Discussion keeps the worldturning.
This isRoundtable. You're listening toRoundtable, I'm HeYoung.
The grand finale of Echoes of Kool-Aang has left usbreathless.
But the adventure isn't overyet.
The five episode audio drama series has been stirring hearts and minds with its richstorytelling.
Today we're pulling back the curtain on the CGDN radio drama production from character insights to unexpectedbloopers.
It's an insider's look at the creative process you won't want tomiss.
Now let's meet part of the cast who brought this epic saga tolife.
Who you already know fromRoundtable.
Sing you JoshCotterall, you shunnedmyself.
Helloguys, here we are talking about Echoes ofKool-Aang.
Woohoo. Heyeverybody.
Hey, how's itgoing?Hey!
Yes, and so here weare. And I want to ask you guys what role youplayed.
Ifnot, I think our listeners would have already known if you've followed us this many days for thisweek.
And how did you approach capturing the essence of the time period from the 1900s onwards and the character nuances in yourperformances?
So you let's start withyou.
Youplay. I played the role of GuoHaian.
So she is the eldest sister in the Guofamily.
Also she spent her childhood with the protagonist Milton and also her younger brotherDashaan.
And I am the adult Dashaan and I am up here in aletter.
So find me ifpossible. And you shunned your role very critical with how the story develops without thatletter.
The story would bebroken.
And JoshCotterall,well, we've been working together in this story and just tell us what kind of role that you played Josh for everybody toknow.
Well I played the role ofDr.
Edward Smith andyes, we had to interact quite a few times in the recording of thisshow, didn'twe,here?
Yes. I played the English teacherMay.
Yeah. And it's really fascinating that after listening to everybody in this audiodrama, I see a different dimension ofeveryone.
And alsoDr. EdwardSmith, Ithink,yes, what acharming, charminggentleman.
You've got so much different to what you're usedto.
Verydifferent. Soyes, were there like challenging moments or how did you get yourself familiarized and sort of into the shoes of the particular character youplayed?
I think for me the most challenging part is to express the emotions of a character solely from yourvoice.
So I think that's quite different from what we do usually because voice acting is a completely new thing forme.
So this is my first time and also what kindof, Ifound, was easier for me was that the character of HaYian, she'skind, she's warmhearted, she'scaring.
So to someextent, I would say I share something in common in terms of personalityperhaps.
So that's the easypart.
But the most challenging part that I remember is the part where she sings a fujo dialect a nursery rhyme inChinese, it's Yue GuangGuang, I think that part is crucial because it somehow shows the regional features of that region called KruLiang.
And also the whole radio drama involves several fujo dialect including likeBingan, GuHyeong, things likethat.
So I think I really present the localcharacteristics.
This character is perfect foryou.
We are listeners don't really familiarize with XingYue, but Xing Yue is actually a diva in XingYue.
No,no,no, don't saythat.
I knowthat. Did you guys go to KCV withoutme?
I'm not making anyaccusations.
No.Okay. But also I agree withyou.
I think I can see exactly why Xing Yue is casted for GuHain.
Because there's a certain sweetness in her voice and I think certainly if you follow Hain's story you'll see how devoted she is and how selfless she is and how she evolves as acharacter.
And I just think Xing Yue is the perfectperson, the only person who can really make Hain sort of leap intolife.
And also this morning when I checked our show's email box already we're getting a rate of reviews for the wholeradio,audio, drama production but also some personal emails saying how much they enjoy Hain's performance and guess who is the voice behind her andta-da.
Yes, so it was just really fascinating to hearthat, youknow, to hearHain.
Also known as aka XingYue.
In that casethen, Josh what was the more challenging parts of bringing your role asDr.
Edward Smith intolife?
Well I think of course it's a radiodrama,right?
And without visual stimulus it's quite difficult to portray certain emotions or you just have to do it in a very differentway.
And without giving too much of the story away if you haven't listened my character has very strong feelings forsomebody,right, and begins to fall inlove.
And youknow, I personally believe that when somebody falls in love a lot of things are quite unspokenactually.
It can be with facial expressions or mannerisms or interactions or youknow, gazing from afaretc.
Right? But in this drama you have to do that just withaudio.
So you really have to use your imagination to engage the audience with the way you speak but also yourself to sort of get in themoment.
