Storytelling with depth, warmth, and authenticity

Leading a storytelling workshop with high school students in Mongolia (2025)

About Me

I’m Richard Silberg—a voice actor, storyteller, and educator whose work has long been shaped by the power of narrative. With decades of experience performing on stage and screen, guiding learners in classrooms around the world, and narrating across genres, I bring a passion for language, narrative, and communication to every project.

My voice carries a smoky warmth and quiet confidence informed by a storyteller’s cadence shaped by years of performance and teaching. I aim to make every script feel natural and alive, whether lending my voice to a brand, narrating a documentary, voicing an interactive learning module, or creating distinct personalities in an audiobook. Whatever the project, I focus on clarity, connection, and emotional truth.

I trained as an actor at the American Conservatory Theater and Berkeley Repertory Theatre and later refined my voice-over skills at Voice One Studios in San Francisco, focusing on audiobook, character, eLearning, narrative, and commercial technique. My acting and storytelling work spans stage, film, and live performance. I appear as both storyteller and voice actor in the Academy Award–nominated documentary When We Were Bullies, a film that explores memory, empathy, and the experiences that shape who we become. Another defining moment came during a Fulbright-affiliated study in Turkey, when I performed The Golden Apple—a retelling of the myth that sparked the Trojan War—to educators and students at the gates of ancient Troy. Both experiences reaffirmed my belief in the power of narrative to connect people across language, cultures and generations.

Story has been the throughline of my life and work. I have worked as an actor, performance storyteller, and playwright, adapting The Odyssey, Beowulf, and Shakespeare, and penning original plays for young audiences that have been produced in multiple venues. My live performance work has taken me across continents, spanning classical theatre, modern drama, ancient epics, folktales, and personal storytelling—and, through my work in museums and as a whitewater rafting and wilderness guide, I have developed programs that use storytelling to illuminate science, history, adventure, and the natural world.

Before devoting myself to voice-over full time, I spent nearly four decades as an educator in Berkeley, California, using drama and performance to bring language to life in the classroom (my companion site, richardsilberg.com features that work). I was a Fulbright recipient in Greece and Turkey and a Fellow at the National World War I Museum, and have written and spoken about how history and narrative intertwine. I served internationally as an English Language Specialist with the U.S. Department of State’s English Language Programs, helping teachers around the world integrate storytelling and creative expression into English instruction. I also collaborated on eLearning and audio-based English language projects for the U.S. Department of State, producing clear, engaging instructional narration heard by learners worldwide. This work has taken me to Albania, Cambodia, China, Mongolia, Timor-Leste, and Uzbekistan.

Studio Specs

  • Microphone: Rode NT1 (5th Generation)

  • Interface: Focusrite Scarlett G4

  • Software: Twisted Wave (on MacBook Air M4)

  • Space: Acoustically treated home booth, broadcast-ready

  • Connectivity: Source-Connect Standard and remote-session capable (Zoom, Skype, Teams)

  • File Delivery: Custom formats per client specifications

Richard’s Performance Resume

Voice-Over & Narration Credits

Audiobook

—”Second Chance” by John M. Adler —”The Wanderings of Odysseus: A Storyteller’s Re-Telling” by Richard J. Silberg

eLearning

—"Learn English with Jacinta and Friends" Companion Audio featuring stories, vocabulary, dialogues, chants, and pronunciation for the Grade 7 English textbook produced by the Ministry of Education and the U.S. Embassy in Timor-Leste.
—Explainer Videos – eLearning YouTube channel for international English language teachers.
—”American English" – Recordings for the U.S. Department of State’s eLearning platform.

Film

—"When We Were Bullies" – Voice-over and on-screen performance for Academy Award-nominated short documentary (Jay Rosenblatt, Director).
— "The Smell of Burning Ants" – Voice-over for film (Jay Rosenblatt, Director).
— "Darkness of Day" – Voice-over for documentary (Jay Rosenblatt, Director).
—"Two to Tango" and selected shorts– Voice-over for dramatic films (Brett Simon, Director).

Radio

—"The Story of Joseph" – Character voice for National Public Radio drama production (William Drummond, Director).                                               —Falling in Death"–Principal character voice (Richard Macek) for National Public Radio drama production (William Drummond, Director).

Film, TV and Commercial Acting Credits

-- "Patch Adams" Psychiatric ward patient                                                                              - —"7 Wonders of the Industrial World" BBC production– Brakeman —"Unsolved Mysteries” Timothy (Principal Actor)                                                                          —"Guinness Stout"  Principal + stunt (Commercial) —“Two to Tango” and “On Seeing the 100% Perfect Girl One Beautiful April Morning” Brett Simon director

Theatre & Storytelling Credits

—Shotgun Players – Over 15 production credits. Notable productions include:   “Edmond”-David Mamet, “A Merchant of Venice” -William Shakespeare, "Uncle Vanya"- Anton Chekov, "Faustus"—Christopher Marlowe, "The Lover"-Harold Pinter, “Baal”-Bertolt Brecht                                                                                       —Marin Theatre Company "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest”                                                             — Shakespeare at Stinton "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Abridged"                                       — Berkeley Repertory Theatre "Journey to the West"
—Porchlight Storytelling – Featured storyteller for main-stage performance + winner of two story slams                                                                                                                         —Collaborations with the U.S. Department of State’s English Language Programs, combining storytelling & education                                                                —"The Origins of the Trojan War"--featured storyteller sponsored by the U.S. Fulbright program at the gates of Troy (Hisarlik, Turkey) — “Shakespeare and Marlowe Monologues”—Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus, Greece

Playwriting Credits

—The Odyssey, The Jungle Book, Beowulf: original adaptations performed at Berkeley Repertory School of Theatre, Shotgun Players and various schools.

Training

—Voice Over –Voice One Studios, San Francisco (audiobook, character, eLearning, narrative, commercial, home recording techniques and voice training).
—Vocal Training/Dialects – American Conservatory Theatre, California Shakespeare Festival, Berkeley Repertory Theatre.
—General Acting – American Conservatory Theatre, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, University of Wisconsin, Madison —Storytelling- Ben Haggarty (England), Clare Murphy (Ireland)