I Got to Talk to Felicia Day About VOYAGE TO THE STARS and More

Voyage to the Stars is a hilarious podcast that I was recently turned on to, and I highly recommend it for anyone looking for something new. The show is in its second season and stars Steve Berg, Felicia Day, Colton Dunn, and Janet Varney with Kirsten Vangsness joining in the second season and a variety of guests including Angela Kinsey and Phil LaMarr. The show is structured, but all of the dialogue is improvised, leading to hilarious, but tight, stories.

“The year is 2263. A group of loveable misfits mistakenly board an alien spacecraft and find themselves transported through a wormhole to the far side of the universe. Despite the universe’s best efforts, they somehow survived season one - but will they survive the second season of Voyage to the Stars?”

I was recently given the chance to interview Day about the show and here’s what we talked about. You can listen to Voyage to the Stars on most major podcast platforms.

Tommy: Felicia, this is a huge honor for me. I'm a big fan. I recently started listening to Voyage to the Stars and I was wondering how you got involved in the podcast?

Felicia: Thank you, I'm blushing!!! I got involved with this project through the creator, Ryan Copple. He has been a close friend for MANY years, ran production at my company Geek and Sundry and then ran the whole company for the years right before I left. He's so talented, and when he came to me with this project I was 100% in based on the concept! The whole process has proven to be even more fun than I could have imagined.

Tommy: I understand the dialogue for the show is improvised and there's a bit of structure, can you give us a small peek behind the curtain of how much structure there is?

Felicia: Any actual dialogue you hear our characters say is completely made up. We aren't given any scripted lines, for the most part. We are, however, given a few paragraphs for each "log" that describe the scene for us, where we start and where we should end up, story-wise, by the end. Each character then gets a few sentences about their motivation in the scene, such as "Elsa really wants Tucker to land on the planet, but Tucker refuses", or something way more interesting than that, lol. And for each episode, there are about 8-10 character logs, or sections. It's really the perfect format for audio, because it doesn't seem overly scripted when you listen to it, so it feels spontaneous, but we're not let loose to wander around, not knowing where to end up for a satisfying conclusion..

Tommy: How much did you get to influence your character Elsa? Were you given the character and then your improvised lines took her from there or did you get to build her from the ground up?

Felicia: Elsa was presented to me very fleshed out, Ryan has known me for years and years, so he definitely tailored her voice close to who I can easily play, though. Aspects of her have emerged through improvising, but essentially, she was on the page when Ryan presented her to me. Which is wonderful, because she's so incredibly fun to play!

Tommy: Who would you like to have as a guest on Voyage to the Stars?

Felicia: My dream people would be Paul Sheer or Matt Berry or Kristen Wiig. Anyone from Mighty Boosh, really. And Nicole Byer. The list is endless!

Tommy: With Voyage to the Stars featuring a fair bit of improvisation, when can we expect to see you on Whose Line is it Anyway?

Felicia: I think I might be a bit too intimidated to do that! I mean, I've studied improv ever since I moved to LA, but doing it live in front of an audience to then be turned into a TV show, that's a ton of pressure. The great thing about Voyage is that if things go off the rails, there's always editing afterward to fix anyone's crazy mistakes!

Tommy: You have such a great catalog of projects you've worked on, what have been three of your favorite roles?

Felicia: I have to say that The Guild, Dr. Horrible, and Supernatural top anything I've done. The Guild because I created Codex to feature myself as an actor, Penny because there was a wonderful sense or rebellion embodied in that production and I love the cast so much, and Charlie because she gives people, especially women, such a strong voice in the geek community. She is the ultimate Fan Girl in a sense!

Tommy: In Dr. Horrible's Sing-along Blog, your character Penny dies. How would you incorporate Penny into the sequel that doesn't exist but we're waiting for?

Felicia: I always like the idea of Robot Penny. Because Zombie Penny sounds like a pain to do with all the makeup.

Tommy: I know you've been a gamer in the past and you've played Codex in The Guild and voiced Zojja in Guild Wars 2, but I also know that you've written two books, are a mother, and just busy with life. Do you still find time to game? What are your go-to games when you have a moment?

Felicia: I still play games, honest! I stream weekly on twitch.tv/feliciaday actually. Saturday nights, the coolest! :D I stream games like Assassin's Creed, Tomb Raider, currently Outer Worlds. Mostly narrative RPGs, which I would play anyway, but as you mentioned, I don't get to spend as much time on now that I'm a wee bit busier!

Tommy: I know that you were a guest during the first campaign of Critical Role, do you play any tabletop RPGs at home? If so, what are your favorite characters (races/class/personality) to play as? Or do you prefer to be the GM?

Felicia: I started playing RPGs with a group of actors in 2004 or 2005, from ACME comedy theater. I’ve always loved D&D but sadly haven't done as much in my own lately due to time. I love Shadowrun, that is definitely my fave system even over D&D, just love that world-building. My favorite characters have a lot of skills. Languages, hacking/thievery, knowledge of Religion and History, etc. I have never GMd but I'd love to. One day when my baby is old enough I can't wait to run games for her and her friends!

Tommy: Are there any upcoming projects you're at liberty to talk about?

Felicia: I have many upcoming projects but none I can discuss right now! 2020 will be a great year though! Just follow me online, and keep listening to Voyage to the Stars! It's so funny!