Central West Libraries and Belinda Audio (the creators of the Borrow Box application) sponsored Mr Wemyss for a three week tour of libraries and schools in the Central West and Far West of NSW.
Stig Wemyss brought the words of Andy Griffiths’s Treehouse Tales to life at the Broken Hill Library on Thursday.
“I try to make my shows like an audiobook come to life,” Mr Wemyss said.
His animated performance kept kids transfixed at the Broken Hill Library.
Borrow Box is a free digital platform like Audible that is connected to libraries for anyone to use.
Mr Wemyss explained his shows promote reading and literature in schools and would normally have a captive audience of about two hundred students however due to the teachers’ strike the readings were held in the library.
Mr Wemyss is an actor, director, writer and producer who is based in Melbourne.
He recognised as a young actor that using your voice can be another tool and avenue for actors.
He initially volunteered in the 1990s to read books for Vision Australia in Melbourne.
Mr Wemyss explained that the journey of audiobooks has been incredible.
“Back then the vision impaired people were the main people who listened to audiobooks unlike nowadays when everyone listens to audiobooks and podcasts,” Mr Wemyss said.
Andy Griffiths wrote a series called the Just series and Mr Wemyss auditioned to be the voice to turn his Just series into an audiobook.
Andy Griffiths was one of those authors who broke through the barriers with his naughty, irreverent, cheeky writing that encouraged boys to pick up a book and read.
He got the gig and has been narrating books ever since.
Mr Wemyss wants kids to realise that being in the library and picking up a book can be as much fun as playing online games.
Wilcannia is his final stop on the tour.
