This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:00] Ghost Light: Hi, listeners.

[0:02] Ghost Light: This show is an immersive audio experience intended for adult audiences.

[0:06] Ghost Light: Listener discretion is advised.

[0:11] Ghost Light: Gather by the Ghostlight presents OTHER ME, starring Laura Bailey and Khary Payton.

[0:17] Ghost Light: Created by Jonathan Cook.

[0:19] Ghost Light: Stick around after the story to hear an interview with actress Laura Bailey.

[0:28] Character 1: Again?

[0:29] Character 1: Are you kidding me?

[0:30] Character 1: You had one job, one job.

[0:33] Character 1: This isn't like losing your keys.

[0:34] Character 1: This could set us back big time.

[0:37] Character 1: What's that noise?

[0:38] Character 2: Are you seriously eating right now?

[0:41] Character 1: You thought what?

[0:43] Character 1: Listen to me.

[0:44] Character 1: If I hear you mouth chewing one more time in my ear, I'm gonna—I don't give a shit if it's vegan.

[0:51] Character 1: Take your bald fat ass back down to the shop and find him.

[0:55] Character 1: I don't have the time nor the manpower to fix your mistakes.

[0:59] Character 2: Oh, you think?

[1:01] Character 1: Fine, pick him up on your way.

[1:05] Character 2: Hey, just curious.

[1:06] Character 2: Is that new vegan place on fifth?

[1:08] Character 1: Huh.

[1:10] Character 1: Didn't know they opened yet.

[1:12] Character 3: Excuse me.

[1:12] Character 3: Agent Ford?

[1:13] Character 1: Oh.

[1:14] Character 1: I'm so sorry.

[1:16] Character 1: Jimmy, let's regroup on this later.

[1:19] Character 1: Stay focused and keep me updated.

[1:22] Character 2: Sorry, I didn't know you were on the phone.

[1:24] Character 1: How'd you get in here?

[1:26] Character 2: Rachel let you in.

[1:27] Character 1: Rachel.

[1:28] Character 1: Reception?

[1:29] Character 1: I—I didn't see anyone at the front desk.

[1:31] Character 1: God damn it.

[1:33] Character 1: Figures.

[1:35] Character 1: How can I help you, miss?

[1:36] Character 2: It's Doctor.

[1:37] Character 2: Dr. Carlson.

[1:38] Character 1: Wait a minute.

[1:39] Character 1: I know you.

[1:40] Character 1: I thought you looked familiar.

[1:41] Character 1: You're the one counseling Daniel Gibbons.

[1:43] Character 2: Yes.

[1:43] Character 2: Yes, that's why I'm here.

[1:45] Character 2: From what I understand, you're the special agent in charge and personally handling his daughter's case.

[1:51] Character 1: That's right.

[1:51] Character 1: May I sit?

[1:52] Character 1: How long is this gonna take?

[1:54] Character 2: As long as it needs to.

[1:55] Character 1: I don't know.

[1:56] Character 1: Listen, I don't have the time to deal with any of this right now.

[1:59] Character 1: And you're not even supposed to be in here.

[2:01] Character 2: I have something to show you.

[2:04] Character 2: Something for you to hear.

[2:06] Character 2: Please.

[2:07] Character 2: Just give me five minutes.

[2:10] Character 1: Five minutes.

[2:12] Character 2: Thank you.

[2:13] Character 2: I don't mean to barge in here like this.

[2:15] Character 2: I just—it's very important that you hear me out.

[2:19] Character 1: You seem a little worked up.

[2:20] Character 2: I am.

[2:21] Character 2: Well, no, no.

[2:23] Character 2: I'm okay.

[2:23] Character 2: I'm—I'm fine.

[2:24] Character 2: I'm just urgent.

[2:27] Character 2: I just finished my first session with Mr. and Mrs. Gibbons, and I don't know.

[2:33] Character 1: You don't know what.

[2:35] Character 2: I have the entire conversation recorded.

[2:38] Character 2: Everything that Daniel said.

[2:39] Character 2: Everything he told the police, everything he told me.

[2:43] Character 2: I believe it's true.

[2:45] Character 2: All of it.

[2:47] Character 2: Daniel believes it's all true as well.

[2:49] Character 2: No, it's more than that.

[2:50] Character 2: So much more.

[2:51] Character 2: And this recording can prove it.

[2:53] Character 1: Dr. Carlson, I understand you're a grief counselor.

[2:56] Character 1: Is that right?

[2:58] Character 2: Yes.

[2:59] Character 2: You help people cope with pain.

[3:01] Character 1: Emotional pain.

[3:03] Character 2: Yes.

[3:04] Character 2: Which means for Mr. and Mrs. Gibbons, the pain that comes from the disappearance of their only child.

[3:09] Character 1: Yes.

[3:10] Character 1: And do you always record your sessions?

[3:13] Character 2: I do.

[3:13] Character 2: Always.

[3:14] Character 2: With the client's consent, of course.

[3:16] Character 1: And just to be clear, this was Daniel's idea.

[3:20] Character 2: He wants people to know.

[3:22] Character 1: Mm-hmm.

[3:23] Character 1: Look, let me play it for you.

[3:25] Character 2: I have the recording right here.

[3:30] Character 2: Please.

[3:31] Character 2: May I play it for you?

[3:34] Character 1: Go on.

[3:36] Character 2: Thank you.

[3:40] Character 2: No worries.

[3:41] Character 2: I know the traffic on Coenga is dreadful this time of day.

[3:45] Character 2: Please have a seat.

[3:46] Character 2: Sorry, I didn't have time to cue it up.

[3:47] Character 2: Just give me a second.

[3:49] Character 2: It's not right.

[3:51] Character 2: Here, we can start here.

[3:52] Character 2: Just—just listen.

[3:53] Character 3: The way they've treated us, dude.

[3:54] Character 3: There's so much I wanna say, but they don't make it easy.

[4:00] Character 1: Daniel, I'd like to revisit a statement you made shortly after your daughter's disappearance.

