FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sound the Alarm: Music/Theatre Uses Podcast Platform to Alert Audiences to Social and Environmental Challenges

Theatre for the Ears: Series of Immersive Audio-Dramas Launches November 3 

NOV 3: Starman, by Pippa Mackie + conversation episodes each week (Nov 10, 17)
DEC 1: The Eternal Sailor, by Derek Chan + conversation episodes (Dec 8, 15)
JAN 5: Lost Soul Animal Rescue, by Gery Mok + conversations episodes (Jan 12, 19)
FEB 2: The Women’s Hour, by Alexandria Haber + conversations episodes (Feb 9, 16)
see full descriptions and artistic teams further below

Vancouver, B.C. (November 3, 2021)

This November, Sound the Alarm: Music/Theatre releases a newly imagined digital audio-drama series called Theatre for the Ears, a collection of immersive stories exploring social and environmental challenges and their effect on our individual and collective human experiences.

Each episode is an independent story made possible by the diverse existences and views of those who make up our cultural landscape, designed to bring attention to the societal and/or environmental issues plaguing us all.

The Theatre for the Ears team came together to create this series with its parent organization’s (Sound the Alarm: Music/Theatre) mission in mind: literally, to “sound the alarm” on important issues. They realized the resurgent popularity of audio-dramas, thanks in large part to podcasts, which allow them to expand their Theatre for the Ears efforts and get their art and messages to new and more people.

“We collaborated with diverse artists and those directly affected by the issues, and by understanding and relaying their stories through Theatre for the Ears, we believe we will make a difference,” said Sound the Alarm Creative Director, Alan Corbishley.

Of the four planned audio-dramas , the first launches on its virtual stage November 3. “Starman” is a dark comedy; the audience listens as Daryl – “Starman” – takes us on a journey into a black hole of exile and self-awareness, and realizes he may need to confront a part of himself he never knew existed.

Episode writer and creator Pippa Mackie – award-winning playwright, actor, producer, and director -- brings her varied and accomplished television and theatre experience and transforms this piece into one that aims to change the way listeners think about mental health and social alienation.

“I was particularly inspired by the galactic event of black holes swallowing stars and how these stars will suddenly and without ceremony, disappear. This phenomenon led me to think about loneliness and the concept of our digital selves versus our physical presence. I wanted to personify a star and follow its journey from sparkling to swallowing. ‘Starman’ aims to explore what happens when, instead of adapting and shifting, we retreat and hide,” said Mackie.

Next up, “The Eternal Sailor” written by Derek Chan launches December 1, in which our protagonist wakes from a coma and sets off on an epic of place and time to find a loved one, between Vancouver and Hong Kong between the years 2019 and 2047. Derek Chan -- a playwright, director, performer, translator, and producer – lends his personal experience of growing up in colonial Hong Kong and living in Vancouver to the story and calls out our need to conserve waterways and to consider the fragility of democracy.

“Lost Soul Animal Rescue” written by Gary Mok, appeals to audiences young and old and is set to be released January 5. It is centered around Chinese ghost stories, but instead of the common filial piety (duty to ancestors), the ghosts are animals. The episode questions our duty to nature and to environmental and wildlife conservation.

Finally, February 2 brings us “The Women’s Hour”, written by Alexandria Haber, in which new mother Laila and widow Margaret share a wall and are both reluctant to leave their apartments. However, a radio show that one listens to every day brings the two women together in a strange way, even as the news isn’t good for women in the world beyond their walls. It’s a look inside isolation, loneliness, and women’s rights.

Accompanying these fictional episodes will be a number of conversational interviews and dialogues with the artists and experts who will help inform us around the issues the stories will be uncovering.

“As always, we are privileged to be able to use our platform, in this case an audio-drama podcast, to sound an alarm on global concerns,” said Corbishley.

“Hopefully we can all take a moment to listen, and then, crucially, play our parts in bettering the world.”

The series launches November 3.

Visit https://soundthealarm.ca/theatre-for-the-ears for more information.

About Sound the Alarm: Music/Theatre Sound the Alarm: Music/Theatre believes music and theatre have the power to challenge, transform, connect, and energize; we strive to use the arts to amplify awareness (“sound the alarm”) for social issues that need to be heard. We collaborate within our organization and with outside groups to create innovative, high-quality programming experiences that contribute to shining light on needed conversations, lifting those that need it, and celebrating diverse Canadian communities. Learn more at https://soundthealarm.ca.