And also to sort of youknow, navigate this feeling was also quite challenging for me because I had to be sort of awkward and youknow, we weren't sure whether I should be awkward and funny or just head over heels in love or youknow, this stereotypical doctor from the UK just bumbling around KualaLiang.
But either way it was quite challenging I think but I think we did an okay job in theend.
And that's somebody who's sitting right here in thestudio.
Oh, don't go toomuch. I think it's reallyobvious.
That was also actually that was the least challenging part because I found that quitehilarious.
Ohwell,Josh, I thought it was such a fun process in trying to figure out youknow, what personality your character should have and of course the producer's director and youknow, the people sort of pulling thestrings.
They have their idea and then us as actors maybe you have your own sort of understanding of what your character should be and also should it befunny, ha ha or funny orwhatnot.
Youknow, there's just so much design that goes into these characters and it was great fun to sort of explore all that with you Josh and we appear in episode two and also this morning when I was listening to episode two there was this really dramaticscene.
I don't think I'm giving away too much that somebody's life is in jeopardy and then Hayem plays a role in that and I just love the way that you guys not only saying the lines but making these small noises and I'm sure all of you concur that during the recording process it can beawkward.
You're not really awkward and you'relike, I'll saythat.
But after post production it's amazing every single little noise however swift or long it's in the right place and it really helps you to sort of understand thesetting, the exact moment andeverything.
So I thought the post production was really cool in providing the necessary and appropriatesoundscape.
And also I think the guidance of all these directors are very important because they need to let you know the whole environment and the entire historical background to make you understand what ishappening.
So when I was recording I found out that I was portraying Adolstasha and of course and the director's first instruction was about the characters upbringing environment because I grew up in the mountains in a rural areas so the voice may need to carry a bit of you know a simplicity and directness and giving a sense of bravery and also the director asked me to add some very passionate and enthusiastic feelings because the whole scene was happening during the May 4thmovement.
So yeah the whole experience was not that long but it's quite interesting because you need to get yourself into that kind of environment to make the whole story soundreal.
Yes. So with that English teacher May that I played it was interesting sort of talking to the director and producers about how they picked out like everybody for their respective roles and apparently I was cast as an independent female voice but they didn'tknow,um, Silly Perseus pose at thetime.
But the director and producers weren't looking for a typical sweet girlishvoice.
They wantedsomebody, well maybe this is me reading too much intoit, who embodied the spirit of a female trailblazer from hertime.
The19, well the early 1910s and so she's educated and she's a teacher and she's traveled all the way from the US to Culean which is near today's Guangzhou city to teach English to impart knowledge and so therefore yes she's a female trailblazer for her time but yet not toomodern.
So I had to sort of find the perfect balance of striking just the right tone and you know given that it's not like a huge role you only appear for X amount of minutes but I mean I find it to be really interesting and also rewarding to sort of try to get into a backstory of your character so that well it helps me but I would think for most people it's a similar just so that you understand your character a little bit better and it helps you to sort of discover their path even if the path is already charted onpaper.
Yeah and also I think the character of May is an inspiring role for HaYen.
We had some scenes together and also as a female teenager I think Ha Yen she is not so sure especially at that time in rural areas we have this issue of education inequality and gender disparity in that region and I think she was carefully asking whether she can too go to school together with Milton and Da Shan and she wasn't so sure that she has the qualification or she deserves to receive education but I think May really said a very good example for Ha Yen you know females can also become a teacher and they can receive education so yeah that's a also a turning point for Ha Yen's character Ithink.
Yes, education knows nogender.
I really enjoyed that line and when you check out episode two there is this very charismatic and I wouldn't say typical British gentleman ofDr.
Edward Smith and I wonder if you've listened to the final product yet Josh yeah I thought you know there was this kind of nervousness and also charisma that's naturally exuded but you know it's just so unintentional but very captivating and I really enjoyed that especially because I was also there to see how the magic was done and I would just say that the final product is something that you might be pleasantly surprisedJosh.
Yeah well I'm very looking forward to listening to it and I've actually saved some time today to listen to it and yeah thanks very much I think that's actually what I was going for was sort of awkward and nervous and I guess I was probably cast very well so credit to whoever made that decision to cast me as the awkward Englishman it was pretty easy role to play but also you're very empathetic as well also a doctor who's you know healing patients and taking all patients in treating them equally and I thought that was a really neat scene and already we're getting reviews saying that they wish they could have experienced a little bit more of how the love story between the couple sort of developed at like one of the comments was like this is happening way toofast.