[4:06] Character 1: You mentioned that she has a unique gift.

[4:10] Character 3: I never called it a gift.

[4:13] Character 1: Forgive my choice of words.

[4:15] Character 1: You said there was something special about her.

[4:18] Character 1: Something unnatural, you called it.

[4:21] Character 1: It seemed more supernatural than anything else.

[4:25] Character 1: Tell me exactly what it is you observed in her behavior.

[4:28] Character 3: It had nothing to do with her behavior.

[4:30] Character 3: Dr. Carlson, she acted like any other child her age.

[4:34] Character 1: So it was something else?

[4:36] Character 3: This is stupid.

[4:37] Character 1: Daniel, calm down.

[4:39] Character 3: No, no, I could see the file right there on your desk.

[4:42] Character 3: You've already read all the statements that I made.

[4:44] Character 1: Well, why are you asking me all this if you already know the answers?

[4:48] Character 1: Vocalizing your misfortune is merely a method to help you and your wife cope with what has happened.

[4:54] Character 3: It's pointless.

[4:56] Character 3: There's nothing you could do.

[4:58] Character 3: I can't do this.

[5:00] Character 2: Come on, Anna, let's go.

[5:02] Character 1: Daniel, no.

[5:03] Character 1: Please, Mr. Gibbons, give me a chance.

[5:05] Character 1: I'm just trying to help you.

[5:06] Character 3: I can't.

[5:07] Character 3: We need this.

[5:09] Character 3: I trust her.

[5:10] Character 2: I don't want to be here anymore.

[5:12] Character 3: She has no reflection.

[5:15] Character 2: Anna.

[5:17] Character 2: Are you sure you ought to do this?

[5:20] Character 3: We should tell her everything.

[5:24] Character 3: Please.

[5:27] Character 3: Dr. Carlson, our daughter.

[5:30] Character 3: She has no reflection.

[5:32] Character 1: Good, thank you.

[5:34] Character 1: Um, now when you say that she has no reflection, do you mean that figuratively?

[5:40] Character 3: No.

[5:41] Character 3: It's exactly how it sounds.

[5:44] Character 3: Our little girl has no reflection.

[5:48] Character 1: Like in a mirror?

[5:50] Character 1: Does that even make sense?

[5:52] Character 3: Some of the officers laughed when I told them.

[5:55] Character 3: They all stared at me like I was crazy.

[5:57] Character 1: It's human nature to be skeptical of such a mysterious trait.

[6:02] Character 1: Has she always been this way?

[6:05] Character 3: I can remember the first time I noticed.

[6:11] Character 3: Yeah.

[6:13] Character 3: She was only about a week old.

[6:16] Character 3: Cradled in my arms.

[6:18] Character 3: I carried her to the bedroom to lay her down.

[6:20] Character 3: But I passed the dresser mirror, and I saw that my arms—they were empty.

[6:28] Character 3: And for a moment I thought I dropped her.

[6:30] Character 3: God, I was so scared.

[6:34] Character 3: But I looked down.

[6:36] Character 3: And there she was.

[6:38] Character 3: Still laying peacefully against my chest.

[6:42] Character 1: Is that the only mirror where you witnessed this?

[6:46] Character 3: All mirrors.

[6:48] Character 3: The dresser, the bathroom, the one over the fireplace.

[6:52] Character 3: Anywhere we went.

[6:54] Character 3: Even this mirror here in your office.

[6:59] Character 1: Look.

[7:00] Character 1: There he is.

[7:01] Character 1: You see him?

[7:03] Character 1: My reflection?

[7:05] Character 3: There would be nothing there if she was standing in front of it.

[7:08] Character 1: Your daughter is five years old now.

[7:11] Character 1: Surely the two of you aren't the only ones to have witnessed this since she was born.

[7:14] Character 3: Do you know how hard it would be to explain that to people who notice?

[7:17] Character 3: We decided early on it would be best to hide it.

[7:20] Character 3: We were scared.

[7:21] Character 3: We thought if anyone knew.

[7:23] Character 3: Well, we thought they would come and take her away from us.

[7:26] Character 1: Oh, is that what you think happened?

[7:28] Character 1: That she's been abducted by someone that found out her secret.

[7:31] Character 3: I know where my daughter is.

[7:34] Character 1: You do?

[7:35] Character 3: It's difficult to explain, but I know where she is.

[7:40] Character 3: I just can't reach her.

[7:43] Character 1: Tell me what happened the last time you saw her.

[7:49] Character 3: We were in the bathroom.

[7:52] Character 3: And she was watching me shave in the mirror.

[7:54] Character 3: Laughing at the faces I was making at her.

[7:59] Character 3: I often wondered why she never questioned the fact that Anna and I would show up in the mirror and she wouldn't.

[8:04] Character 1: Perhaps she thought you were the ones that were different and not her.

[8:09] Character 3: And then she climbed onto the countertop and was reaching out to the mirror, stretching her hand out towards my reflection.

[8:23] Character 1: Emily.

[8:26] Character 1: But there was no resistance.

[8:28] Character 1: Emily, carefully.

[8:29] Character 1: What?

[8:29] Character 1: It just let her through.

[8:30] Character 1: Emily, what are you?

[8:32] Character 1: She walked through it.

[8:33] Character 1: Emily.

[8:35] Character 1: Emily!

[8:36] Character 1: It happened right there in front of me.

[8:38] Character 1: She was there, and then she wasn't.

[8:40] Character 1: If only I hadn't been so shocked at the sight of it, I might have been able to pull her back, but it was too late.

[8:45] Character 1: I couldn't grab her in time.

[8:47] Character 1: Was this the first time she ever physically touched a mirror?

[8:51] Character 3: I—I don't know.

[8:52] Character 3: It's hard to recall.

[8:54] Character 3: Other children play in front of them all the time.

[8:57] Character 3: But our little girl never had a reason to.

[9:00] Character 1: Did you tell this to the police?

