Artist Soapbox * Audio fiction + Creative Process

Writers, take note! Author Kayla Cagan gives insight into her writing process (including the publishing phase), as well as navigating writer's block with really practical ways to overcome it. Guest host, Juliana Finch, and Kayla provide resources and places to start when writing doesn't feel great or accessible

BIO:

Kayla Cagan (she/her) is the Young Adult Author of PIPER PERISHand ART BOSS from Chronicle Books.PIPER PERISH received universal praise and starred reviews from ALA Booklist, as well as being an Amazon Bestseller, a Barnes & Noble Best Book of the Month, and made the Indie Next Choice list. PIPER PERISH was also picked as a Spirit of Texas High School Reading Program selection and was a nominee for the Overdrive Book Selection. Her second book, ART BOSS, was called “an engaging portrait of the artist as a young woman” by Kirkus Review, and “an automatic pick-up for fans” by Booklist. Both books were selected for Mule Design's Quarantine Book Club series in 2020.Her short plays and monologues have been published by Applause Books and Smith and Kraus. She has also contributed comics and essays to assorted collections, including Girl Crush Zine, Womanthology, and Unite and Take Over: Stories Inspired by the Smiths. She is happily married to screenwriter Josh A. Cagan and they live in California.Instagram at@kayla_cagan_writer

Resources Kayla mentioned:

Jacob Krueger Studio

Loyalty Bookstore

Big Magic Podcast/Magic Lessons

LISTEN TO ASBX AUDIO DRAMAS:

Master Builder

The New Colossus

Declaration of Love audio anthology

ASBX Shorts

CONNECT AND FOLLOW:

Artist Soapbox on social media:

Twitter:@artist_soapbox

Instagram: @artistsoapbox

Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/artistsoapboxpodcast/

CONTRIBUTE:

Soapboxers are the official patrons of the Artist Soapbox podcast.Get on the Soapbox with us at Patreonor make a one-time donation via Ko-fi athttps://ko-fi.com/artistsoapboxor via PayPal atPayPal.Me/artistsoapbox.

If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation, please consider our non-profitSoapbox Audio Collective.

Creating collaboratively! Making original work in new ways! It's all in this conversation between Griffin James and Rachel Klem. They discuss several of Rachel's original shows, her creative process, working with collaborators, and more in this episode.

• Rachel's Website:https://www.rachelklemtheatre.com/
• Argo:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPjfmXdLM4E

BIO:

Rachel Klem(she/her) has been a theatre artist in the Durham/ Chapel Hill/ Raleigh area since 2001. She ran Common Ground Theatre for 10 years and taught and directed at NC State’s University Theatre for 15. Rachel has only recently started learning about the wonderfulness of audio drama and really enjoys the collaborative process that it allows.For ASBX: ASBX Shorts, I'm Not Here Right Now.

LISTEN TO ASBX AUDIO DRAMAS:

Master Builder

The New Colossus

Declaration of Love audio anthology

ASBX Shorts

CONNECT AND FOLLOW:

Artist Soapbox on social media:

Twitter:@artist_soapbox

Instagram: @artistsoapbox

Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/artistsoapboxpodcast/

CONTRIBUTE:

Soapboxers are the official patrons of the Artist Soapbox podcast.Get on the Soapbox with us at Patreonor make a one-time donation via Ko-fi athttps://ko-fi.com/artistsoapboxor via PayPal atPayPal.Me/artistsoapbox.

If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation, please consider our non-profitSoapbox Audio Collective.

Get your vitamin cocktail and motivational shot in the arm from this conversation between Lormarev Jones and the incredible Yolanda Rabun! We consider her a Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill celebrity, so we are start struck!!

As a wife, mother, corporate executive, lawyer, singer-songwriter and publisher, motivational speaker, political scientist, community activist for youth, touring performance artist, and music entrepreneur, Yolanda lives at the speed of passion and challenges everyone to hold on to your dreams!

You can also hear Yolanda's voice acting in Episode 1 of the Declaration of Love anthology, written by Michael J. Ivory, and titled The Gifts We Leave.

