All right, here we are once again in our hotel lobby, and this
time we've got quite a crowd. We've got Dominic Trice here with me.
And if you're unfamiliar, I am JD. And this is Audio Theater Central.
What are you doing here? If you don't know what this is?
Also I have Josh Rodriguez again, and Darby Kern, Hey, how are
you doing? And Nato Jacobson, Hey, I'm just an innocent advistander.
So let's talk about Saturday, day three of Sonic on twenty twenty three,
as the noisy bin rolls by. So the first session was another one of
those blocks where there was multiple ones that I would like to have gone to,
but Darby one out. So I went to Darby's script writing class,
next level script writing, and it was a very and Garby was the only
masterclass teacher who brought snacks. Yes, that is the trick, until your
class with snacks missed out, one said fellow. It didn't bring any snags,
So Darby give us the fifteen or thirty second to recap. I walked
around and talked a lot, said some things that some people have said were
helpful and will propel them forward. In their writing journey. Basically, what
the information I wanted to get out is to help people write better audio drama
because I'm selfish and I want to hear better audio drama. So that was
a point of that, and also to to debut the first scene of the
next Jake Muller Adventures called Blood, which you can talk about how much you
like that or didn't like it or whatever, but I'm really proud of the
job Michael Touchet did putting that together. He is brilliant. All credit to
him on that so well. I mean, I wasn't going to bring it
up. I thought, no, I'm just kidding, just kidding. I
actually thought it was very intending. We're going there. That is hilarious.
I love that you just did that. I forgive you because before the temple
came after it. Oh yeah yeah. And I really enjoyed the class.
And you know, I'm I'm not much of a writer. I've done a
little bit and I would like to do more, usually on the director of
producer side of things, and so I found it very helpful and loved hearing
that a new piece of the new Jake Mueller. And I think if you're
still amenable we might be sharing that in a future episode of the podcast.
Absolutely absolutely, I want you guys to hear it. I want to when
to hear it. Like I said, Michael does such a great job with
that that I want I'll share that with everybody. And that's just a taste
of things to come. Yeah, what what What were the top takeaways from
Film's class for you? Dominic just was mastering the scene? What does that?
What does that mean? Actually he was just taking us through more story
structure and and how to first how to analyze a I had a very detailed
way of analyzing a film or movie were you yes, okay? And and
then having us actually practiced it on a small scale. Right, It's the
the exercise that he would have his college students go through. He said it
would take three quarters of the semester. I think, very detailed, in
depth look at at a film, because he said film was easier to talk
about than audio, drama, than visual and but just gave us the structure
that broke down the movie, the film of the movie, and then each
scene into acts and then broke down just in minute detail. Wow, you
know, so you have to say the story structure not just overall arching for
the entire show. But each scene is broken down, and it was just
an act of the movie, right, break it into three acts, but
two are in the middle. One of them is longer in the middle.
But then he said, then each each of the scenes can be broken down
everything. It was interesting. He took us and he showed us a clip
and he wanted us to see it twice. The first time, enjoy it
and the second time, put your analytical head on, dig into the story
structure. Super helpful, get your enjoyment out, is what he said.
Like, well, I'm still gonna enjoy it the second time, but he
gave a lot of like practical structural instruction that you can take away and then
really dig into stories. Yeah, that would really help when you're creating.
Yeah, well that makes total sense too, because from my perspective as a
reviewer, I always like to listen through to an audio drama at least twice,
ideally three times, because I do want to just enjoy the story.
I want to get lost in it, and if I don't, then that
means it's probably not a very good audio drama. And then the second time
I want to start taking notes and and and then if I can a third
time just to pick up all the things that I may have missed that second
time through m Yeah, so that was it. That was It seemed like
a pretty uh packed class. Yeah, it wasn't a lot of fluff,
it was. It was. It was a good one to take notes from
him to revisit later on. Yes, it's really really, really good stuff
from Phil. Of course he knows story so well, that's his whole message.
