Stories Found
33 episodes
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Creator from RSS feed: Stories Found
Database Creators: Ava Love HannaSynopsis:
Stories Found is an Austin-based comedy podcast and production company creating original, high-quality comedy for audio drama and live performance. Our show features scripted comedy shorts, hilarious audio plays, and behind-the-scenes looks at the writing and production process. Every episode showcases the work of an emerging comedy writer, brought to life by professional actors and sound designers. About the Hosts Ava Love Hanna is a playwright, author, and award-winning storyteller obsessed with comedy and character-driven scripts. She is continually amazed by how often she is mistaken for a real grown-up. Paul Hanna is an audio engineer, musician, and performer who brings the laughs to life with expert sound design. 🎧 Subscribe for: Micro audio comedies Original short plays and audio dramas Scripted fiction for audio Indie comedy podcast episodes Interviews with playwrights and comedy writers 📍 Based in Austin, TX New episodes every other week.
Language: English
Format: Audio Drama
Continuity: Anthology
Writing: Scripted
Voices: Full cast
Narrator: None
Genres: Comedy, Multigenre
Framing device: None
Soundscape: Sound effects & music
Maturity: All audience
Creator demographics: / Female / LGBTQ+ / Neurodivergent
Country of origin: United States
Completion status: Not applicable
Ad-free option: Main feed
Not tagged: [Character demographics] [Transcript] [Content warnings]
Click here to update these tags.
Episodes:
History in the Making - Clinton Festa
Mon, 07 Jul 2025 09:00:00 +0000
About This Episode
It’s Micro Monday, and we’re bringing you a fast, funny audio comedy: History in the Making by Clinton Festa!
History in the Making was the 2023 Cary Playwrights’ Forum Playslam winner.
About the Playwright
Clinton Festa started his career as a cartoonist and writer for his campus humor magazine. His plays have been produced nationally, in Canada, and in the UK, and are published in several anthologies. His scripts for seniors are published with ArtAge Senior Theatre Resource Center. He wrote and directed a seven-episode podcast series called The Malone Family in the Enchanted Forest. He runs an online book drive for inmates at prisons and juvenile detention centers called Sentences Book Donations. Clinton lives in Greensboro, NC with his wife and children.
👉 Check out Clinton’s other plays on Stories Found:
Credits:
- Written by Clinton Festa
- MAX: Joe Llorens
- DAVE: Paul Hanna
🎧 Audio Engineer & Sound Designer: Paul Hanna
🎙️ Host & Producer: Ava Love Hanna
🎨 Episode Art: Ava Love Hanna
Support + Connect
👉 Don’t forget to subscribe, review, and share the show—it helps new listeners find our indie audio dramas!
💛 Support the show: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/storiesfound
💛 Want to be a guest? Visit us at https://storiesfound.com
💛 Find us on: Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube!
📍 Stories Found is an independent podcast recorded at ELA Studios in Austin, Texas.
Best of Stories Found: 5 Calls - Ladi Loera
Mon, 23 Jun 2025 10:00:00 +0000
About This Episode
This fan-favorite story by the incredible storyteller, Ladi Loera, returns as part of our Best of Stories Found series — now featuring our new format that brings the story right to the front of the episode and then offers a behind-the-scenes interview with the storyteller.
Whether you're hearing this story for the first time or the fifth, 5 Calls, perfectly nails the nerve-wracking, awkward, and hilariously human moments involved in trying (and trying) to make a connection.
About the Storyteller
Ladi Loera is an artist, animal lover and award winning storyteller.
He won the Moth with a story about sympathetic nausea and what it teaches us about love and connection. He is a homebody, whose idea of traveling the globe is going to a different HEB. If you're ever looking for him, he's most likely at home.
Ladi is also the Artistic Director and Producer of Testify, an incredible live storytelling show in Austin, Texas. Visit https://testifyatx.com
Credits:
5 Calls was written and performed by Ladi Loera
Audio Engineer: Paul Hanna
Host: Ava Love Hanna
👉 Don’t forget to subscribe and leave us a review — it helps new listeners find the show!
💛 Support the show: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/storiesfound
💛 Want to be a guest? Visit us at https://storiesfound.com
💛 Find us on: Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube!
📍 Stories Found is recorded at ELA Studios in Austin, Texas.
Vows - Jonathan Wickremasinghe-Kuhn
Mon, 09 Jun 2025 10:00:00 +0000
About This Episode
It's Micro Monday! This week we're featuring the short audio comedy, VOWS by Jonathan Wickremasinghe-Kuhn
About the Playwright
Jonathan Wickremasinghe-Kuhn grew up in Selma, Alabama and attended the University of Southern California, where he received both his BFA in Writing for Screen and Television and his Master of Professional Writing degree. He has performed story-telling multiple times at The Moth and for the Two Truths & A Lie podcast. His plays have been produced by the A Light in Dark Places Festival, the Paragon Festival, Exposition Review, Stage Left Theater, Laughing Pig Theatre, Carrollwood Players Theatre, Magnetic Theatre, and Crafton Hills College.
He's also a Stories Found fan favorite with his hilarious story about an ill-fated shopping trip: Off Target.
Credits: Written by Jonathan Wickremasinghe-Kuhn
IVAN: Joe Llorens
ANTON: Manuel Solis-Bauza
🎧 Audio Engineer & Sound Designer: Paul Hanna
🎙️ Host & Producer: Ava Love Hanna
🎨 Episode Art: Ava Love Hanna
👉 Don’t forget to subscribe and leave us a review — it helps new listeners find the show!
💛 Support the show: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/storiesfound
💛 Want to be a guest? Visit us at https://storiesfound.com
💛 Find us on: Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube!
📍 Stories Found is recorded at ELA Studios in Austin, Texas.
The Experience - Clinton Festa
Wed, 29 Nov 2023 11:30:00 +0000
About This Episode
This week on Stories Found, we're talking to one of our favorite playwrights, Clinton Festa, and then hearing his surreal comedy, The Experience. The play follows a couple dining at a restaurant with a twist - instead of food, they serve emotions. Frustration, rejection, nostalgia - it's all on the menu. With snappy dialogue and excellent pacing, Clinton creates a surreal world where feelings truly become tangible menu items. It's a thoughtful and hilarious look at the experience of human emotion.
About the Playwright
Clinton Festa began his career as a writer and cartoonist for his campus humor magazine. Since then he’s had short plays produced around the U.S. and Canada, comedy sketches that have placed in national competitions, and a novel recently published with CamCat Books.
During the pandemic, he wrote and directed a seven-episode action-comedy podcast called The Malone Family in the Enchanted Forest (produced by the Cary Playwrights’ Forum). Clinton runs an online book drive for inmates in prisons and juvenile detention centers called Sentences Book Donations. He lives in Greensboro, NC with his wife and children.
- Listen to Clinton's hilarious zombie play in Episode 10: PICKY ZOMBIES.
- Order Clinton’s book, Ancient Canada: a Mythological Tale at CamCat
- Find Clinton on NPX, The New Play Exchange: https://newplayexchange.org/users/74998/clinton-festa
About the Cast
The Experience was performed for us by:
Gabriella Headley as Wife
Joe Llorens as Husband
Tonie Knight as Waitress
Manuel Solis-Bauza as Take Out Customer
About the Crew
Audio Engineer: Paul Hanna and ELA Studios
Featured Organization
Our featured organization this week is Sentences: Book Donations. Their goal is to network readers with prison librarians and juvenile detention centers to determine their needs and donate books for use in their facilities.
Let's be BFFs!
- Leave us a 5 Star Review on Apple Pocdasts or Spotify!
- Find out how to Support the Show!
- Subscribe to our newsletter! storiesfound.substack.com
Thanks for listening to Stories Found! We heart you.
