What began as a theater career for an Ithaca College graduate has evolved into a full-time profession bringing dragons, warriors and fantasy worlds to life for listeners around the globe.
Dan Wisniewski, a 2017 graduate of Ithaca College’s musical theatre program, has become a prominent audiobook narrator in the growing fantasy and litRPG genres, recording more than 300 titles and earning recognition for several bestselling and award-winning works.
After graduating from Ithaca College, Wisniewski returned to Philadelphia and worked in theater before moving to New York City with his wife, fellow Ithaca graduate Faith Maciolek. He landed a role on the international tour of “Gone with the Wind” and later booked an off-Broadway production of “Romeo and Bernadette.” When the COVID-19 pandemic shut down live theater in 2020, an audiobook narration job he had picked up on the side became a new career path.
Wisniewski was hired and trained by a startup audiobook company, allowing him to continue performing while stages remained dark. The work quickly expanded, eventually becoming his full-time occupation.
Today, he specializes in litRPG, or Literary Role Playing Game fiction, a genre that blends fantasy and science fiction storytelling with elements commonly found in video games and tabletop role-playing games. His catalog includes hundreds of books featuring fantasy characters, quests and fictional worlds.
Among his accomplishments, Wisniewski received a Voice Arts Award nomination for “Mage Tank,” while another title, “1% Lifesteal,” was named one of Audible’s Top 10 science fiction and fantasy releases of 2025.
Wisniewski credits his theatrical training at Ithaca College for helping him stand out in the audiobook industry. Rather than simply reading text, he approaches each project as a performance, creating unique voices and personalities for dozens of characters within a single book. He said the vocal techniques, endurance and performance skills developed during college remain essential to his daily work, which often involves recording five to six hours each day.
His reputation within the fantasy audiobook community has led to contracts with major audiobook production companies and direct collaborations with authors, some of whom now write characters and stories with his voice specifically in mind.
While his career may have shifted from the stage to the recording booth, Wisniewski said the goal remains the same: helping audiences immerse themselves in stories and bringing imaginative worlds to life through performance.
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