The Official Adventures in Odyssey Podcast - Darcy’s Big Moments: Comedy, Drama, and Life Outside the Booth

Hello Odyssey fans, I'm Bob.

And I'm Jesse.

Welcome to the official Adventures in Odyssey podcast.

Coming up on the podcast, we're talking to Mia Lynn Mangoonan, voice of Darcy.

Darcy is bright, fun, and goofy.

She first showed up in an episode titled Hurricane Perkins.

And she'll be in another adventure coming up in album 80.

We chatted with Mia Lynn about acting, auditioning, comedy, serious scenes, and what it's like

to jump into Odyssey.

Let's hear that now.

Welcome to the podcast, Mia Lynn.

Hello.

All right, so let's hop in our own imagination station and go back to the first time that

you thought, oh, hey, acting is fun.

So were you in a class, a school play, an audition, something else?

Like, what was it?

The first time I thought acting was fun, it was probably when I filmed my first big show

because it was like one of my first glimpses into acting.

And it was on this huge sound stage, and I got to wear a cool costume with my hair and

makeup done.

And everyone was really nice to me, so I thought that was really fun.

Wow.

That's a great way to start.

You got the role of Darcy through an audition.

What can you tell us about that experience?

Oh, yeah.

I remember recording the audition at home, actually, in my closet, because it was stirring

COVID.

Right.

Right.

How many auditions do you have in typical month?

And when you're auditioning, is there anything that you do to kind of stay focused and

relaxed?

Right now, it's been kind of slow, because the holidays just finished, so around like

one to two, and so if you're relaxed during auditions, I just like to take deep breaths

like in and out and just go with the flow.

Well, that's a great attitude to have.

So okay, let's fast forward in our imagination station adventure to your first day.

So you landed the role as Darcy in the episode titled Hurricane Perkins.

What was that first session like?

And was there anything that surprised you most when you were in the booth?

Yeah.

It was one of my first recordings since COVID, where I was actually in the booth, and what

really surprised me when I was there was that I got to record with all the other actors,

because I was just so used to recording at home or like in a booth by myself.

Yeah.

Well Darcy as a character, she is social, she is fearless, and she's very fun.

One of her first lines is, there's no such thing as too much punch.

How did you find that bubbly energy in your voice without going to the stage?

Over the top, without making Darcy too deep for your cartoony.

Honestly, Darcy's like bubbly voice came naturally to me because at the time it was my natural

voice.

Oh, cool.

Yeah.

Yeah.

It's very relatable.

I think there are a lot of girls out there who can feel like they understand or maybe

even know somebody like Darcy.

Yeah.

So and then the next episode you had was the arcs the thing, and that gave Darcy even

more humorous lines, like when she's grossed out and she has to play Noah's wife and

Mrs. Hamm.

So how do you play comedy differently for voiceover than maybe you would do like on camera?

Well, on camera, you can make like funny faces and show your expressions, but when it comes

to like voiceovers, it's really about your timing or your tone and like the way you respond

to others.

It's kind of like when you tell a joke, you don't have to see it for it to be funny.

Yeah.

Right.

Do you have had classes that kind of help you with technique with voices?

Oh, I've taken a few voiceover classes, yeah.

In my hero, Renee Darcy writes an essay calling Renee a strong Christian who encourages her

faith.

Only to have Renee tell her that she's not a Christian.

When you read the script ahead of time, do you practice moments like that to decide how

big you're going to react when performing or do you prefer to sort of discover the

right reaction when playing right off the other actors or maybe hearing what the director

gives you in the studio?

I prefer to discover the right reactions when playing off of other actors actually because

it feels like I'm actually having a conversation with them, so it comes out more naturally.

Yeah.

I know sometimes people will say, well, if I get too married to an idea or I start practicing

it a certain way and then they choose to have me do it a different way, it can be a little

bit confusing because you know, you practice it one way and then have to change.

So I think there are other people who would agree with that approach.

Oh, yeah.

Definitely.

And Darcy has all these kind of, I don't know what to call them, sweet kid logic moments.

You know, like when she innocently asks Renee, if she's sure she isn't a Christian.

So do you tend to see the world that way too?

I saw it maybe like when I was younger because I had a lot of questions and I wanted to

know everything about everything and right now since I'm a little older, if I need to

know something, I just look it up.

Exactly.

So much easier.

And you mentioned how you just kind of use your natural voice like you and Darcy, it's

like the same voice.

So how are you and Darcy alike or different in other ways?

She's very bubbly and she's very funny and she's very like friendly with others and I

think I'm kind of like her in that way.

Okay.

Like very friendly.

You sound very friendly.

Oh, thank you.

No, I don't think we've actually met in the studio.

Have we?

Really?

Yeah, I don't think so because even though you were doing some club shows early on, it

was during COVID.

So I think everybody was working remotely and we needed a chance to say hi.

So this is early a first time, which is I'm really glad that we're doing this.

But you know, there's another episode that you did, it's called Two Steps Forward, Three

Steps Back.

You remember that one?

And that one's a little bit more serious.

That's the one where Darcy gets hit by a car and winds up in the hospital.

Talk about playing more serious moments like this.

What's harder for you as an actress is it's the serious scenes or the funny ones?

Honestly, I enjoy doing both funny and serious because serious scenes just let me really connect

with her character and the funny scenes, they're like fun and they help me relax.

So I like the balance.

Uh-huh.

Yeah, it's good that your character has had a little bit of both.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

So does anything stand out to you from maybe that particular episode?

Like were you surprised when you read the script that you're getting hit by a car?