Okay well I mean thanks for sending in a comment but yeah this is definitely one of those really fun projects so what distinguishes the experience of acting in an audio drama from participating as a radio panelist onroundtable?
Yeah I feel like you know just being a panelist is more about engaging in conversation and discussion and speaking naturally but in an audio drama it's totally different it's like you need to act so you need to get into that character and play another role it's not you anymore it's it's May or it's it's high yeah it'snot.
But I think and it's at work Smith right so I think that's what makes audio drama so interesting because it gives you the opportunity to experience another person's story and life within this story of course and I'm quite enjoying it you know you know being another person in this story and you know interact with another character and you can actually experience what happened maybe hundreds years ago and it's not your first time right acting in a radio drama you should we know yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah there's another really wonderful radio or flash audio drama that you shouldn't have taken part in what is it calledagain?
It's called a panorama of mountains and rivers right and you play Wang Ximo which is you know such a famous also very youthful almost like Prada J of painter in Chinese history and then yes he painted his masterpiece when he was only 18 so you should is an experienced voice actor I wouldn't say that but I quite enjoy it and the whole experience I would say it's a quite amusing experience and we can have so much fun and learn a lot from recording all of these no no matter it's about history or acting skills yes indeed yeah yeah Josh so as a roundtable regular how do you find it different being in an audio drama and also I know you've had plenty of experience working on all kinds of audio projects so yeah curious to hear what you have to sayhere?
Well I guess that it's different because on roundtable we've got more of a flow I feel or more of a natural flow or it's easier to have that flow because the premise of our show is that it's a conversation right and sure you know we research beforehand and we prepare for the conversation etc but it's still a conversation whereas this is you know obviously we have to go into a room sometimes individually right and we have to sort of put the pieces together I mean the directors and the editors do that but I guess from the perspective of the performer that that's very different and again you have to really sort of execute it at the right moment and for me it felt much closer to when I perform on stage like when I sing or play guitar or something like that it felt much more like you know because you can't really mess up in that moment you can go back a few times but you got to keep it rollingright?
Yes it is a wonderful experience or also a chance to stretch your creative muscles in exciting ways that's what I really enjoyed but also I realized because these characters they have their destinies predisposed and then you know what we do though is like you are living the actor's life does that make any sense you're the protagonist of your own life of your person on roundtable but you know when you're acting somebody else's script of course there's a certain restraining aspect to that but also there's a chance for you to act creatively at the same time so quite different but very enjoyable and this audio story promotes themes of friendship and peace and it takes the time span of a century so how do you guys think these themes resonate with audiences today and what message do you hope listeners take away from this audiodrama?
Yeah I think the themes of friendship and peace they are universal and they're timeless especially in the times when we are faced with global geopolitical and economic uncertainties this touching and heartwarming stories come as more valuable than ever and I hope that our listeners can carry on the spirit of Kool-Yang probably presented in this radio drama that friendship between people on earth no matter what cultural background they're from or no matter what language they speak this friendship the connection they fostered can last forever and this is I think what many of our listeners and audiencesneed.
Yeah I think on top of all of those things I think the environment in which this story is set is quite interesting and it's almost like its own world and I think a lot of really successful dramas that have been released on TV predominantly as TV series often create this own world this sort of universe and I think that this drama has done that very well right and when you listen to it you sort of feel like you're there like it's small enough to sort of feel like you're involved but big enough also and interesting enough and in a different time period to beinteresting.
You should what do you want our listeners to go away after listening to this radio drama and you know that will stay withthem.
Hmm I feel that this story beautifully portraits the scene of global harmony among people and the trust and friendship between people are just so genuine and kind and I believe the majority of the people actually yearn for a peaceful harmonious and friendly life and interaction and I think the story of Kool-Ali's just a small reflection of our modernsociety.
I had the privilege to interview the script writer and creative mastermind behind the audio drama Lu Chang and she shared a heartfeltperspective.
She explained that on a personal level experiencing genuine friendship and care during childhood instillscourage, hope and love that endure throughout life and on a broader scale the production serves as a call forpeace.
