We intercepted an alarming message from Universe 224B. Something involving the 302nd Bureaucosmological Conference at the Gene Frankel Theater, 24 Bond Street, on October 16, 2021, 7:00 PM.
10.5. Paths Not Taken: Canny Valley
September 22, 2020
We intercepted an alarming message from Universe 224B. Something involving the 302nd Bureaucosmological Conference at the Gene Frankel Theater, 24 Bond Street, on October 16, 2021, 7:00 PM.
Our intrepid heroes visit the New York Public Library to meet up with visiting literary scholar Merrill Malone, an eccentric and the foremost expert on Virginia Gaskell’s life and work, to get, once and for all, all the answers about the portals. What they don’t realize is that shocking personal revelations and the very ground beneath their feet will alter forever within the library’s seemingly pristine walls. (Running time: 55 minutes, 43 seconds.)
Written, produced, and directed by Edward Champion.
CAST:
Chelsea: Katrina Clairvoyant
Emily McCorkle: Belgys Felix
Professor Malone: Robert Garson
Jenna: Devony DiMattia
Miss Gaskell: Chris Smith
Maya: Tanja Milojevic
Ed Champion: Edward Champion
The Executive: Rachel Matusewicz
Audrey: Amanda Rios
Romero: David Ault
Joe: David Sinkus
The Guard: Graham Rowat
and Zack Glassman as The Receptionist
Incidental music licensed through Neosounds and MusicFox.
Additional music composed by Edward Champion
Sound design, editing, engineering, and mastering by a bald man in Brooklyn who clearly has some corporate identity issues to work out.
Thank you for listening!
Here are some behind-the-scenes photos and videos pertaining to this episode that we made during the more than two years of production we put into the second season.
Behind the Scenes:
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Emily McCorkle has landed the media appearance of a lifetime: a guest spot on the most respected talk show in America. But why is the host so concerned with her private details? And why are so many skeletons from her past making guest appearances? And who is the strange man with the hot dogs? (Running time: 38 minutes, 1 second.)
Written, produced, and directed by Edward Champion.
CAST:
Emily McCorkle: Belgys Felix
Ophelia Kakanakis: Carol Jacobanis
June: Monica Ammerman
The Fajita Demon: Pete Lutz
The Cunning Demon: Leanne Troutman
Morris Pressman: David Tao
Jimmy Markson: Heath Martin
Johnson: Hilah Hadaway
Emily’s Mom: Melissa Medina
Emily’s Dad: David Sirkus
Chelsea: Katrina Clairvoyant
Maya: Tanja Milojevic
Ed Champion: Edward Champion
Reporter #1: Glenn Bulthius
Reporter #2: Alice Fox
and Zack Glassman as The Receptionist
Creature Voices by Samantha Cooper and Rachel Baird
Incidental music licensed through Neosounds and MusicFox.
Additional music composed by Edward Champion.
Sound design, editing, engineering, and mastering by a bald man in Brooklyn who has become a TikTok junkie seemingly against his will.
Thank you for listening
If you’d like to support this independent audio production and learn more about how we made it, for only $20, you can become a Season 2 Subscriber! You’ll get instant access to all episodes as we finish them — months before release. Plus, you’ll get access to exclusive interviews and more than 400 minutes of behind-the-scenes commentary! Here are some behind-the-scenes photos and videos pertaining to this episode that we made during the more than two years of production we put into the second season.
Behind the Scenes:
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Edward Champion (@grayareapod) on
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Months after the events of “Paths Not Taken,” Chelsea is working hard to turn a corner and improve her life. But when Emily McCorkle, the smear merchant journalist who severely damaged her reputation, returns to write a followup piece, Chelsea is thrown into a jarring maelstrom that involves demons, people from her past, and the possibility of redemption. (Running time: 32 minutes, 22 seconds.)
Written, produced, and directed by Edward Champion.
CAST:
Chelsea: Katrina Clairvoyant
Emily McCorkle: Belgys Felix
Maya: Tanja Milojevic
Morris Pressman: David Tao
Ed Champion: Edward Champion
Alicia: Elizabeth Rimar
Johnson: Hilah Hillaway
The Fajita Demon: Pete Lutz
The Cunning Demon: Leanne Troutman
Lucinda: Emily Carding
Mrs. Gelding: Westlake Stark
and Zack Glassman as The Receptionist
Creature Voices by Samantha Cooper and Rachel Baird
Incidental music licensed through Neosounds and MusicFox.
Additional music composed by Edward Champion.
Sound design, editing, engineering, and mastering by a bald man in Brooklyn who does his best to resist mayonnaise but can’t entirely fight the allure for a good tuna sandwich.
Thank you for listening!
If you’d like to support this independent audio production and learn more about how we made it, for only $20, you can become a Season 2 Subscriber! You’ll get instant access to all episodes as we finish them — months before release. Plus, you’ll get access to exclusive interviews and more than 400 minutes of behind-the-scenes commentary! Here are some behind-the-scenes photos and videos pertaining to this episode that we made during the more than two years of production we put into the second season.
Behind the Scenes:
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Edward Champion (@grayareapod) on
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Pat Goras and Lucy Didas are a happy couple living in a fantastical suburban realm preparing for a delightful dragon brisket barbeque with their neighbors. But when a strange portal opens in their backyard, their lives and roles become permanently altered within the very Gray Area itself! (Running time: 20 minutes, 54 seconds)
Written, produced, and directed by Edward Champion.
