In a Wyoming chicken diner, two mysterious strangers make trouble with the locals over a philosophical matter. But their professed tolerance is put to the test by a remarkable failure in judgment that involves animal rights, bicoastal elitism, and a great deal of swagger. (Running time: 22 minutes, 2 seconds.)

Written and directed by Edward Champion

CAST:

Romero:  David Ault
Donna: Nicole Papadopoulos
Audrey:  Amanda Rios
Dennis:  Edward Rosini
Hipster Diners: Sam Mercer
Mother:  Lauren LeCocq
Daughter: Devony DiMattia
Police: Jessica Boudreau and Noah Martin
Chuck:  Edward Champion
Background Voices: Morgan Corcoran, Roderick Jaynes, and Emilio Lizardo

Associate Producers: Morgan Corcoran and John Osborne

Sound design, editing, engineering, and mastering by a bald man in Brooklyn who sometimes writes haiku about ducks on Thursdays.

Music licensed through Neosounds.

Songs: Jason Shaw’s “Rocky Top” and “Chasin’ It” appear via a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license.

Image licensed through Richard Russell via a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

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.

Thanks for listening!

Behind the Scenes:

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Today I had the great privilege to record with the fabulous @nppapadop. Nicole paid very close attention to this character. In fact, an hour before Nicole showed up, I noticed a minor story logic problem and was forced to swiftly revise the script to solve it! When Nicole and I did the preliminaries, sure enough, Nicole spotted the very same issue. So I already knew this was going to go well. There were many times when I was about to give a note and Nicole suggested the note before I could say it. As a result, the session was very fun and smooth. Nicole also really found the humanity in this very unusual character and, for that, I am both tremendously grateful to her and very excited about this story! #acting #voiceover #audiodrama #fun #emotion #yes

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Today I had the great pleasure of recording with the wonderful @lilminda. Amanda plays a tough and colorful waitress at a chicken restaurant who becomes a big part of the story. Amanda herself possesses an endearing combination of resilience and warmth, along with a beautifully distinct voice. I liked her instantly when I first met her and I knew she was perfect for the role. One thing we did to get a sense of place (so that the story feels both big and real) was to have Amanda use a few improvised props while we recorded. When I gave her my coffee pot (alas, it had not been washed!) to use while recording her lines, she started hitting the emotional peaks in her dialogue and her character really started growing. There was a particular line in the script that Amanda hit and played with relish. And we both agreed that this summed up her character. You build characters by accretion and paying close attention to the instincts an actor brings. You listen for moments in the table read. You observe certain tics in the performing. Amanda made this very easy and we had a lot of fun. I'm thrilled that she's part of The Gray Area and can't wait for you to hear this story! #recording #audiodrama #acting #props #character #chicken #coffee

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Today, I recorded with the dreamy @the_edboi. In my experience, fellow Eds are typically a great pleasure to meet. And Ed was no exception! I loved working with him! Ed absolutely gets this silliness! Ed has great instincts as an actor, bringing little tics that I started sprinkling in other places and a wonderful energy to this very fun character, who is a bit of a cowboy and a bit of a clueless Jack Burton type, but who Ed smartly pegged as "lawful good." In fact, I wasn't even aware how indebted I was to #johncarpenter until I asked, while giving a note, "Have you seen BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA?" Upon being asked this question, Ed's eyes widened and he became super excited and we were quoting bits of the movie to get the slightly Western feel right on this tale, which is really turning out to be wildly entertaining and sui generis! #acting #audiodrama #recording #character #bigtroubleinlittlechina #jackburton

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This morning, I had a lot of fun doing enhanced background work with Sam Mercer! He was so dedicated to this that he was willing to trek out here from Jersey City! In other words, Sam is precisely the kind of actor you want on your production. Now I am not one of those guys who just has background people saying "sarsparilla." All characters matter. Everything is carefully scripted but, of course, subject to improvisation. And thankfully Sam got this and injected his characters with some very funny spins. When you're creating a world, you want to have people who are willing to find human moments in everything. No character is too small. Having said that, this session was over far sooner than I wanted to be! And now I'm going to have to find some places for Sam in Season 3! I am greatly indebted to Sam for his passion and commitment. Thank you, Sam! #recording #audiodrama #character #background #worldbuilding #human $fun #acting #voiceover

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The First Season (Holiday Travel Remix)

We’ve released a nearly three hour remix of the first season that contains the entire ten episodes, including some new material, new cues, new sound design, and a few other modest bells and whistles. Consider this the “movie” version of the first season designed for listeners who may be stuck in an airport or those who haven’t yet taken the full plunge. Happy holidays! (Running time: 2 hours, 40 minutes.)

