Jennice Ontiveros ’11 will help bring to life the complex and compelling science of the Cosmos: Possible Worlds audiobook.
The long-awaited sequel to Carl Sagan's international bestseller, Cosmos, continues the electrifying journey through space and time. The audiobook adaptation, which will also be narrated by author Ann Druyan, documents where humanity has been and where it’s going, from the emergence of life at deep-sea vents to solar-powered starships, and explores how science and civilization grew up together.
Recording the book at a studio in Los Angeles was exciting, Ontiveros said, not only because of Cosmos’ significance, but also because she’s following in the footsteps of Levar Burton, who recorded Sagan’s original. She knew she was in good hands with director Christina Rooney, who helmed the Grammy-nominated audiobook version of Accessory to War: The Unspoken Alliance Between Astrophysics and the Military.
It was a big project, and Ontiveros’ Whittier education “absolutely helped” prepare her for the task, she said.
“I remember being in the recording booth, not hitting a character line quite right, and I stood up and created the physical embodiment of my vision of that character,” she said. She was immediately transported back to a moment she once had in the black box theatre of the Ruth B. Shannon Center for the Performing Arts, as she prepared for her role as Electra, in the play Iphigenia and Other Daughters, directed by theatre professor Jennifer Holmes. “It was with her that I first learned the value of physical work in character expression.”
Each day of the recording session, she used the warm-ups that theatre professor Gil Gonzalez taught her. Other times, she pulled from her first lessons on the history of science, atoms, and quantum mechanics from physics professor James Camparo.
“I used his inspiring passion for science to continue my curiosity outside of the classroom, emailing him after graduating to ask for resources. I used all of these lessons and support as a springboard that led me to this project,” Ontiveros said. “I truly am thankful for what my professors gave me in my time there.”
She loved having Druyan present for every recording session on the project, which ensured her reading of the book resonated with the author’s intention.
Ontiveros had first met Druyan on the soundstage of a television series based on the book, which premiers next month on National Geographic. On a beautifully designed set for the Cosmos: Possible Worlds series, which Druyan also wrote, Ontiveros watched astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson perform Druyan’s powerful script. It was one of the most surreal and exciting moments in her life.
“I could feel that important, ground-breaking, necessary television was being made right in front of me,” said Ontiveros, who majored in business administration and theatre and communications arts. “Ann is truly a genius, and I was instantly dedicated to her and the project.”
While at Whittier, Ontiveros was also president of the Hispanic Student Association and the Thespian Society; a member of the Whittier College choir, the Sachsen Society, and student government; and founded the Whittier Tells Funnies improv group. She was also a recipient of the Keck Foundation Fellowship Program.
Previously, she worked on the television documentary series American Greed and appeared in the television series Below Deck.