BIO

A North Carolina resident for over 25 years, Yolanda Rabun is a recording artist, actor, and storyteller.She has headlined national jazz festivals, toured jazz clubs, and most recently opened for Stephanie Mills at the Durham Performing Arts Center (DPAC) and Sheila E at the Red Hat Amphitheater.Yolanda has won accolades for Best Lead Actress (Archy and Mehitabel, Member of the Wedding, Nina) and Best Ensemble (Twelfth Night, Crowns, Chaunesti Webb's I Love My Hair When It’s Good: & Then Again When It Looks Defiant and Impressive). Recent appearances with North Carolina Theatre, Theatre Raleigh, and Playmakers Repertory Company include Beehive: the 60s Musical, Newsies, Smokey Joe's Café, Mary Poppins, Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story, The Drowsy Chaperone, and Howard L. Craft's one-woman play, No Fear and Blues Long Gone: Nina Simone.www.yolandarabun.com

LISTEN TO ASBX AUDIO DRAMAS:

Master Builder

The New Colossus

Declaration of Love audio anthology

ASBX Shorts

CONNECT AND FOLLOW:

Artist Soapbox on social media:

Twitter:@artist_soapbox

Instagram: @artistsoapbox

Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/artistsoapboxpodcast/

CONTRIBUTE:

Soapboxers are the official patrons of the Artist Soapbox podcast.Get on the Soapbox with us at Patreonor make a one-time donation via Ko-fi athttps://ko-fi.com/artistsoapboxor via PayPal atPayPal.Me/artistsoapbox.

If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation, please consider our non-profitSoapbox Audio Collective.

It's Mara Thomas in conversation with artist and educator Luan Joy Sherman!

Mara connected with Luan through the School of the Alternative (SotA) an immersive, non-hierarchical learning environment that seeks to “create conditions necessary for a present-day community of pioneering artists and critical thinkers.”

During this year’s SotA session, Luan facilitated a class titled, “Fertile Fear" which Mara and Luan discuss in this episode. The description of Fertile Fear: "A class focused on making friends with fear/avoidance and using these instructive feelings as a door into our true desires. Compassion, vulnerability, emotional safety, and community support are the ideal ingredients for accessing bravery. We'll discuss dimensions of fear, the power of vulnerability, and create guidelines for how we can cultivate bravery together."

One of the tools Luan shares in this episode is what he calls his “Daily Practice” – identifying things that he needs to connect with on a daily basis to help him feel emotionally, physically, and creatively healthy. Luan discusses how his Daily Practice came to be, how it was received in creative community, and the tendency that can creep in around using tools like this as a form of self-judgment.

BIO:

Luan Joy Sherman (he/him) is a white, queer, trans masculine, neurodivergent artist, writer, performer, teacher, and energy worker. He works with School of the Alternative; an experimental art school / world-building project located in Black Mountain, NC as a community facilitator and Board Member. He's taught four classes at SotA: Fertile Fear, Physical Education- The Joy of Having a Body, How to Not Know, and Queering Masculinity.

Luan earned an MFA in Sculpture from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in May 2020 and is certified in Compassion Cultivation, Mental Health First Aid, and as a Trauma Support Specialist.

Transcript

Quote Mentioned in Episode:

“Being content is perhaps no less easy than playing the violin well; and requires no less practice.” – Alain de Botton

LISTEN TO ASBX AUDIO DRAMAS:

Master Builder

The New Colossus

Declaration of Love audio anthology

ASBX Shorts

CONNECT AND FOLLOW:

Artist Soapbox on social media:

Twitter:@artist_soapbox

Instagram: @artistsoapbox

Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/artistsoapboxpodcast/

CONTRIBUTE:

Soapboxers are the official patrons of the Artist Soapbox podcast.Get on the Soapbox with us at Patreonor make a one-time donation via Ko-fi athttps://ko-fi.com/artistsoapboxor via PayPal at

Friends and accountability buddies! Juliana Finch and Tori Grace Nichols get beautifully deep about writers block, self-care, and being open to the full range of the creative cycle. The conversation is full of tips for gentle process, progress, and productivity.

