Learning To Fly by Brian MacDonald. Performed by Oliver Smith.

Directed by Alex Kingsley. Theme song by Optima Noorani-Kamtekar.

Brian MacDonald writes in the earnest hope that his words can bring joy and comfort like the books of his youth brought him.  He has returned to writing after a twenty-plus-year hiatus filled with teaching Intensive Special Education in both private and public schools in Massachusetts.  His years with his students have informed his worldview and taught him to take nothing for granted as well as to see the beauty in the chaos swirling in our minute-to-minute struggles in life.  Brian's work often includes elements of fantasy and science fiction as well as humor and fisticuffs.

Brian would like to state that he disagrees with Conan.  While he agrees that crushing one's enemies and hearing the lamentation of their loved ones is indeed enjoyable, Brian is absolutely certain that “Homemade Calzone” night at the MacDonald house with his wife, sons, and reruns of Leverage is the best thing in life.

Brian has been published in the House of Loki anthology, “Ghosts, Ghouls, and Ghastly Creatures” and the Knight Writing Press’ anthology “Mermaidens.”  Look for him and more stories from all his characters on his Facebook page: Brian MacDonald - Storytelling Scallywag

Oliver Smith is a Northern Irish voice-over artist and actor with two years of professional experience and over a decade of amateur and behind-the-scenes acting experience. Since their first role as Cleo’s Dad in ‘Cleo: A Pirate’s Tale’, Oliver has played a wide range of roles in indie and mainstream video games, audio dramas, and animations.

Oliver’s love of acting began as a teenager when they took up drama in secondary school, leading on to several roles on stage with a local amateur acting group. After joining this group, Oliver took up an interest in the behind-the-scenes running of productions and decided to move backstage. Since the age of 16, they have worked for one of Northern Ireland’s top event production companies as a lighting, audio, and rigging technician, and have worked on production for events such as BBC Proms and the Riverdance world tour.

During the lockdowns of 2020, Oliver was moved to return to their love of acting and particularly voice work. They have since built a custom acoustic-treated recording booth in their home and used their experience in sound production and acting to produce quality voice roles. Having built a solid foundation of indie work, they are now excited for the next chapter of their voice work career.

When not voice acting Oliver can be found on Twitter and Tik Tok, making comedy sketches and sharing cat pictures.