Shapeshifting Multi-Genre Renaissance Man
Bard Nolan
Writer, Artist, Singer, Voice Actor, Photographer (RL + Virtual), CosplayerFormer Haunted House Actor & Professional Sith (still owns two lightsabers)Pansexual Nonbinary Transman, Autistic + ADHD + Depression + Physically Disabled
photo background taken and edited by bard nolan
Bard Nolan has been writing, proof-reading, and editing his own work for many years in various styles and genres. While his passion thrives in fiction, Bard also has experience in penning instructional texts ranging from training materials for hands-on skilled labor to the more playful tabletop role-playing game. He has also done a bit of copywriting in his time to create overhead announcements from his customer service days as well as social media marketing for his twitch channel.Bard specializes in work that explores the thought processes and feelings of characters - especially when confronted with difficult or horrifying situations -, infusing it with a touch of (sometimes dark) humor. Through many years of fandom roleplay as a hobby, he has become skilled at character analysis, exploring the facets of personality as well as create excellent emulations of character voice with ease in text.Most notably, during Bard's time as a member of Lucasfilm-recognized charity organization Saber Guild he wrote two show scripts (written with a blend of following George Lucas' work and Bard's own style), assisted via proofreading and dialogue-editing advice to other writers, and helped other members with character development for their costume OCs.If you would like copies of the scripts for portfolio review purposes, please reach out through email.
Within the sphere of original works, Bard designed an indie tabletop rpg titled "The Giver's Contract" for the Hot Horror Jam on itch.io.Designed and written within a one month deadline, it features an original gameplay system, unique monster archetypes that put new twists on classic creatures like vampires and angels, and a small handful of scenarios for people to play around with - plus lots of room to craft their own stories. It was crafted within a four page game jam limitation and provides a foundation for players to explore the horror (or romance) of transforming into a monster, and how this affects (positively, negatively, or both) one's relationships with others.If you would like a free copy for portfolio review purposes, please reach out through email.Bard is in the process of relearning his relationship with the self as a late-diagnosed autistic person who is learning to unmask from decades of performing a persona based on the needs of others. This has caused him to reflect on how he would like to engage with and create art - in its various forms - to express his identity and experiences, especially when it comes to the senses. Alongside this, he is also physically disabled, and has ADHD and depression. He is also a nonbinary transman, and pansexual. If you are seeking someone to write from an "own voices" perspective regarding these identities, please consider Bard for either work as a consultant, a writer for your team, or both!
Current Writing Projects✢ A currently unnamed novel about a transgender werewolf and the challenges that come with trying to cope as your body changes in a way that you struggle to control. It explores obstacles with gender dysphoria, body dysmorphia, transphobic parents, emotional (dys)regulation, authority VS the self, and other concepts wrapped up in a supernatural/urban fantasy setting.✢ A uniquely presented Alan Wake fanfic for the 2024 FBC/Oceanview Zine. More details to be announced at zine release.✢ Fear and Love Are Felt on the Tongue: an Alan Wake fanfic that revolves around the concept that Alan Wake and Alex Casey have been visiting each other in their dreams for years without realizing it. It is a slow-burn horror/romance that explores the beauty in the grotesque, struggles with inspiration, relationship troubles, polyamory (eventually), poor mental health as a result of self-hatred and self-deprecation, and many other themes.
Future Ideas✢ An indie horror game about a person inheriting an eerie roadside motel from their estranged father, who is hiding sinister secrets as to why their mother ran away. Themes of cosmic horror, ritual sacrifice, and liminality. Multiple paths and endings based on player decisions.✢ A collection of poems regarding memories, emotions, and sensory experiences that attempt to convey the difficult, sometimes esoteric nature of Bard's personal experiences with autism, ADHD, burnout, and depression.✢ A visual novel/dating sim about a human-owned & operated nightclub that unintentionally gets co-opted by gods seeking offerings from humans.✢ A courier sim/platformer with some visual novel elements (for conversations and cutscenes) in which you, an avatar of Hermes, are a delivery person for a bookshop in a fantastical modern world. You grow your relationships with members of the community and unlock special delivery quests for rare or lost books as you deepen those connections. Possible dating sim element. Cozy vibes.✢ Various other Alan Wake fanfics. Lots of ideas for those.
Bard has been a predominantly self-taught artist for the past two decades, off and on. While having learned about some forms of traditional media and a basic understanding of light & color from a public school art education, most of what he has learned about anatomy and composition has been from self-study and media analysis.Of the different kinds of art he's dabbled in, he prefers to explore fashion and character design. Bard has experience designing within style guides and lookbook constraints during his time in Saber Guild, but has also sketched out many fashion concepts for personal use as well. As a fan of fantasy attire, renaissance faires, and period-appropriate costuming, he loves to design characters and outfits that have whimsical, original style inspired by looks and construction from all across the 1400s-1800s. He also enjoys playing with gender in fashion design, especially when it comes to anachronistic fantasy aesthetics.His work as a cosplayer, which uses skills like patterning, modifying, sewing, and tailoring garments in various types of fabrics has helped him gain a better understanding of illustrating folds and textures in art. It has also helped to supplement his sense of style, structure, silhouette, and movement in character design.His work as a photographer has helped explore light, shadow, color, and composition in new ways, which has also helped Bard grow as an artist. This is especially helpful when rendering scenes within full illustrations.Image editing and illustration program skills include Photoshop, Lightroom (Desktop and Mobile), Paint Tool SAI, Clip Studio Paint, and Procreate. He predominantly draws using an iPad Pro and apple pencil these days, but does still sketch traditionally from time to time using pencils, inks, watercolors, and markers.