Bio:

Tori Grace Nichols (they/them/theirs) describes themself as a prismatic performance artist. They can be seen performing drag as G-Clef with the House of Coxx and causing good trouble around Durham, NC as a cultural organizer and stand up comedian. Most folks call them Grace out of drag.

Recent writing credits include sketch comedy with Kahoots Comedy and two audio dramas, Stretchy Shorts and Crocodile Twins, for the podcast platform Artist Soapbox.

Through the Center for Documentary Summer Studies Intensive, they co-created a short documentary called Call Me Harriet Tubman about their friend Muffin, who founded the North Carolina Community Bail Fund of Durham.

Recent acting credits include Dreaming (assistant puppeteer) with Duke Performances and Freakshow (Mr. Flip) with The Women's Theatre Festival. They also host and produce a podcast called Go With Grace in which they discuss the impact of white Christian supremacy on our daily lives for the organization Soulforce.

Tori Grace began their cultural organizing work as the Arts and Culture Fellow for Southerners on New Ground, a Southern queer liberation organization. They are adopted from the Philippines and identify as queer, genderqueer, trans, and disabled.

Links:

Filipino/American Artist Directory: Tori Grace Nichols

Instagram: @tori2grace

Go With Grace Podcast

Stretchy Shorts: Declaration of Love Episode 9

Crocodile Twins: Food for Thought Project

ASBX Interview with Tori Grace about Crocodile Twins

Transcript

LISTEN TO ASBX AUDIO DRAMAS:

Master Builder

The New Colossus

Declaration of Love audio anthology

ASBX Shorts

CONNECT AND FOLLOW:

Artist Soapbox on social media:

Twitter:@artist_soapbox

Instagram: @artistsoapbox

Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/artistsoapboxpodcast/

CONTRIBUTE:

Soapboxers are the official patrons of the Artist Soapbox podcast.Get on the Soapbox with us at Patreonor make a one-time donation via Ko-fi athttps://ko-fi.com/artistsoapboxor via PayPal at

A thoughtful and fun conversation between Griffin James and Teal Lepley about writing and performing new works, and accessibility practices for theatre-makers and audience members.

Teal Lepley is a writer, playwright, and performer based in Raleigh, NC. An alumna of NC State University, she won the Creative Artist Award in 2016 as a student for her original full length play Of Ghosts and Strangers. In addition to plays, she writes long and short form fiction, as well as articles about local theatre productions and accessibility topics. As a performer, she will next appear in NC State TheatreFEST's production of Assassins in June.

LINKS:

• Virtual Theatre and its Potential for the Disability Community
• Disability in Theatre
• Assassins Tickets

Transcript

LISTEN TO ASBX AUDIO DRAMAS:

Master Builder

The New Colossus

Declaration of Love audio anthology

ASBX Shorts

CONNECT AND FOLLOW:

Artist Soapbox on social media:

Twitter:@artist_soapbox

Instagram: @artistsoapbox

Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/artistsoapboxpodcast/

CONTRIBUTE:

Soapboxers are the official patrons of the Artist Soapbox podcast.Get on the Soapbox with us at Patreonor make a one-time donation via Ko-fi athttps://ko-fi.com/artistsoapboxor via PayPal atPayPal.Me/artistsoapbox.

If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation, please consider our non-profitSoapbox Audio Collective.

A deep,informative, and delightful conversation between Lormarev Jones and Nichole Palmer covering craft, community, and career.

Nichole M. Palmer is a trained journalist, dramatic writer, and published author with more than 25 years of experience writing and editing for multicultural, mainstream, and faith-based audiences.

She is an Alum of the Kennedy Center Playwriting Intensive, as well as a former Playwright in Residence at the Warehouse Performing Arts Center in Cornelius, NC.

She recently accepted a post as the North and South Carolina Regional Representative for the Dramatists Guild.

Nichole’s latest project, PROPHESY to the BONES and Other Stories Black Folx Whisper is the culmination of a year of research and conversation with the Davidson African American community and other allies. This play is slated to debut with the Davidson Community Players in May 2022.

Transcript

PROPHESY to the BONES and Other Stories Black Folx Whisper --

• One weekend only: May 26-29, 2022 in Davidson, NC.
• Info and Tickets here.

