Sarah Hamilton
Encyclopedia
Sarah Hamilton is an American
actress who has done voice work for many national commercial campaigns including Chapstick
, CoverGirl
-brand cosmetics, V-8
Splash, and Sony
-brand electronics. Within the videogame industry, Hamilton is best known for her voice work as April Ryan
in the best-selling and critically acclaimed adventure game The Longest Journey
, and its sequel, Dreamfall
. She also serves on the Board of Statement Arts, a non-profit organization which brings creative arts workshops and productions to underserved and low-income communities.
After graduating from the prestigious New York University
Tisch School of the Arts
where she worked with members of the Royal Shakespeare Company
, Hamilton went on to star in stage productions like Troillus and Cressida, Measure for Measure, and Chapter 8 in New York
and London
. It was through her contact with a New York casting agency that she was later cast as the English
voice of April Ryan, the lead protagonist in designer Ragnar Tornquist's PC
adventure game
The Longest Journey. The game included hours of recorded voice used to comment on the environment, provide information on how to solve puzzles, present dialogue between characters, and advance the plot, and the character of April Ryan was central to all but a tiny percentage of this content. As a result, Hamilton spent approximately eighty hours over ten consecutive days recording voice work for the game, including live dialogue sessions with the other actors so that they could develop a real rapport between their characters.
In 2002 and 2004, Hamilton was respectively diagnosed with multiple sclerosis
and cancer
, both of which remain symptom free and in remission following a variety of treatments. She credits these diagnoses with inspiring her heavy philanthropic involvement with Statement Arts and seeks to instill the belief in otherwise disadvantaged inner city kids that no matter how bad a situation might seem, anything is possible. During her work with the organization, Hamilton has served as one of the Project Leaders for Statement Arts' ongoing "Project: Urban Arts" program which focuses on fulfilling the needs of the music program for New York City
's High School of Environmental Studies, the "World Art Project" which brought some welcome Christmas spirit to areas ravaged by Hurricane Katrina
, and "Project: Camp Bayou 2006" which organized a summer arts camp for young people in those same areas.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actress who has done voice work for many national commercial campaigns including Chapstick
ChapStick
ChapStick is a brand name for lip balm manufactured by Pfizer Consumer Healthcare and used in Australia, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, Colombia, Italy, Chile, Pakistan, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Argentina, the United Kingdom and the United States. It is intended to help treat and prevent chapped...
, CoverGirl
CoverGirl (brand)
COVERGIRL is an American cosmetics brand founded in 1960 in Maryland, by the Noxzema Chemical Company and acquired by Procter & Gamble in 1989. The Noxell Company advertised this cosmetics line by allowing "cover girls", fashion models who appear on the front cover of women's magazines, to wear...
-brand cosmetics, V-8
V8 (beverage)
V8 Vegetable Juice is a trademark name for beverage products sold worldwide and made from either seven vegetables plus tomatoes or a mixture of vegetables, tomatoes, and other fruits...
Splash, and Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
-brand electronics. Within the videogame industry, Hamilton is best known for her voice work as April Ryan
April Ryan
April Ryan is a fictional character from the adventure game The Longest Journey and its sequel Dreamfall: The Longest Journey . In the former, she is the protagonist, and in the latter, one of the three primary characters. In both games she is voiced by Sarah Hamilton.-Background:April Ryan is a...
in the best-selling and critically acclaimed adventure game The Longest Journey
The Longest Journey
The Longest Journey is a point-and-click adventure game developed by Norwegian studio Funcom for the PC. First published by IQ Media Nordic in Norway in 1999, it was later localized for and released in France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Canada, Spain, Denmark,...
, and its sequel, Dreamfall
Dreamfall
Dreamfall: The Longest Journey is an adventure video game with elements of action-adventure. It was released for the Windows and Xbox platforms on 17 April 2006 by Norwegian developer Funcom...
. She also serves on the Board of Statement Arts, a non-profit organization which brings creative arts workshops and productions to underserved and low-income communities.
After graduating from the prestigious New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
Tisch School of the Arts
Tisch School of the Arts
Tisch School of the Arts is one of the 15 schools that make up New York University ....
where she worked with members of the Royal Shakespeare Company
Royal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs 700 staff and produces around 20 productions a year from its home in Stratford-upon-Avon and plays regularly in London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and on tour across...
, Hamilton went on to star in stage productions like Troillus and Cressida, Measure for Measure, and Chapter 8 in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. It was through her contact with a New York casting agency that she was later cast as the English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
voice of April Ryan, the lead protagonist in designer Ragnar Tornquist's PC
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
adventure game
Adventure game
An adventure game is a video game in which the player assumes the role of protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and puzzle-solving instead of physical challenge. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based media such as literature and film,...
The Longest Journey. The game included hours of recorded voice used to comment on the environment, provide information on how to solve puzzles, present dialogue between characters, and advance the plot, and the character of April Ryan was central to all but a tiny percentage of this content. As a result, Hamilton spent approximately eighty hours over ten consecutive days recording voice work for the game, including live dialogue sessions with the other actors so that they could develop a real rapport between their characters.
In 2002 and 2004, Hamilton was respectively diagnosed with multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis is an inflammatory disease in which the fatty myelin sheaths around the axons of the brain and spinal cord are damaged, leading to demyelination and scarring as well as a broad spectrum of signs and symptoms...
and cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
, both of which remain symptom free and in remission following a variety of treatments. She credits these diagnoses with inspiring her heavy philanthropic involvement with Statement Arts and seeks to instill the belief in otherwise disadvantaged inner city kids that no matter how bad a situation might seem, anything is possible. During her work with the organization, Hamilton has served as one of the Project Leaders for Statement Arts' ongoing "Project: Urban Arts" program which focuses on fulfilling the needs of the music program for New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
's High School of Environmental Studies, the "World Art Project" which brought some welcome Christmas spirit to areas ravaged by Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
, and "Project: Camp Bayou 2006" which organized a summer arts camp for young people in those same areas.
External links
- Statement Arts Homepage
- Blog Archive of Statement Arts' "World Art Project"
- Review of The Longest JourneyThe Longest JourneyThe Longest Journey is a point-and-click adventure game developed by Norwegian studio Funcom for the PC. First published by IQ Media Nordic in Norway in 1999, it was later localized for and released in France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Canada, Spain, Denmark,...
, including a specific citation of the importance and high quality of Sarah Hamilton's performance as protagonist April RyanApril RyanApril Ryan is a fictional character from the adventure game The Longest Journey and its sequel Dreamfall: The Longest Journey . In the former, she is the protagonist, and in the latter, one of the three primary characters. In both games she is voiced by Sarah Hamilton.-Background:April Ryan is a...