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Meet the talented team behind the pilot episode of the Dream Dragon Adventures In Dreamland: The Sour Case of the Candy Crops.
Creative Directors
Gerald Kostecka / Nyle Steck - Writer / Creator / Voice Actor / and 20 other things!
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The Dream Dragon character was created by Gerald Kostecka when he was 17 years old. In order to make his name more "child friendly", he began writing the Dream Dragon stories under the pen name Nyle Steck. Gerald developed a comprehensive concept using his character to promote "The 3 E's", which are Educate, Empower & Entertain. He believes that child related programming should have a minimum of two of these, each and
every time, and all three whenever possible. In a world where entertainment value seems to outweigh substance and content, with the help of the Dream Dragon and the fun loving cast of characters, he is on a mission to help parents and their children get back to a time when respect and consideration and kindness are all considered important values.
Brad Trofin - EMMY Award Winning Animator - Head Animator / Illustrator
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Brad's freelance career started after graduating high school in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. After experimenting with many different fields of art including window painting, airbrush, and cartooning, he discovered the amazing art of animation. He took a classical animation course in Calgary where he excelled creatively and artistically. Soon after receiving his degree, he began to create short animated films. One particular film entitled
"Hate Mail" was awarded "Best Short Film" in Chicago's "Cineme International Animation Film Festival". Brad was extremely honored considering the judges were from Disney, Nickelodeon, Dreamworks, and Cartoon Network. Shortly after, he decided to combine his passion for animation with other fields of art and started his own freelance business called "Bradleez Cartoons". Brad recently won an Emmy for his work for PBS Alabama. The animated special was called "Archaeology Adventures". Brad continues to provide fun and professional art work to a growing client list world wide.
Nathaniel Kostecka - Vocal Director / Voice Actor / Composer / Singer
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Nathaniel has been around the Dream Dragon since he was born. In fact, the child in the first Dream Dragon picture book, Dreamtime Friend, published back in 1999, was modeled after, the then, 4 year old Nathaniel. Nathaniel has a lengthy and accomplished background in music and singing and he has recently used his excellent vocal control to perform a number of different character voices, including several roles in an international
visual novel project. Using all of his experience and knowledge in voice over performances, he was able to effectively direct each voice actor in the episode, including several voice actors who had never performed a voice over role before this pilot! He also composed the music and sang all of the parts of the Sweet Dreamers opening song. He also did all the editing and mixing of the vocal tracks.
Voice Actors
Gerald Kostecka, Temecula, CA USA - The Dream Dragon, Dad & Farmer Ted
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Gerald is no stranger to being recorded, but the things prior to this were radio or television interviews, recordings for training CD's, things like that. It was him just being himself, so this was very much outside his "wheelhouse"! The Dad character was easy enough, but it took some searching to find the Dream Dragon and Farmer Ted's voices. Gerald decided that since he is the creator of the Dream Dragon, no one knows the character better than him. And the Farmer Ted character was paying honor to his best friend Ted and there was no one else qualified to try to embody that voice. Gerald had this to say, "The original voice for the Dream Dragon was performed by actor Geoffrey Holder over 20 years ago, but Mr. Holder passed a few years ago, so I decided to do the voice myself and I hope I did it justice! To my friend Ted, I hope I did you proud buddy!"
Andy James, Hobart, Tasmania - Jackson
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Andy is very new to voice acting, in fact, this is her first official voice-over role. While new to the voice-overs, Andy has been involved in many local stage productions and has a passion for acting of all types. She began acting at age 6, with her debut role being Mary in the school nativity play. She has since portrayed Vice Principal Douglas Panch in “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee”, Jukes the pirate in “Peter Pan and Wendy”, and other ensemble roles. Andy is beyond thrilled to be portraying young Jackson in the “Adventures in Dreamland” pilot episode. She spends her free time crafting costumes, writing stories, and generally creating artistic havoc.
Contact her via email: Email Andy James
Susan Kostecka, Temecula, CA USA - Mom
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This was Susan's first professional voice over experience, but as a mother who helped raise three kids, it's no wonder she was able to portray "Mom" so effectively! As the wife of over 25 years to the creator of the Dream Dragon, she is very familiar with the character and everything for which he stands. Being so close to the character, Susan was eager to do her part in the animation process. Since she is an excellent singer, although she suffers from tremendous stage fright so others rarely get to hear her beautiful voice, we figured that with the control she's developed through singing, her voice would be an excellent addition to the vocal cast! I think we were 100% correct!
Gavin Zimmermann, Queensland, Australia - Leopold & The King of Nightmares
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Gavin is an actor from the sun-soaked land of Queensland, Australia, he has been active in the Australian cinema and theatre scene down under for over ten years, both in local productions, as well as some larger, international shoots. Getting tired of doing silly voices for just his friends and family, Gavin has decided to share his talents with the world, as such this is Gavin’s first professional voice over job and he is looking forward to as much scheming and cackling as the King of Nightmares has to offer!
Visit his website for more information or to contact him: Gavin Zimmermann's Website
Nathaniel Kostecka - Temecula, CA USA - Fumbles, Sparks & The Salesman
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Nathaniel has been singing since he could talk. His Mom would often sing with him when he was growing up and music became a very important part of his life. As a child the different voices of cartoon characters intrigued Nathaniel and he enjoyed trying to imitate his favorites. His Dad would speak in funny voices or do pretty bad impressions of different characters, so Nathaniel was surrounded with the idea that sounding funny could be a great thing. This definitely influenced his decision to pursue voice acting. Prior to making that decision, Nathaniel was an accomplished vocalist, which helped him develop an amazing amount of control over his voice. This control has translated nicely to his voice acting. He has been cast in numerous voice-over projects and recently became the main character and several supporting characters of an international visual novel project. His in-depth understanding of the different Dream Dragon characters has given him incredible insight about these characters, which have translated expertly into the vocal direction and voice performances of all the characters.
Mindy Freedman, New York, NY USA - Princess Penelope
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This is Mindy’s first official voice over role. She is an accomplished singer and performer, with most of her experience in the area of live musical theater, but is relatively new to voice over work. A graduate of New York University Tisch School of the Arts, her formal education and training includes acting, dance, voice and speech. Mindy has expressed her delight to be part of the project and we welcome her as the voice of Princess Penelope.
Jorem Miller, St. Joseph, MO, USA - The Narrator
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This is Jorem’s, who prefers to go by Joe, first official voice over role. When we first heard his deep, smoothing voice, with that slight country drawl, we knew we found the voice for our narrator! His rich tone perfectly embodies the persona of a story teller and we feel fortunate that he has joined our team of talented voice over actors.
We'd like to extend our sincerest thanks to all of the voice actors for doing such an outstanding job of bringing the characters in our pilot episode to life! We look forward to hearing you again in future episodes! If you'd like to contact any voice actor for voice over opportunities, send us an email message and we will put you in touch with them.
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info@thedreamdragon.com
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