We recently connected with Rob Harrower and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Rob thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?
I love to work on stories revolving around the human condition. I am one of the front runners of the 48 hour audio drama festival. This project started in early 2023 for me. I began as an actor an audio engineer, and took over the project in July of 2024.
One of the reasons I enjoy thge 48 hour audio drama festival is because I enjoy audio drama. It’s one of thje largest media formats out there, and is contiunally on the rise. Some amazing stories have been told through this format.
The second is that during these festivals voice actors, writers, and audio engineers come together because we love the craft. The weekends these are completed in are challanaging – 15 hours from start to finish (nothing to complete episode) on audio engineering is tough, but it’s because of the amazing stories that have come from this that it’s meaning full.
You only have 48 hours to write act, and fully create an episode of somthing that can make an impact, and so far I think we’ve hit home with it.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I have always loved stories. One of my favourite sayings is “Once upon a time.”
I got my start on the stage, acting in musicals such as The Full Monty, and most recently a stage reading of the final episode of our Dracula: A Radio Play.
From an early age, I always enjoyed playing pretend. For the past 15 years I have been a child care worker, and as a childcare worker one of the things I understand is that a cornerstone of development is pretend play/sociodramatic play. This type of play is essential for a child to develop, but as we get older this type of play becomes more and more passively socially unacceptable. For instance, you don’t see pretend play happening and many places of business. When was the last time you saw a banker engaging in pretend play? Moreover, if you thought of this, the first thought would be that it was odd. Well, I simply didn’t want to give up.
I got my start in voice over/production as a shift from the stage. During COVID it became challanging to act on stage, and I still wanted a change to keep those muscles active. Also this was during the time I was heavily listening to audio dramas (I still listen like a fiend) however, it got to a point where It become more challanging for me to find stories I enjoyed, so I made the decision to make my own opportunities, and began to learn audio Engineering, and how audio production works. I am self taught, Through Apps like TikTok i met other VO aritists, and through them helped to develop Iridecsent Acorn Productions.
What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?
As someone who spends his day job in the education system, I am a strong advocate for keep the arts in schools. Yes, Math, History, are all vital to learn, the arts are what make us thrive. Much of history can be gleaned from how a society created poetry, or their architecture (which as Christian Cane in The Librarians once said) is art you live in.
Keeping art, drama, and music in schools is like keeping a heart beating.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
I want to create amazing stories. I want to be able to, at the end of my career, look at the portfolio of works and say I’m proud of what I was able to create.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/Robvoiceover
- Instagram: @robjharrower
Image Credits
The 48 Hour audio Drama Festival main podcast image, and the Breaking Rules image was made my Jen Tracy (my life partner)
Sierra Stone was me,
Set Sail was made my Maggie Vanraam