- Find us on Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube!
- Want to be a featured guest in a future episode? Let's do it. Email: submissions@storiesfound.com
Stories Found was recorded at ELA Studios, deep in the heart of Austin, Texas.
Mon, 13 Nov 2023 11:00:00 +0000
About This Episode
Welcome to Stories Found Micro Monday. This week we've got the one-minute comedy, Burger Bard by Patrick Bates.
About the Playwright
Pat Bates has been writing plays since he was a kid. Now, he's written for stage and screen, optioned a screenplay, and won some awards along the way. In his spare time, he writes crime/horror/science fiction under the name Jack Bates.
About the Cast
Manuel Solis-Bauza as Burger Bard Boy
Gabriella Headley as Customer
About the Crew
Audio Engineer - Paul Hanna
Let's be BFFs!
Want to show your support for Stories Found? Buy us a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/storiesfound
Subscribe to our newsletter! storiesfound.substack.com
Thanks for listening to Stories Found! We heart you.
- Want to chat about this episode? We're here for it! Email: hello@storiesfound.com
- Find us on Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube!
- Want to be a featured guest in a future episode? Let's do it. Email: submissions@storiesfound.com
Stories Found was recorded at ELA Studios, deep in the heart of Austin, Texas.
The Brink Of Chaos - Mark Gifford
Wed, 08 Nov 2023 14:39:00 +0000
About This Episode
This week we're talking to Mark Gifford and hearing his hilarious story, The Brink of Chaos.
About the Storyteller
Mark has been a full-time professor of composition and rhetoric at The University of Texas at San Antonio for 18 years and counting. He is also a producer for Testify, a monthly storytelling show in Austin, Texas. Mark is also the co-creator and co-producer for Like Minded Lunatics, where he helps create a weekly television show for Austin Music T.V., as well as short-form video content for the Like Minded Lunatics YouTube channel. When Mark finds himself with free time, he enjoys trying to remember his own name.
About the Cast
Storyteller: Mark Gifford
About the Crew
This version of Mark's story was recorded at the live storytelling show, Testify, in Austin, Texas
Featured Organization
Our featured organization this week, is one of our very favorite shows, TESTIFY - a live storytelling show in Austin, Texas.
The amazing crew at Testify love stories -- hearing them, crafting them, and sharing them. Each month, Testify offers a live show featuring true stories told by the people that lived them.
If you're in the Austin area and have a story to tell, they'd love to hear it.
You can submit your own story to one of their themed opportunities on their website, TestifyATX.com
Let's be BFFs!
Subscribe to our newsletter! storiesfound.substack.com
Thanks for listening to Stories Found! We heart you.
- Want to chat about this episode? We're here for it! Email: hello@storiesfound.com
- Find us on Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube!
- Want to be a featured guest in a future episode? Let's do it. Email: submissions@storiesfound.com
Stories Found was recorded at ELA Studios, deep in the heart of Austin, Texas.
The Palatka Museum of Natural History - Kimberly Murray-Patel
Mon, 30 Oct 2023 10:00:00 +0000
About This Episode
Welcome to Stories Found Micro Monday -- Halloween Eve edition. This week we've got a special treat, the one minute dark comedy, The Palatka Museum of Natural History by Kimberly Murray-Patel.
The Palatka Museum of Natural History recently won the coveted top honor at the Whiskey Theater Factory's annual one minute play competition.
That means that this play was written in only ten minutes in front of a live audience. It's a phenomenal feat to write anything that quickly, but this play is truly spectacular.
About the Playwright: Kimberly Murray-Patel
Kimberly Murray Patel considers herself a Renaissance woman in regard to the world of theater, and not just because she is thick and prefers clothing that is lacking in structure. The majority of her time is spent as a freelance costumer for companies in the Central Florida area. When she needs a break from the sewing machine she loves to perform and write short plays. "The Palatka Museum of Natural History" recently won the coveted top honor at the Whiskey Theater Factory's annual one minute play competition.
We'll be featuring Kimberly' ten-minute play, Upgrade, in a future episode, so make sure to subscribe on your favorite app so you don't miss it!
About the Cast
Joe Llorens as Joe
Joe Llorens has been a performer for over twenty years. In that time, he’s done things. Some of those things he’s liked, even. Joe will keep trying to do things he likes and not be as judgy about the things he doesn’t like because he really should cut himself a bit of a break. He loves his wife, children, and pets, though. A lot.
Manuel Solis-Bauza as Brandon
A born and raised Puerto Rican native, Manuel Solis-Bauza is a graduate of the Rollins College class of 2020, having acquired a BA in Theatre Studies and Communication Theory. Seen on the Rollins stage as Shu Fu in Good Person of Setzuan and Solomon in Speech and Debate, Manuel has recently performed in a variety of acclaimed Central Florida shows such as Nick in The Wingman, produced by New Generation Theatrical, Nelson in Our Lady of the Tortilla, produced by Descolonizarte Teatro, and most recently as Kennedy in The Vast of Darkness, produced by Whiskey Theatre Factory and voted as Critics' Choice for Best Drama at Orlando Fringe 2023.
About the Crew
Audio Engineer: Paul Hanna and ELA Studios
Fun Stuff
- We've added this play to our Spooky Stories Found playlist on Spotify. It's the perfect playlist for a dark comedy filled Halloween night!
- If you enjoyed this episode, it'd be the perfect Halloween treat if you left us a 5 star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify!
- For more exciting ways to show your support, visit our Support the Show page.
Happy Monday and Happy Halloween from all of us at Stories Found!
Let's be BFFs!
Subscribe to our newsletter! storiesfound.substack.com
Thanks for listening to Stories Found! We heart you.
- Want to chat about this episode? We're here for it! Email: hello@storiesfound.com
- Find us on Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube!
- Want to be a featured guest in a future episode? Let's do it. Email: submissions@storiesfound.com
Stories Found was recorded at ELA Studios, deep in the heart of Austin, Texas.
Spam Calls From Hell - Brian Rust
Wed, 25 Oct 2023 10:00:00 +0000
About This Episode
Thanks for joining us for our special Halloween edition of Stories Found! This week we're talking to one of our very favorite playwrights, Brian Rust, and then hearing his eerie dark comedy, Spam Calls from Hell.
About the Playwright
Brian Rust (he/him) is a Boston-based actor and writer who makes chocolates and searches for cryptids in his spare time.
High points of his career include being killed by a pillow during The Robin Hood Faire, appearing on stage with Le Tigre as a member of the Art School Cheerleaders, and using a plunger and ten pounds of jello to create an unforgettable foley effect for a live radio version of CHICKEN HEART.
Most recently he wrote the audio drama, The View from the Inside, which was selected by Dashingly Quirky for a live performance this November.
About the Cast
Joe Llorens - Dave
Tonie Knight - Ruby
About the Crew
Engineer - Paul Hanna
Featured Organization
Open Air Circus is a is a non-profit community-based group that teaches children circus and performing skills. They offer classes and performances every summer.
To find out more about them and how you can help support their mission, visit them at openaircircus.org
Let's be BFFs!
Subscribe to our newsletter! storiesfound.substack.com
Thanks for listening to Stories Found! We heart you.
- Want to chat about this episode? We're here for it! Email: hello@storiesfound.com
- Find us on Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube!
- Want to be a featured guest in a future episode? Let's do it. Email: submissions@storiesfound.com
Stories Found was recorded at ELA Studios, deep in the heart of Austin, Texas.
A Foggy Day in a Certain Part of Scotland - Mark Harvey Levine
Mon, 16 Oct 2023 10:00:00 +0000
About This Episode
Welcome to Stories Found Micro Monday -- Spooky Edition. This week we've got the eerie 1-minute play, A Foggy Day in a Certain Part of Scotland by Mark Harvey Levine.
