Interview with Sarah Golding
This month’s interview is someone who many will no doubt recognize if you listen to indie podcasts. When I was thinking of people to talk to, Sarah Golding was very high on the list. She was kind enough to reply, and what follows is the unedited reply (apart from a few typos and removing a hundred emojis!) On my phone, her answers were also a rather fetching shade of pink, so in a change from the regular style, I have kept that, just to show all the extra stuff she added to my text (and all the ego polish therein!)
Gregg you are a super legend and any spotlight on anyone on indie audio fiction is a brilliant and much needed momentary focus on someone or some folks doing some amazing work…so thank you! Sooooo Indie Audio Drama has sated a desire in me to act – though i do love theatre and other mediums, (I’ve done a few stints in community theatre – being actual GOAT Terry Pratchett’s ‘definitive Granny Weatherwax, against whom all others shall be measured’ back in 1995….I also am… a little shy….and as I have had chronic eczema all my life (currently …uh…cured by a very expensive bi monthly prick (an injection – omg – it hath changed my life) I felt audio was the best place to truly play, unbound by physical appearance, and a place to thrive in accentville, and excited to develop a career behind a mic as remote VA with a workable half decent home rec setup..but then… I have always loved directing… editing… writing… chatting….LET’S DO ALL THE THINGS! Audio enables you to do all the things with a small budget, some time, and patience to learn…. Anddd last year I got that ADHD diagnoses everyone knew about that i HAD BUT ME….
Interview with Sarah Golding (voice actor)
One of my all time favourite podcasts was A Scottish Podcast LOVE IT – Matt and Rob are genre geniuses (which I actually have to thank Scott Dorward for). It was my introduction to many voice actors including Karim Kronfli, Legend Matthew McLean Legend and today’s interviewee, the irrepressible Sarah Golding. Helleauuu
Sarah is one of those people who is in a seemingly never-ending stream of podcasts. There’s so many good ones and if someone asks, well, it’s rude not to say yes if I can fit it iinnn! She is great with accents, Fanks! but has a distinctive voice that betrays her identity. Ah the betrayal! At one point there was a hashtag – #awildsarahgoldingappears Indeed, it was, whilst scouring cast lists of podcasts that I discovered how prolific she is. I’m just having the best fun…. only in like 250 podcasts and there’s loads loads more, right? Lemmeattem roles, lemmeattem… Also, I’ve just statues listening to Lakes Of The Moon, and guess who crops up in that too? uhhh…Erika Sanderson? Peter Wicks? Allison Cossittttttt? OH! yeah…fun one…
Do you have a background in podcasts outside of acting (apart from your own show of course).
In writing or production? Soooo any not acting in podcasts malarkey…YES! I am Production Manager for super indie Audio Drama company WIRELESS THEATRE – www.wirelesstheatre.co.uk been there nearly 3 years now reading folks pitches and putting things forward for BBC R4,, making Wireless Original shows with phenomenal writers like Geezer Bird by Tash Desborough, The Bloody Life of RM Renfield by Marty Ross (Dracula lovers you HAVE to hear this one – phenomenal cast – Harry Myers and Sarah Whitehouse with SD from Fiona Thraille and Oliver Morris) ..and last year I produced 2 fun and very different musicals NORMANITY and FOLLOWING JIMMY VALENTINE where I worked with fantastically talented people behind and in front of the mic, and had a lovely lunch with one of my fave West End stars Kerry Ellis and enjoyed a world class cast of audio joy. Super fun by Jeff Flaster! (NORMANITY by Jules and Nige is on the Wireless Feed, and FJV on amazon and more – go hunt and singalong!) I also dialogue edit OZ9 podcast – my rates are reasonable – a super fun comedy from SHANNON PERRY about a hapless group of oddballs on a spaceship – just edited S6 EP 120 – and it is beautifully nuts – if you need a lift, go listen and binge – the cast are super amazing and I love working with them all – currently learning some songs for a musical ep! (I also play Mrs Sheffield who is truly a delicious character and by now i think my longest running recurring role…)