6. Buddies for Hire

In our season finale, a once celebrated and now fading actor Jack Penderton desperately needs a job. His agent, Jill Swanson, lands him a strange gig involving a lonely scrapbook-loving eccentric, an unusual approach to free trade, a sinister salesman who moves uncommonly fast, America’s Next Top Model, and an odd scam that causes Jack to reconsider his long abandoned principles about friendship, loyalty, and connection. (Running time: 25 minutes)

Written and directed by Edward Champion

CAST:
Jack: Gore Abrams
Jill Swanson: Ingeborg Reidmaier
Venall: Adriano La Rocca
Harold: Carl Zurhorst
Gordon: Michael Smith
The Receptionist: Zachary Michael

Sound Design and Editing by Edward Champion
Image: Firat Sola (CC)

Thanks for listening!

Behind the Scenes:

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Here is the incredibly kind and very funny @larocca_cola during the "Buddies for Hire" recording sessions! I met Adrian in a UCB improv class. In fact, he was the first person I talked with! And when I first heard his marvelous voice, which carries a bit of a 20th century comic leading man quality, I knew I had to work with the guy. Fortunately, Adrian was kind enough to appear as a character that played to his strengths and that almost seemed written specifically for him! One of those lucky situations where you write a character and the right actor materializes instantly! We had a lot of fun with this role. At one point, I did some spastic physical movement and asked him to put his arm around my shoulder just to make sure he could find his way into the rather crazy lines. It worked! And Adrian proved to be very funny. Who does he play? Well, you'll have to wait until the first week of October to find out! #voiceover #improv #acting #audiodramasunday #audiodrama #movement #recording

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Our season finale, "Buddies for Hire," will be airing soon. To whet your appetite, here is the great @carlgzurhorst playing one of the most unusual characters in the entire series. I go out of my way to be as actor-friendly as I can, encouraging all sorts of invention. But Carl really went to town on the voice in a way unlike any other actor I've worked with, really giving this character the warmth and the humanity AND the strangeness I needed. Carl was an expert interpreter and an absolute pleasure to work with, cracking me up well into the editing. (The story is a bit of a screwball comedy. And I needed top-notch comic actors for this.) We established a vocal vocabulary for this character with YouTube clips and various recordings, which actually worked very well because the character has learned how to behave from the strangest sources. #acting #voiceover #audiodrama #radio #drama

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5.5. Hatch

Four men stand at the beginning of an important interdimensional journey. But while their personalities are different and the portals seem attracted to their identities, their voices are the same. What is their connection? And why is the journey so important? (Running time: 4 minutes)

Written and directed by Edward Champion

CAST:
The Receptionist: Zachary Michael

Sound Design and Editing by Edward Champion
Image: Chris Bradford

Thanks for listening!

5. Compassion Fatigue

Emma is a top-notch psychiatrist who can change the lives of the most difficult patients imaginable. But there’s a great personal cost to her formidable talents that she’s not telling anyone about, an internal torment eating away at her inner life that she’s hiding from her patients and her professional peers and that a quiet survivor of an abusive relationship may just have the answer for. (Running time: 25 minutes)

(This story contains intense and emotionally disturbing scenes that may unsettle some listeners. Listener discretion is advised.)

Written and directed by Edward Champion

CAST:

Emma: Colette Thomas
Jenna: Devony DiMattia
Jack: Jack Womack
Gordon: Michael Saldate
Receptionist: Zachary Michael
Subway Preacher: Albert Hastler

Music by Thomas Ragsdale
Houston Person, “As Time Goes By” (courtesy of Free Music Archive, CC)
Sound Design and Editing by Edward Champion

Foley Sources: Edward Champion and nofeedbak (CC).
Subway Sounds Recorded on Location in Brooklyn, New York

Special thanks to Sacha Arnold, Austin Beach, Christopher Byrd, Claudia Berenice Garza, Pam Getchell, Jen Halbert, Gabriella Jiminez, Argyria Kehagias, Pete Lutz, Lauren Nelson, John Osborne, Rina Patel, Marc Anthony Stein, That Podcast Girl, Tim Torre, Georgette Thompson, Jack Ward, and many others I may have inadvertently forgotten for their invaluable help, feedback, kindness, inspiration, and support during the production of this episode. I would also like to thank the psychiatrists and compassion fatigue experts who I spoke with on conditions of anonymity for their considerable assistance with this story.

