‘Podcasts’ Category

  1. Easter Island—new Maudelayne audio drama

    1 March, 2012 by Alexa Chipman

    Maudelayne Series 4
    “Birdman”

    Listen to episode: BrokenSea Audio Productions

    Worsley is chosen in a dream from another realm, to be one of the contestants in the annual race on an ancient island. Of course the rules didn’t mention the plummeting cliff dive and shark infested waters.

    This is a crossroads episode where nothing explosive happens, but many characters take a turn to go in another direction—a pause and reorientation. I think it is important to have these sorts of episodes every now and then both to keep a series fresh and to challenge the characters to grow just like we do as people. There are three main changes this episode. If you have not listened yet, do not read further because there are spoilers.

    Worsley has been slowly getting up his nerve in the last few episodes, and I believe Atherton’s near death experience also shook him to the core. He is now ready to “take the plunge” and start facing who he is. As a result of this experiment, Worsley goes to new levels of courage and faces things he would never have dreamed of doing in Series 1. It is an important step forward for him as a character, which is crucial to Series 5 (yes I have written that far).

    The second change is Atherton taking a position at Maudelayne School. It was a logical step because he is both honourable and madly in love (or as close as Atherton will ever come to that). It being the 1930s, he feels responsible to provide a household for his wife, so his character had to leave the college and being his own life. It needed to be nearby for the story, and so I sent him off as a teacher (will the children understand a word he says?). I had planned this for quite some time, which is the very reason I introduced the Edmund character as a potential student to come wandering in and out of stories.

    The third change is of course the marriage itself. This is one story I had never planned—Krinaia was not supposed to return as a character, but Atherton had other ideas (he usually does) so I had to bring his one true love back. There will be a wedding episode but it is not what is to be expected, since this is Maudelayne and nothing can ever go normally, and it will not be the next episode. The series happens in real time, so each monthly episode represents a month having passed. As a result, the wedding being several months away means the episode is several months away, also!

    Coming up are more classic Maud episodes with a main storyline, rather than this one which has several going on. Let me know if you liked this format—I know it can be hard to follow several stories in different places in Audio Drama.

    The mythology featured in the episode comes from Easter Island and was an actual ceremony that was performed to choose the new Birdman. Stevie K. Farnaby created the fantastic artwork and also brought in actual sound effects recorded on the island—amazing!

    Category Podcasts, Writing | Tags: ,,,,,,, | 1 Comment

  2. More than a naiad—new Maudelayne audio drama

    26 January, 2012 by Alexa Chipman

    Maudelayne Series 4
    “Well of Doom”

    Listen to episode: BrokenSea Audio Productions

    Krinaia senses evil water nearby, and sure enough a terrible horned serpent arises from a mysterious well, bent on drowning all humans it finds. But not all is as it seems. What secret is Colchester hiding?

    The naiads were introduced early on in the Maudelayne series, along with the concept that no mythical creature or object can stay in our world longer than a few minutes after the rift closes.

    When I happened upon a story referenced in Phantastes about a maiden trapped in a magical mirror that only her true love could smash I knew that would be a dramatic way to bring Krinaia’s character back. There was just one catch to the story—whomever broke the mirror would die. My first thought was, “that wouldn’t stop Atherton,” my second thought was “I think sacrificing your life would open the rift more permanently,” and my third conclusion was, “perfect, but I’ll need a counter tale to bring him back to life again.”

    The storyline fit perfectly with the traditional Maudelayne series finale on a cliffhanger, which I borrowed from my years growing up watching Star Trek: The Next Generation, so at the end of Series 3 Atherton died saving the naiad and the opening of Series 4 saw them both alive and well again. That is when I decided to take the character of Krinaia in a different direction.

    I did not want the naiad to become simply a love interest character—she needed to be strong and have a purpose for being there as herself, not based on her relationship with Atherton. I hunted through ancient tales of sea monsters and water related legends to chose one where she could take charge of the situation. I also wanted to pick a story from the Pacific waters, since I had just done two from Europe. The legend I chose is that of the Atunkai creatures from the wells of Amhuluk—a tale from what is now the state of Oregon in the United States. Anything that falls into the water turns into a horrible sea dragon.

    Having now written through Series 5, I know looking back that I made the right decision, because her character is ultimately powerful, but she does not fully realize it due to being treated like a useless toy for so many years. In the company of Atherton, who cherishes her as an intelligent person, she blossoms into quite a remarkable woman and naiad.

    Category Podcasts, Writing | Tags: ,,,,,,,,, | 4 Comments

  3. Maudelayne Fantasy Casting – Part 1

    13 February, 2011 by Alexa Chipman

    Several listeners requested this, and it sounded like a fun idea so I decided to post about it. I, as the writer, will start, and Stevie the post-producer is sending me his set as well. If you would like to join in, just drop me a note, even if it is just a suggested casting for your favourite character.