I have my own feed on QUIRKY VOICES but have been so busy working for Wireless (got 2 BBC commissions nearly to fruition woohoo) and with my other podcasts INDIE AF and ADWIT, I haven’t had a chance to release much…or finish things I meant to….cos I love new writing ,so promote monologue writing through Quirky Voices projects and now the Mummylogues, Daddylogues, Grandologues and….coming soon perhaps the Teenologues and Neurologues – so watch this space if you’re a writer for submission info! Me and Fiona Thraille have in the past combined our companies to produce DASHINGLY QUIRKY celebrations of new writing which ran for 5 years….and this year, it will be the 5th year of THE AUDIO DRAMA HUBFEST! Yes! A full weekend dedicated to connecting and sharing work and skills from folks in the indie AF world – Keynote speakers have included Felix Trench and Beth Eyre, Nicholas Briggs, Mariele Runacre-Temple and Sir Dirk of Maggs! Love these – look out on the audiodramahub.com website for this years funnnn…
I also created the INCOGNITO 42 writer retreat with Shannon Perry where 10 indie writers came together for workshops in a beautiful Welsh mansion for a few days of workshops – from me and Shannon and the astoundingly brilliant David K Barnes – was bliss and a happy place and where I met Sarah Rhea Werner and Tim Kruase too – some of my indie af heroes…
How did you get into voice acting? Did you start out on stage/tv, or did you go straight onto audio?
I specialised in playing older character ladies in my teens and twenties – Grandma in Adrian Mole, Schneider in Cabaret, Sophie in White Liars, Granny W in Pratchett plays wot iI directed with my pal IRANA MORRISH. I took a voyage round acting and became a teacher, directing local shows and school things, as was rather shy and unconfident in my own abilities….VA Started in 2014 when my pal who I met on the local community theatre circuit (He wears a dress better than I do – or did in Charley’s Aunt) – Karim Kronfli – you may know him – he’s been in a few….MAJOR AF PODS – and is rather brilliant – (and lovely pal) in everythinggggg – He said he was doing his voice reels, and I harboured a desire to do the same, so did. then hawked it across FB (Audio Drama Hub FB group was the Audio Drama Production Podcast group) and what was X at the time, and sent to certain producers i admired in a cold call yet kinda Sarahesque email to get on the radar, and now, well, mostly folks ping me an email saying ‘dya wanna do this role’ and more oft than not its yessss – which includes of late some more Amelia Pod, Madison on the air, Someone Just Like You…. which tbh is a truly lovely feeling to be asked….really. I still do some free things for folks starting out but generally take the paid gigs these days due to life necessities…
Was acting something you’ve always been doing? If not, what was the job that gave you the bug?
It was the character roles that hooked me – the ‘brummy’ of Grandma in Adrian Mole started me on a true hunt for other such funny, grounded, rounded oft absurd acerbic feisty women, and it seems there’s a few audio dramas with those roles in I could hunt today – the General in Wasteland, The lady from The Orphans, Mrs S, and then the softer versions – Acantha in Silt Verses, Mama in VHS and mum in The Tower. Such word treasures and journeys to navigate! But yes, the writing and loonacy of Drunk Helen was a role where my brain was like YES! PLLLAYYYYY! And I knocked my booth down in doing so a few times. I wanted more loony….and so from the Drunk Helen Springboard Starla in 1994 and Mom in Subjective Truth and Melinda in Hellmart Shoppers now exist….somewhere…in the annals.
I think the first thing I ever heard you in was A Scottish Podcast (quelle surprise). Since then I recognise your voice in many shows. Was Drunk Helen your favourite role? If not, then who was your favourite person to play? And yes, I am going to force you to pick one, or no more than three. No diplomatic answers here!
