Ever since this project began I believed that Leonora would be the most difficult character to develop. Shockingly while yes that did sort of turn out to be true, it wasn't nearly as difficult as I expected it to be. It was my belief that Leonora would be difficult to cast, because she's noted as having an accent, specifically one that isn't particularly recognizable. Which one could argue meant that she should have been no more difficult to cast than any other character since a specific accent isn't noted. And while yes in theory this is true, it's not quite that simple. I could have definitely cast someone with a misc. accent and I auditioned people with that in mind I also auditioned people with just none at all. But the thing is, the Yearbook notes that Leonora is Greek specifically. Now again that could have been explained away by the fact that she lives in the middle of sea isolated, so therefore there really might not be a reason for her to have a Greek accent. But she had parents so not sure how well that argument would hold up. And second just giving the character a misc. accent would kind of go against the whole idea of this game/novel/audiobook embracing different cultures. For me it was an absolute last resort. Now I've been no stranger to being transparent with people telling my reach is limited (which obviously it is). So when you as a single person developing a game say, "I need someone who can speak passable English, and do a Greek accent." You're kind of setting yourself up to struggle. Thankfully people really believe in the project and sort of put out a casting call on my behalf, and I found or I guess we found Charikleia Mari Amersa!
Charikleia really brought a lot of authenticity to the role being Greek and not having English as her first language. When you hire an Eng VA who can just do an accent you get the benefit of their diction and delivery being perfect while having that tonal flair. The problem is (if you want to call it a "problem") is that it's just not necessarily (keyword) how someone who's first language isn't Eng would speak. There's something just innately more enrapturing when someone's accent is authentic. Charikleia's natural voice and how she speaks in Eng adds a real sense of depth to the character that you probably wouldn't get if her diction was absolutely perfect. And really when you think about it, it's not even so much about the words your actor is speaking and more of he emotions driving them. Charikleia's voice also made me sort of take in Leonora in a very new way. She felt so much more Human, in my head I think she sounded so malevolent which I mean is fine if she solely were some sort of bad creature. But she's not, and Charikleia's performance makes that very apparent, she can definitely sound it, but the way in which she speaks because Eng isn't her first language gives the character a lovely charm, coupled with her tone of voice it makes her so inviting which ultimately is the core of the character. And it should be said Leonora isn't speaking like basic Eng either, she's saying some pretty big words. So it's really a testament to Charikleia's abilities as an actress.
I'm really hoping that Charikleia's performance captures players and listeners attention as much as it does mine. There's just some lines that when she says them really makes me want to hear more and really makes me love the character more than I did before. Leonora is so much more than an antagonist, and I think Charikleia's performance really helps sell that, and I think will really make players want to "risk it for the biscuit" and try pursuing a relationship with Leonora. And of course I hope audiobook listeners will enjoy the character as well when it comes out next year! Charikleia welcome to Pleasant Sparkle Academy!
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