always wanted to be. And so it's very exciting to feel that instead of the other stuff that doesn't make us feel good.
Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. And also for me in this particular time, for me as I've been pregnant for nine months and I'm about to truly start the biggest chapter change of my life, witnessing how that has, at least for me, every, every person has a very different experience with pregnancy. And, and I think, you know, taking on this big of a transition in their life, but for me, this self-reflection that has happened here is, has been incredible. It has. And I think the pandemic is a big part of this as well. It has helped me shed the bullshit that doesn't matter. And show me what's important. There's something about being literally a creator of life that very quickly prioritized what actually matters to you.
And I think it's, for me immediately with my auditions, with everything, I was able to determine what genuinely I cared about and what I've just felt pressured to do on top of that. And I, and I prioritize those things and I, I it's, the impending motherhood has been kind of a beautiful blessing for me and I'm, and I'm so curious what it'll feel like and look like on the other side of it, when I actually do have my daughter here and how that's gonna affect my work. But if what I have felt and experienced for the past nine months is any determining factor it's that you really find out what matters to you, what you genuinely enjoy and how you truly want to spend your time.
You know, it's made me feel like a very powerful person, so
A very powerful powers and Dana powers. Okay. So like literally I want to have, I need to get going. I want to I'm I'm I'm up next. Like I definitely want to have a child and you know, I can't imagine, I can't imagine like, oh my God, like, what if I would have started a few years ago, like having a child. And then the cool thing is when I watch my sister, you know, and I see my sister with her kids for you, when you're with your baby, like, you know, you can watch the Disney shows and the shows and it's like stuff you audition for. And then like my 13 year old niece, when she's doing anime and video games, like we auditioned for that stuff all the time. And, and you're a coach. You're, you're a video game director, coach not only your voiceover artists, you and wanting to get into voiceover and the projects you go for now, you're also a coach in Hollywood, in the entertainment industry where you're coaching me and you're coaching actors and directing actors, directing them like video games and projects.
So, and then when you're like, you know, a mom, you can be watching this with your daughter and you're near your children and be doing this with them. So it grows with you and it aligns in a very authentic way. I think that's so cool.
I know I, I do too. I think this, this industry, well, society in general makes you really, it tries to put this fear in us that when we become parents that I don't know we're going to lose so much of ourselves in our freedom. And obviously I know that things are going to shift and they're going to change and, and everything. But I, I think I've felt like I'm supposed to really be scared of what happens once she's here, but I feel like it's going to give my work more purpose. And I think it's going to, like you said, like even just having her around and watching her grow, I'm going to watch these shows more.
I'm going to be more aware of them than I even am now. And I'm going to have her there as my example of my inspiration. Right. And I'm going to be able to, to set an example of what being an artist and a creative and a hard worker is, you know, so I truly believe that becoming a mother is going to make all my work even better. I don't know. People get really scared, I think as actors, maybe more for on camera, but it's like, I, I think it just makes us a richer person, you know, a human being rather to have these experiences and, and have that love, expand, and have that purpose expand and your muse in life, you know, and everything.
I think it really, it grows. And so I felt very empowered by the whole experience so far. Yeah.
1000% to thinks I'm Nate. I remember growing up, it's like boys play video games. And I felt like I was being a lazy loser if I was playing video games, like, no, that's not business. It's like, I want to get like a Nintendo, whatever PlayStation. I want to get the system and have someone to play with, you know? And yeah. Yeah. And then the other thing, if I can remember it is, oh, like when I was a kid, I made the choice to have children later on in life because I thought it was either or right. But we just, we
That's what I'm saying. Just
Unfolded and express how, how they can align together.
Yeah. Well, that's the thing is we're we are, if we choose this profession as an actor, you know, we're being told like, oh, well, the moment you have kids, you know, it's just, it's gonna stop. Everything is going to change everything. It's going to, you won't physically do this. You won't do this. We're told that so much. And I've been so curious and you know, I'm not on the other side of it yet, but I've been so curious how it will affect me. I do think obviously there will be a shift in priority and how I approach things will certainly change by. I don't think it has to be all or nothing in the way that we're sort of like told it's going to be like, we really think it's either. Or, and we're told that.