About the Playwright / Storyteller
Mark Harvey Levine has had over 2000 productions of his short plays everywhere from Bangalore to Bucharest and from Lima to London. His plays have won over 45 awards and been produced in more than ten languages. His work has been published in over two dozen anthologies by Applause, Smith & Kraus, Routledge and Vintage. Full evenings of his ten-minute plays, such as “Cabfare For The Common Man”, “Didn’t See That Coming” and “A Very Special Holiday Special” have been shown around the world, including at the Edinburgh Fringe and in a multi-year tour of Brazil. A Spanish-language film of “The Kiss” (“El Beso”) premiered at Cannes and aired on HBO and DTV (Japan). Two of his plays were adapted for Brazilian television.
Listen to more of Mark's work in these episodes:
About the Cast
Kelly: Liz Bernstein
Terry: Gabriella Headley
About the Crew
Engineer: Paul Hanna and ELA Studios
Let's be BFFs!
Subscribe to our newsletter! storiesfound.substack.com
Thanks for listening to Stories Found! We heart you.
- Want to chat about this episode? We're here for it! Email: hello@storiesfound.com
- Find us on Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube!
- Want to be a featured guest in a future episode? Let's do it. Email: submissions@storiesfound.com
Stories Found was recorded at ELA Studios, deep in the heart of Austin, Texas.
Wed, 11 Oct 2023 10:00:00 +0000
About This Episode
This week we’re talking to the uber talented Austin writer and storyteller, Jeff Knight, before hearing his fantastic story, Bella and Blue.
About the Storyteller
Jeff Knight is a storyteller, poet, songwriter, and aspiring novelist in Austin, Texas.
He is currently working on a murder mystery set in the world of craft beer, and featuring an intrepid Great Dane as part of a heroic crime-fighting duo.
Special Thanks
Bella and Blue was performed by the author, Jeff Knight.
This story was recorded live at Testify, a popular storytelling show in Austin, Texas. It was recorded by Mark Gifford. We’re thankful to Ladi Loera, Mark Gifford, and the whole crew at Testify for letting us use it in this episode!
Featured Organization
The mission of the McCallum Fine Arts Academy is to foster and advance a diverse group of student artists who will create, lead, inspire, and contribute to a global community.
If you’re in the Austin area and want to know more about their advanced fine arts curriculum for your student, visit mccallumfinearts.austinschools.org
Support the Show
We know you love Stories Found. But have you ever wondered "how can I let other people know JUST HOW MUCH I love Stories Found?" Fortunately, we're here to help!
Head over to https://storiesfound.com/support
We've got a list of fun free or paid ways to show your support and to help us keep paying our amazingly talented writers and actors. Thanks!
Let's be BFFs!
Subscribe to our newsletter! storiesfound.substack.com
Thanks for listening to Stories Found! We heart you.
- Want to chat about this episode? We're here for it! Email: hello@storiesfound.com
- Find us on Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube!
- Want to be a featured guest in a future episode? Let's do it. Email: submissions@storiesfound.com
Stories Found was recorded at ELA Studios, deep in the heart of Austin, Texas.
Dog Park - Bethany Dickens Assaf
Mon, 02 Oct 2023 10:00:00 +0000
About This Episode
It's Micro Monday! This week we've got the hilarious one-minute play, Dog Park, by one of our very favorite playwrights, Bethany Dickens Assaf.
About the Playwright / Storyteller
Bethany Dickens Assaf is a freelance playwright, dramaturg, and theatre artist and a co-founder of Whiskey Theatre Factory. As both a writer and producer, she is obsessed with plays that deconstruct and take unusual perspectives on gender and sexuality, challenging audiences and serving untapped artistic voices by creating meaningful roles for women.
Listen to more of Bethany's fantastic work in these episodes:
About the Cast
Jesse: Liz Bernstein
Sam: Gabriella Headley
About the Crew
Audio Engineer: Paul Hanna
Let's be BFFs!
Subscribe to our newsletter! storiesfound.substack.com
Thanks for listening to Stories Found! We heart you.
- Want to chat about this episode? We're here for it! Email: hello@storiesfound.com
- Find us on Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube!
- Want to be a featured guest in a future episode? Let's do it. Email: submissions@storiesfound.com
Stories Found was recorded at ELA Studios, deep in the heart of Austin, Texas.
A Great Fall - Christian Missonak
Wed, 27 Sep 2023 10:00:00 +0000
About This Episode
This week we're featuring Christian Missonak and his hilarious ten-minute play, A Great Fall.
About the Playwright
Christian Missonak is a NYC-based playwright originally from Chicago, where he was a graduate of Columbia College and The Second City Conservatory.
Plays: Sheridan (Madlab Theatre), Save Ferris (Under the Gun Theatre), Cooperative (Metropolitan Playhouse). Audio: Banana Bread is a Myth (Earworm Audio Theatre podcast, Ep 9). Publication: Nowhere to Go Nights (The High Plains Register), Sheridan excerpt (The Best Men's Stage Monologues 2022 by Smith & Kraus Publishers).
You can also read more of Christian's work on NPX, The New Play Exchange.
About the Cast
Joe Llorens as HD
Manuel Solis-Bauza as Nathan
Liz Bernstein as Alana
About the Crew
Audio Engineer: Paul Hanna
NEW! Outtakes from this episode available on YouTube: A Great Fall - Outtakes
Featured Organization
The Catskill Mountain Foundation believes that art can transform the lives of those touched by it and so they aim to combine high-quality performances, artist residencies, and arts education in a multi-faceted program.
Find out more about the Catskill Mountain Foundation, their programs, and how you can help further their vision at catskillmtn.org
Show Your Support!
We know you love Stories Found. But have you ever wondered "how can I let other people know JUST HOW MUCH I love Stories Found?" Fortunately, we're here to help!
Head over to storiesfound.com/support
We've got a list of fun free or paid ways to show your support and to help us keep paying our amazingly talented writers and actors.
Soon, the whole world will know just how much you love comedy and supporting the arts.
Let's be BFFs!
Subscribe to our newsletter! storiesfound.substack.com
Thanks for listening to Stories Found! We heart you.
- Want to chat about this episode? We're here for it! Email: hello@storiesfound.com
- Find us on Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube!
- Want to be a featured guest in a future episode? Let's do it. Email: submissions@storiesfound.com
Stories Found was recorded at ELA Studios, deep in the heart of Austin, Texas.
Mon, 18 Sep 2023 10:00:00 +0000
About This Episode
It's Micro Monday! Just in time for Talk Like A Pirate Day on the 19th, we've got the hilarious one-minute nautical adventure, Color Guard by Ned Eckhardt
Make sure to catch our full episodes every other week featuring some of the most talented humorists in the country. Next week, we've got a fantastic full length episode featuring the ten-minute play, A Great Fall by Christian Missonak.
Find us on your favorite podcast app or at Stories Found.com
Happy Monday from all of us at Stories Found!
About the Playwright / Storyteller
Ned Eckhardt is a documentarian and writer based in northern Connecticut. He began his writing career as a playwright in New York City and created a successful career as a practitioner in the writing and visual arts. He is a writer across many genres. Currently, he has been focused on writing plays and opera librettos.
About the Cast
Captain: Joe Llorens
Bosun: Manuel Solis-Bauza
About the Crew
Audio Engineer: Paul Hanna
Let's be BFFs!
Subscribe to our newsletter! storiesfound.substack.com
Thanks for listening to Stories Found! We heart you.
- Want to chat about this episode? We're here for it! Email: hello@storiesfound.com
- Find us on Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube!
- Want to be a featured guest in a future episode? Let's do it. Email: submissions@storiesfound.com
Stories Found was recorded at ELA Studios, deep in the heart of Austin, Texas.