No. You can’t force me no! I refuse. Welllll…ok Gosh. I have been blessed with some stupendous fun – anything I’ve done for The Amelia Project is truly fun, Lily and Northcott – uhhh Mrs S is groovy as….but I guess Drunk Helen is the breakout feisty one – the ep when she’s in the supermarket wine aisle and the interview asks her about her kids, and with shock and surprise she says ‘Ah’ve got kids?!!!’ just made me lol lots…buuuuuut those pages of Acantha? The actual more real ride of Marian in Edict Zero? The monologues from The Tower? Such. Fun! I feel oft like a ninja actor – I go in, splurge a cameo and dash out poss never seen again….but yea….more please world. Mooooore!
Do you prefer comedy or straight roles? You play a lot of zany characters, but your roles in the first two series of Lakes Of The Moon showed an incredible emotional depth. Are you worried about getting typecast?
Ah that’s very kind of you to say so – thank you — I dream of a role that really pushes both aspects tbh – a straight someone with a drunk scene / someone who seems insignificant or silly but then turns…useful……we all dream of that or the role where you are perceived as one thing but turn out to be another…I would love with a huge passion to flex more comedy chops tho – I used to dream of being part of a comedy sketch group like the Pythons so if anyone needs a middle aged menopausal character Sarah, ping me for joyous fun. Nope, Not worried about being typecast, just yearning for that next funtime behind a mic. It’s a privilege to bring folks hard thought words to life it truly is, and whether in isolation in my own booth, on a zoom call or in a studio with others, it is truly my happiest place – but i keep doing other things like running podcasts about sharing the craft or podcast festivals and writer retreats! Would love to go full time but have parental responsibilities and challenging things to contend with as i appreciate we all do, but this keeps me grounded in doing alllll the things sporadically atm.
Outside of your previous work, what are the top three podcasts of all time? Regardless of genre or age, what is your “S” tier list?
Wooden Overcoats I utterly adore – honestly – why this isnt picked up and made into all other media I DO NOT KNOW – Perfect casts and super funny really lollable funny writing and oh the timing from that cast is SUBLIME. Wolf 359 was another gateway for me – and I fell in love with some voices in that…such brilliant writing again from Gabriel Urbina – just wonderful in every turn. And…3? <Breathes out for ages> UHHHHH….I cannot choose – too many – so have Victoriocity, Bright Sessions, OZ9, Amelia Project, Ars Paradoxica, Edit Zero and The Truth as number three. ALL OF THEMMM. Oh and anything by Amber Devereux or Oliver Morris or Faith McQuinn. Fanks
What do you think of the use of Al in podcasting? As a creative person, I am so against it, I sometimes think I am a true luddite. Do you think it has a place in any creative endeavor?
I ABHOR THE VERY EXISTENCE OF THE THIEVES. But I see transcript generation as helpful. I see aspects of social media clip tools and creation sites like canva as useful. BUT I HATE THOSE Golden tinged images and folks who at every turn say ‘ask chat gpt’ and I worry for this next generation who can’t think for themselves without turning to ask an ai tool to take out their personality from it. It worries me. A lot. And I have heard that voice actors voices have been ripped from shows by unknown ai things and utilised elsewhere and it’s hard to fight that as an individual. I tryyyy to stay savvy with ai clauses in contracts and there are so many scammers out there. Makes me feel truly sad that folks are preying on hard working ambitious creatives with this thing. And folks sharing it happily perhaps need to get more savvy and stop….but it is getting a lot harder to determine what is real and what is not. I hate the fact that there are fully ai podcasts out there. As a humanity we are meant to create, and that meme re why aren’t the robots doing the things we hate rather than the art we want to make resonates with me….have a listen to the indie af EP first discussion on ai…I hope it sparks a good debate and makes people at least think a little more….
Apart from acting, you have the Indie AF podcast (which I really enjoy). It’s a great service to give recognition to the indie scene, I can’t think of another podcast quite like it. Why do you think this particular niche has been overlooked?