[9:02] Character 3: How could I?

[9:03] Character 3: As soon as I mentioned that she never had a reflection, it was such a crazy idea to them.

[9:07] Character 3: We weren't sure what they would think.

[9:09] Character 3: They already consider us suspects.

[9:11] Character 3: That's what they called us.

[9:13] Character 3: Suspects.

[9:15] Character 3: Can you believe that?

[9:16] Character 3: I love my daughter so much.

[9:18] Character 3: I would never do anything to hurt her.

[9:20] Character 1: It's not uncommon for the parents of missing children to be persons of interest.

[9:27] Character 1: This is certainly a special case.

[9:29] Character 1: I've never heard anything like it.

[9:32] Character 3: We want people to know the truth.

[9:34] Character 3: Sometimes I can hear—

[9:37] Character 2: Daniel.

[9:39] Character 2: No.

[9:40] Character 2: No, we agreed to tell her everything.

[9:43] Character 2: That's what you said.

[9:46] Character 2: The truth.

[9:48] Character 3: I do hear her.

[9:51] Character 3: I do.

[9:53] Character 3: It's not in my head.

[9:55] Character 1: What do you mean?

[9:57] Character 3: Sometimes I can hear her voice.

[10:01] Character 3: That's how I know that she's still okay.

[10:05] Character 3: I can hear her calling to us.

[10:08] Character 1: She speaks to you from the other side of the mirror.

[10:12] Character 3: Yes.

[10:14] Character 3: Only a few times.

[10:16] Character 3: And not just from the one that she walked through.

[10:19] Character 3: I've heard her voice coming from others.

[10:23] Character 1: I don't know how, but I do.

[10:26] Character 1: Do you hear her now?

[10:28] Character 3: No.

[10:29] Character 2: Anna, have you heard her as well?

[10:31] Character 2: I haven't.

[10:32] Character 2: But I do believe my husband.

[10:34] Character 1: I know what you're thinking.

[10:35] Character 1: I know how it all must sound.

[10:37] Character 1: It's strange, I know.

[10:40] Character 2: But I'm not crazy.

[10:42] Character 1: Of course.

[10:43] Character 1: Anna didn't see her disappear, and she hasn't heard her voice.

[10:46] Character 1: But I can confirm that she's never had a reflection.

[10:48] Character 2: And I believe everything happened just as he says it did.

[10:51] Character 3: I could show you.

[10:52] Character 3: I'll go in and find her, and you can see for yourself.

[10:56] Character 1: What's happening?

[10:57] Character 3: What are you doing?

[10:58] Character 3: Don't you understand?

[10:59] Character 3: I can walk into the mirror too.

[11:02] Character 3: All of us can.

[11:03] Character 1: No, Daniel, not here.

[11:05] Character 3: Mirrors.

[11:06] Character 3: They're merely doorways.

[11:08] Character 3: If my reflection will just step out of the way, I can make it through.

[11:14] Character 1: Mr. Gibbons.

[11:15] Character 1: If only this man in front of me will listen when I ask him to step aside.

[11:21] Character 1: Mr. Gibbons, I think your emotions are getting to you.

[11:23] Character 1: Come on!

[11:24] Character 1: Please!

[11:25] Character 2: Daniel, calm down.

[11:26] Character 1: I have to find my little girl.

[11:29] Character 1: Step out of the way and let me through.

[11:32] Character 2: Stop it, Daniel!

[11:33] Character 1: Move, goddammit!

[11:35] Character 1: Why are you doing this to us?

[11:37] Character 3: I assure you there's nothing special about this mirror.

[11:40] Character 3: You can't walk through it.

[11:41] Character 1: Please.

[11:42] Character 1: I'm begging you.

[11:43] Character 1: Please stop it!

[11:44] Character 1: What do I have to do?

[11:46] Character 1: Tell me!

[11:47] Character 1: Tell me!

[11:50] Character 1: Daniel!

[11:51] Character 1: Oh my god!

[11:58] Character 2: You can't keep doing this.

[12:01] Character 1: Daniel, please say something.

[12:03] Character 2: Are you hurt?

[12:04] Character 1: Oh god.

[12:05] Character 1: I just I just want to see her again.

[12:10] Character 3: I know you do.

[12:12] Character 3: So do I.

[12:16] Character 3: Here, wrap your hand in this.

[12:18] Character 1: Thank you.

[12:18] Character 1: I'm so sorry for all this.

[12:20] Character 3: We'll we'll pay for the mirror.

[12:21] Character 2: No, don't worry about it.

[12:23] Character 2: I kn I never liked it anyway.

[12:27] Character 3: Mr. Gibbons.

[12:28] Character 3: I've heard your story.

[12:31] Character 3: And a truly fascinating story it is.

[12:34] Character 3: Your little girl with no reflection was able to walk through a mirror because there was nothing there to oppose her.

[12:40] Character 3: And how does one like you, one with a reflection, make his way into this other world to retrieve her?

[12:50] Character 1: I don't have the answer for you.

[12:53] Character 3: And it is not my job to determine what is fact and fiction in this case.

[12:58] Character 3: But on the other side of things.

[13:01] Character 3: A reflection is science.

[13:03] Character 3: Only a representation of the truth.

[13:06] Character 3: An image.

[13:08] Character 2: You have not seen what I've seen.

[13:11] Character 1: You are right.

[13:13] Character 1: And I mean no disrespect with what I said.

[13:16] Character 3: My goal here is to help you manage any sadness you may be feeling.

[13:20] Character 3: And I know there's a great deal of sadness.

[13:24] Character 3: I think that we've covered enough ground today.

[13:27] Character 3: I'd like to request that we begin meeting on a weekly basis.

[13:30] Character 2: Will that work for you?

[13:31] Character 1: Yes, uh, that will be fine.

[13:33] Character 3: I will do everything in my power to help you both through this.

[13:37] Character 1: Okay.

[13:39] Character 1: Thank you.