Wed, 13 Sep 2023 11:53:00 +0000
About This Episode
This week, we're excited to welcome the amazing storyteller, Ladi Loera, and then listen to his hilarious true story, 5 Calls.
About the Playwright / Storyteller
Ladi Loera is an artist, animal lover and award winning storyteller.
He won the Moth with a story about sympathetic nausea and what it teaches us about love and connection.
He is a homebody, whose idea of traveling the globe is going to a different HEB. If you're ever looking for him, he's most likely at home.
Chapters
- (00:00) Welcome to Stories Found
- (00:31) This week's featured organization is Testify, a live storytelling show in Texas
- (02:17) Tell us a little bit about your story
- (04:41) This story takes place in Houston, and you do such a great job describing the setting
- (05:54) Austin has such a fantastic storytelling scene
- (08:38) When did you tell your first story
- (13:30) How do you personally know when something is a story versus just an anecdote
- (16:59) One thing I have run into is explaining this genre
- (18:12) I do have one final question for you
- (19:55) 5 Calls read by Ladi Loera
- (32:35) Thanks for listening to Stories Found
Featured Organization
Testify is a live storytelling show in Austin, Texas.
All the stories told at Testify are true stories told by the people that lived them. Join them each month to hear folks share a part of their lives with you.
And, if you have a story to tell, they'd love to hear it. They take submissions all year long. They have themes suggested for each month, but they give wide room for interpretation of the themes.
Support the Show
Want to show the world how much you love comedy and supporting the arts? We've got a list of fun ways to help support the show: https://storiesfound.com/support
Let's be BFFs!
Subscribe to our newsletter! storiesfound.substack.com
Thanks for listening to Stories Found! We heart you.
- Want to chat about this episode? We're here for it! Email: hello@storiesfound.com
- Find us on Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube!
- Want to be a featured guest in a future episode? Let's do it. Email: submissions@storiesfound.com
Stories Found was recorded at ELA Studios, deep in the heart of Austin, Texas.
Off-Target - Jonathan Wickremasinghe-Kuhn
Mon, 03 Apr 2023 05:54:00 +0000
About This Episode
This week, we're excited to welcome the very talented and funny Jonathan Wickremasinghe-Kuhn and then listening to his hilarious story, Off-Target.
About the Storyteller
Jonathan Wickremasinghe-Kuhn grew up in Selma, Alabama and attended the University of Southern California, where he received both his BFA in Writing for Screen and Television and his Master of Professional Writing degree.
He has performed story-telling multiple times at The Moth and for the Two Truths & A Lie podcast.
His plays have been produced by the A Light in Dark Places Festival, the Paragon Festival, Exposition Review, Stage Left Theater, Laughing Pig Theatre, Carrollwood Players Theatre, Magnetic Theatre, and Crafton Hills College.
About the Cast
Off-Target was performed by:
The author, Jonathan Wickremasinghe-Kuhn, and a Target Shopping Basket
Featured Organization
826 National helps foster a love of creative writing in children. Their mission is to help young people use writing as a tool to ignite and channel their creativity, explore identity, advocate for themselves and their community, and achieve academic and professional success.
You can help 826 advance this goal by volunteering at a local chapter, buying the children's published works, or shopping at one of their stores which each have a different creative theme. New Orleans offers the The New Orleans Haunting Supply Company. Listeners in Los Angeles can visit The Time Travel Mart, while those in Boston can stop by the Greater Boston Bigfoot Research Institute. There are currently 9 really cool stores like this in cities across the country.
Visit 826national.org to learn more about this amazing program and to see how you can help them continue to foster a love of creative writing in children.
Featured Sponsors
Magikjaz Creations is a woman, minority, and LGBTQ+ owned business based in Austin, Texas. Jazmyn is a proud Latinx artist who creates jewelry and wearable art and specializes in chainmail and wirework. She offers creative, original pieces that are truly one of a kind. Visit her website at Magikjazcreations.com.
Want to see your company name here? Reach out for rates: hello@storiesfound.com
Let's be BFFs!
Subscribe to our newsletter! storiesfound.substack.com
Thanks for listening to Stories Found! We heart you.
- Want to chat about this episode? We're here for it! Email: hello@storiesfound.com
- Find us on Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube!
- Want to be a featured guest in a future episode? Let's do it. Email: submissions@storiesfound.com
Stories Found was recorded at ELA Studios, deep in the heart of Austin, Texas.
Bird Girl and the Hammer - Bethany Dickens Assaf
Mon, 20 Mar 2023 15:50:00 +0000
About This Episode
In this episode of Stories Found, we’re talking to one of our very favorite playwrights, Bethany Dickens Assaf, and then listening to her ten-minute comedy, Bird Girl and The Hammer.
About the Playwright
Bethany Dickens Assaf is a freelance playwright, dramaturg, and theatre artist, and a co-founder of Whiskey Theatre Factory and the Fragmented Theatre Festival. As both a writer and producer, she is obsessed with plays that deconstruct and take unusual perspectives on gender and sexuality, challenging audiences and serving untapped artistic voices by creating meaningful roles for women.
Other favorite ideas/themes include female separatism, evangelical Christianity, bisexuality particularly in period settings, gender complementarianism, women in male-dominated spaces (gaming, cosplay), and the exploitation of women’s bodies for media such as reality television and true crime podcasts. Almost 100 of her plays have been performed or read across the country including her twisty sci-fi play, The Consciousness, which has been performed at over 10 fringe festivals across the country and won Best Play at the Tampa Bay Theatre Festival (director: Liz Colvert, stage manager: Meghan Pratt). She’s also had the amazing honor of working with organizations that are truly making an impact through storytelling such as Threshold Theatre, Theatre Works, FUSION Theatre, Road Theatre, EMBer Women’s Theatre, Central Florida Community Arts, Birdhouse Theatre, the Bechdel Group, and more.
You can learn more through Bethany’s website: www.BethanyDickens.com.
You can also read more of Bethany’s work on NPX, The New Play Exchange.
About the Cast
Kate O'Claire as Bird Girl
Kate O’Claire (she/her/hers) is a performer, producer, public speaker, and social justice mage who has been seen on stages throughout Central Florida, Paris, and her home state of Wisconsin. She is passionate about telling unique stories, amplifying historically excluded voices, fighting the patriarchy, riding Revenge of the Mummy at Universal Studios, eating Taco Bell, and reducing shame around difficult topics.
Joe Llorens as The Hammer
Joe Llorens has been a performer for over twenty years. In that time, he’s done things. Some of those things he’s liked, even. Joe will keep trying to do things he likes and not be as judgy about the things he doesn’t like because he really should cut himself a bit of a break. He loves his wife, children, and pets, though. A lot.
About the Crew
Engineering by Paul Hanna and ELA Studios.
Featured Organization
Whiskey Theatre Factory is a theatre collective based in Orlando, FL with the mission to produce meaningful theatrical productions that uplift, develop, and celebrate emerging and untapped voices. We challenge our community through provocative, authentic pieces, examining our culture and revealing the grace of humanity. Interested in reading our Credo or connecting with us? Visit WhiskeyTheatreFactory.com to learn more.
Featured Sponsor
Magikjaz Creations is a woman, minority, and LGBTQ+ owned business based in Austin, Texas. Jazmyn is a proud Latinx artist who creates jewelry and wearable art and specializes in chainmail and wirework. She offers creative, original pieces that are truly one of a kind. Visit her website at Magikjazcreations.com.
Want to see your company name here? Reach out for rates: hello@storiesfound.com
Let's be BFFs!
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- Want to chat about this episode? We're here for it! Email: hello@storiesfound.com
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Stories Found was recorded at ELA Studios, deep in the heart of Austin, Texas.