CAST:
Pat Goras/The Fajita Demon: Pete Lutz
Lucy Didas/The Cunning Demon: Leanne Troutman
The Neurotic Demon: Melissa Medina
The Counting Demon: Vlasto Pejic
The Angsty Demon: Nick Boesel
Miss Gaskell: Chris Smith
and Zack Glassman as The Receptionist
Creature Voices by Samantha Cooper and Rachel Baird
Incidental music licensed through Neosounds and MusicFox.
Additional music composed by Edward Champion
Sound design, editing, engineering, and mastering by a bald man in Brooklyn who once considered reciting Dr. Seuss’s Green Eggs and Ham in Latin.
Thank you for listening!
Behind the Scenes:
View this post on InstagramNow working on a draft of the Season 2 finale! #writing #dragon #barbeque #fantasy
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In 1911, a young British gentleman dukes it out against the austere whims of his Edwardian-minded father. But two travelers reveal that his role in the universe is much bigger than he could have ever imagined. (Running time: 15 minutes, 16 seconds.)
Written, produced, and directed by Edward Champion.
CAST:
Thomas: Philip O’Gorman
Ramirez: Charly Saccocio
Harris: Michael Saldate
Malone: Robert Garson
The Guard: Graham Rowat
and Zack Glassman as The Receptionist
Sound design, editing, engineering, and mastering by a bald man in Brooklyn who lost a drinking bet and spent an entire day singing “Where Are the Lads of the Village Tonight?”
Thank you for listening!
Behind the Scenes:
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Genius writer Virginia Gaskell fends off boredom (and the Receptionist’s peppy interventions) while trapped in the waiting room, but a number of unexpected new visitors provide vital new clues to her purpose and journey. (Running time: 21 minutes, 43 seconds.)
Written, produced, and directed by Edward Champion.
CAST:
Miss Gaskell: Chris Smith
Audrey: Amanda Rios
Romero: David Ault
The Fajita Demon: Pete Lutz
The Cunning Demon: Leanne Troutman
The Traveler: Jared Raman
and Zack Glassman as The Receptionist
Incidental music licensed through NeoSounds
Sound design, editing, engineering, and mastering by a bald man in Brooklyn who sometimes chats with the soft-spoken frozen peas that are parked in his freezer.
Thank you for listening!
Behind the Scenes:
Listen to our Inside the Gray Area commentary.
Zack and Ed practicing the Small Wonder theme (fair use and oprhaned, according to our legal adviser!)
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During the Season 2 sessions, we recorded this bold adaptation of Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s famous short story with many of our Gray Area regulars. This radio play honors the text, but is set in the present day, addressing #metoo and the oppressive demands upon women.. (Running time: 32 minutes)
Written, produced, and directed by Edward Champion
Adapted from the Charlotte Perkins Gilman short story
CAST:
The Woman: Katrina Clairvoyant and Nicole Papadopoulos
John: Zack Glassman
Jenie: Devony DiMattia
The Child: Devony DiMattia
The Wallpaper: Pete Lutz
The Guests: Michael Saldate, Charly Saccocio, and Edward Champion
The Voice: Carol Jacobanis
Mary: Belgys Felix
The Nurse: Argyria Kehagias
Sound design, editing, engineering, and mastering by a bald man in Brooklyn who reads too many books.
Music licensed through Musicfox.
Image licensed through Getty.
Thank you for listening!
If you’d like to support this independent audio production and learn more about how we made it, for only $20, you can become a Season 2 Subscriber! You’ll get instant access to all episodes as we finish them — months before release. Plus, you’ll get access to exclusive interviews and more than 400 minutes of behind-the-scenes commentary! Here are some behind-the-scenes photos and videos pertaining to this episode that we made during the more than two years of production we put into the second season.
Behind the Scenes:
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Edward Champion (@grayareapod) on
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Edward Champion (@grayareapod) on
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Edward Champion (@grayareapod) on
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In the final part of the “Paths” saga, Chelsea and Maya struggle in their forties to keep their relationship alive as they initiate a fateful but necessary Thanksgiving meeting with Maya’s grandfather — a stubborn and “old-fashioned” World War I historian. Meanwhile, the disastrous political trajectory of the parallel universe encroaches upon deeply personal and deeply fatal territory. (Running time: 84 minutes, 55 seconds)
Written, produced, and directed by Edward Champion
CAST:
Chelsea: Katrina Clairvoyant
Maya: Tanja Milojevic
Grandpa: J.K. McCauley
Grandma: Julie Chapin
The DJ: Peter Coleman
Emma: Colette Thomas
Alicia: Elizabeth Rimar
Scarlett: Jessica Cuesta
GPS: Carol Jacobanis
Thomas: Phillip O’Gorman
The Guard: Graham Rowat
Rick: Michael Hisry
The Detective: Phillip Merritt
News Leeches: Pete Lutz, David Nagel, Morgan Corcoran, and Edward Champion
and Zack Glassman as The Receptionist
Additional Voices: Dylan Reed and Christian Caminiti
German Consultant: Vincent Fallow
Sound design, editing, engineering, and mastering by a bald man in Brooklyn who will instantly sing numerous Paul Williams songs if you mention The Phantom of the Paradise to him in person.
The “Paths Not Taken” songs were written and performed by Edward Chmpion
Incidental music licensed through Neosounds and MusicFox.
Thank you for listening!
Behind the Scenes:
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View this post on InstagramDay 3 selfie. 20 more pages. Left to right: Katrina, me, Zack, Tanja.
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View this post on InstagramCar foley in Connecticut. #sound #recording #foley #fx #driving #connecticut #remote #effects #car
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View this post on InstagramIn which @katrinaclairvoyant hitches a ride. #sound #field #recording #fx #effects #postproduction
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