[13:40] Character 2: Come on, Daniel.

[13:49] Character 2: Dr. Carlson.

[13:50] Character 3: Yes.

[13:54] Character 1: I'm sorry.

[13:56] Character 1: I truly am.

[14:01] Character 2: Jesus.

[14:02] Character 2: That was intense.

[14:05] Character 2: Look at this mess.

[14:09] Character 2: Seven years bad luck for you, Mr. Gibbons.

[14:10] Character 1: I never liked it.

[14:13] Character 1: Why the fuck did I say that?

[14:14] Character 1: Of course I want you to buy me a new one.

[14:17] Character 1: Things an antique.

[14:22] Character 2: What the hell was that?

[14:27] Character 1: Hello?

[14:29] Character 1: Who's there?

[14:31] Character 1: Can you hear you?

[14:34] Character 1: Oh my god.

[14:36] Character 1: Hello?

[14:40] Character 1: Where are you?

[14:41] Character 1: Hey.

[14:43] Character 1: Hey!

[14:44] Character 1: Hello?

[14:45] Character 1: Can you hear me?

[14:47] Character 1: Hello?

[14:49] Character 1: Hey, are you still there?

[14:50] Character 1: Hello!

[14:52] Character 1: Hello, please!

[14:53] Character 1: Please, I can hear you.

[14:54] Character 1: Say some.

[14:56] Character 1: You heard it.

[14:57] Character 1: She was there.

[14:59] Character 1: Calling out to her father.

[15:00] Character 1: Pieces of the mirror, glass scattered all over the floor, and I could hear her voice resonating like some otherworldly echo.

[15:08] Character 1: I thought maybe it was just in my head, right?

[15:11] Character 1: But no, no, it's all here on the recording.

[15:14] Character 2: Uh-huh.

[15:16] Character 1: Isn't that amazing?

[15:19] Character 1: This little girl with no reflection.

[15:20] Character 1: She she walked through a mirror.

[15:24] Character 1: To where?

[15:25] Character 1: Who knows?

[15:26] Character 1: But maybe that's it.

[15:27] Character 1: Maybe it's not the surface of a mirror we feel when we touch it.

[15:30] Character 1: Maybe it's the other me.

[15:31] Character 1: The other you, the other Daniel, that keeps us from entering.

[15:35] Character 2: Has anyone else listened to this?

[15:37] Character 1: I wanted you to hear it first.

[15:39] Character 2: Give me just a moment.

[15:41] Character 1: Sure.

[15:43] Character 2: Reynolds.

[15:45] Character 2: Yeah.

[15:46] Character 2: Found another glowworm on the Gibbons case.

[15:49] Character 2: My office.

[15:51] Character 3: Dr. Carlson, thank you for bringing this to my attention.

[15:55] Character 2: Of course.

[15:56] Character 2: What can I do to help?

[15:57] Character 2: I'm having the mirror in my office replaced tomorrow.

[16:00] Character 2: I don't know for sure, but you know, it's possible she may try to reach out again during our next session.

[16:04] Character 3: You won't be meeting with Mr. Gibbons anymore.

[16:06] Character 2: But I can help get his daughter back.

[16:09] Character 2: We'll take it from here.

[16:11] Character 1: Hey.

[16:12] Character 1: Hey, let go of me.

[16:13] Character 1: What are you what are you doing?

[16:15] Character 2: Take her down to the shop and wipe this recording.

[16:17] Character 1: What?

[16:17] Character 1: No, you can't do that.

[16:19] Character 1: No.

[16:19] Character 2: Search your office for any copies.

[16:21] Character 2: Understood, sir.

[16:22] Character 1: Get your hands off me.

[16:23] Character 1: Who are you, people?

[16:24] Character 2: Close the door on your way out.

[16:28] Character 1: Ford!

[16:29] Character 1: You can't do this!

[16:30] Character 2: Easy, miss.

[16:31] Character 1: Don't call me miss.

[16:33] Character 1: I'm a goddamn doctor.

[16:35] Character 1: Where are you taking me?

[16:36] Character 2: Somewhere safe.

[16:38] Character 2: It's at the shop.

[16:39] Character 1: What is that?

[16:40] Character 2: No more questions.

[16:41] Character 2: Just keep walking.

[16:42] Character 1: I wanna know where you're taking me.

[16:45] Character 1: I'm not taking another step until you tell me.

[16:48] Character 2: Walk or we make you walk, doctor.

[16:51] Character 1: You you can't delete that recording.

[16:54] Character 1: Don't let him delete that recording.

[16:57] Character 1: Hey, hey, stop.

[16:58] Character 1: Stop struggling.

[16:59] Character 1: I won't let you do it.

[17:00] Character 2: Get her arm!

[17:02] Character 2: I'm trying.

[17:11] Character 1: Come on.

[17:12] Character 1: Go, go, go!

[17:18] Character 2: Come on.

[17:19] Character 2: Come on.

[17:22] Character 2: Blow worm on the run.

[17:24] Character 2: She's running down the east hallway.

[17:28] Character 2: Oh god, we're never gonna be in deep shit, man.

[17:31] Character 2: She took my key card.

[17:32] Character 2: Fucking idiot.

[17:33] Character 2: Why'd you let her go?

[17:34] Character 2: She fucking bit me.

[17:36] Character 2: Cool it.

[17:37] Character 2: We have to find her.

[17:38] Character 2: She could be anywhere.

[17:40] Character 2: You check in there.

[17:41] Character 2: And I'll see if she's round at the corner.

[17:44] Character 2: Shit.

[17:45] Character 2: Fuck, I gotta hide.

[17:51] Character 1: Hello?

[17:53] Character 1: You in here?

[17:56] Character 1: Hey, come on, Doc.

[17:59] Character 2: Just following orders.

[18:01] Character 2: Come on, we ain't gonna hurt you.

[18:06] Character 1: Fuck that.

[18:07] Character 1: You bit off half my cheek, you fucking psycho.