Thanks for listening!

Behind the Scenes:

4.5. The Waiting Room

Virginia Gaskell finds herself on the other side of the portal that lured her in, greeted by an extremely exuberant (and strangely familiar) receptionist, some squawking avians that aren’t quite okay with her love of chicken fajitas, and further mysteries about how the universes rupture into each other. (Running time: 7 minutes)

Written and directed by Edward Champion

CAST:

Virginia Gaskell: Chris Smith
Receptionist: Zachary Michael
Demon: Pete Lutz
Ed Champion: Edward Champion
Bird People: Fiona Thraille, Benjamin Macon Fort
Sound Design and Editing by Edward Champion

Foley Sources: Edward Champion

Special thanks to Sacha Arnold, Austin Beach, Matthew Boudreau, Jason Boog, Christopher Byrd, Jen Elyse Feldman, Claudia Berenice Garza, Pam Getchell, Jen Halbert, Gabriella Jiminez, John Osborne, Tom Parsons, Michael Saldate, Marc Anthony Stein, Georgette Thompson, and many others I may have inadvertently forgotten for their invaluable help, feedback, kindness, inspiration, and support during the production of this episode.

Thanks for listening!

Behind the Scenes:

4. Loopholes

As a thriving empire faces war with ferocious barbarians, a mischievous scholar named Minerva hopes to bring law and civilization to a great realm populated by talking birds, giant rats, gregarious knights, elemental gods, and menacing malasanders. An unanticipated dispute among the knights gives Minerva an opportunity to uphold the doctrine of moral principles, but Minerva finds herself testing her loyalty to her aide-de-camp while helping others to learn what honor, empathy, and identity really mean. (Running time: 32 minutes)

Written and directed by Edward Champion

CAST:

Minerva: Rori Nogee
Eris: Gerrard Lobo
Henrietta: Monica Ammerman
Fire: Samantha Cooper
Watson: Christopher Akpobiyeri
Boleyn: Rachel Baird
The Magister: Sarah Golding
Talking Birds: Alan Barrows
Knights: Michael Charles Foote, Jim Kampfil, Matt Leong, Pete Lutz, Tanja Milojevic, John Xavier Miller III, Julia Morizawa, Hans Detlef Sierck, Fiona Thraille, Richard H. Thorndyke, Jack Ward, Tao Yang.

Sound Design and Editing by Edward Champion

Foley Sources: Edward Champion, jobro (CC), _def (CC), Taira Komori (CC), avakas (CC), Martin-Eero Kõressaar (CC), the_toilet_guy (CC), the_toilet_guy (CC), Shanay Groen (CC), jason130178 (CC), baryy (CC), huggy13ear (CC), HDM2013 (CC).

Music: “The Long March Home” by Tim Juliano (licensed through NeoSounds)

Art: Rushen (CC)

Special thanks to Sacha Arnold, Austin Beach, Matthew Boudreau, Jason Boog, Christopher Byrd, Jen Elyse Feldman, Claudia Berenice Garza, Pam Getchell, Jen Halbert, Gabriella Jiminez, Argyria Kehagias, John Osborne, Tom Parsons, Rina Patel, Michael Saldate, Marc Anthony Stein, Marjorie Stein, That Podcast Girl, Georgette Thompson, Neil Varma, Jo Anna Van Thuyne, and many others I may have inadvertently forgotten for their invaluable help, feedback, kindness, inspiration, and support during the production of this episode. We are especially indebted to Robert Cudmore, Matthew McLean, and Steve Schneider, whose collective insight, inspiration, unfathomable generosity, and encouragement were vital during the development of this highly ambitious story.

Please be sure to also listen to A Scottish Podcast, which is run by many of the fine people who made this program possible, Lost in Williamsburg, whose work with overlapping dialogue has served as partial editing inspiration, and Tom Parson’s forthcoming Organism.

We also recently launched Inside the Gray Area, a behind-the-scenes podcast available for Patreon subscribers who contribute at the $5/month level. Become a Patreon member and enjoy access to this, along with our annotated scripts, which contain many key references that will help unravel the bigger story.