It's like story story, Where are you at in the story? Story?
Story? You know? So then we had our The next block was
I think this is the only one that had four, isn't it, Or
maybe there was at least at least in the last couple of days, there
was four. At the same time, we had John for and Off,
Jered Deepest Squall, Paul McCusker, and Kara O'Brien all on the same block.
Yeah, Austin PG just walked up so he may join in the conversation.
So I ended up going back to Jared's class again or not. I
mean, it was a different class, but I wanted to because this one
was specifically about the director composed a relationship, and I felt like that would
be the most beneficial for me where I'm at, and so it was it
was really good. Yeah. Well, and that was the thing too,
is that he would always just he tossed out a question and just he wanted
to get a feel for the room and see what kind of answers he might
get. And most of the time, even I mean I I tried to
participate when I could, they weren't always the answer he was looking for.
But he would then build off of the different points that people were making,
and it made the I don't think anybody was dozing off in his class.
Well, and the last thing he did was the most amazing for me because
he had to take a few pages of scripts played the dialogue track, had
to mark where we thought the cues should swell, like, the cues should
god like, where should the high points of emotion in the cue, where
should it drop? What words are important you know? And where should the
fuel change the point of view? And then we went through together, and
and and went through some of that, and then he played the finish scene
with his and and then we while we were looking at Jared and Paul McCusker's
marks, and boy, that was incredible, Like I got goosebumps because he
hit every single action point that Paul and and he, you know, touched
on. So he had a couple of scenes and two copies of the script
of that, so one was just blank where we could make our notes,
and then the same exact scene again with all of his handwritten notes. And
I'm like, I'm gonna be keeping this. Oh yeah, I should have.
I had Andy Harvey sign his the little script that we did on the
Live ADC podcast. Yes, I should have done that with Nato the last
time. Yeah, you're not You're not any less. You guys, ain't
the only thing I gave you. I attended Paul McCusker's class about adapting and
writing biographical audio. Okay, that's exactly what my show is about, you
know, World World War two veterans, and his current shows with Air Theater
are all biographical. Right, it's going back quite a few years, you
know, hundreds of years in history. Once again, Paul opened the class
and just asking why are you all here? Why are you interested? Because
biographical you know, historical audio drama is not exactly what everybody's interested in doing.
But and so he wanted to kind of dig in and find out,
So that was super cool, like we got the opportunity to share why we
were there. And then he kind of structured I'm sure he had class already
structured, he kind of went that direction and just such a like a relaxed
atmosphere too, and then he dug into you know, the most current show,
the Joan of Arc show and his process for that, and really was
like really explained his own creative process. And he got into once again like
you did earlier and at Sonic kon using the or not using a narrator but
using a story teller character, which which I've always really admired and talked about
how to create that. Just a real in depth a look into his entire
process and how they create these incredible shows you know, of historical figures,
and you know, research is a big thing. Character was the beginning.
You know, we always talk about how story is is everything, but his
statement was, when you're researching or creating a show based on a person history,
you absolutely have to know that character. You have to digest everything about
that person, not just them, but the time period they're in and all
the how they would be interacting with everything in their in their lives at that
point. So that was really good to be able to hear from start with
the person that you're actually gonna be writing about. Yeah, it's good stuff.
Anybody else go to any other of the sessions from that block that was
a delinquent student. I mean they looked both interesting. Our story to Change
your Change the World, the part of your story to Change the World with
John Pornoff, and then Carol O'Brien the Business of voice over acting. I
talked to her about that. She said she had a really good class and
just going over kind of giving people what the hard truth. You know,
this is going to take work. It's not easy. You're not going to
just go buy a USB microphone and suddenly be making a ton of money.
And and so she kind of attest to that. I was probably I can't
already talked about your class, Like you were very upfront with the writers,
like you're not going to make money money from this right away, you may
not make much money. Ever, So having those having those hard troops right
away, yeah, it takes away. It takes away the disappoint that you
may have later if you don't know that going into it. That's a good
point. Yeah, my daughter went to John Thorno's class, and she she
said it was very good. She said she learned a lot from it.