[18:10] Character 1: I'm at least gonna break your fucking nose if you're in here.

[18:13] Character 2: Accidents happen, right?

[18:17] Character 1: Shit.

[18:19] Character 1: Oh, is that you?

[18:23] Character 1: Oh, come on, I was just playing.

[18:24] Character 1: I ain't gonna hurt ya.

[18:27] Character 1: Come on out.

[18:28] Character 1: Yeah.

[18:29] Character 1: Come on.

[18:32] Character 1: Yeah.

[18:33] Character 1: Oh, I can hear you breathing, Doc.

[18:35] Character 1: Oh yeah, you were so gonna pay for what you did to me.

[18:39] Character 2: Get Jesus Christ, truce!

[18:46] Character 1: Choose the fuck, man!

[18:48] Character 2: Come on!

[18:50] Character 2: Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, don't don't don't don't don't you touch that!

[18:53] Character 1: Hey, hey, you put down that mag light.

[18:56] Character 1: I said truce.

[18:58] Character 2: If I put it down, then what?

[19:01] Character 1: We we walk out of here.

[19:03] Character 1: Civilized.

[19:05] Character 2: Okay.

[19:07] Character 2: Okay, fine.

[19:10] Character 1: Catch!

[19:11] Character 2: Whoa!

[19:12] Character 2: Whoa, that almost hit me.

[19:17] Character 2: There she is.

[19:17] Character 2: Get her.

[19:19] Character 2: Shit.

[19:21] Character 1: Please, Mark.

[19:22] Character 1: Please, please.

[19:28] Character 1: This can't be happening.

[19:33] Character 1: The fuck.

[19:34] Character 1: What is this room?

[19:36] Character 1: All these mirrors.

[19:38] Character 1: And cameras.

[19:40] Character 1: What is this for?

[19:43] Character 1: Oh my god.

[19:45] Character 1: They knew.

[19:47] Character 1: They knew this whole time.

[19:48] Character 1: They knew.

[19:49] Character 1: They knew he was telling the truth.

[19:52] Character 2: Dr. Carlson.

[19:53] Character 2: You are now trespassing in a federal building.

[19:58] Character 2: What are you hiding?

[20:00] Character 1: Unlock the door and we can talk this out.

[20:02] Character 2: No.

[20:04] Character 2: You're walking a fine line, but you haven't reached the point of no return yet.

[20:09] Character 2: You don't want to be there.

[20:10] Character 2: I promise you.

[20:12] Character 2: Your life will never be the same.

[20:14] Character 2: Unlock this door and we'll get you transported on.

[20:17] Character 1: You're lying!

[20:19] Character 2: All you can do is trust me.

[20:21] Character 2: We both know how this ends.

[20:23] Character 2: We'll eventually get through this door, and you'll be arrested for a number of charges.

[20:27] Character 2: Trespassing, assault.

[20:30] Character 2: Oh, you can open this door now, and I'll make sure all those charges go away.

[20:35] Character 1: I only wanted to help.

[20:39] Character 2: I was thinking about it after you left the room, and maybe you're right.

[20:43] Character 2: Maybe you can help us with this.

[20:46] Character 2: Help save that little girl.

[20:48] Character 2: Bring her home to her family.

[20:50] Character 1: You are so full of shit.

[20:55] Character 2: Well, I'll try.

[20:59] Character 2: Knock it down.

[21:03] Character 1: I have to get out of here.

[21:06] Character 1: Shit.

[21:06] Character 1: There's no way out.

[21:08] Character 1: And no doors.

[21:09] Character 1: Nothing but mirrors.

[21:11] Character 1: All along the walls, mirrors.

[21:13] Character 1: Mirrors.

[21:17] Character 3: They're merely doorways.

[21:20] Character 3: If my reflection will just step out of the way.

[21:24] Character 1: I can make it through.

[21:30] Character 1: Where's our doorways?

[21:33] Character 1: Okay.

[21:35] Character 1: Okay.

[21:36] Character 1: I can't believe I'm doing this.

[21:37] Character 1: I've never talked to my reflection before.

[21:42] Character 1: Okay.

[21:43] Character 1: Okay, hey.

[21:44] Character 1: Hey.

[21:45] Character 1: Will you let me pass?

[21:47] Character 1: Please.

[21:49] Character 1: God, I don't know what to do.

[21:51] Character 1: I don't know how this works.

[21:58] Character 1: This is crazy.

[22:00] Character 1: Why did I think this would work?

[22:01] Character 1: I can't.

[22:03] Character 1: I have to.

[22:05] Character 1: I don't know how this works.

[22:10] Character 1: What was it?

[22:11] Character 1: What was that?

[22:13] Character 1: My reflection.

[22:15] Character 1: Something's.

[22:16] Character 1: something's something's off.

[22:18] Character 1: Something's off.

[22:19] Character 1: I see you.

[22:19] Character 1: I see you.

[22:21] Character 1: We're the same, but we're the same, but different.

[22:25] Character 1: I do see you.

[22:26] Character 1: I do see you.

[22:27] Character 1: And you can hear me.

[22:28] Character 1: I know you can.

[22:30] Character 1: I know you can hear me.

[22:34] Character 1: Okay.

[22:36] Character 1: Okay, I need you to let me through, okay?

[22:38] Character 1: Come on, I don't know what they're gonna do to me, please help me.

[22:49] Character 1: She's gone.

[22:50] Character 2: Secure all the other testing rooms.

[22:52] Character 1: Go!

[22:52] Character 2: Now you heard him?

[22:54] Character 1: Move.

[23:04] Character 3: Okay, I need you to let me through, okay? Come on, I don't know what they're gonna do to me. Please help me.

[23:16] Character 2: Well, Carlson.

[23:18] Character 1: Looks like you did find the point in a return.

[23:26] Character 2: The other me is a Gather by the Ghostlight production, starring Laura Bailey as Dr. Carlson, Khary Payton as Agent Ford and Daniel Gibbons, Devon McSherry as Anna Gibbons, with additional performances by Jonathan Cook, Eric Odom, and Maisie Bailey.