Thanks for listening!

Behind the Scenes:

3. Fuel to the Fire

An artisanal mustard retailer from Astoria finds herself in a strange realm with the ability to set things on fire. Meanwhile, Ed Champion continues his investigation into Miss Gaskell’s disappearance, meeting a woman in mourning who may hold the answer to his own strange curse. (Running time: 19 minutes)

Written and directed by Edward Champion

CAST:

Maya: Noelle Lake
Fire: Samantha Cooper
The Knight in Several Universes: Austin Beach
The Disgraced Villager: Pete Lutz
The Vengeful Field Hand: Sarah Golding
Villagers: John Xavier Miller III, Michael Charles Foote, Hans Detle Sierck, Tao Yang, Jim Kampfil, Tim Torre, and Kilgore Lehrer
Ed Champion/Johnny: Edward Champion

Edited by Edward Champion

Foley Sources: Edward Champion, the_toilet_guy (CC), Snapper4298 (CC), CGEffex (CC), soundmary (CC), Dynamicell (CC), Huggy13ear ()CC), YleArkisto (CC)

Music: “The Long March Home” by Tim Juliano (licensed through NeoSounds) and “Local Forecast – Elevator Music” by Kevin MacLeod (CC.)

Art: Kyle Nishloka (CC)

Special thanks to Sacha Arnold, Matthew Boudreau, Jason Boog, Richard Brooks, Christopher Byrd, Claudia Berenice Garza, Jen Elyse Feldman, Pam Getchell, Jen Halbert, Gabriella Jiminez, John Osborne, Rina Patel, Scott Phillips, Michael Saldate, Marc Anthony Stein, Fiona Thraille, That Podcast Girl, Georgette Thompson, Jack Ward, and many others I may have inadvertently forgotten for their invaluable help, feedback, kindness, inspiration, and support during the production of this episode.

Please be sure to also listen to LucyD Podcast, a new supernatural audio drama, and Rick Coste’s The Fiona Potts Interview if you enjoy audio dramas about interdimensional portals.

Behind the Scenes:

2. Brand Awareness

Joanna loves Eclipse Ale. It’s the best beer in the world. She has boxes of Eclipse memorabilia. She regularly wears Eclipse baseball caps. But on one rainy night, Joanna discovers that this happy relationship (along with the relationship with her boyfriend) is not what it seems. Why can’t she remember what her boyfriend gave her on their second anniversary? And why doesn’t anybody know about Eclipse Ale? (Running time: 28 minutes)

Written and directed by Edward Champion

CAST:

Joanna: Eileen Hanley
Greg: Charlie Harrington
DJ: Peter Coleman
Sam: Marc Eliot Stein
Ignacio: Kilgore Lehrer
Receptionist: Zachary Michael
Leslie Stevens: Lauren Shippen
Bar Background: Hans Detlef Sierck, Jan Jensen, Sam Lowry

Edited by Edward Champion
Foley Sources: Edward Champion, PlooQ (CC), lebcraftlp (CC), Sandermotions (CC), Leandros Ntounis (CC), LG (CC), magnus589 ()CC), GowlerMusic (CC)

Theme Song: Pachyderm, “Never Knew Me at All” (licensed through CC, found at Free Music Archive)

Music: Milton Arias, “Gracias,” Valery & The Greedies, “She-Wolf,” Jahzaar, “Scenes from the Zoo,” Ben Sound, and Kevin MacLeod, “Carpe Diem,” Ben Sound, “Funky Element” (all licensed through CC, found at Free Music Archive, Ben Sound, and Incompetech)

Art: Claudio Sepúlveda Geoffroy (CC)

Special thanks to Sacha Arnold, Austin Beach, Matthew Boudreau, Jason Boog, Christopher Byrd, Kate C., Christian Caminiti, Claudia Berenice Garza, Pam Getchell, Jon Grilz, Jen Halbert, Gabriella Jiminez, Pete Lutz, Philip Merritt, Pacific Obadiah, John Osborne, Rina Patel, Michael Saldate, Raia Savage, Alex Schawrtzberg, That Podcast Girl, Georgette Thompson, Jack Ward, and many others I may have inadvertently forgotten for their invaluable help, feedback, kindness, inspiration, and support during the production of this episode.

Please be sure to also listen to Philip Merritt’s Lost in Williamsburg, which gave me a major editing idea that completely altered the bar scene.

Behind the Scenes: