Get To Know The Cast & Crew: B. Narr

In the first of our Patreon-exclusive Q&As, we chat to B. Narr, who plays Faulkner in The Silt Verses!

B is a queer horror writer and voice actor from Oklahoma. When they’re not doing creative work, B moonlights as a grad student and occasionally gets lost in the woods.

As soon as you finish reading this interview, you should definitely head to B's website to check out their amazing short fiction & essays, and pick up a copy of their latest horror novel The Hollow Bones.

Transcript:

Hi! Welcome to ‘Get to know the cast.’ My name is B. Narr, and I play Faulkner.

(Great to have you with us, B.! What drew you to playing this character?)

What drew me to playing Faulkner was his dichotomy - the difference between how people perceive him and how he perceives himself, and how he can be both at once. And how he can kind of be aware of that, and even sometimes uses it to his advantage.

And there’s also something really compelling about a person who believes in what they’re doing, just so wholeheartedly and completely, even if the thing they’re doing is...kind of objectively terrible!

(How do you feel about Faulkner as a character? Where would you like to have him end up?)

I love playing him. I wouldn’t say he’s the best person, but that’s what makes him interesting!

Without revealing any spoilers, I hope that Faulkner ends up somewhere...with lots of water. I know that’s vague. But no spoilers!

(Have you voice acted before, and if so, what kind of voice acting have you done in the past? What’s been the most interesting role you’ve ever played?)

This is actually my first voice acting role. So I have to say, hands-down, it’s the most interesting role I’ve played.

But it’s just really great - I - can I have a second to gush about everyone on the Silt Verses team? They’re amazing to work with. I just love them.

(What’s your favourite genre in fiction? Do you have a favourite work within that genre, or something that you wish you’d written?)

My favourite genre of literature is - well, predictably, horror. But I’m also a sucker for a good sci-fi thriller, or a weird historical non-fiction, like something about 16th century executioners, or how antiseptic was invented. (Go read The Butchering Art, it’s really cool.)

It is so hard to pick a favourite piece of horror media. I have a huge list of the ones I love, and my favourites are always cycling. 

So...well, one that’s always going to be one of my favourites is the movie Us. I loved everything about it, the writing, the acting, the costuming. I loved the Tethered’s design. But I don’t actually think I can talk about my favourite part on here, because that is a spoiler, and that is a movie that does not need to be spoiled.

If there’s any horror story I wish I’d written, it’d have to be...probably the movie The Ritual. 

I’m terrible, I have not read the book.

But I really like the movie. It’s wonderful at meshing the atmospheric and surreal folklore with concrete real-life tragedy, and mirroring them, and I’m a real sucker for that combination. 

Plus it’s set in the woods, and for some reason that’s where everything I write ends up.

(If you could be any kind of classic monster from the horror genre, what would you choose?)

If I could be a monster...hmm. Another hard choice.

Probably a werewolf, or something werewolf-adjacent. They’ve got a killer aesthetic, some really cool lore, sharp teeth, very scary when you want to be but you know, I’d still be able to go to the farmer’s market and stuff. Important things.

(Is there a particular character you'd love to voice some day?)

My favourite character to voice of any genre would probably be...a comic book supervillain. That seems like it’d be really fun.

(Who's inspiring you out there creatively right now?)

For voice acting, I draw inspiration from...other voice actors’ work! I know it’s not a super creative answer, but it’s the truth. Audiodramas specifically, but sometimes animation as well.

Hearing someone tell a compelling story with just their voice always gets me hyped up to do the same. And I’m still learning, and I probably always will be learning, so I try to treat that as sort of a learning exercise too - figure out what they’re doing and why it’s good. (Which might actually just be an excuse to listen to more podcasts).

(What do you do when you’re not voice acting? Do you have any special talents we might not know about?)

When I’m not voice acting, I actually write horror stories - and I am in grad school for data analytics and library information studies. Which is lots and lots and lots of typing and Excel sheets.

Special talent...do I have any special talents? Does making really good butternut squash soup count as a talent?

(It definitely does! Finally, do you have any advice for someone who’s trying to get into voice acting?)

For anyone trying to get into voice acting, my advice would be to find casting calls for stories and characters that get you excited. And then...just go for it. Seriously. If you’re passionate about it, and you just do your best, that’s all that matters.

Also, blanket forts are your friend.