And I just, I think that's really false. And you think of all these incredible women who are mothers and have been mothers for a very long time and have created absolutely amazing things in, in so many ways. And I don't know, it's not high it like anything else about being a woman in this world. We are, there's so much fear around it. And I just want to be the voice of someone who, for me, I've, I've felt even more empowered, even more inspired. And, and I, I truly believe that only grows on the other side of this and in the way that you find your flow, I feel like this is just like, even more so going to teach me about myself and what matters again and again and again. And I wish that for everyone.
Yeah,
Yeah. And pivoting into more deep diving a voiceover, because right now we're seeing the thing and all of our reads authenticity, natural, conversational. So while you're doing that, you're going to be more comfortable in who you are as you're unfolding and the truth of your love, your heart center when we're doing these reads and we're doing these jobs that you're going to get, you can do that. So your work's going to improve even more. Cause you're just so on the target.
Yeah. I, I certainly hope so. And I, I I've felt that way so far and it just gives you more to draw from doesn't it, you know, like you and I both know, cause we've done so many auditions together. It's like show up every day with different emotions and different moods and everything. And sometimes our minds can just draw such a blank with, you know, where to pull our inspiration from each day. But I feel like the more love in our lives and the more experiences we have just gives us even more sort of material the, well, the tool, the acting tool box that we pull from each day when we have to show up to the Mike or camera or whatever, it just, it expands.
Right. So yeah, no, I, I think it just makes it better and better. That's what I hope for. That's what I've experienced thus far. And we'll, we'll have to do a check-in and you know, six months and see how I'm feeling.
Oh yeah. I mean, I definitely want you back on the show, so in the near future, so I would definitely love you. Don't
Just see what I say on the other side,
We're all waiting to hear, but speaking of love, we love bill Holmes and that's how we know each other. So I think we met in 2014 or 2015, so it's almost a decade that we've Known each other and you know, gratefully, you've been, you know, hand in hand with bill Holmes and that's how we know each other. And that's how we've been able to work together to do in voiceover as a community. And I feel like you support and hold space for me, multi-dimensional levels with my craft and my work and I trust you and the team trusts me. And so with bill Holmes and Shane salt and you, you know, birth car Sierra in the series, and now it has over a 100,000 downloads streaming everywhere, and you play the lead character.
So let's go in and talk about car CRM, the series.
Oh my God. Yes. I feel so lucky to be a part of this series with the guys, you know, Shane, I'm sure he talked on his episode all about his love of radio plays and, and audio dramas and everything like this. He created this story. I feel so fortunate to be a part of. And you know, I wasn't as close as I am with bill and Shane we're family we're with each other, every day we run a business. I was not just given this role. They actually cast someone else in this leading role originally. And when they got to the point of bringing her in, they, it just didn't feel like the right fit. And so they had me read on the role. So I don't know if some people out there obviously creating things with your friends.
Sometimes you do naturally. It just like you fall into a role cause you know, each other and you're writing and you have people in mind like Shane, Shane plays the character of Kevin. Kevin is Shane. When they were writing this series, they wrote Shane, you know what I mean? Bora, who's the character I play. Yeah. She, she wasn't even written for me. I came in and it was just one of those things where the original girl, for whatever reason, didn't suit it. And I found myself in the role and it is probably one of the most special roles, if not the most special role I've played in my life. And I, you know, I'm sure you can relate to this when you're first cast in something and you haven't really discovered who they are yet.
I came in with this concept of what she needed to be like. And then over time I meshed who I am with her naturally. And this, this idea of, oh, she's gotta be tough and she's a fighter and this and that for me, you can be tough. You can be a fighter, you can do all these things, but also be a very soft emotional person as well. Tough. Doesn't have to mean like your typical stereotype of tough hero. And I love aura because she, everything she does is from the heart. She believes in the good of people and community. And to record this series at such a historical time in our life, you know, we started recording this right, as COVID hit and to watch what was happening in the world, as we recorded the series, it just felt like a reflection of outside the studio every day when we would come in and it was incredible.
And that vulnerability of, I think what we were experiencing just lent itself to the story and the character a lot. Yeah.
I love that. And it's like, while you're meshing you with the character aura, it's like, you're exploring the divine feminine and then the masculinity, you know, with the character and you know, that's really, really beautiful. And then, and then also another thing that comes to me is like, even though the world blew up, you know, like you had this project and as humans, as creators are know responsibility, like our birthright is to create. And so no matter with whatever happened, you showed up, the team showed up just to keep, we didn't know what was going to happen, but we just kept going, showed up and created the series.