[23:43] Character 2: Written, directed, and edited by Jonathan Cook. Original score and composition by JK47 with cover art illustration by Sam Gilbey.

[23:56] Laura Bailey: This is Laura Bailey, and you're listening to Gather by the Ghost Light.

[24:05] Ghost Light: And uh joining us now is the lead actress who played Dr. Carlson in the story, Miss Laura Bailey. How are you doing?

[24:11] Laura Bailey: Um pretty good.

[24:15] Ghost Light: Hey. Thanks for joining us.

[24:17] Laura Bailey: Of course. Thanks for having me.

[24:18] Ghost Light: Crazy enough, this is the five-year anniversary of Gather by the Ghost Light.

[24:22] Laura Bailey: And uh when I first started.

[24:24] Ghost Light: Thank you so much.

[24:25] Laura Bailey: Uh and when I first started this thing, it was mainly I was getting my actor friends putting them in a closet in my house and recording their voices uh to play these characters on these audio plays I was putting out. Um, and then it kind of grew into uh where I had my own studio space and uh and now uh and working with remote actors like like yourself.

[24:44] Ghost Light: One of the things that a lot of my actor friends realized, a lot of them were stage actors, and they realized there's this opportunity for voice acting when I started doing this, and the fact that you could do it remotely, uh they kind of saw this door to be able to do that as an opportunity for them. Uh so for you, did you start out stage acting or film acting and then get a realization that oh wait, voice acting is uh is also a doorway for me? Because I know you started at a very young age.

[25:10] Laura Bailey: I did, I did. I started um fresh out of high school. Um yeah, I was doing a local play actually in Dallas, and um uh through that play, got my agent, uh my first agent, and got my uh first job with Funimation in Dallas. And yeah, I hadn't ever considered voice acting as something to do. I just wanted to be an actor, you know. And then once I started working there and seeing more and more what voice acting was, I realized, oh, this this is everything to me. I want it, I want to do this, this.

[25:51] Ghost Light: So at what point did you commit and like make your own studio space at home?

[25:56] Laura Bailey: Honestly, I didn't have my own studio space at home until the pandemic. I mean, we had a you know, a light, easy one for auditions that doesn't have to be, you know, per question.

[26:07] Ghost Light: Yeah.

[26:08] Laura Bailey: Um, but then once everything kind of went remote during the pandemic, um, you know, we went like a month where we were just kind of fiddling around and then finally realized, oh, this is gonna be a while. We better commit. So we built out another booth. Uh, and since my husband and I are both voice actors, uh, there were some times when we were both having to do recording sessions at the same time. And so we had one recording booth in another room and then this recording booth as well. No more fighting over studio space and that's exactly so um as far as today goes, since you do have the availability to do home recording, what is the balance of how often do you actually go into a studio to record a session as opposed to what you can record at home that studios can't connect with you and just get your audio that you record at home?

[26:57] Laura Bailey: I think it's probably about 50-50 now. Um recording from home is always the best. Um but you know when it's an option to do a group record, I still want to do that. And when we're recording our animated series, Vox Machina, um, we we try to record as a group as much as possible.

[27:17] Ghost Light: Yeah.

[27:17] Laura Bailey: Um yeah, and then some sometimes just some clients want to be there in person and talk to you there. So um, you know, every once in a while you'll have to go in, but this is a great setup.

[27:30] Ghost Light: It looks like it, yeah.

[27:31] Laura Bailey: Yeah. That's actually one thing that uh I found difficult in the transition from stage to audio recording, is that a lot of times we we have, you know, a limited number of mics, so uh you don't necessarily get to interact with the other actors, which is one of the things I really love about acting is um being able to act off of each other and connect. So it's been an adjustment, but it's it's definitely interesting.

[28:00] Ghost Light: Yeah, it's uh I think it's because I started in anime, and when you're dubbing, you don't get the benefit of getting to record with anybody. And so I started in a very isolated um recording space. And you know, usually you'll have the audio, either your director is reading you in, or every once in a while the other actor would have recorded before you, so they kind of give you your lean-in lines. But um you get really used to just relying on yourself. So um yeah, it becomes such a treat and a privilege when you get to look somebody in the eye over the microphone, you know, and actually record off of them. It's uh it's a beautiful thing.

[28:36] Ghost Light: Yeah.

[28:37] Laura Bailey: Now you've done a you've done video games as well as animation. Um so what is as far as approaching those two mediums, is there a difference in how you approach the voice acting process when you're gonna do a video game as opposed to uh an animation?

[28:50] Laura Bailey: It depends on the show. You know, uh if it's a wacky cartoon, then yeah, it's gonna be different than most video games. Most video games are very uh theatrical and cinematic. And so they want a very real performance, all the nuance of stuttering over your lines and uh thinking about what you're gonna say. But a lot of times in animation it's a 22-minute window of of what they're recording, and you don't have time for that uh nuance necessarily. Not that it's not nuanced, but um, it's got a much faster pace in animation.

[29:23] Ghost Light: We we actually hosted a voice acting workshop recently, and one of the things uh our guest came in, Ian Russell, he spoke about was motion capture.

[29:32] Laura Bailey: Um yeah, I've I've done a whole lot of motion capture, a whole lot of performance capture. That's actually um one of the main things that I do. Um yeah, that's what I I won my video game award for, that's what I won the BAFTA for was for the performance capture in uh Last of Us.

[29:49] Ghost Light: Gotcha.

[29:50] Laura Bailey: Part two.

[29:50] Ghost Light: Okay.

[29:51] Laura Bailey: Yeah, so that that game and several other games, like I did it for Gears of War, I did it for Spider-Man, I did it for oh the Avengers, so many things. Um yeah, you go in, you're suited up, you have the face rig on, and they're recording your audio at the same time that they're capturing your entire performance. So it's basically it feels very much uh with you guys coming from stage, it feels like a stage performance. Um because it's not as uh subtle as being on camera, um, because it has to capture your facial movements, so you have to be a little bit more animated, and uh the technology has gotten so much better from when I started. The first motion capture I did was 12 years ago in Japan.