Photo by James McDaniel
In 2017, Bard performed Rain from the Cowboy Bebop soundtrack at the event "Do Androids Dream of Living Computers?", a Blade Runner-themed party hosted at the Living Computers Museum + Labs. He was given this wonderful opportunity when the event planner put out a call for singers, he sent over his soundcloud, and then shortly after received an enthusiastic reply stating he needed to sing that song for the event.He was tested by the Voight-Kampff Machine Operators twice that night, and was flagged as a Replicant both times.
Bard Nolan has dreamed of being part of a musical theatre production since he was very young, and as a result became passionately focused on choir throughout his public school education. He has been classically trained in chamber choir music for over a decade, and deeply loved his time as a member of his high school madrigal ensemble. In madrigals, he performed at the Kansas City Renaissance Festival from 2006-2008, and performed Dickensian caroling around various venues in the Kansas City metro all throughout the holiday season during these years as well. His vocal range was G3 - A5 during this time.After high school, Bard came out as transgender and socially transitioned. He began learning how to play the guitar and piano through self-study, and briefly studied Music Production online through Full Sail University (but unfortunately had to drop out due to sketchy business practices by the institution). Without the opportunity to further his education, he took to practicing covers of songs he enjoys and karaoke in order to stay connected to music.In 2015, Bard was able to begin HRT and carefully practiced his way through a changing voice. While there were difficulties with the local karaoke community not understanding his situation as a trans person, and some fears due to a lack of mentorship and guidance from a vocal teacher or coach during this major change, Bard exercised patience with himself during this transition. What has resulted is the singing voice he had always hoped for, much to his joy and relief.He has recorded and posted some of the previously mentioned covers to soundcloud as a means of documenting and sharing his progress on HRT. These covers are approached from a very relaxed perspective: they were practiced a couple of times before recording and are all done in one take. As a result, some imperfections remain, but he enjoys the human charm in this and still finds the tracks to be pretty good despite their lack of polish.Bard happily continues to enjoy karaoke at local venues, but also hopes he will have more opportunities to sing professionally in the future.His current vocal range is G2 - B4. His voice particularly shines when singing in the styles of contemporary musical theatre, rock ballads, bardcore/tavernwave, indie folk, symphonic metal, and pop. He also has a fondness for 80s rock and gothic country.
For Bard's Character Demo Reel, please refer to the video embedded above the portrait to the right (desktop) or below (mobile). Demo reels for Narration and Singing currently in progress.Voice Acting Credits
✢ Supreme Leader Snoke in "The Trials of Ren", a stage show performed by Kamino Temple of Saber Guild (formerly known as Jet City Saber Guild) at the 2016 WA State Fair. You can watch here.
Background
Like many, Bard grew up copying voices from TV and making silly impressions with his family - sometimes even narrating books and comics with flair to others -, which eventually led to an interest in improv and acting classes. Bard was also raised as a classically trained vocalist through solo performances, small group a cappella, and chamber choir for over a decade through his public school education, with an emphasis on madrigals in the latter years of his education.Unfortunately over the years, Bard also struggled with auditions due to difficulties with his identity as a trans person living in the American Midwest, which created barriers between his outward gender presentation pre-transition (very feminine at the insistence of his mother) and the roles that he wanted to play (masculine roles more in line with his gender identity). This struggle with assimilating into cisgender societal expectations in something as transformative as theatre and acting would serve as an obstacle - socially and psychologically - for many years, holding him back from his long-time dream of being an actor in any medium.During the falls of 2012-2015, he worked as a scare actor at a small volunteer-run haunted house in the Seattle area and was awarded Best Scare in 2012. While he loved performing as a scare actor, he stopped working with the haunted house due to transphobia from multiple cast and crew members in leadership positions.From 2016-2018, Bard was a member of the Seattle Saber Guild temple, which allowed him to briefly realize his aspirations as an actor and be part of a small, inclusive community of costumers and performers. It was the first space he'd been accommodated for his needs re: autism, and the first space that gave him an opportunity to be a strange and bizarre lil guy that's also a huge bastard (in his role as Snoke) rather than play to the friendly, goofy, and people-pleasing personality he was known for socially. For this, his time with Saber Guild laid a foundation of hope for his future, and that there would be places for people like him in the fields he wishes to pursue. However, due to financial and scheduling conflicts, he unfortunately had to retire from being a part of this group despite his hopes to write and direct ambitious, emotional, and thoughtful narratives that explored the Star Wars universe with other fans. (He misses the swordfighting too.)Now, Bard hopes to dive beyond his fears of being "too different" in sound due to his transness and dig deep into voice-acting. His ideal role is one that would allow him to channel his love of musicals into the work as part of a project that involves both singing and acting. If you need a queer, androgynous, masculine voice or creepy creature noises for your project, please reach out via email!
CHARACTER DEMO REEL
Written, Directed, and Produced by Bard Nolan
AUDIO ASSETS USED
Pawel Feszczuk - Wild Boar Tavern
Holizna CC0 - The End
Audionautix - Minstrel
Bone Break and Snap SFX from Zapsplat
Holizna CC0 - Game Over 1
Bard circa 2019 (because it's the only pic I have with a microphone while not singing)
Equipment
TONOR TC20 XLR Condenser Microphone
M-Audio M-Track Solo & Duo USB Interfaces
Blue Yeti USB Microphone
AudacityStudio Space
Currently a desk in my living room where my partner and I stream from. There are acoustic foam panels on the wall behind the desk, but no other sound treatments to the space at the moment.
I would like to convert a closet in our apartment into a fully sound-treated studio space soon, when I can afford the supplies necessary.Raw Studio Sample ⤵
under construction
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