War tears families and friends apart often permanently as the character's journey in the drama illustrates the longing for peace particularly in a turbulent world underscores the importance of advocating for peace and it cannot be taken forgranted.
It's a necessity that requires each of us to be advocates ambassadors andactivists.
Today marks a special show dedicated to you the passionate souls who have made our epic audio drama series echoes of Kool-Ali's resoundingsuccess.
After this remarkable audio journey I'm sure you shouldn't hear with us have something special toshare.
I mean it is the time to pause andcelebrate.
Yes of course I think you know this whole story is just like a lot of our you know listeners are saying is we are touched by it and we like that the feeling of the whole friendship and harmony that around us and we wish that these things will go will goforever.
Oh yes and I have this epiphany that is you know the audio series reminds us of the importance ofempathy, understanding and bridge building across cultures and this genuine friendship can transcend boundaries as well astime.
After listening to everything your overwhelming generosity has filled our inboxes and comment sections across different platforms with kind words that touch our hearts deeply and we like to share with you a few ofthem.
So here are two voice memos from lovely listeners who have indeed enjoyed this audioseries.
Third, to listen to the very first episode of echoes ofKool-Ali's, the gripping opening makes me wonder what exactly happened in Kool-Ali's1900s.
As the show keeps going the whole story becomesclear.
Love, peace andfriendship, more than two families but twocountries.
In my point of view the most impressive part in episode one encounter is the thing whereMr.
andMrs. Kool declined to take the valuable vases from thegardeners.
As Kool-Ali's versionsaid, he just did the right thing and anyone here would have done thesame.
Mr. andMrs. Kool set a good example of kindness and bravery of Chinesepeople.
It reminds me of an old Chinesescene, come to the rescue of those who are introuble.
Plus, the most important thing is theexpecter, nothing inreturn.
In thisepisode, my favorite character is HaiYe.
A strong girl withkindness, she's a trusted friend and protector of her two littlebrothers.
She is just like my elder sister who is a guardian of mychildhood, which most stories about her in the comingepisodes.
Thanks. Helloeveryone, my name is WangQingyu, a fan of CGT andRadio.
I like the latest radio series ICo.
ofKool-Aliang. In episodetwo, one of the clips captivatesme.
Milton, DaShan, and Hai Ye studied school and their teacher may touch them in English poem by WilliamShakespeare.
She I compared D to a summerstay.
We know that it is in the summer of 1900 that the gardeners were saved by the Gourphamily in a place called Kool-Aliang inChina.
One yearlater, the gardeners came back to see and appreciate theGourphamily.
Sincethen, the gardeners lived in Kool-Aliang and set up a friendship with theGourphamily.
And theirchildren,Milton, DaShan, and Hai Ye studied school in the summer of1907.
During the early years ofchildhood, they had three little adventures together and cherish the friendshipforever.
I think the poem shall I compare D to a summerstay.
Carousigh with the time they have met andshared.
Afterthat, the children resetted a Chinese poem by Li Bae called the Thords in the Stue of theNight.
The poem discrepanied by Wang Ying for hishometown.
On the wayhand, although Milton was born inCalifornia, he felt of Kool-Aliang where he spent the cherish the years as hishometown.
The poem corresponded with the theme of the HongtangKool-Aang.
It will stir up the homesickness of thelisteners.
On the otherhand, from the recitation of Li Bae's poem by thechild, we can also see their love for traditional Chineseculture.
In ourwords, errors totally touched and moved and resonated with thisclip.
Thankyou. Those are voices from our listeners Wang Zhengming and WangQingyu.
AndZhengming, I have to say thank you so much for your detailed chronicle reviews of everyepisode.
It's truly an honor to receive them and to know that you included and so many others have given us this amount ofattention.
That is reallygreat. Thank you verymuch.
And youshouldn't. You have picked out another email from a roundtable listener and read it outplease.
Yes, so this email is from Fei Yan who was living inAustralia.
So her email goes likethis.
I just finished listening to the echoes of Kool-Aliang last week and I was deeplymoved.
I've even cried when I heard the Hai Yan and Da Shan's fate in the lastepisode.
Now I am living alone in Australia and actually I have experienced a few tough things in my life but the series was very uplifting and strengthened inme.
Although it is not satisfactory in terms of my love and affection sofar, I have the best and perfectfriendship.
I totally understand their friendship in theirseries.
Finally, I recognizedDr.