Dramatists Guild Levels of Membership

Nichole M. Palmer website

LISTEN TO ASBX AUDIO DRAMAS:

Master Builder

The New Colossus

Declaration of Love audio anthology

ASBX Shorts

CONNECT AND FOLLOW:

Artist Soapbox on social media:

Twitter:@artist_soapbox

Instagram: @artistsoapbox

Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/artistsoapboxpodcast/

CONTRIBUTE:

Soapboxers are the official patrons of the Artist Soapbox podcast.Get on the Soapbox with us at Patreonor make a one-time donation via Ko-fi athttps://ko-fi.com/artistsoapboxor via PayPal atPayPal.Me/artistsoapbox.

If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation, please consider our non-profitSoapbox Audio Collective.

Hey friends,

It’s Tamara here. I hope you enjoyed the previous episode introducing 2 of our new guest hosts: Lormarev Jones and Griffin James.

I’m back once more before I had the mic over, to introduce two more guest hosts this season: Juliana Finch and Mara Thomas.

Yes, if you’ve been a long time listener of Artist Soapbox, then you will likely know Juliana and Mara.

Of course you can also read their bios on our updated and very awesome Artist Soapbox website, in the meantime, here are some bits and bobs about these two wonderful humans:

Juliana Finch has spent almost two decades writing and performing songs and getting up to various theater- and film- adjacent shenanigans. She has released five albums, performed at music festivals and venues all over the country, and loves having Durham as her home base. She is on the writing team for Artist Soapbox's Jesus Pancake and can be heard as a voice actor in Crocodile Twins and in several other audio dramas. Juliana also wrote the Artist Soapbox theme song that you are enjoying so much in this episode, and she suggested that we call some of our merch Artist Soapsox – I mean, we do have socks in the ASBX store. Artist Soapsox, makes me laugh.

Mara Thomas has been following their curiosity down many different paths for the past 20 years. In that time, they have been a musician, actor, voiceover artist, creativity coach, and playwright. Mara's original plays have been performed in the Triangle and NYC and they have held creative writing residencies in Hudson, NY and Martha's Vineyard. Along with their creative pursuits, Mara is a somatic therapist in private practice in Durham. Mara has written over 2 dozen blog posts on the Artist Soapbox website, been interviewed as a guest, been an interviewer, released 2 solo episodes, and voice acted in one of the Declaration of Love episodes. Like Juliana, they are on the Jesus Pancake writing team. Mara is undeniably an ASBX rock star.

In this episode, you’ll hear these two friends introduce themselves and each other. You’ll get a sense of their style and vibe, and what they’ll be focusing on in their individual episodes this Season.

Just like Lormarev and Griffin, Juliana and Mara are two of my favorite people.I know you will love them too. I’m so grateful that they have agreed to step in as hosts.

Enjoy this episode.

Transcript

LISTEN TO ASBX AUDIO DRAMAS:

Master Builder

The New Colossus

Declaration of Love audio anthology

ASBX Shorts

CONNECT AND FOLLOW:

Artist Soapbox on social media:

Twitter:@artist_soapbox

Instagram: @artistsoapbox

Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/artistsoapboxpodcast/

CONTRIBUTE:

Soapboxers are the official patrons of the Artist Soapbox podcast.Get on the Soapbox with us at Patreonor make a one-time donation via Ko-fi athttps://ko-fi.com/artistsoapboxor via PayPal at

Hey friends,

It’s Tamara here. I hope you enjoyed the previous 3 audio fiction episodes from the Food for Thought project. As you know, Artist Soapbox produces original scripted audio fiction such as the three FFT projects, as well as interviews with artists about their creative process.

We’re back to the interview/conversational format with this episode and most of the ones to follow for this season. Today, I’m dipping in to introduce 2 of our new podcast hosts – Lormarev Jones and Griffin James. If you’ve been a long time listener of Artist Soapbox, then you will likely know them and you can also read their bios on the Artist Soapbox website. Have you looked at our beautiful website? I am so in love with it.

