Category Archives: Press

Media and Press featuring Susan Hanfield

AudioFile Magazine’s Review of The Game of Love and Death! #2017 Audie Finalist

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So happy to share this lovely review from AudioFile Magazine for The Game of Love and Death by Martha Brockenbrough!  Published by Scholastic Audio.

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THE GAME OF LOVE AND DEATH

by Martha Brockenbrough | Read by Susan Hanfield

Young Adult Young Adult • 11 hrs. • Unabridged • © 2015

Narrator Susan Hanfield embodies the characters Love and Death, who wager on the love between Henry and Flora, a pair of teenagers in Seattle in the 1920s. Hanfield uses a stoic voice when Death points out that because Flora is African-American and Henry is white, there is no way their love will endure. From Love, one hears notes of wistfulness and desperation–as he is tired of losing his wagers with Death and wants this forward-thinking pair to thrive. Hanfield believably portrays both Flora and Henry from childhood to the story’s present as well as creating vivid voices for secondary characters, ably handling accents and foreign languages, and even occasionally breaking into song. Historical fiction, romance, and magical realism make for a compelling listen. A.F. 2017 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine [Published: MARCH 2017]

Listen to a sample of 2017 Audie Award Finalist The Game of Love and Death!

 

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Rehearsals for King Lear begin. Regan – here I come…

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13261210_f520Great fun today sinking teeth into the text of William Shakespeare’s King Lear  with director Tony Tanner (who is also playing the title role) and a sublime cast! I am thrilled to be playing Regan, in my favorite of all of Shakespeare’s plays.

We will be putting on a full scale production towards the latter part of the year, but first things first! We’re getting our feet wet with two staged readings – performed by two extraordinary casts! This is going to be fun.

Readings will take place on Saturday March 25th & Sunday March 26th at T.U. Studios located in the NoHo Arts District at 10943 Camarillo St., North Hollywood, Ca 91602. Performances will begin at 2pm on both days.

Not sure which day I’ll be performing yet, so stay tuned!

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“Today she is everywhere…” The Second Line of Defense – now on Audio!

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61dgv7sdj5l-_sl300_Lynn Dumenil’s The Second Line of Defense: American Women and World War I offers an in-depth look at the role women played during World War I and how they crossed personal, economic and political boundaries to help the United States mobilize for War. Published by Blackstone Audio, this was such a compelling book to narrate!

The women of this era fought fearlessly, volunteering on the home front, working as laborers in factories, serving as nurses overseas, and challenging racial divides at home – forming a true second line of defense. Anne Emerson, captured the essence of the early 20th century “new woman” beautifully in her 1918 Forum Article: “Today she is everywhere; a Salvation lassie, serving coffee and doughnuts on the firing line; in the Red Cross Emergency Hospital at the front; in the munitions factory at home; filling the gaps in man-made industry everywhere. . . She is omnipresent.”

Indeed she was.  It was an honor to narrate this book. I hope you enjoy it.

Thrilled to be a 2017 Audie Award Finalist!

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So incredibly happy to have learned that I am a 2017 Audie Award Finalist in the Young Adult category for THE GAME OF LOVE AND DEATH, exquisitely written by Martha Brockenbrough and published by Scholastic Audio!

My deepest thanks to Paul Gagne  for trusting me with this beautiful book that so captured my heart from the very first moment. Heartfelt thanks also to Debra Deyan, Jorge Reyes, Sebastian Zetin and the amazing team at Deyan Audio! What an incredible joy to work with all of you. Thanks also to the Audio Publishers Association!

Huge congratulations to all of the 2017 Audie Award Finalists!! Your work inspires me every day.

 

Two Identical Doors. Behind One, a Lady. Behind the Other, a Tiger…

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fth-finalSuch a joy to be a part of FROM THE HEART, a month of free audio put together by the extraordinary Xe Sands and Jennifer Conner as a way to say thank you to our listening community!