So no surprise. John. Yeah is a writer too, isn't she.
She is. She's writing the second draft of her second novel right now.
Wowesome, she's motivated, she's serious, and she is good too. She's
eighteen. She's writing better than I did at thirty. So that's awesome.
That's good, that's amazing. Well about the next block, I I was
a delinquent student this time. I took a break and just went and sat
in the green room for this block because I just was pretty tired at that
point. But I would have loved to have hit it. I wanted to
go see Cindy's class, but just went to that one. Okay, how
was that? I loved it? So I knew about river Cross before then.
I listened to holding esther and Ja butter Bridge, and I heard the
interview JD. You interviewed her the first one the con I face, Yes,
and Cindy is such a great personality reality. She really gets to engage
with what they're talking about and learning more about how what they do, what
they do make you feel for these kids and what they're going through and then
also too making it really interactive to like she us like the whiteboard, how
how many of the teachers use their whiteboards or not, but she really used
it and like got us asking us questions like things like causes that we're really
interested in or passionate about, or you know, our experiences and things like
that, and just breaking these things down and also like what they're doing with
the aud dramas. And she played another clip from a Bridge of Freedom that
wasn't played for the first episode, but it was almost like a their mission
statement almost in that clip about the bridge of the water trying to keep kids
from being sucked into that river and that being pulled away in that bridge so
that cycle can can be ended of that down the spiral, and how did
she apply that to the students and how they can do the same well,
also just kind of bringing out how, you know, find what you're passionate
about and doing your best to you know, follow God and help help those
people in those situations, and also how to how to pray for them,
how to get involved and help them out. And they actually had a lot
of a lot of gifts there, like they had like mugs, and some
merchants and cards with some stuff on it, and actually some I think it
was authentic stuff like from Africa, like kind of like Moroccas or like some
other like bags and things like that, like you no, not a nation
or anything. You just picking what everyone's more of. That kind of suff
was more like something to keep with you to remember to pray for those children
and organization or something like that. And yeah, she was. She was
really really wonderful. I note there are people talk to her even afterwards that
even during the talk, people I felt or really engaged in and really enjoyed
it and really wanted to talk to her and share with her their stories.
That's awesome. Yeah, I love what they're doing, and I mean to
a certain extent, what you're going to be doing, Josh with retold you
have a mission with what you're doing there. It's not the same kind of
thing. It's very different, but it is there is a goal with that
project. Well, it's pretty bringing up. I wasn't gonna mention it,
but I had about a thirty minute conversation with Cindy in the exhibit hall because
step four or five of our mission is to actually use these audio dramas to
help veterans that are affected by PTSD to insert help them out with you know,
therapy or whatever it is. And using the model that Cindy's been using,
we're gonna connect with her and find out how we can take what she's
established and then, like I said, this is a little bit down the
road, but then use the shows in very much the same way to help
veterans that are struggling with issues. So that's very it matches up with our
mission, I really will. I think it's also worth mentioning that that Bostin
is involved with a prob called Heart Matters, which is to me, doing
something very similar. Yes, she actually she actually gave that a shout out.
She definitely did not need to do that. But I talked to her
before the listening lounge on Friday, I think it was, and told her
like house when the inspiration for what we're doing now came from River Cross,
and she was so excited about that. I think she's I think she's gonna
call you out to in your project, Josh, but you weren't there for
some reason. I wasn't a wall though some of us. Yes, delicious
Barbie mission, Barb Well you were on a mission too well, and and
will definitely we'll definitely be talking up more about what Austin's involved in in UH
in a future episode because it is very important stuff. So yes, and
then and then that brings us to the next sessions were a couple of roundtables
and I moderated one with Gered Dipa Squall and David Shin and we knew we
were gonna have a lower attendance just because the other one was happening in the
Tower Theater and it was most of the Odyssey people were involved in that one.
