Voice actor Maren Garcia joins host Roy Samuelson to talk about how she first discovered Audio Description, and why it immediately felt personal.

Maren shares the moment she was hired for a full feature film, after being found through the Disabled Voice Actors Directory, a resource built to support authentic casting.

She talks candidly about vetting an unfamiliar company before saying yes, then falling in love with audio description as both craft and service.

They dig into what makes audio description work when it is done well: intention, empathy, and choices that support the story. Audio description is the narration track that communicates essential visual information that the audio alone cannot carry. Maren also describes an experiment watching a dance show with audio description, just to feel how writers and performers decide what matters when everything is visual.

Then the conversation pivots to NPC Chronicles, a Kickstarter soundboard project for Dungeons & Dragons non-playable characters, and why Maren sees it as an access and connection tool, inspired by assistive communication devices and her experience working with kids with disabilities. A soundboard is essentially an on-demand toolbox of sounds you can trigger in real time.

Follow Maren at @MarenGarciaVO.