Yeah. It was really cathartic to have something creative to be working on when that was happening in the world, It will still happen. Absolutely it. Yeah. And when they wrote the series, obviously, I mean, you know, it's like Shakespeare, like I was saying about how the themes are timeless, that, you know, regardless of what it is, it, our, when it, when it takes place, these themes are timeless. And I remember when the riots were going on in 2020 and everything, there was the, I remember showing up to one of the episodes where, you know, my dialogue was just about standing up for, you know, so Kevin or someone says to aura like this, isn't our fight.
This isn't us, this isn't our fight. We need to flee. We need to go. And I'm like, it's all of our fight. You know, we, we need to show up. And there was just so much, there was so much in the dialogue that wasn't, it just reflected what was happening. I read it, you know, I read it the year prior. And then when I came back the year later to record it, I was experiencing the words in an entirely different way. And it's how cool is it as an actor to have something that sort of archives that time in your life and what you were feeling that, and then your approach to the dialogue then would maybe be so different if you had recorded a year before or year later. You know? So when I go back and I hear these episodes, sometimes I'm like, oh my God, I, you know, my approach with the, with the scene or whatever, it was sometimes surprises me.
It maybe wouldn't, it would be very different if I recorded it now. And I cried a lot. Well, recording this series, I don't know. I, you know, there was just, it was an intense time and we weren't afraid to really dig into those emotions and bill Holmes directed a lot of these episodes. It was him and Shane, but, you know, I trust those guys. I love them very much. And we would get to really intense, raw places. And sometimes we would record something and I would be like, oh guys, I was crying way too much through that. That was way too vulnerable. And they're like, no, no, no, it's good. You know, like we were allowed to go to that place and yeah, God, what a, what a special experience.
So yeah, I I'm, I'm really grateful for it.
And yeah, I mean, I just want to extend, it's like, cause my heart's just like sinking right now is just, you felt safe. You love them. And it was a safe space. So for the person tuning in to, you know, connect with people and if you don't have that community and people, it doesn't have to be a bunch of people, but find the people, you know, that you feel safe to share that vulnerability. Even when I say, or you say, or someone says, I have to apologize, no, let's not apologize for showing our emotions. Oh, that was too much. And then someone saying, oh yeah, that's too much. No, no, no, no. We want to be able to unleash it like an ocean. And really, I mean, it's what we get to do in life to fully express as humans, as artists like we're primal primal beings, and then we're domesticated.
So break the domestication break the, the societal norms of how things are supposed to be because we're evolving and shape-shifting, that's why we're on the podcast. That's why we're sharing. And that's why you tell the story with car serum, the series. So people go to this, you know, fantasy world and it's a, it's a, it's a fantasy, you know, and it's going to be in the show notes so everyone can tune in and the website and people can look more into that. And I definitely want to give people an opportunity to connect with you on your website and all your social medias and your website will be below. But if you want to share your website, that'd be cool too.
Yeah. Yeah. My personal website is Dana powers.com and you can find my voiceover stuff, my contact info on there. I also, I teach, I coach you can contact me there or you can even email me directly. Dana powers [email protected]. My social media is Dana Simone powers. Yeah. I love connecting with people, whether it's, you know, through this podcast, whether I work with you as a director, as a fellow castmate, I'm a fellow artist in this world. If you're curious about voiceover, don't hesitate to get in contact with me. I could talk about this stuff for hours. And if you please go and download and subscribe to car serum, the series, you know, it was so interesting how, how many audio series popped up in this pandemic?
You know, when, when Shane was creating car serum, he had already created a we're alive and a couple of different shows. And then the unit pandemic happened, things shut down and, and live action shows where all of a sudden being turned into, you know, podcast series or audio, audio series and whatever. And there was just sort of this like flood of sort of oversaturated market of audio series. And I just want to say curse serum. One of the things that sets Carcierge apart is how immersive it is. And that with the writing Shane, there was a whole team of writers, but Shane felt really strongly about not spelling things out for the listener.
He really wants you very rarely is someone their looks or anything like that described to you, right? Everybody, the picture of the movie that's playing out in your head when you're listening, looks very different for everyone every now and then they might describe a certain monster or maybe a setting, but unlike other audio series that I think there was a red door and they walked through it and then, you know, aura came through in her blonde hair, blue in the wind. I mean, there's none of that. And so because of that, it's sort of much like Shakespeare. And I said, do you have to tune your ear to the language of the poetic language of Shakespeare when you go and you sit down and you see a show, car serum is the same way you start listening and you go, oh my God, okay, wait, hold on.