Ye, Paul John philed and then Suzizo was another one of the producers
on that panel, And so I was not in there at all for that
one because we were doing the other one. And we actually had a pretty
decent turnout considering and because we had such a few number, I think there
may have been like or ten or twelve people in there. We just got
to just talk directly with them. It's in a smaller venues in the black
Box theater, and so they were all just like in the first row or
two, and you know, we just we had more of a back and
forth directly with them. They could ask follow up questions, and it seemed
like it was pretty helpful. Several of them came up to us afterwards and
we're asking more questions, and so I think it went pretty well. It's
kind of the same way with the other one they just did. They invited
us all to come up close and really to questions. So there was a
little bit more than I think for your class, But I don't think there's
a whole lot. I think some people probably still getting a lunch around that
top. Yeah, Oh, lots of people are hungry. Barbecue place is
pretty popular. I love this. I've heard colon questers about vermon Andy Serkis
for screwtap players in the past, but I think the one part I don't
think I've ever heard before or it's been a while about how aften like he
said, like, you know, uh, it's like, don't do anything
like this again. I feel like this kind of recording. Yeah, yeah,
you think it's like was it a picture or a script or something like
that said, He's a little like sure, and he's like, Paul never
asked me to play a role like this. It was the hardest role he's
ever done. Well yeah, yeah, harder than calling around on all four
years. And then Paul's wife, Elizabeth, she get some comic cons and
she saw Andy there. She told, Hey, yeah, like, my
husband's uh pulm cusker and I'm blanking. What did he say? Thanks for
reminding me? Wow, that's funny the stories that come out. You get
people like John and Phil and Yeah and Paul together. Yeah really well,
yeah, those guys are so great. I could listen to them talk about
the moisture level and leaves that are falling from the would be awesome. Yeah,
they need to do a podcast. We got to get them do the
podcast together. Boy, that'd be I'd listen talked about Phil's talked about doing
a podcast for like for teaching kind of stuff. So I mean, yeah,
well, I mean John and and Phil have done a couple of episodes
of story Chat. Has he had Paul on there. I don't think he
has yet, not yet. That would be. That would be cool to
have to hear them talk about some of the stuff that they worked on together,
because I know that Paul really helped John when you first started writing for
Odyssey and was very instrumental. There wasn't a tornado, or I think it
was tornado yeah. Well, then we had the New Works Festival, which
is which is always fun and also nerve wracking for me when I have to
be one of the respondents. But we had three actually really solid scripts this
year. I thought, I mean, it's always unfair when there's a comedy,
because that one always is the one that everybody seems to latch onto the
most, just because comedy, I don't know, when you're when you're in
a room together with people and you're laughing together, it just works a little
bit more than a dramatic script. But overall, I thought they were all
pretty solid and good acting from somebody here. Dominic was Yes, it was,
Yeah, I guess I was laugh lines. Yeah. There were a
few, yeah, a few humor humorous moments. And one thing that I
did tell you afterwards that I didn't get a chance to say at the time
was I did really appreciate how you And again I can't remember the other actor's
name. His character Felix, Yeah, Felix and Oliver, not Oscar Twist,
because he did say he messed up that one line. He told you
Oscar at one point. I don't think I've noticed that. I was just
trying to figure out, I noticed, but I was not going to say
anything about that. It's live. It's live, you mess up things.
But for anyway, the way that you guys were really not just looking at
the words that are on the page and just reading the line. And you
know, there are times when you want to stick exactly with what's on the
page. But the way you were inserting those really strategy pauses and some of
some little stammers like that, it just to make it sound more natural.
And it really it really worked in several of those scenes because there were a
couple of parts that were really really dialogue heavy in that particular script, and
that stuff like that helps make it make it seem a little bit more realistic.
Sure, and and so I appreciated how you how you guys were handling
that. That was Lewis Devin Lewis, Okay, it was really fun.