Crime of Passion - Ava Love Hanna
Tue, 14 Feb 2023 05:05:00 +0000
About This Episode
It's a special Valentine's Day themed Stories Found Micro Monday! Today, we've got the one-minute play, CRIME of PASSION by Ava Love Hanna
About the Playwright / Storyteller
Ava Love Hanna is a professional writer, published playwright, and award-winning speaker and storyteller. She is continually amazed by how often she is mistaken for a real grown-up.
When she’s not co-hosting the Stories Found podcast, Ava can be found producing comedies, hanging out reading plays at NPX, or skulking around these other seedy internet joints: Facebook, Instagram, Post, or Mastodon.
Ava is a proud member of The Dramatists Guild and ScriptWorks.
About the Cast
Viv - Ava Love Hanna
Patrol-Bot - Paul Hanna
Let's be BFFs!
Subscribe to our newsletter! storiesfound.substack.com
Thanks for listening to Stories Found! We heart you.
- Want to chat about this episode? We're here for it! Email: hello@storiesfound.com
- Find us on Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube!
- Want to be a featured guest in a future episode? Let's do it. Email: submissions@storiesfound.com
Stories Found was recorded at ELA Studios, deep in the heart of Austin, Texas.
Lying in a Pine Forest - Greg Romero
Mon, 30 Jan 2023 05:53:00 +0000
About This Episode
Welcome to Stories Found Micro Monday -- take a super quick break with us to kickstart your week with a laugh. Today, we've got the one-minute play, Lying in a Pine Forest by Greg Romero
About the Playwright / Storyteller
Greg Romero is originally from Louisiana, Cajun blood on both sides. His plays, site-specific projects, and sound-art collaborations have been presented in performance spaces, found spaces, and through the airwaves of the United States as well as Switzerland, Canada, The United Kingdom, and Jamaica. Romero was selected as the first-ever ArtsEdge Resident, was one of three playwrights to inaugurate the Philadelphia Dramatists Center/Plays & Players Playwriting Residency, and was a pilot member of Hyde Park Theatre's Playwright's Group. He may be the only playwright to have presented a play in the bathrooms of Actors Theatre of Louisville during the Humana Festival of New Plays.
He is an alum of the WordBRIDGE Playwrights Laboratory, The Last Frontier/Valdez Theater Conference, The William Inge Theater Festival, The Midwest Dramatists Conference, and his works are published by Heinemann Press, Next Stage Press, YouthPLAYS, and Playscripts. Romero received a BA in Liberal Arts from the Louisiana Scholars' College and an MFA in Playwriting from The University of Texas at Austin where he held the James A. Michener Fellowship.
He is a member of ScriptWorks, The Dramatists Guild of America, and teaches at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette, where he visits the alligators. He loves being outside.
He would love for you to find more of his work at the New Play Exchange: https://newplayexchange.org/users/5432/greg-romero
About the Cast
Voice: Ellie McBride
About the Crew
Engineer: Lowell Bartholomee
Featured Organization
Lying in a Pine Forest was originally written for a ScriptWorks fundraiser. ScriptWorks is an Austin based playwriting organization that offers programs to help playwrights in Austin and beyond. Visit them at ScriptWorks.org
Let's be BFFs!
Subscribe to our newsletter! storiesfound.substack.com
Thanks for listening to Stories Found! We heart you.
- Want to chat about this episode? We're here for it! Email: hello@storiesfound.com
- Find us on Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube!
- Want to be a featured guest in a future episode? Let's do it. Email: submissions@storiesfound.com
Stories Found was recorded at ELA Studios, deep in the heart of Austin, Texas.
Mon, 09 Jan 2023 17:11:00 +0000
Welcome to Stories Found Micro Monday -- take a super quick break with us to kickstart your week with a laugh.
Today, we've got the one-minute play, Living a Lie by Max Langert
About the playwright
Max Langert is a playwright, producer and storyteller living in Austin. His plays have been performed in New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Dallas and elsewhere. He’s told stories for Listen to Your Mother, The Vancouver Story Slam, Testify and Austin Bat Cave, and is a regular performer at FronteraFest. He’s produced benefit shows for The Autism Society of Central Texas, The SAFE Alliance, and VELA Families. He’s excited to be working with the great team at Stories Found!
Read more of Max’s work on NPX, The New Play Exchange.
Max is a favorite at Stories Found. Listen to his first story in Episode 2: The First Time I Got Naked in Front of a Bunch of People I Didn’t Know or his ten-minute play in Episode 6: Personality Test.
About the Cast
Liz - Ava Love Hanna
Tom - Paul Hanna
Living a Lie was originally written for a ScriptWorks fundraiser. Visit ScriptWorks.org to learn more about their programs and see how they can help you further your writing goals.
At Stories Found we're creating opportunities for emerging voices in comedy writing. Make sure to catch our full length episodes every other week featuring some of the most talented humorists in the country. Want to be a featured playwright or storyteller in a future full length episode or a Micro Monday? We’re accepting submissions!
Be our BFF! Be the first to know about new episodes, upcoming shows, submission opportunities, auditions, merch, and more!
Join us at storiesfound.substack.com
The Murderlators - Ava Love Hanna
Mon, 02 Jan 2023 23:08:00 +0000
Welcome to our very first Micro Monday -- a quick laugh to brighten the start of your week! Every other Monday, we'll be offering up a short play, story, or sketch in under 5 minutes.
Today, we've got the one-minute play, The Murderlators by Ava Love Hanna
About the playwright
Ava Love Hanna is a professional writer, published playwright, and award-winning speaker and storyteller. She is continually amazed by how often she is mistaken for a real grown-up.
When she's not co-hosting the Stories Found podcast, Ava can be found producing comedies, hanging out reading plays at NPX, or skulking around these other seedy internet joints: Facebook, Instagram, Post, or Mastodon.
Ava is a proud member of The Dramatists Guild and ScriptWorks.
About the Cast
Flynn - Paul Hanna
Fiona - Ava Love Hanna
Want to be a featured playwright or storyteller in a future full length episode or a Micro Monday? We’re accepting submissions!
Under a Christmas Moon - Brian Rust
Mon, 19 Dec 2022 05:46:00 +0000
About This Episode
It’s time for a special Christmas episode of Stories Found! In this episode, we’re talking to the charming playwright, Brian Rust, before hearing his hilarious ten-minute play, Under a Christmas Moon.
About the Playwright
High points of his career include being killed by a pillow during The Robin Hood Faire, appearing on stage with Le Tigre as a member of the Art School Cheerleaders, and using a plunger and ten pounds of jello to create an unforgettable foley effect for a live radio version of CHICKEN HEART.
Most recently he wrote and directed ‘Plan 8 from the Outer Ether’ (a steampunk prequel to the infamous Ed Wood film), and directed and produced ‘Strange Tales of Davis Square’, an interactive audio tour that took participants on a hunt around a local neighborhood to discover mp3s of stories set in the exact spot they were standing.
Read more of Brian’s work on NPX, The New Play Exchange.
About the Cast
Under a Christmas Moon was performed by:
Kate O’Claire as Kel
Kate O’Claire (she/her/hers) is a performer, producer, public speaker, and social justice mage who has been seen on stages throughout Central Florida, Paris, and her home state of Wisconsin. She is passionate about telling unique stories, amplifying historically excluded voices, fighting the patriarchy, riding Revenge of the Mummy at Universal Studios, eating Taco Bell, and reducing shame around difficult topics.
Joe Llorens as Scout
Joe Llorens has been a performer for over twenty years. In that time, he’s done things. Some of those things he’s liked, even. Joe will keep trying to do things he likes and not be as judgy about the things he doesn’t like because he really should cut himself a bit of a break. He loves his wife, children, and pets, though. A lot.
Paul Hanna as Santa
Featured Organization: The Post-Meridian Radio Players
The Post-Meridian Radio Players are a Boston-area group of creatives dedicated to exploring audio theater as a unique art form. They offer live performances and studio productions of both classic tales from the Golden Age of Radio and original works, with a special emphasis on science-fiction, fantasy, and horror.
You can find out more about them at https://pmrp.org
Featured Sponsor: The Stories Found Newsletter!
Get updates from your BFFs at Stories Found. Be the first to know about new episodes, upcoming shows, our submission opportunities, auditions, and more!
Join us at storiesfound.substack.com
Want to be a featured playwright or storyteller in a future episode? We’re accepting submissions!
A Very Special Hanukkah Special - Mark Harvey Levine
Mon, 12 Dec 2022 05:00:00 +0000
About This Episode
In this special holiday episode of Stories Found, we hear the hilarious ten-minute play, A Very Special Hanukkah Special by Mark Harvey Levine.
About the Playwright
Mark Harvey Levine has had over 1900 productions of his short plays everywhere from Bangalore to Bucharest and from Lima to London. His plays have won over 45 awards and been produced in more than ten languages. His work has been published in over two dozen anthologies by Applause, Smith & Kraus, Routledge and Vintage. Full evenings of his ten-minute plays, such as “Cabfare For The Common Man”, “Didn’t See That Coming” and “A Very Special Holiday Special” have been shown around the world, including at the Edinburgh Fringe and in a multi-year tour of Brazil. A Spanish-language film of “The Kiss” (“El Beso”) premiered at Cannes and aired on HBO and DTV (Japan). Two of his plays were adapted for Brazilian television.
Read more of Mark’s work on NPX, The New Play Exchange.
About the Cast
A Very Special Hanukkah Special was performed by:
Paul Hanna as The Narrator, Max, Caroler
Joe Llorens as Murray
Joe Llorens has been a performer for over twenty years. In that time, he’s done things. Some of those things he’s liked, even. Joe will keep trying to do things he likes and not be as judgy about the things he doesn’t like because he really should cut himself a bit of a break. He loves his wife, children, and pets, though. A lot.
Liz Bernstein as Kim
Liz Bernstein (she/her/hers) is a training facilitator and career coach in Central Florida. Her first loves, however, are acting, singing, performing, and creative writing. In the Central Florida area, she has performed with the Gemini Blvd collegiate a cappella group, Orlando Cringe, Phoenix Tears Productions, Central Florida Community Arts, and Playwrights Roundtable. She has also worked virtually with the Fragmented Festival and is excited to continue working virtually with Stories Found. Liz is a core collective member of Whiskey Theatre Factory, a group dedicated to producing meaningful theatrical productions that uplift, develop, and celebrate emerging and untapped voices. With Whiskey Theatre Factory, she has helped with new play development and production, including new works in the Orlando Fringe Festival. Most recently, Liz was honored to perform the role of “Amy” in Ava Love Hanna’s piece, There Will Be Bears for PRT’s production of Launch.
Kate O’Claire as Boy and Judy Maccabee
Kate O’Claire (she/her/hers) is a performer, producer, public speaker, and social justice mage who has been seen on stages throughout Central Florida, Paris, and her home state of Wisconsin. She is passionate about telling unique stories, amplifying historically excluded voices, fighting the patriarchy, riding Revenge of the Mummy at Universal Studios, eating Taco Bell, and reducing shame around difficult topics.
Ava Love Hanna as Caroler
Ava Love Hanna is a professional writer, published playwright, and award-winning speaker and storyteller. She is continually amazed by how often she is mistaken for a real grown-up.
Kai Hanna as Caroler
Want to be a featured storyteller in a future episode?
Sun, 30 Oct 2022 07:45:00 +0000
About This Episode
In this special Halloween edition of Stories Found, we’re chatting with the multi-talented playwright, composer, director, and performer, Fred Tacon and then listening to his hilarious and spooky ten-minute play, Rent-a-Stiff.
Rent-a-Stiff – Mr. Ut, the proprietor of a human taxidermy rental company, is at risk of losing his livelihood due to aging inventory and new competition. But, he makes shocking discovery that just might save his business. This macabre comedy is well-suited for themed evenings of short plays for Halloween, horror, or simply the strange and unusual.
About the Playwright – Fred Tacon
Fred Tacon is a playwright, composer, director, and performer from Hebron, Kentucky (just over the river from Cincinnati, Ohio). He recently starred as Nick Bottom in a sold-out run of ‘Something Rotten!’ at The Footlighters Inc. in Newport, Kentucky. Fred’s writing usually focuses on theatre for young audiences, and his musical, ‘The Jester Prince’, and plays, ‘Clara and the Nutcracker’ and ‘Swan Pond’, have been enjoyed by audiences in Kentucky and Ohio.
He has also written several short plays, musicals, and monologues that have been seen and streamed in a variety of ways and places. His 10-minute musical, ‘Puddle Jumpers’, will be a part of The Drama Workshop’s Homebrew Theatre, January 2023, in Cincinnati.
Fred serves as Vice President of the Kentucky Playwrights Workshop, an organization dedicated to promoting and encouraging the development of new works for the stage by Kentucky playwright
Read more of Fred’s plays on NPX, The New Play Exchange.
About the Cast
Rent-a-Stiff was performed for us by:
Joe Llorens as Mr. Ut
Joe Llorens has been a performer for over twenty years. In that time, he’s done things. Some of those things he’s liked, even. Joe will keep trying to do things he likes and not be as judgy about the things he doesn’t like because he really should cut himself a bit of a break. He loves his wife, children, and pets, though. A lot.
Liz Bernstein as Ivan
Liz Bernstein (she/her/hers) is a training facilitator and career coach in Central Florida. Her first loves, however, are acting, singing, performing, and creative writing. In the Central Florida area, she has performed with the Gemini Blvd collegiate a cappella group, Orlando Cringe, Phoenix Tears Productions, Central Florida Community Arts, and Playwrights Roundtable. She has also worked virtually with the Fragmented Festival and is excited to continue working virtually with Stories Found. Liz is a core collective member of Whiskey Theatre Factory, a group dedicated to producing meaningful theatrical productions that uplift, develop, and celebrate emerging and untapped voices. With Whiskey Theatre Factory, she has helped with new play development and production, including new works in the Orlando Fringe Festival. Most recently, Liz was honored to perform the role of “Amy” in Ava Love Hanna’s piece, There Will Be Bears for PRT’s production of Launch.
Kate O’Claire as Fran Kinstein
Kate O’Claire (she/her/hers) is a performer, producer, public speaker, and social justice mage who has been seen on stages throughout Central Florida, Paris, and her home state of Wisconsin. She is passionate about telling unique stories, amplifying historically excluded voices, fighting the patriarchy, riding Revenge of the Mummy at Universal Studios, eating Taco Bell, and reducing shame around difficult topics.
Danielle Muething as The Grisly Sisters
Danielle Muething has twenty plus years of experience in professional acting and singing for the stage, voice over work for local commercials and businesses, and multiple audiobook projects.
She has been seen on stages around her hometown of Cincinnati, as well as a five-year stint in Orlando, FL. In her spare time, she loves to hang out with her husband, who built her custom in home studio, and her two dogs, Wally and Willow.
Featured Organization: Kentucky Playwrights Workshop
Our featured organization this week is the Kentucky Playwrights Workshop, a non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion, encouragement, and support of playwrights who live in the state of Kentucky.
Visit them at kyplays.org
Featured Sponsor: The Stories Found Newsletter!
Get updates from your BFFs at Stories Found. Be the first to know about new episodes, upcoming shows, our submission opportunities, auditions, and more!