[30:41] Ghost Light: Oh wow, and it was like they would glue these little ping pong balls onto your face and glue them all over your body like you had Velcro sticking.

[30:51] Laura Bailey: Um and now, you know, it's just painted dots, and everything is is they pick up every expression, but back then you had to be like really yeah, yeah.

[31:00] Ghost Light: Cool.

[31:01] Laura Bailey: So this is also the uh the five-year anniversary of Last of Us Two, where uh you voiced a character Abby. Um when you're watching the show, do you kind of remember those uh same moments of uh of when you were playing the character and stuff like that? Since a lot of it's kind of it, I mean it goes sometimes it goes a different direction, but sometimes it follows a game a lot. Um do you have some of the dialogue is word for word?

[31:23] Laura Bailey: Yeah, yeah, I noticed that. Um have you ever had a chance to meet uh Caitlin Deaver who's playing Abby?

[31:28] Laura Bailey: I haven't met Caitlin. No, I met Bella when I was doing the uh just a little part in season one. Uh, Neil had asked if I would go in and if I wanted to be in the room. Uh uh no spoilers if you haven't seen the all of the series, but um, there's big stuff. And um, yeah, he asked me if I wanted to be in the room with the the doctor scene, and I was like, Yes, I want to see that moment. And it is so crazy because when you're doing PCA, you are it's very similar to like this setup, you know, you're in this giant room that is gray and you know, you're wearing spandex and all of your set pieces are made out of black plywood and wire, and there's so much theater of the mind. And you know, on a giant screen above you, you have the renderings of what the actual scene will be, and you can see yourself moving through as your character moving through the scene.

You know where you're supposed to be and everything. But so much of it is in your imagination of what the set looks like. And going on to the set for HBO and seeing that environment almost pitch perfect for what I had envisioned in my head when we were doing the scene. I got to like walk through the door and walk into the operating room. And I started freaking crying. I was I was so moved. And it's so weird because when you're, you know, when you're performing, you you feel all of those emotions and you your brain doesn't know the difference of of you know, I'm acting sad or I am sad. And so all those like horrible traumatizing emotions like come back out there.

[33:09] Laura Bailey: Yeah, come back. And um, yeah, and it's it's been very strange watching the second season because I have a lot of, I guess, probably I need to go to therapy. I don't fucking know. Um personal trapped emotion, yes, from uh from doing those that performance. And um, so seeing it played out in front of me is very, very strange.

[33:33] Ghost Light: I bet and and amazing. They're doing a phenomenal job with it. It's it's really cool.

[33:36] Laura Bailey: Uh so one of the things uh whenever I have my local voice actors come in, um, a lot of them get familiar with the dialogue, but then when I say stuff like, uh, okay, well, this person gets hit right here, and this person's running, they're out of breath, and I have to get these kind of other verbal noises. That's kind of um it's gonna it's always a fun process because they're not not prepared for it in the moment, but then uh but then they always always do a great job. Have you ever um had a situation where uh I don't know, what was like the most wildest voice session story you have where you had to just make I don't know certain sounds that you weren't just weren't prepared for?

[34:12] Laura Bailey: That's so much of video games. That's so much of what we do. Yeah, um, you know, and like fighting games and everything, but uh I just keep coming back to it. But Last of Us was the most specific um vocalizations that I've ever had to do. And for the entire game, we probably had God eight to ten four-hour sessions, maybe more, of just grunts. Of just um, and that's that's a lot of like running uh cycles where you gener you you you honestly feel like you're gonna faint because it's you're running, you're running, you're running, take a breath, you're running, you're running, you're running, and you you are hypoventilating yourself. Um and so we did that entire game doing all of the cycles, and then and that's getting stabbed, getting, you know, drowned, getting burned, getting your head chopped off, uh, getting crushed by a bloater.

And then um for the final moment in that scene where uh Abby and Ellie are fighting and they're in a very different physicality than they have been in the entire rest of the game. We did all of those cycles again. So it was so many recording sessions of just being like doing those same grunts but more exhausted, doing those same grunts, but you know 50 pounds lighter because you've been starved. So yeah, it's it was really specific there. Quite quite a thought experiment, I feel.

[35:45] Ghost Light: Yeah, yeah, yeah. You yeah, it was a workout.

[35:48] Laura Bailey: I feel like my abs were we had uh great when we were doing it. So of course, with horror, it's it's a lot about the the ending is usually pretty violent or something along those lines. So uh working with all our actors to get those sounds was those screams and pants and gasps. Yeah. Well, there was one in particular where it was about a jogger, so the whole time, once we finished recording, I was like, okay, I need uh different variations of of your running, you know. You get a little more energy during this one, but by the end you're getting exhausted. So there was just I told her, I was like, all right, sure you get lightheaded, just let me know. We'll take a little break. Yeah, and then you really get there. But she yeah, she did a great job.

[36:32] Laura Bailey: Yeah, I definitely know know what you mean by uh the room starts to say to black, and you're like, hold on, time to say it. Yeah. But it's it's it's all about having the variety, you know, you every grunt can't sound the same. Uh gives it that texture and this different uh different colors kind of. And for every every character you do, you know, you have to your grunts and your fighting reactions need to sound different from character to character. So it's do you have any particular favorite characters that you've played from over the years?

[37:04] Laura Bailey: Favorite characters. Um I think I mean I okay, here's the thing. I love so I I don't know if you guys are familiar with Critical Role, um, but you know, getting to record like an animated series of characters that were created by us is a completely different experience than going in and doing like any other job that I've ever done where I it was somebody else's character and I'm doing the lines, right? Yeah. So I I it's it's a different, it's like my children to get to play Jester and get to, you know, go in and record all of these things. And it comes from me. So I can change the lines if I want to because we're the executive producers. Why not? We can just like ad lib in the moment. And it makes it so fun to just get to play in the room and you're and that is a group record. So, you know, we're getting to like record off of each other and bounce around ideas, and it's wonderful. This is a a thing we created with each other, and we're all play with your friends.