I mean I enjoy those new Works festivals a whole lot, just whether I
am sitting in the audience or whether I'm acting them out. I just but
just the new creativity that's going on it gets to be performed live. Yeah,
the first year was a bit uncomfortable, but now it's gotten a lot
better. I mean, I wasn't there a few submissions this year, I
think, yeah, there were, there were quite a few. Yeah.
So it's actually the first year Randy Strew did his Superhero Yeah, and he
blew everybody away, and like everybody was loving that one because it was the
comedy that again, yeah, because the first one. I think it was
the first one last or the first year. There was one that was very
very serious, like the whole premise behind it. It was a good idea,
but it was so I don't want to say depressing, but it was
very It was deep and emotional and probably not the right type of story for
that venue. Yeah, that was an infant if I was if I don't,
if I'm not, I'm misremembering. Yeah, but and it was a
very personal story for the writer. And so yeah, the most amazing script.
But at the same time, just the room is heavy. Yeah,
it was very heavy. Yeah. Yeah, the writer, I can't remember,
it's it's something along those lines. I was so impressed with her,
Like, I wish I could write as good as she does at sixteen sixteen.
When I was sixteen, she did so awesome, you know, being
brave enough to oh yeah, work out there and get you know, live
critiques and things like that would amazing. Her first audio drama, her first
director at time ever directing. You know, she's sixteen. You know this
is this is awesome, you know, first time standing in the front of
Phil Lawler as he's being very positive and helping his own way, you don't
feel all their ways. I mean, that was that was well. And
here's the thing, like, if you're putting a script up for consideration for
something like this, it doesn't help you for us to all just say,
well, that was nice. I enjoyed that. So I always and and
usually I always do find something to say that's constructive. But I don't want
to just he praised, because that doesn't help. And I'm also considering who
else is here. They're learning from the feedback that we're giving. It's not
just we're giving feedback to this writer, although that's the primary purpose, but
other people in the room are learning as well. In fact, I had
a couple of women stopped me in the hall after that and they said,
we were taking notes because the things that you guys were saying are helping us
too. Yeah, it's definitely definitely an opportunity for everyone. Then the blind
Reaper. Yeah. Then yeah, the Blind Reaper by Jeff Dixon. That
that one's I really like it. It's just here's the other thing. I'm
stuttering a little bit, but they're I think, yeah, it's more realistic.
It's hard because when you're submitting a script for this too, you have
you have a certain number of pages you're you know allowed. And also it
seems like every year there's people who are submitting things that are like the first
episode of a series. So we're not getting the full story, which I
think is a little bit unfair to the writers because we don't we don't know
where things are going, and a lot of times there's set up and and
we don't get the payoff, and so we just have to try to guess
where things are going or or you know, trust it. Yeah, And
so I think if you're listening and considering submitting something in the future, try
to write a self contained story like Glenn Haskell did with his drag Net parody
that we don't we don't have to wonder where things are going or try to
figure out things. It's all right there and we can really gauge you're writing
a little bit better. I don't think it's the best place to pitch a
first episode kind of thing. Although that seems to be what a lot of
people do, but I think that's good advice because then you're going to get
the most amount of out of the feedback, so you don't have to be
you won't have to explain, well, this is where the story's going.
You know. The respondents can consume it as a as an entire piece and
then really give you some good feedback and you can get from there the audience
as well. Right right, Yeah, you could do a sort of a
pilot, you know, treat it like a pilot of a of a series.
But a good pilot has its own, its own arc to it,
with a cliffhanger at the end, you know, something that that really gives
you a sense of the the flavor of the whole series. That doesn't doesn't
like, you know, the pilot is the selling point for the whole series.
So if you treat if you treat it that way, you know,
then with you just it's not requiring people to sort of sort of you know,
take for granted that you know, well, I hope you know this
is going to go somewhere later. You know, it has to go somewhere
right away. The Reaper did end with a cliffhanger. Yeah, so that
they kind of did what you were suggesting there. Yeah, Like one of
the one of the best notes that Phil gave was started in the middle,
like, that's such a good note. So that's always an interesting time.
