Date: Thursday, May 23, 2019
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Writer and Director Tamara Kissane, creator of podcast ARTIST SOAPBOX, explores a growing genre with two-part audio drama MASTER BUILDER debuting in July 2019
Durham, NC – ARTIST SOAPBOX presents MASTER BUILDER, writer and director Tamara Kissane’s quirky audio drama based on Henrik Ibsen’s tragedy about ambition and its collateral damage. MASTER BUILDER will premiere with a listening party at the Women’s Theatre Festival held in Raleigh in July 2019, where Kissane will be a conference speaker.
Running a total of 90 minutes and divided in two episodes, MASTER BUILDER tells the story of the rise and fall of Helen ‘Sully’ Sullivan, an intensely passionate and charismatic architect who designs outrageous homes for the very rich. “It’s about home-making and finding a safe space for ourselves, the tension between putting down roots and deciding to climb higher,” says Kissane. “In this play, everyone is so focused on the pervasive cultural ideals of where they want to be and who they want to be that they ignore what they have in front of them.”
ARTIST SOAPBOX, a podcast platform for Triangle-area artists to discuss their creative work in their own voices, was created by Kissane and debuted on September 1, 2017. As of today it has released 75 episodes. MASTER BUILDER marks ARTIST SOAPBOX’s first expansion into audio dramas.
This project also marks a big transition for the local theatre-maker, creative coach, and podcaster. Although Kissane’s MASTER BUILDER premiered on the stage in January 2018 with a production by Little Green Pig Theatrical Concern, the script has been updated and edited for audio release. The audio drama MASTER BUILDER also features all local actors, artists, and technicians.
“Audio dramas are often referred to as ‘theatre of the mind.’ I love the flexibility of the creative process that’s inherent in making an audio drama and I also love the flexibility of the creative content – you can make an audio drama while anywhere, doing anything. It provides unparalleled accessibility for the consumer – it’s portable, pause-able and free – and it’s accessible to patrons who might not be able to attend events.”
Patrons of ARTIST SOAPBOX at the $3+ level on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/artistsoapbox) will have early access to the completed audio drama. It will be made available to the general public via the ARTIST SOAPBOX website (www.artistsoapbox.org) and all podcast platforms (Apple podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, etc) for free this summer.
Tamara Kissane (WRITER, DIRECTOR) is a theatre-maker, creative coach, and podcaster for Artist Soapbox (www.artistsoapbox.org). Locally, she’s worked with Little Green Pig Theatrical Concern, Manbites Dog Theater, The ArtsCenter in Carrboro, Duke Theatre Studies, Transactors Improv, Summer Sisters, Archipelago and both hands theatre company. Tamara is a co-founder of Curious Theatre Collective. Her stage-plays, The New Colossus and Master Builder were commissioned and performed by Little Green Pig Theatrical Concern in 2016 & 2018. In addition to the MASTER BUILDER AUDIO DRAMA, Tamara will be releasing a second original audio drama (in serial form!) later this year. In 2019, she received grants from Durham150 and the Ella Fountain Pratt Emerging Artist Award.
- Playwright & Director: Tamara Kissane
- Sound designer: Edith Snow
- Composer: Wendy Spitzer
- Audio engineer: Alex Maness at Shadowbox Studio
- Production assistant: Amanda Hahn
- Graphics: Kaley Morrison
- Cast: Vincent Bland, Rebecca Bossen, Thaddaeus Edwards, Maxine Eloi, Susannah Hough, Dana Marks, & Dale Wolf with Erin Bell, Amanda Hahn, Alex Maness, Kaley Morrison
Twitter = @artist_soapbox
Instagram = artistsoapbox
Facebook = https://www.facebook.com/artistsoapboxpodcast/
Website = www.artistsoapbox.org
Email = artistsoapbox@gmail.com