[38:05] Ghost Light: Exactly.

[38:06] Laura Bailey: We're friends, and you know, while Critical Role has become the business that it is, and you know, that's you know, doing the those kind of things is more of a job. Every week when we go around and we sit at the table, that's still just getting to play with our friends. And it's it's a I I don't know how this is what our career is and what I'm doing, but I'm so happy that this is what has happened.

[38:29] Ghost Light: What was the aha moment that kind of brought the characters you created on the Critical Role into um the animation? Like what when was it that we're just like, oh, this is such a good idea? You know, when when did that be?

[38:39] Laura Bailey: Well, we we played around with I mean we're all voice actors, right? Right, right, right. That's how we started filming Critical Role in the first place, was because we had been playing at home for a few years, and all of us were voice actors, and then we would go to our recording sessions, and of course it was all group records back then because it was before the pandemic, and we would just talk about our game, you know, and then other voice actors would hear about it. And I think um Ashley or Matt was talking to Felicia Day about the game, and she's like, Well, I have this channel, and you guys should come be on it and you guys should totally film your D&D game. And we were like, that's weird, but okay, we'll give it a we'll give it a try.

And then it was it we took off and it was so much fun. And then because we'd all been voice actors, we were goofing around and being like, how funny would it be to have an animated series of our game? That would be so cool. And um, we, you know, Travis and Sam pitched it to lots of different places, and everyone was like, What are what? This doesn't make any sense. Would you guys like film? Would you animate the table? I don't understand. And um, and so we did a Kickstarter and it raised, you know, like 11 million dollars. And there you go. Blew our record. Like we were aiming for less than 800K and we got 11 million. And so that got the attention of uh of the studios, and so then we got a few phone calls and Amazon was great because they um Prime Video, you know, they they wanted us to retain creative control over it because they were like, This is your baby, so you know what's best for it. Yeah. And so it's been really cool to get to have that.

[40:20] Ghost Light: Kari couldn't join us today, but you two um worked together on this episode. But it's not the first time you guys have worked together. Um I'm interested about your experience on Stray Gods when you guys did the musical duet together.

[40:32] Laura Bailey: Yes. He's we didn't get to record together then. You know what I mean? Because that's because it is music and so and it that game was so specific. You know, depending on which choices you make, the music changes and the song is different and and there's I don't even remember how many different variations of the game that you could get at the end. But it was a lot of recording for music. And uh I don't I was already friends with Kari. He'd actually been on Critical Role. Yeah. Yeah and uh was a fan of his so when I found out he was playing Pan in that game I was very excited.

[41:10] Ghost Light: So for our aspiring voice actors out there do you have any kind of I don't know advice to kind of the way that you you kind of took your journey into this voice acting industry. Do you have anything that you could share with uh with those wanting to also dive in oh wow wow um I'm sure I mean I probably can't offer much more than what you are giving them already but um one of the things I always say is and this might be like so new for your students who probably have already done a lot but it really helped me to just like read things out loud at home all the time um just constantly cold reading and trying to get to a place where your cold read is performance level because a lot of times especially in video games, you don't get the script ahead of time.

You know, that's n it's not the same with PCAP. Like you get that, you get rehearsals, it's like a stage production. But with a lot of like Japanese RPGs and um and like persona, let's take that one. I I never saw the script ahead of time. And for most of the sessions, I didn't see anybody else's dialogue around mine. You get a you're recording and you have an Excel spreadsheet and it's just your dialogue. And that that's true for so many games. And so you just have to, and you're just going down the lines and giving a performance level thing, and you want to be able to not trip over your words. So um, yeah, reading out, recording yourself reading out for the first time is is invaluable. So you just commit to that take and move on.

Commit to that performance. I mean, you know, if you trim over your line or if it if it sucks, you know, you do a second take. But the people that get used again and again and again are the people that can give those performance level reads in one or two takes. Because if you're if you're taking forever, you're slowing down the recording process overall, you know, the entire second time. And that gets expensive, I'm sure. Yeah, they just they people like fast performers.

[41:20] Ghost Light: Yeah.

[41:20] Laura Bailey: Yeah. And one of the things I loved about working with you on this story, OTHER ME, is that you came in prepared. It's like a lot of your first takes, just your initial instinct was just like right on with what I had in mind when I wrote it. And um, I know a lot of times I was like, well, let's just do a a second take just for safety, but I kind of I really love what you just did. Um I just I appreciate you um being a part of the story so much. Like Yeah, I loved it. I really did. I I read the script and I was like, Yes, let's do this. This is a good thing.

[43:49] Ghost Light: Awesome.

[43:50] Laura Bailey: See, that's that and man, it just it warms my cold, dead heart. That um that you loved the script so much that you were um willing to be a part of it. And uh And I love what you guys do. I love what you guys do.

[44:01] Ghost Light: Thank you so much.

[44:04] Laura Bailey: We love it too. And also, uh, a lot of people just heard the story and they know that it kind of ends on a cliffhanger. So if things go well, I would love I don't know if it'll come to fruition, but I would love if I can continue this as a series down the road. I would love to have um you and Kari back to uh to revisit these characters.

[44:23] Laura Bailey: I love it. I love it. Thank you so much for joining us. And uh we'll see you in the future.

[44:28] Ghost Light: Yes, good luck.

[44:32] Ghost Light: We hope you enjoyed this episode of Gather by the Ghost Light. Our sixth season begins in a few weeks. And if you would like to stay up to date on new episodes, subscribe to our YouTube channel and your favorite podcast platform. You can also follow us on all of our social media. As always, stay safe, and we'll see you next time. We gather by the ghost light.

[45:00] ♪ Musical number ♪