Christian Rummel as Bonzo Madrid with Jim Meskimen as Carn Carby. Wow.
Christian Rummel might be a relatively new transplant to the west coast, but he is no stranger to the audiobook world. He’s narrated over a hundred and seventy-five audiobooks in a variety of genres, including the popular LOST FLEET and BEYOND THE FRONTIER series by Jack Campbell, some of which were recorded right here at Skyboat. Earlier this year Christian was an Audie finalist for one of Campbell’s tomes, and we were lucky enough to get to ask him a couple of questions on camera about his narrational experiences in the video above. Additionally, Christian is a two-time Audiofile Earphones award winner, and he’s stepped in front of the mic to appear Off-Broadway with Theatre For A New Audience, Clubbed Thumb and Peccadillo Theatre. And we could go on.
Perhaps it’s Christian’s experience narrating these super tough and militant sci-fi heroes that makes him such a force to be reckoned with in the studio, or maybe it’s just all those hours spent on a motorcyle. Whatever it is, we love it, and we really wanted to find a part for him in ENDER’S GAME ALIVE that would showcase that deep-voiced intensity that only he can bring. Enter Bonzo Madrid. And think of that shower scene. For those of you unfamiliar with the story, no spoilers here, but trust us when we say that Christian as an angry Bonzo will make your toes curl. We promise.
But don’t think that all this intensity means that Mr. Rummel lacks a sense of humor. On the contrary, he was all too eager to call Card and ask for a bigger part. See what we mean below, and continue reading below to learn more about the stunning Lisa Renee Pitts.
CAST LIST
Andrew “Ender” Wiggin……………….Kirby Heyborne
Valentine Wiggin………………………….Susan Hanfield
Peter Wiggin…………………………………..Paul Boehmer
John-Paul Wiggin……………………………Arthur Morey
Theresa Wiggin…………………………..Gabrielle de Cuir
Mazer Rackham………………………Richard McGonagle
Chamrajnagar/Fly Molo/Pol Slattery……Vikas Adam
Jayadi………………………………………….Samantha Eggar
Colonel Graff………………………………..Stefan Rudnicki
Doctor/General Levy……………………………..Theo Bikel
DeeDee/Server………………………………………..Janis Ian
Dap………………………………………………………..Rex Linn
Bean………………………………………………..Emily Rankin
Alai/Stilson……………………………………Sunil Malhotra
Mick………………………………………………….Kathe Mazur
Bernard/Dink/Carn Carby………………Jim Meskimen
Shen………………………………………….Taylor Meskimen
Major Anderson………………………….John Rubinstein
Bonzo………………………………………Christian Rummel
Pumphrey…………………………………..Lisa Renee Pitts
Lisa at work in the studio.
Lisa Renee Pitts is a Brooklyn-born stage and screen actress who has appeared in numerous projects, General Hospital, FX’s The Shield, and Spike Jonze’s upcoming sci-fi indie, Her. But some time ago, she decided “to open another door on the craft of acting” (according to AudioFile Magazine) and boy are we glad she did. We’ve gotten to work with her quite a bit over the last few years, and we’ve come to crave that velvety rich voice that only she can bring.
In ENDER’S GAME ALIVE, she played Ms. Pumphrey, Ender’s rather thoughtful, Earthbound teacher, and we think you’ll agree that we made the right decision there: in just a few lines, Lisa truly displays genuine care for Ender on the day he loses his monitor. And that’s not all she did. Like many of our talented actors, Lisa also filled in the 100+ roles of Card’s creation, filling in as a student, Salamander, Dragon, tossing in Caribbean accents where necessary, then jumping into something new without taking a break. And it should be mentioned that Christian did as well. These two might be best known for Bonzo and Pumphrey, but their voices are all over this audioplay. Go ahead: see if you can find them!
As always, follow us on Twitter @SkyboatMedia for the latest on this project and others!
