NARRATION AND CAST

Breathing life into Voices Over the Water.

We are honored to have our narration spoken by such exceptional talent. Their voices lend a depth and meaning that the written word can only indicate and suggest. The decision to include re-enactment can be a powerful creative choice in any documentary. Our cast brought an urgent realism to the words of real historical figures.

Karen Allen
Karen AllenNarration

Karen Allen is an award-winning actor and director. After making her film debut in National Lampoon’s Animal House , she became widely known for her portrayal of Marion Ravenwood in Raiders of the Lost Ark opposite Harrison Ford. She would later reprise this role in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. She has starred in over 50 films and also many roles in television. Select film credits include Starman opposite Jeff Bridges, Scrooged opposite Bill Murray, The Perfect Storm with George Clooney, The Glass Menagerie opposite Joanne Woodward and John Malkovich, The Wanderers, Shoot the Moon opposite Albert Finney, Until September opposite French actor Thierry L’hermitte, A Small Circle of Friends, White Irish Drinkers, Bad Hurt, and Year by the Sea.

In 2019, she was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Actress for her performance in Colewell. The film was also nominated for the Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award.

She will next be seen in the film, A Stage of Twilight opposite William Sadler. Karen recently completed roles in the feature film Unsinkable, Quibi’s 50 States of Fright, and Netflix’s Things Heard and Seen opposite Amanda Seyfried.

Karen has starred in numerous plays both On and Off Broadway.

She also directs, having most recently directed John Patrick Shanley’s play Outside Mullingar with Jeff DeMunn and an award-winning film version of Carson McCullers’ short story A Tree. A Rock. A Cloud.

She is a lifetime member of the Actor’s Studio.

Simon Prebble
Simon PrebbleNarration

Simon Prebble, a British-born performer of considerable talent and experience, has built a successful career that spans the Atlantic. As a stage, film, and television actor, he has played in everything from soaps to Shakespeare, but it is as a veteran narrator of some 700 audiobook titles that he has made his mark since coming to the US in 1990. Married and living in New York, Simon’s audio performances have received critical acclaim from both fans and his peers. As one of AudioFiles Golden Voices and Voices of the Century, he has received over 30 Earphones Awards and five Listen Up Awards. In 2006, Publishers Weekly named him Narrator of the Year. In 2010 he was presented with an Audie award by the industry, for which he has also been nominated 14 times.

Envisioning himself as if speaking just behind the listener’s ear, Simon says, “Whilst I am a conduit for the author’s words, I’m also an interpreter of them. Through my voice, I get to make creative choices-rapidly and constantly -as the narrative progresses. The medium allows me to communicate what one’s imagination sees, putting the story in the foreground, whilst staying in the background.”

Beth Campbell
Beth Campbellas Harriet Beecher Stowe

Beth Campbell works as an actor in film and television. Her day job is standing in for A-listers such as Edie Falco, Sienna Miller, Leslie Mann, and Virginia Madsen. Beth has had parts in Almost Mercy, Marathon, Hallows’ Eve, Fake, and The Love Guide, and has been seen in comedies such as Unbreakable Kimmie Schmidt, 30 Rock, and Mozart In The Jungle.

In theater, Beth has appeared on Long Wharf’s Next Stage; with the equity company Cornerstone Productions; and at Mystic Seaport where she wrote and acted in interactive theater, promotional videos, and voiceovers. She has improvised with New Haven Theater Company, Off the Cuff, TeamBonding, and Marshmallow Masquers.

Robert Ian MacKenzie
Robert Ian MacKenzieas Donald MacLeod

Robert Ian Mackenzie’s career has been multifaceted. Films include The Good Shepherd, The Thomas Crown Affair, A Fish Called Wanda, A View to a Kill, and Escape to Athena. Robert has appeared on stage in plays, musicals, operettas, and operas, including numerous productions in London’s West End, in New York City (including at La MaMa, the Samuel Beckett Theatre, Avery Fisher Hall, BAM, and Symphony Space), regionally (including the Actors Theatre of Louisville; the Hangar Theatre; Syracuse Stage; and Bristol Riverside Theatre), and internationally in Ireland, Japan, and the UK. He has appeared on TV (All My Children, Guiding Light, and The Late Show with David Letterman, many commercials, and is an active voiceover artist for TV and radio commercials and as an audiobook narrator.