Join us at storiesfound.substack.com
Want to be a featured storyteller in a future episode?
Mon, 17 Oct 2022 05:04:00 +0000
About This Episode
In this special Halloween edition of Stories Found, we’re talking to the fantastic playwright and author, Clinton Festa and then listening to his super funny ten-minute play, Picky Zombies.
Picky Zombies – Tragedy strikes at the fancy French cooking school when an inept student under cooks the foie gras leading to a mass zombie infection. The extraction team sent to rescue the lone surviving student quickly learns that not all braaaaaains are created equal and even zombies appreciate gourmet cuisine.
About the Playwright – Clinton Festa
Clinton Festa began his career as a writer and cartoonist for his campus humor magazine. Since then he’s had short plays produced around the U.S. and Canada, comedy sketches that have placed in national competitions, and a novel recently published with CamCat Books (Ancient Canada: a Mythological Tale). During the pandemic, he wrote and directed a seven-episode action-comedy podcast called The Malone Family in the Enchanted Forest (produced by the Cary Playwrights’ Forum). Clinton runs an online book drive for inmates in prisons and juvenile detention centers called Sentences Book Donations. He lives in Greensboro, NC with his wife and children.
Read more of Clinton’s plays on NPX, The New Play Exchange.
Order Clinton’s book, Ancient Canada: a Mythological Tale at CamCat Books.
About the Cast
Picky Zombies was performed for us by:
Liz Bernstein
Liz Bernstein (she/her/hers) is a training facilitator and career coach in Central Florida. Her first loves, however, are acting, singing, performing, and creative writing. In the Central Florida area, she has performed with the Gemini Blvd collegiate a cappella group, Orlando Cringe, Phoenix Tears Productions, Central Florida Community Arts, and Playwrights Roundtable. She has also worked virtually with the Fragmented Festival and is excited to continue working virtually with Stories Found. Liz is a core collective member of Whiskey Theatre Factory, a group dedicated to producing meaningful theatrical productions that uplift, develop, and celebrate emerging and untapped voices. With Whiskey Theatre Factory, she has helped with new play development and production, including new works in the Orlando Fringe Festival. Most recently, Liz was honored to perform the role of “Amy” in Ava Love Hanna’s piece, There Will Be Bears for PRT’s production of Launch.
Joe Llorens
Joe Llorens has been a performer for over twenty years. In that time, he’s done things. Some of those things he’s liked, even. Joe will keep trying to do things he likes and not be as judgy about the things he doesn’t like because he really should cut himself a bit of a break. He loves his wife, children, and pets, though. A lot.
Paul Hanna
Ava Love Hanna
Ava Love Hanna is a professional writer, published playwright, and award-winning speaker and storyteller. She is continually amazed by how often she is mistaken for a real grown-up.
Featured Organization: Sentences Book Donations
Our featured organization this week is Sentences: Book Donations. Their goal is to network readers with prison librarians and juvenile detention centers to determine their needs and donate books for use in their facilities.
You can find the group on Facebook or Goodreads. We encourage you to visit them and see how you can donate books and help further their mission.
Featured Sponsor: The Stories Found Newsletter!
Get updates from your BFFs at Stories Found. Be the first to know about new episodes, upcoming shows, our submission opportunities, auditions, and more!
Join us at storiesfound.substack.com
Appreciate what we do? Support the show by buying us a coffee!
Want to be a featured storyteller in a future episode?
The Summer We Built a Pool - Sophia Valera Heinecke
Mon, 19 Sep 2022 04:21:51 +0000
About This Episode
In this episode of Stories Found, we’re chatting about art, life, and family with the award-winning writer of screen and stage, Sophia Valera Heinecke and then listening to her read her beautiful story, The Summer We Built a Pool.
About the Storyteller
Sophia Valera Heinecke
Sophia Valera Heinecke (she/her) is an award-winning writer for the screen and stage as well as a dramaturg, archivist, and producer from Gordonsvillle, Virginia. She is also the Arts and Wellness Manager at The Creative Center for people with cancer and other chronic illnesses. She is drawn to work in the theater because it involves a deep consideration of human bodies and their emotional/intellectual output as the central material for live performance. This has been fortified as she has further developed expertise in the field of arts and medicine. Liveness has unprecedented value in an era where human connection is increasingly diluted and absent.
Learn more about Sophia on her website: SophiaValeraHeinecke.com
You can also read more of Sophia’s work on Medium: https://sophiavaleraheinecke.medium.com/
Featured Organization: The Creative Center at University Settlement
The Creative Center at University Settlement, a nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing the creative arts to people with cancer, chronic illnesses, and through all stages of life.
The Creative Center is proud to have hospital artist-in-residence programs in more than 30 healthcare sites around the New York metropolitan area, free-of-charge art workshops every day of the week, and an online gallery representing professional artists living with illness.
Visit them at thecreativecenter.org to learn more about their programs and to see how you can help support their mission.
Featured Sponsor: Alicia Verdier Photography
Alicia Verdier Photography – specializing in natural light photography. Contact Alicia to arrange a shoot for your family photos, portraits, weddings, births, engagements, senior photos, graduations and other special events. Outdoor or studio sessions available.
What's in the Basement, Honey? - Bethany Dickens
Tue, 26 Jul 2022 06:26:29 +0000
About This Episode
In this episode of Stories Found, we’re talking to the phenomenal playwright and creative polymath, Bethany Dickens and then listening to her ten-minute comedy, What’s in the Basement, Honey?
About the Playwright
Bethany Dickens Assaf
Bethany Dickens Assaf is a freelance playwright, dramaturg, and theatre artist, the Literary Manager for MadLab Theatre in Columbus, and a co-founder of Whiskey Theatre Factory and the Fragmented Theatre Festival. As both a writer and producer, she is obsessed with plays that deconstruct and take unusual perspectives on gender and sexuality, challenging audiences and serving untapped artistic voices by creating meaningful roles for women.
Other favorite ideas/themes include female seperatism, evangelical Christianity, bisexuaity particularly in period settings, gender complementarianism, women in male-dominated spaces (gaming, cosplay), and the exploitation of women’s bodies for media such as reality television and true crime podcasts. Almost 100 of her plays have been performed or read across the country including her twisty sci-fi play, The Consciousness, which has been performed at over 10 fringe festivals across the country and won Best Play at the Tampa Bay Theatre Festival (director: Liz Colvert, stage manager: Meghan Pratt). She’s also had the amazing honor of working with organizations that are truly making an impact through storytelling such as Threshold Theatre, Theatre Works, FUSION Theatre, Road Theatre, EMBer Women’s Theatre, Central Florida Community Arts, Birdhouse Theatre, the Bechdel Group, and more.
You can learn more through Bethany’s website: www.BethanyDickens.com.
About the Cast
What’s in the Basement, Honey? was performed for us by:
Liz Bernstein
Liz Bernstein (she/her/hers) is a training facilitator and career coach in Central Florida. Her first loves, however, are acting, singing, performing, and creative writing. In the Central Florida area, she has performed with the Gemini Blvd collegiate a cappella group, Orlando Cringe, Phoenix Tears Productions, Central Florida Community Arts, and Playwrights Roundtable. She has also worked virtually with the Fragmented Festival and is excited to continue working virtually with Stories Found. Liz is a core collective member of Whiskey Theatre Factory, a group dedicated to producing meaningful theatrical productions that uplift, develop, and celebrate emerging and untapped voices. With Whiskey Theatre Factory, she has helped with new play development and production, including new works in the Orlando Fringe Festival. Most recently, Liz was honored to perform the role of “Amy” in Ava Love Hanna’s piece, There Will Be Bears for PRT’s production of Launch.