They're not spelling this out for me. I really need to lay back and just see what my own imagination is coming up with here. And I think that's really exciting. It's, it's, it's a film for your ears by all means, you know, it's and, and go on that walk, go on that hike, go on that long drive, lay in the bath, whatever you need to do to just lose yourself in this story. And sometimes it takes that, that second listen to be like, oh my God, I'm, I'm picking up on these. The, the sound design and everything is just like, it's, there's so many little Easter eggs in there that you don't realize are there, oh, it's for a ver it's for an intelligent audience. You know, they, they didn't want to feel like they had to spell anything out for people.
We trust that the people listening are painting their pictures. And it's a, it's an amazing exercise in your own imagination to paint the picture of the world of car serum.
Yeah. 1000%. I mean, I remember like, you know, one of my favorite things I was telling Shane is like, when you were walking with a horse and the horse was cackling, and you could hear like the crisp, clear clack cackling of the, of the, of the, what are they called? The hubs, the hubs. And then, and then the opening, it was very distinctive. Cause I, I close, I listened to like nine in a row when I first tuned in and it was all black and I had my eyes closed and I like was visualizing it, but you know, the character was in his room and then he heard the person outside and the audio and the, the attunement that you're saying about like the audio is like, you were, you were hearing it from, you know, the narrator's perspective of how he was hearing it kind of muffled because it was from, he was listening through the other side of the door.
Yeah. But we don't have to describe like that walked through the door over to here and that, you know, you just, we trust that people are going to listen and they're going to get that without spelling it out. And I think that really sets itself apart because a lot of other series don't trust that their audience is sort of smart enough to do that. And I just, Shane took a really beautiful approach with this series and yeah, yeah,
Yeah. Very cool. So Carsey, I'm the series, definitely check it out. It's streaming everywhere. We'll have everything in the show notes. And as Dana mentioned, she's a coach. She's a great coach. She's been my coach for over a year. And you know, all the best people, you know, Susan Batson is my acting coach and Nicole Kidman, that's her acting coach. And Nicole Kim has ever had a, like a personal, like gone to acting classes, just she had, you know, Susan Batson. And like, I know Aaron Speiser like, he'll be on set with will Smith and J-Lo and coaching them like all, all the best talent like Dana, I'm sure she has a coach. Like we all get coached, like even, you know, to get out of our head, you get a different perspective to get a different, you know, lay of the land of what's going on.
So Dana is a great coach, definitely tune in, follow her on her journey through her social media is there'll be in the show notes and empower her and she wants to empower you and congratulations on everything and your journey thus far. I'm so privileged and happy to be a part of your journey and watch you blossom. And I'm excited for you and motherhood and, you know, collaborating on your future projects. So I'm really, really happy. Thank you so much for tuning in and being on she's all over the place. Yeah, totally. Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you for having me. I feel so privileged to know you as well and to be connected in this, this creative space that thank you.
Yeah. Yeah, my pleasure. My pleasure. Cool. And so officially I would love to, I said it a couple of times, but I would love to have you back in the near future on she's all over the place.
Yes.
Cool. Cool. And then what's going on with season two?
Oh, season two is in the works. I, you know, I wasn't part of the writing meetings on season one, but they let me come and, and sit around on one of their writers weekends for season two. And there is so much I was sitting there and I was just, I was just keeping quiet. I was just in the background, but they kept discussing things and my job would just hit the floor and, and bill would just look at me and laugh because I'm like, what is happening? And I was like, should I be allowed to hear any of this? So anyway, there's going to be lots revealed, I should say in season two, lots of a lot of seeds planted, but there's, there's a lot of head it's going to be very exciting.
It's in the works. And I can't wait to get back in there and continue this story in this journey with everyone. So stayed tuned. Calcium is very bingeable. So I do recommend bingeing the first season and just being ready for season two when it happens.
Okay. We're going to just leave it there. Wow. Okay. Cool. All right. Tune in next week, because she's all over the place. You just heard a deep, insightful conversation with Dana powers and myself, and I really appreciate you being here. We're here to add value for you.
Bye everybody.
Thank you so much for joining us. We'll see you next time. Kyriaki, over and out.