Ah thank you for saying that. It is a labour of love and I truly truly love chatting to other creatives about making audio drama. I guess some folks think they know it all after doing a few eps and feel they don’t need it but I think it’s a great inspiration tbh. I think there’s a lot of fantastic tips in those eps that stop people from reinventing the wheel. My next season I aim to do a kind of course through it…how to make an audio drama from the idea to the release and beyond. See how we go with that! But yes it could do as a pod with more listeners but …I also got to thinking well maybe it’s just me they don’t like. Like ya know, if it was hosted by Beth Eyre or Someone from a well known show and was less Sarah-infield it might have more reach but hey, I am simply me and do what I do cos that’s how I do it. I have about 12 PATREONS who have helped me continue to make it through their support and ya know, every £1 of support means such a lot, so…I will sporadically try to release eps as my irl and busy professional life allow. Also have grateful thanks to Andi White who has helped by editing a few eps for me and Leeman Kessler for doing some marketing materials for me….I’m using my PATREON monies to fuel things like that as I know the eps are helpful and really want to get the next 9 eps out weekly but…the juggle is hard!
Now is your time to big up your podcast! Why should people listen to it?
^^ It is chock full of amazing brilliant highly talented creatives sharing their best practices and what didn’t work too. You can magpie alll their experience and hopefully make your piece because you’ve been better informed by these folks!
I’m excited about sharing each EP and valued the time chatting to all. I used to do sketches at the top of the eps but that was so hard to maintain as obvs it took like 3 days to edits those 2 mins And I was doing a discoverability section where I got the creative showrunner to big up their show but…ya know what…folks just didn’t answer my call for guests, and I started to run out of time to approach folks….would LOVE to add that again as I know for a fact that that 5-10 min section of the show did lead listeners to these brilliant shows they may not have heard of before, so I am a little sad that I had to stop that.
I also would love to point folks to ADWIT podcast as a helpful inspiration for folks writing audio drama…the wonderful Lindsay Harris-Friel counterbalances my puppydog nature and I know folks have found this a fun and useful show to dip into to help them write more amazing audio drama…. and of course please have a listen to the works on the Wireless Theatre website – lots there for all tastes…and I am still looking for a small cast short season comedy to produce for them….so…send me send me! I’m currently working on some BBC pitches to put in…..and we’re finalsing the edits on 2 Wireless productions for the BBC radio 4 slots, Hope Bourne by Zalie Burrow and Done To Death by Brendon Connelly. Such a privilege to work with such amazing writers and creatives on these – love love love working in the studio with folk too!
I know I am so lucky to be making a living in audio drama. I work as a production manager for Wireless Theatre and as a freelance voice actor, (send me more fun roles please world/my agent!) and the scripts still gently land in my inbox for fun roles, and I hope that continues! Would love to see more indie folks either in person or online at the AUDIO DRAMA HUBFEST which is a podcast festival me and KARIM Kronfli run in November in High Wycombe in the U.K.. Again a labour of love tbh as the hours put in are not covered by any pennies we make from it, as we pay all of our workshop leaders and panellists and there’s a small fee for the performing shows too, but ya know, if you want to connect with folks making audio drama who are perhaps just starting out, or have a show under their belt or are seasoned pros, you’ll find your tribe here. So check www.audiodramahub.com for details of this year, and I’m also running workshops for wireless theatre with core members of our team in April 2026 so ping me on my sarah@wirelesstheatre.co.uk email to get in on the waitlist for these as in person studio tickets will be rare…and we’d love to welcome folks on zoom from all over the world to some sessions too!
Thanks so much for asking these questions Gregg and I hope your creative journey is a super and enriching and fun lucrative one! I so need to finish my voice acting book huh? Got lots to say and share that hopefully will help folks gain confidence in themselves and get AF savvy! Happyyyy creating all and please ping me if you want a bespoke character voice or intro to being a fun loving af VA.