Edward was the voice of Josh and David Guo was the voice of Lyme because I am a big fan of their Britishaccents.
However, it was a bit unfortunate that I didn't spot Hai Yan'svoice.
I also love listening to her energetic voice everymorning.
Many thanks to all the hosts of RoundtableChina.
I will keep listening to your podcast every day and wish you all thebest.
Thank you Fei and about Hai Yan'scharacter, now you can find out the one that has some special connection with Josh and the audiodrama.
Well,yeah, just listen up on today'sshow.
We're giving away theclues.
Yes, I actually feel thesame.
Sometimes people's emotions are just sounconditional.
Whether it's about friendship or family love or romanticlove.
This is well reflected in the story of echoes ofKool-Aun, where the sincerity and honesty and harmony of everyone's feelings towards each other are just portrayed sovividly.
Oh,yes. And to our cherishedlistener, livingabroad, we understand that being away from your kuxian could bechallenging.
And we care about you and value you as alistener.
Thank you for being part of our radiofamily.
And there is another email I'd like to share withyou.
And this is fromCarol,1060727.
And thank you for sending in so many emails for after every episode aswell.
So here itgoes. Dear Roundtableteam, I've just listened to the first episode of your marvelous radiodrama, echoes ofKool-Aun.
And I really enjoyit. It's a wonderfully made and I don't want to miss a singlesecond.
And here's another email fromCarol.
I just finished the final chapter of your amazing radiodrama.
Thank you all for presenting such a heartwarming and educationalseries.
You truly devoted yourselves in making the drama and your voices are highlyrecommend.
I can recognize themeasily.
And you didgreat. And the email goeson.
But I just want to say a sincere thank you to Carol and all of you who've written in longemails.
And there's only so much time we can devote to reading out them onair.
And there are other platforms such as WayBoy and XiaoYu-Jou, where we've received many comments aswell.
And you should and you will read out a fewmore.
Yes, I saw one on WayBoy whose name is Cha-Uu-Zi-Ren 11 who is fromBeijing.
He said subtitled animations are very enjoyable and also great materials for learning Englishlistening.
I hope for the complete animation version of Echoes ofCoolian.
Andyes, that'sright, Echoes of Coolian now also has an animated version and giving us a more I think vivid and adorablepresentation.
Soyeah, check it out and follow CGT and Radio Swaple and Video Channel on WeChat in Yu-Jou Shun-Bu to get morecontent.
Allright.Yes, the style of animation is reallycute.
I think it's kind of in a cartoonstyle.
Yeah. And if you're not completely satisfied or do you wantmore, so there's the visual presentation of this audio dramatoo.
Yes. And another one on XiaoYu-Jou, whose name is Finn-O-R4P fromJiangsu.
He saidthanks. And I really like the story and the story is very useful for practicinglistening.
Can we have some more stories likethis?
Ah,well, it's actually a lot of organizing and a lot of work that goes behind producing a radio drama likethis.
Well, if you wantmore, I mean that's definitely greatnews.
And we'll see if wecan. I'm sure we will in thefuture, but you'll probably need to follow our official account to see when the next mega-production isaired.
Yes. And many people have expressed their love for the form of radiodrama, for the themesong, and they were deeplymoved.
And ofcourse, we feel thesame.
And this is a project that just dedicated by a lot ofpeople, a lot of teammembers.
Yesindeed. And I can't remember whether we've mentioned thisalready, but there is adirector, and there are justcompletely, youknow, behind the scenesteam, who make sure that this project can flownicely.
So,yeah, I think the director plays a pretty important role in all of this aswell.
And your words have touched us and inspired us to reach newheights.
So we're here today responding to your messages and express ourappreciation.
And we want to extend our deepest thanks to youall.
Your feedback and participation have been the guiding light of our creativeendeavors.
And everyone whose name is mentioned on today's show is eligible for a specialgift.
Soyeah, and be sure to keep an eye on your phone notifications and mail in the comingdays.
Onceagain, from the bottom of ourhearts, thank you to devoting attention tous.
Thank you for youremails,comments, and and waveringsupport.
Let's keep the momentum going and continue to make magictogether.
Withthat, we come to the end of today'sshow.
A huge thank you to Xingyu Yushun and Josh Katero for your incredible contributions to the audio drama and for sharing your invaluable insights withus.
