I want to start off by saying thank you to Jeff Hays because as a small blogger, I am very grateful for being willing to answer a few questions about voice acting and his experience with audiobook narration. Not all big names are willing to talk to smaller sources, but thank you for giving me a chance to talk about it!
I met Jeff Hays at Dragonsteel Nexus 2025 and was one of the few interviews I was able to get. Jeff Hays is well known as the audiobook narrator for Dungeon Crawler Carl, and founder of Soundbooth Theater.
Soundbooth Theater is an audio production company that specializes in “multicast audiobooks and cinematic audio”.
To explore more about Soundbooth Theater: soundbooththeater.com/
Disclaimer: This is not an affiliate link, I am not paid or sponsored by Soundbooth Theater, however that would be cool one day!
The Jeff Hays’ Voices of Dungeon Crawler Carl
I asked Jeff how he came up with such unique voices for the characters in Dungeon Crawler Carl.
“All I did with Carl is I looked at the cover and pictured Patrick Warburton being casted, so I started doing a Patrick Warburton impression. As for every other character in the series, it has been either Matt asking for something specific, which is rare, or I just react. I have been doing audiobook narration for so long it’s more instinctive. Donut, for example, I opened my mouth and that is what came out.”
As instinctive as it is, he did also bring up “It is informed by the writing itself. I will take time to study the characters, get to know them in my pre-read and that is what leads to a voice. I am not making a decision, it’s really by feel at this point.”
Jeff has made it very obvious with the 13 years of experience in voice acting and audiobook narration that he has a system fine tuned to creating a cinematic experience.
His Favorite Works Right Now
I asked Jeff Hays about what his favorite piece is at the moment. Given that he has had 13 years of experience in the narration world, it would be interesting to know what his favorite was, which came to no surprise.
“DCC is my favorite piece at the moment. It is amazing to work on my favorite piece of art, and it is also incredibly profitable.”
Since Jeff also works on other pieces with Soundbooth Theaters, he also really enjoys a mystery/thriller that he has been working on.
“I am also really excited on our soundbooth app. We are working on a mystery/thriller called The Bones at Point No Point. It has been number one on the amazon store for the mystery category so it is really cool to get into something almost polar opposite than DCC, it is in no way insane, it’s twisted because the serial killer does some gruesome stuff but it is all grounded in reality with characters you might meet in the real world.
“It is focused on an actual location instead of some fantasy world. I love working on something so grounded. Being able to perform and direct in that environment and bring it to life has been an absolute treat that I look forward to doing more of.”
Jeff is very excited about the soundbooth app, which has been up and running since Dragonsteel Nexus 2025, and looked forward to two more episodes coming out in a few weeks from then.
Getting into Narration
I asked Jeff Hays for advice for anyone who is looking to get into voice acting. Maybe someone who is hesitant or wants to make it into the world of voice acting and making it a career.
Jeff is passionate about his work. He had some controversial topics, but they are very hard truths in the world of narration.
“My best advice is to listen to yourself. Not listen to your heart. Like, record a chapter and don’t say welp, that’s an audiobook. Listen to it and don’t hire people for a long time. You need to learn the craft in and out in order to hire people to do things. Listen to your own performance and be honest.
“When you first start, you will suck. And you must understand the ways in which you suck. This is not emphasized in the narrator world, sucking is acceptable. Because you can be professional and make connections and still land jobs. There are just so many more authors than narrators, so it is really easy to get in. To make your mark, you need to know what your strengths are, and you have to concentrate on that. Don’t just treat it like a job. You have to dedicate yourself to it if you want to make it.
“Guess what, AI is here and is narrating a lot of audiobooks, and people don’t like it right now, but I would rather listen to AI than a lot of narrators out there right now. Not that I would, but gun to my head, if I had to choose to listen to a horrible narrator or this OK AI, I am going to choose the AI. In order to compete against AI, narrators need to step up their game.” I appreciate Jeff Hays for his time in this interview. I am so excited to learn more about audiobook narration with him and in his panel. I talked about Audiobooks and AI in another post that came from Jeff and his panel with the narrators for Isle of the Emberdark. I am glad there is a lot of light being shone on the hard truths of the narration world.
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