Today, I’m up at bat with an intriguing short story called The Lady, or The Tiger?  written by Frank R. Stockton. This riddle immediately caught my attention and I love how Stockton leaves it up to the listener to decide which door our protagonist opens! If you’re unfamiliar with the story, here is a brief look behind the two doors…

In a land far far away an unusual punishment is imposed by a semi-barbaric king in which the accused must leave his life to impartial and incorruptible chance as he chooses between two identical doors. Behind one door is a beautiful lady, who the accused man would immediately wed after choosing that door, behind the other is a ferocious tiger who is ready for his next meal.  Our protagonist has fallen in love with the princess. Upon learning of this forbidden relationship, the king sentences this young man to the choosing of the  doors. Meanwhile, the princess has discovered the secret behind the door and signals her lover. But which door does she signal? If she indicates the door with the lady, she must watch the man she loves marry a woman she despises. If she leads the man to the tiger, she must watch him be torn to pieces. What do you think? Which did he choose The Lady or the Tiger?

The Lady or the Tiger was first published in The Century magazine in 1882. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, author Frank Stockton is best known for this short story.

 

Much ado about this Saturday’s reading of…Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing!

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Hey everyone! I couldn’t be more thrilled to be playing Beatrice alongside an absolutely sublime cast, in a fully staged reading of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing directed by James Loren.  Please join us this Saturday December 10th at 2pm at the West Hollywood Library.  Admission is FREE – thanks to a generous grant from the City of West Hollywood. I hope to see you there!

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LEX JULIA – A Staged Reading of a New Play – Saturday Nov 19 at 2pm!

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Back by popular demand! If you missed our sold-out staged reading of LEX JULIA  at The Lounge Theatre earlier this year, here is another opportunity to see it! Please stop by this Saturday, November 19th at 2pm. The play has changed some, the cast has changed some. It’s going to be terrific! Join us.110616-lex-julia-square-for-online-only-does-not-bleed

Exciting night as a nominee at the 3rd Annual Voice Arts Award!

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Had a fun night on the Warner Bros. Studio lot last night as a nominee for the 3rd Annual Voice Arts Awards! Thrilled to be nominated with the cast of Hemingway in Love: His Own Story by A.E. Hotchner for the 2016 Voice Arts Awards.  This was an exciting night!

In this moving memoir of Hemingway’s life, I had the joy of playing Hadley Richardson. This, in addition to working with such an awesome cast, made this project a dream to work on. Our full cast includes: Alex Hyde-White, Joan Baker, Gabrielle de Cuir, Steve Marvel (pictured here with me) and Susan Hanfield.  Hemingway in Love: His Own Story is published by Macmillan Audio and produced by Punch Audio.

Many thanks to SOVAS and to our fabulous hosts Joan Baker and Rudy Gaskins for such a wonderful evening!

Congratulations to all the winner and nominees!

Thrilled to be a nominee at the 2016 Voice Arts Awards!

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Congratulations to my many friends and colleagues who received nominations today for the 2016 Voice Arts Awards!!

I am so excited to learn that I’m also a nominee, alongside a sublime cast (Alex Hyde-White, Gabrielle de Cuir, Joan Baker, Steve Marvel) for Hemingway in Love: His Own Story  written by A.E. Hotchner, published by Macmillan Audio and produced by Punch Audio.

In this poignant memoir, I had the immense joy of playing Hadley Richardson, Ernest Hemingway’s first wife. To step into Hemingway’s world in the 1920s and learn who this extraordinary woman was, is an experience I will always treasure!

Hemingway in Love: His Own Story is available on Audible and at Amazon.com.

You, Fascinating You – First Glimpse Inside the Upcoming Audiobook!

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I couldn’t be more thrilled to be narrating this exquisite novel written by Germaine Shames, produced by Punch Audio.  You, Fascinating You is based on the true story of Hungarian ballerina, Margit Wolf, who leaves Hungary at the age of 17 with dreams of dancing at La Scala.  Once in Italy, she meets Italian composer, Pasquale Frustaci, the man who would become the love of her life.  As World War II becomes imminent and in the wake of Mussolini’s edict banishing foreign Jews from Italy, Margit returns to Hungary with their young son. She would not be reunited with her Italian maestro for another 22 years.

In this brief clip, older Margit takes us back to the day when at 17, she breaks the news to her parents that she has received an opportunity to dance … at La Scala. Have a listen!