Because I was.

I was too.

Yeah.

I was actually really surprised because who could hit like friendly old Darcy?

And when I was reading the script, it said I had a like scream or get hit by a car.

And I think that was the most difficult kind of because I didn't really know how to do

it because I've never been hit by a car before.

Well, please God.

I'm glad for that.

Yeah.

No, one of the things that I really appreciated about your character in that episode was how

she responded to the person who did it.

How did you feel as you were reading that?

What did you think about the forgiveness angle there?

I felt really good because it's good to forgive others and it's good that Darcy is a good

person.

Yeah, gives the listeners something good role model.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Well, many of our listeners haven't heard your latest adventure, which is coming up

soon on the radio and online.

So without giving away too much, can you share something that happened while recording

face the truth?

Hmm.

I'm just going to say that Darcy talks to Renee differently than she's ever had done

before.

Oh.

Hmm.

Okay.

I like that teaser.

Yeah.

Now that we are beyond COVID and you're actually interacting with other actors in the studio,

is there anybody in particular that you really look forward to working with?

I like working with Renee actually.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Renee, she's really friendly.

Yeah.

You guys really have a great rapport in the studio and it comes through in the shows as

well.

So what I want to know is when you're not acting, right, what do you do for fun?

Yeah.

Do you have any hobbies?

Hmm.

When I'm not acting, I really enjoy singing because I've been doing it ever since I could

talk and it's really been a big passion in mind.

And I also like dancing.

Recently I took like a Tahitian hula class and it was really fun.

So have you got a chance to do any dancing or singing along with your acting?

Yeah.

I got to sing and dance in one of the shows I recorded.

Mm-hmm.

It was the Santa Claus' but it was really fun.

Very fun.

Okay.

So let me ask you another completely random question because we don't have any questions

on here about what your favorite dessert is.

And that's just kind of something I, because you know, when you go to Whitsend, Whitsend

is very ice cream centered.

Yeah.

It's kind of wondering, are you an ice cream girl or would you tend to maybe order something

different?

Wow.

This is like a Bob or totally random question.

This is fun.

Okay.

Yeah.

I think ice cream is really good.

I like Oreo, but if I want something like different, then one of my favorite dessert desserts

is mango sticky rice.

Oh, yes.

It's really good.

Yeah.

I don't think I've ever had that.

Oh.

Oh, I should try it.

Okay.

Mango sticky rice.

Mango sticky rice.

As you know, my wife dances in a hula hula and sometimes they bring the mango sticky rice

to events and it is muah.

Is that a dessert?

It's a dessert.

Okay.

All right.

Right.

And it's good for you.

Oh, no.

But I'm here.

Okay.

So our imagination station journey is just about over.

So let's finish by looking ahead.

What's something you're excited about doing in 2026?

Recently, I just tried out for my school musical, so I'm hoping I get to work on that.

And I'm also hoping I get my driver's license this year.

And I also hope to record more episodes for you guys, maybe.

Well, we sure hope so.

If you do continue, and that character continues to grow and change and have new adventures

and experiences, what would you like Darcy to be doing in the future?

Do you have any thoughts about something that might happen to her?

Something good, not getting hit by a car, but something real good.

Yeah.

Hopefully no more cars.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I hope that she makes more friends along the way.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

I love that.

It's so great to get to know you a little bit better.

And we just really appreciate you bringing your talents, your bubbleiness, and everything

that you bring into the studio to bring Darcy to life.

So thank you so much for joining us on the podcast.

Thank you so much.

You can hear all of Mealin's performances as Darcy in the club right now.

And you can hear her latest episode as part of album 80.

That album, the final one released outside the club, starts airing on the radio and

online this weekend.

Mealin shows up later in the album, but you won't want to miss any of these episodes.

This album's a biggie.

It's already available now on the club CD and download.

And after it finishes airing on the radio and online, we'll be doing our usual call-in

Q&A.

But with a twist, this time it's the production team who will be answering your questions.

So make sure you ask the sound designers what you're wondering about album 80 or really

anything about the history of the show.

To leave a message, call our toll-free comment line at 1-855-784-WIT.

And always make sure to have your parents' permission before you call.

Keep an ear to the podcast to hear those Qs and A's.

We can't wait to hear what you ask.

And I can't wait to hear if the sound designers dodged the questions as much as the writers

have to.

Yeah.

Okay.

We've talked about what's coming out in stores and what's airing on the radio.

But before we go, what's coming up next in the club, Bob?

On March 12th, we've got a brand new adventure.

It's the first of a two-part story called the Prodigal Twin.

Can you tell us what's going on there, Chris?

Now on the Adventures in Odyssey Club, Wooden gets a call from an unexpected person.

Wooden?

Yeah.

Which leads to a family mystery.

He didn't go home after he left the office on Friday and no one's seen him since.

Well, Infinix missing?

It's up to Father and Son to follow the clues.

There's a lot of cash to have inside a fish.

That's too much money for a petty cash stash.

It's more like, um, like an escape fund.

The Bassett men are on the case now on the Adventures in Odyssey Club.

That's on the club, March 12th.

And part two, the conclusion comes out the next week on March 19th.

You can hear them both by joining the club at adventuresinauticy.com.

That's all for this edition of the official Adventures in Odyssey podcast, a presentation

of focus on the family.

That website again is adventuresinauticy.com.

Or if you need to talk to someone in person, you can always call us at 1-800-A-Family.

I'm Bob.

And I'm Jesse, reminding you that with God in your life, every day is an adventure.