We Read Together on the Radio (Podcast)
Our kids made some great pieces of audio fiction. If you don’t like reading, fist donate to us and we’ll come show you how awesome reading is (if you’re wondering how awesome reading is, the answer is VERY). After you donate, you can scroll to the end of this and listen to two fantastic pieces made by middle-schoolers.
When Ann Heppermann asked We Read Together to be part of the The Sarah’s we were excited. Heppermann is a Peabody award winner and her work has aired on numerous public radio shows including This American Life, 99% Invisible, and Radiolab. In 2011 she was named a United States Artists Rockefeller Fellow. She been referred to, in print, as no less then “Sort of a goddess in podcasting.” She’s also donates to WRT. We love her. We jumped at the chance to work with her.
But there we’re questions. You might be asking yourself some of those questions.
Q: What are The Sarah’s?
A: The Sarah Lawrence College International Audio Fiction Award (The Sarah’s) celebrate the best audio fiction currently being made around the world.
That was easy. Let’s try a few more.
Q: What were your kids going to be doing?
A: They were going to be working for a month on their scripts and then entering the “Very, Very, Short, Short Story Contest.”
Q: I need more details.
A: That’s not a question, but you can click this link for details on the contest and keep reading for details on the process.
Q: What’s a reading charity doing entering an audio contest?
A: We approached it as a lengthy writing assignment with a great pay off for the kids at the end. Our students brainstormed, outlined, wrote, edited, rewrote, edited again, rewrote again, edited another time, and rewrote at least one more time before they got the chance to record. All of that happened on the page and involved a lot of reading. Not everyone who attempted to get a script together managed to get it done in time. We’re very proud of those who did!
After a month of working their scripts the writers, actors, and the WRT chaperones left The Bronx and headed to Slate Studios in the NYC’s West Village. After meeting up with Ann, she gave us a quick tour and then helped the kids get set up in the sound room.
We recorded each part one at time. Everyone else hung out or rehearsed.
When actors weren’t recording in the hot seat they got a chance to see how things run in the production booth.
We had a few scripts, a lot of roles, and only a couple of hours to record so everyone had to pitch in and work hard.
But we pulled it off and everyone did a great job. And on the way home…
One transfer later…
And now the work. We’re posting the long cuts here with every word the kids wrote. You can listen to the kid’s official entries (and the other 80 entries) here.