Karen Allen

Karen Allen

Narration

Karen Allen is an award-winning actor and director. After making her film debut in National Lampoon’s Animal House, she became widely known for her portrayal of Marion Ravenwood in Raiders of the Lost Ark opposite Harrison Ford. She would later reprise this role in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. She has starred in over 50 films and also many roles in television. Select film credits include Starman opposite Jeff Bridges, Scrooged opposite Bill Murray, The Perfect Storm with George Clooney, The Glass Menagerie opposite Joanne Woodward and John Malkovich, The Wanderers, Shoot the Moon opposite Albert Finney, Until September opposite French actor Thierry L’hermitte, A Small Circle of Friends, White Irish Drinkers, Bad Hurt, and Year by the Sea.

In 2019, she was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Actress for her performance in Colewell. The film was also nominated for the Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award.

She will next be seen in the film, A Stage of Twilight opposite William Sadler. Karen recently completed roles in the feature film Unsinkable, Quibi’s 50 States of Fright, and Netflix’s Things Heard and Seen opposite Amanda Seyfried.

Karen has starred in numerous plays both On and Off Broadway.

She also directs, having most recently directed John Patrick Shanley’s play Outside Mullingar with Jeff DeMunn and an award-winning film version of Carson McCullers’ short story A Tree. A Rock. A Cloud.

She is a lifetime member of the Actor’s Studio.

Simon Prebble

Narration

Simon Prebble, a British-born performer of considerable talent and experience, has built a successful career that spans the Atlantic. As a stage, film, and television actor, he has played in everything from soaps to Shakespeare, but it is as a veteran narrator of some 700 audiobook titles that he has made his mark since coming to the US in 1990. Married and living in New York, Simon’s audio performances have received critical acclaim from both fans and his peers. As one of AudioFiles Golden Voices and Voices of the Century, he has received over 30 Earphones Awards and five Listen Up Awards. In 2006, Publishers Weekly named him Narrator of the Year. In 2010 he was presented with an Audie award by the industry, for which he has also been nominated 14 times.

Envisioning himself as if speaking just behind the listener’s ear, Simon says, “Whilst I am a conduit for the author’s words, I’m also an interpreter of them. Through my voice, I get to make creative choices-rapidly and constantly -as the narrative progresses. The medium allows me to communicate what one’s imagination sees, putting the story in the foreground, whilst staying in the background.”

Simon Prebble
Beth Campbell

Beth Campbell

as Harriet Beecher Stowe

Beth Campbell works as an actor in film and television. Her day job is standing in for A-listers such as Edie Falco, Sienna Miller, Leslie Mann, and Virginia Madsen. Beth has had parts in Almost Mercy, Marathon, Hallows’ Eve, Fake, and The Love Guide, and has been seen in comedies such as Unbreakable Kimmie Schmidt, 30 Rock, and Mozart In The Jungle.

In theater, Beth has appeared on Long Wharf’s Next Stage; with the equity company Cornerstone Productions; and at Mystic Seaport where she wrote and acted in interactive theater, promotional videos, and voiceovers. She has improvised with New Haven Theater Company, Off the Cuff, TeamBonding, and Marshmallow Masquers.

Robert Ian MacKenzie

as Donald MacLeod

Robert Ian Mackenzie’s career has been multifaceted. Films include The Good Shepherd, The Thomas Crown Affair, A Fish Called Wanda, A View to a Kill, and Escape to Athena. Robert has appeared on stage in plays, musicals, operettas, and operas, including numerous productions in London’s West End, in New York City (including at La MaMa, the Samuel Beckett Theatre, Avery Fisher Hall, BAM, and Symphony Space), regionally (including the Actors Theatre of Louisville; the Hangar Theatre; Syracuse Stage; and Bristol Riverside Theatre), and internationally in Ireland, Japan, and the UK. He has appeared on TV (All My Children, Guiding Light, and The Late Show with David Letterman, many commercials), and is an active voiceover artist for TV and radio commercials and as an audiobook narrator.

Robert Ian Mackenzie