Now, Lormarev and Griffin contain multitudes of course, but here are some bread crumbs for your to follow into their conversation:

Lormarev Jones is an Educator, Director/Choreographer, and Actor and Intimacy Director. Lormarev currently teaches at Meredith College while continuing to freelance in all her areas of expertise. She has been interviewed on the Soapbox several times, acted in an episode of ASBX shorts and will be super featured in the upcoming scripted audio fiction piece: Jesus Pancake. She is well-known as a hydration advocate.

Griffin James is an interdisciplinary theatre maker and writer local to the triangle area. They have a degree in English Creative Writing from NC State where they were involved with the university theatre as a performer, stage manager, and more. Griffin was the production manager for all six of the ASBX Shorts and all 3 of the Food for Thought Projects. Whew, my blood runs cold thinking about all of that logistical management. You can also catch them voicing the Drunk College Student in I'm Not Here Right Now. (Griffin was not type cast in that role.)

In this episode, you’ll hear these two friends introduce themselves and each other. You’ll get a sense of their style and vibe, and what they’ll be focusing on in their own episodes this Season.

Lormarev and Griffin are two of my favorite people, and I know you will love them too. I’m so grateful that they have agreed to step in as hosts. And guess what? In the next episode, you’ll hear me introduce two more of my favorite people and guest hosts, Juliana Finch and the inimitable Mara Thomas. So stay tuned for that.

Enjoy this episode with Lormarev and Griffin.

Transcript

How to Say No

LISTEN TO ASBX AUDIO DRAMAS:

Master Builder

The New Colossus

Declaration of Love audio anthology

ASBX Shorts

CONNECT AND FOLLOW:

Artist Soapbox on social media:

Twitter:@artist_soapbox

Instagram: @artistsoapbox

Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/artistsoapboxpodcast/

CONTRIBUTE:

Soapboxers are the official patrons of the Artist Soapbox podcast.

Listen to the third of three excerpts developed by the Food for Thought Project, a year-long writing lab for aspiring audio dramatists.

And Eat It, Too was written by Ashley-Ruth Bernier.

SUMMARY:

Jolie, an optimistic and talented baker in an impoverished island community, finds herself at a crossroads when a high-stakes, hugely popular cake decorating show (think “Cake Wars”, etc.) decides to film its next season on island. As an intern on the show, Jolie inadvertently publicizes the question of what happens to the cakes once the filming is finished--and finds herself in the middle of the show’s mission to showcase the fine art of outlandish cake decoration, and her community’s real problem with food insecurity.

BIO:

Ashley-Ruth M. Bernier (she/her) is a writer of mysteries and contemporary Caribbean fiction. Originally from St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, Ashley and her family now live in Apex, North Carolina, where she teaches first grade. Through distance learning, she earned an MFA in Creative Writing from Fairleigh Dickinson University (2013) and has had work published in various issues of The Caribbean Writer.

***

Food for Thought is an Artist Soapbox and Soapbox Audio Collective project, co-produced by Aurelia Belfield and Tamara Kissane, and sound designed by Sam Elia.

These excerpts and the year long writing lab were made possible by the generous support of the Mary Duke Biddle Foundation.

And Eat It, Too was written by Ashley-Ruth Bernier.

Directed by Barbette Hunter

Production Manager: Griffin James

AND EAT IT TOO CAST:

Jolie - Ashley-Ruth Bernier

Cyrus - Christon Andell

Alana - Soleih Nibbs

Mrs. Foy - Shaundra Norwood

Male Customer - Bayley Garbutt

Link to Script

MORE:

ASBX Episode 151: Writers for the Food for Thought Project

The Food for Thought Project: Ashley-Ruth Bernier

LISTEN TO ASBX AUDIO DRAMAS:

Master Builder

The New Colossus

Declaration of Love audio anthology

ASBX Shorts

CONNECT AND FOLLOW:

Artist Soapbox on social media:

Twitter:@artist_soapbox

Instagram: @artistsoapbox

Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/artistsoapboxpodcast/

CONTRIBUTE:

Soapboxers are the official patrons of the Artist Soapbox podcast.Get on the Soapbox with us at Patreonor make a one-time donation via Ko-fi at