Waiting: Guess the EastEnder
All right, luvvies? Matt here with the Waiting edition of Ready & Waiting, a fortnightly newsletter from Foggy Outline.
It may be looking business as usual on the surface, but here within the fog it’s non-stop with stuff to look forward to. Let’s go deeper…
Matt at Interactive Soup
4 June, 18:00GMT, Theatre Deli Leadenhall
Interactive Soup is a networking and community funding dinner event for interactive performance and immersive theatre. Chloe Mashiter set it up in 2022, and I’ve been a regular volunteer since the start – managing the newsletter and website, organising and sometimes compering on the night.
Come along in June to support experiences that fog the boundaries between theatre and games, between audience and performer – and to eat delicious homemade soup (we always make way too much, so please come and eat some). I’ll be there helping out but also just chatting – it’s always amazing hearing what everyone in the scene is up to right now.
I Need A Miracle
Each episode is a prayer. Some prayers are answered. A prayer granted can turn the world upside down.
We now have a complete cast and crew for this upcoming podcast (created and written by me!). Sarah Golding at my producers, Wireless Theatre, has assembled a real dream team. I’ll keep you guessing about the cast for just a little bit longer, but here’s our fantastic crew:
Directed by Robert Valentine
Produced by Sarah Golding
Casting by Fiona Thraille
Music by Katie Seaton
Sound design by Sarah Buchynski
I’m having a meeting with Sarah B on Friday, and then I’ll have met the whole crew – and most of the cast. We had a series of online table reads last week, where each actor joined a Zoom call with me and director Rob to read through their episode script a couple of times and find the character.
And that sort of works both ways: I was also hearing the characters I’ve written finding their voices, and it’s fascinating, surprising and exhilarating to discover which ones sound exactly like I imagined them and which sound even better, thanks to Fiona’s casting, Rob’s direction and the actors’ own interpretations of the parts.
One episode is actually already in the can, ready for Sarah to edit. Most of the cast are recording in person in a couple of weeks, but one had to be remote for logistical reasons – so while they were on the line for the table read, we went ahead and recorded the actual thing.
Right now, Katie is using those recorded table reads to gauge pace and mood to inform the music, including a main theme and some incidental/transitional bits and bobs.
Sorry to tease you about the cast reveal – I just wouldn’t want to hype anyone up only for them to be ill on the recording day or something. Here’s the farthest I’ll go for now: if you know any of these productions, you might find you recognise some voices in I Need A Miracle…
🤫 Midsomer Murders, EastEnders, Camlann, Campaign: Skyjacks, Horrid Henry, Ted Lasso, Tell Me Everything 🤫
Environmental literacy courses
We’re on track to have two of the new courses we’ve been working on ready for you by the end of the month:
Renewable energy – What is it and do we need it?
Why isn’t solar energy powering everything?
Keep an eye on our courses page or follow Dad’s Udemy instructor page to catch them when they go live.
Next in the renewables suite is a course on wind energy.
Which other renewable energy sources are you keen to understand better about?
Merely Roleplayers: coming up in the Main House
Vigil: Dream Big
Starring Dave as Mick Mason, Helen as Melody Bantham, Strat as Brier, and me as the supporting cast.
Tomorrow (7 May): Act One. Mick struggles to wake from a nightmare, and the earth under Sherrydown shakes.
21 May: Act Two. The owner of the severed arm is in town hoping to witness something earth-shattering.
4 June: Act Three. Mick has a new rival for the giant’s favour, and she’s got something shocking planned.
18 June: Act Four (of Four). Who should inherit the power of giants? The giant of ambition or the giant of heart?
Follow along at www.merelyroleplayers.com or search Pocket Casts, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your usual podcast app for Merely Roleplayers.
It’s Dracula Daily time again! Bram Stoker’s Dracula is made up of letters and diary entries, each with a date. Matt Kirkland’s Dracula Daily gives you each item on the corresponding date, so you can experience the story along with the characters, in real time. In 2022 I did Dracula Daily by email; last year I followed along through the Re: Dracula podcast; this year I’m reading along in the Dracula Daily book. If you’ve got the book too, look out for a tiny little contribution by me!
Hollows is the next big roleplaying game from Rowan, Rook and Decard (Heart: The City Beneath, DIE, Eat The Reich) and I’m predictably stoked for it. I invited a few of the Merely Roleplayers cast to play through the quickstart adventure at the Arcanist’s Tavern the other week and we had a blast with it. I think this is going to be a super fun one to run at conventions like Airecon and Concrete Cow in future (and to play just for fun!).
See you in two weeks for the Ready edition: a round-up of Foggy Outline things you can enjoy straight away, no waiting.