    Without further ado, here is my personal ‘fantasy’ cast, if by some miracle Mawbray/Maudelayne were became a film or telly series:

    Percy Atherton – Christian Coulson

    To me the most important aspects of Atherton are his quietly noble expressions, and deep piercing eyes. An actor needs to be able to completely quell a room with merely a look in order to portray Atherton. The first person that always comes to mind for me is Chris—the only actor I know of who can pull it off—not to mention he physically resembles Percy a great deal.

    John Westbrook – Craig Horner

    He isn’t precisely what I picture for Westbrook, but he is so great in action scenes, that he becomes close to how I see Westbrook the minute you hand him some weapons. With a bit of ginger, I can see him pulling it off. He has a great boyish fun feel, but is also excellent with serious drama—important traits for Westbrook to have. He is, as I mentioned, the muscle of the group, and anyone who has seen Legend of the Seeker knows Craig has no trouble with that!

    Nigel Worsley – Sean Biggerstaff
    While of course we’d have to see if he could pull off the now famous Worsley “scream and run like a little girl” he has a sort of playfulness that I think would work quite well, and he has the lanky look that Worsley needs to have. He could also slip into a Scottish accent during emotional scenes, which would keep continuity! I think there should always be a Scottish actor playing Worsley, which means that I suppose this means his family is from the North! Curl Sean’s hair a bit, add specs, and we have ourselves a Worsley.

    Professor Cecil – Paul Bettany

    Cecil is slim, aristocratic, and intellectual to the point of abstraction—precisely the character that Paul would slip into quite well, as he has on previous occasions. He would need to be made up to look on the older side, but Cecil is not supposed to be elderly, merely late 30s. Paul also has a tiny little amused smile that is very Cecil. My personal favourite film to see Paul in is, of course, Master & Commander as Dr. Maturin.

    Sophie Roberts – Michelle Ryan
    She physically resembles Sophie almost perfectly, and has a wonderful mysterious, yet fiery personality. There is a sort of power to her, and I can definitely see her taking on the world, as it were, as Sophie Roberts. There is also a very feminine quality to her acting most of the time that is crucial to the role. She can also be deliciously evil for the part when Sophie is taken over by Lilith and tries to destroy the world.

    Winston Colchester – Matt Smith

    Before you go up in arms, hear me out, I do like him as the Doctor! In fact I think he would be great to use, because people would not automatically hate him. Colchester would have to earn every viewer disliking him. I think that Matt is a wonderful actor who could bring some humanity to Colchester’s character—that and he has the best humourous expressions!

    Jane Worsley – Romola Garai

    She has an incredible elegance and sophistication to her and is used to stepping into period pieces. At the same time there is always a fire to her that Jane needs to have, and a sense of adventure while still remaining exquisite and looking lovely in old-fashioned costumes. I’d recommend her in Daniel Deronda or Amazing Grace. She has always been the one I pictured as Jane in my head when writing, although there are other wonderful actresses that would do a good job as well.

    Heroo – Mfundo Morrison

    He has the physical presence of a warrior, as well as the intelligent and clever “detective” side to the character as one of the ruler’s elite police force in Thebes. Since Heroo is married to the ever popular Sophie Roberts, he needs a commanding and also loveable feel, which Mfundo is able to carry off so brilliantly.

    Maudelayne/Mawbray President – Jim Broadbent

    He is such a perfect academic figure, and there is always something odd about the President—does he know more than he lets on about the college? Jim would bring that slightly stuffy, but kind professor feel while still keeping a “what if” scenario going. You can see him soon in Deathly Hallows II. The President will be possibly having a larger role in future seasons, because I am still deciding whether or not to take off the veil of mystery or keep him as an enigmatic figure.

    Isis – Jolene Blalock

    While not originally planned to be, Isis has turned into quite a recurring character. She must have the perception of great age and wisdom, without actually looking it. Jolene has the capability of seeming to possess great power while maintaining a surface calm and has an elegant way of movement that is in keeping with Isis.

    Library Guard – Anthony Head

    I thought it would be amusing to drop an excellent comedic actor into the mix whom most people would recognize but have no trouble with seeing in a library, and have everyone thinking he is some important character that has not been fully introduced. That and watching the Buffy fangirls shriek “Giles” every time. I like to drop the character into various episodes as one of the great “street crossing” recurring characters like PubGoer1.

    Gardener – Richard Wilson

    Richard is a great character actor, who has excellent comedic timing and can shine even in bit roles. It is important that even minor characters are light and funny on Maudelayne, and he would be able to perfectly add that to his role. You can currently watch him as Gaius on the BBC Merlin to see what I mean. I can almost imagine him stumbling about the garden beds at Mawbray cursing those young uppity lads who steal his gardening equipment to fight off harpies.

    Director of choice:

    Feature Film – Jean-Pierre Jeunet
    Television – Joss Whedon

    Category Fiction, Podcasts | Tags: | 1 Comment

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