There's always some it's cool to see new people starting to come in. And
you said, I think you said it a moment ago, Josh, it
takes a lot of guts to put your material out there and and just you
never you don't know what what's going to come back at you, you know.
But even even that young writer, she did say that even the notes
that came back from the the committee who reviewed the was helpful to her.
So so that's good. And yeah, I hope she keeps writing. I
hope all of them think, well, we know Glenn will Glen scripts today,
Paul, what did Phil say? It's like and this is my forty
seventh I've wrapping up forty seven scripts this afternoon. And then yeah, that
was a good Dragonet was so fun. Love his titles for them too,
There's so much fun. Yeah, Al he's going with the alliteration and it
almost sounds like you know those Rocky and bullcal cartoon titles, you know where
they have you know, just little spooks or plays on words in oh yeah
in the titles joined in next time when we'll hear, you know, some
funny twist on what might happen in the next episode, you know. Yeah,
Yeah, he's he's a lot of fun and I've always enjoyed his stuff.
And so did you say that this is his fifth or there will be
a total? So he's released the Daniel one and recent the Christmas one deliveries
delivered day. I think there's one thing is an Esther one and what was
the other one? I think so, I think he's done five total scripts
of these, but not all of them produced yet. Yeah, so that
that's that's always fun and and those are going up on Drama pi As also
said, there's already two up there right now, so you can always check
out what Glinn's doing. First Ax productions. He's resurrected that old brand that
he had used many years ago, and what I had originally connected with him
was under that brand, and so it was cool to see him start using
that again for his productions, just for a little while. It was just
under he was just saying, you know, by Glenn Haskell, and I'm
glad that he's got a brand now to start building. But you know that
that's always the final event, and then we have the closing ceremonies where Chris
just you know, kind of thanks everybody, and it's always bittersweet. I
know, I said this to a couple of different people last night as things
were wrapping up. It's just, you know, you're glad it's coming to
an end because you're absolutely exhausted, but you're also not glad because it's like
I don't want to say goodbye to all of these awesome people, you know,
very melancholy. Yeah. Yeah, but it wasn't quite the end because
then we went and got some ice cream and yeah yeah, and then just
hung out in the hotel lobby again for hours. Yeah, everybody stood out
on the street in forty three degrees and kept talking because nobody wanted to go
home. Yeah, even with a big smooky outside. Yeah. Yeah right.
I've heard more than once the reference to leaving summer camp. Yeah,
it has that same feeling truly. Yeah. Well, and then you get
back to the hotel, you just keep sitting and docking, which great.
Yeah, you know, Austin bailed out a little bit earlier, and and
then this morning, I like, I like a little bit more this morning
He's like, what time did you go up? And I was like,
well, probably an hour later than I should have, but I bailed like
an hour after you. I don't know how you got you guys, it
was nearly two two AMA. But back Airbnb. There's that way right.
All the football people are gone, well, well we'll wrap it up here.
But man, it is such a blast. It's the highlight of my
era every time we have this event, and I'm just looking forward to build
built keeping on building these connections and hopefully not waiting until the next event,
you know, just keeping those lines of communication open throughout the year and some
exciting stuff. There's such an energy in the community, and there's so many
new projects that I'm hearing about, and it's just a great time for family
friendly audio drama. So it might be good to know that Chris mentioned the
next would be two years. He did, Yeah, he said the next
one will be in twenty twenty five. Didn't say what time of the year
or anything. But as soon as we have more detail. We will definitely
share that, but I already expressed my dissatisfaction with that. Yeah, I
don't think you were the only one. But there is also the Odyssey event
in August of next year, so I've been just been telling some people maybe
we should just meet up there at Focus headquarters in August or something. So
so all right, all right, well we'll wrap it up. Thank you
guys, Thank you, thank