Joe Llorens
Joe Llorens has been a performer for over twenty years. In that time, he’s done things. Some of those things he’s liked, even. Joe will keep trying to do things he likes and not be as judgy about the things he doesn’t like because he really should cut himself a bit of a break. He loves his wife, children, and pets, though. A lot.
Featured Organization: Whiskey Theatre Factory
Whiskey Theatre Factory is a theatre collective based in Orlando, FL with the mission to produce meaningful theatrical productions that uplift, develop, and celebrate emerging and untapped voices. We challenge our community through provocative, authentic pieces, examining our culture and revealing the grace of humanity. Interested in reading our Credo or connecting with us? Visit WhiskeyTheatreFactory.com to learn more.
Featured Sponsor: Alicia Verdier Photography
Alicia Verdier Photography – specializing in natural light photography. Contact Alicia to arrange a shoot for your family photos, portraits, weddings, births, engagements, senior photos, graduations and other special events. Outdoor or studio sessions available.
Appreciate what we do? Support the show by buying us a coffee!
Want to be a featured storyteller in a future episode?
We're accepting submissions!
Personality Test - Max Langert
Tue, 05 Jul 2022 06:37:46 +0000
About This Episode
In this episode of Stories Found, we’re chatting with Austin-based playwright, Max Langert and hearing his ten-minute comedy, Personality Test.
Take a free personality test here!
About the Playwright
Max Langert
Max Langert is a playwright, producer and storyteller living in Austin. His plays have been performed in New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Dallas and elsewhere. He’s told stories for Listen to Your Mother, The Vancouver Story Slam, Testify and Austin Bat Cave, and is a regular performer at FronteraFest. He’s produced benefit shows for The Autism Society of Central Texas, The SAFE Alliance, and VELA Families. He’s excited to be working with the great team at Stories Found!
Read more of Max’s work on NPX, The New Play Exchange.
This is Max's second visit to Stories Found! Listen to his first story: The First Time I Got Naked in Front of a Bunch of People I Didn't Know.
About the Cast
Personality Test was performed for us by:
Ava Love Hanna
Ava Love Hanna is a professional writer, published playwright, and award-winning speaker and storyteller. She is continually amazed by how often she is mistaken for a real grown-up.
Paul Hanna
Paul Hanna is an audio engineer, musician, and performer in Austin, Texas. He’s the principal engineer and owner of ELA Studios and co-host of the Stories Found podcast.
Featured Organization: Cinnamon Path Theatre
Our featured organization for this episode is Cinnamon Path Theatre, a small collective of artists based in Austin, Texas. Scrappy and well-intentioned, they like site-specific work.
They’ve produced a number of new plays by emerging writers, as well as a handful of variety shows featuring a slew of local artists benefiting The Autism Society of Central Texas, Safe Place, Vela Families and more. You can read more about them and what they do at cinnamonpath.com
Featured Sponsor: Team Jemini Designs
Team Jemini Designs is the place for bold, fun, pop culture themed items. T-shirts, gifts and more!
Appreciate what we do? Click here to support the show by buying us a coffee!
Want to be a featured storyteller in a future episode?
The Interview - Mark Harvey Levine
Mon, 13 Jun 2022 18:12:40 +0000
About This Episode
In this episode of Stories Found, we hear the hilarious ten-minute play, The Interview by Mark Harvey Levine.
The Interview is about a completely normal job interview — during a zombie apocalypse.
Episode transcript here
About the Playwright
Mark Harvey Levine has had over 1900 productions of his short plays everywhere from Bangalore to Bucharest and from Lima to London. His plays have won over 45 awards and been produced in more than ten languages. His work has been published in over two dozen anthologies by Applause, Smith & Kraus, Routledge and Vintage. Full evenings of his ten-minute plays, such as “Cabfare For The Common Man”, “Didn’t See That Coming” and “A Very Special Holiday Special” have been shown around the world, including at the Edinburgh Fringe and in a multi-year tour of Brazil. A Spanish-language film of “The Kiss” (“El Beso”) premiered at Cannes and aired on HBO and DTV (Japan). Two of his plays were adapted for Brazilian television.
Read more of Mark’s work on NPX, The New Play Exchange.
About the Cast
The Interview was performed for us by:
Liz Bernstein
Joe Llorens
Joe Llorens has been a performer for over twenty years. In that time, he’s done things. Some of those things he’s liked, even. Joe will keep trying to do things he likes and not be as judgy about the things he doesn’t like because he really should cut himself a bit of a break. He loves his wife, children, and pets, though. A lot.
Ava Love Hanna
Ava Love Hanna is a professional writer, published playwright, and award-winning speaker and storyteller. She is continually amazed by how often she is mistaken for a real grown-up.
Featured Organization: Whiskey Theatre Factory
Whiskey Theatre Factory is a theatre collective based in Orlando, FL with the mission to produce meaningful theatrical productions that uplift, develop, and celebrate emerging and untapped voices. We challenge our community through provocative, authentic pieces, examining our culture and revealing the grace of humanity. Interested in reading our Credo or connecting with us? Visit WhiskeyTheatreFactory.com to learn more.
Featured Sponsor: Team Jemini Designs
Team Jemini Designs is the place for bold, fun, pop culture themed items. T-shirts, gifts and more!
Appreciate what we do?
Support the show by buying us a coffee!
Want to be a featured storyteller in a future episode?
Tue, 15 Sep 2020 16:32:34 +0000
About This Episode In this episode of Stories Found, we hear the humorous ten-minute play, sixteen17 by Jason Rainey. sixteen17 is a funny play about the quirky relationship between a mother and her daughter as the daughter turns 17 -- a birthday that's an important milestone for the mother. Jason wrote this play as part of the ScriptWorks Weekend Fling. The Weekend Fling is ScriptWorks’ annual 48-hour playwriting event in which writers are tasked with creating a ten-minute play in 48 hours. There are three ingredients provided that MUST appear in the play. In our interview with Jason we discuss the ingredients that he had to weave into his play, how those ingredients influenced his script, and why we think writing exercises with rigid constraints can often help writers produce work they might otherwise not have created.
About the Storyteller
Jason Rainey is a member of ScriptWorks in Austin.
His work has been commissioned, presented, or produced by ScriptWorks, Last Frontier Theatre Conference (Valdez, AK), Penobscot Theatre (Bangor, ME), Daedalus Theatre (Columbus), Freshwater Theatre (Minneapolis), Mildred’s Umbrella (Houston), Sound Plays, Texas Dramatist Playwriting Series, and Punchkin Rep in Austin. He has directed several of his own short plays at Austin’s FronteraFest, receiving a Best of Fest citation in 2011.
You can find more of Jason's plays on NPX, the New Play Exchange: https://newplayexchange.org/users/50068/jason-rainey
About ScriptWorks
ScriptWorks is a playwriting organization based in Austin, Texas, but it's membership is open to playwrights across the country. Every year, ScriptWorks hosts the Weekend Fling. Writers have 48 hours to write a ten-minute play including three required ingredients. The event culminates with a super fun cold reading Salon on Sunday and all scripts submitted are then reviewed by a selection committee for the Out of Ink Festival.
If you'd like to learn more about ScriptWorks membership or how you can join us for the upcoming Weekend Fling in November (11/20 - 11/22/2020) feel free to visit ScriptWorks.org or contact us and we'll connect you.
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Want to be a featured storyteller in a future episode?
We're accepting submissions!
The Vagina-Mommy Incident - Ava Love Hanna
Mon, 31 Aug 2020 23:11:11 +0000
In this episode of Stories Found, we feature the story, The Vagina-Mommy Incident by Ava Love Hanna. 
In hindsight, this is one of my favorite parenting moments - the first time my four year old asked me about genitals. I thought I would simply answer him in a straightforward and scientific way and that would be that. It did NOT go as planned. I’m your storyteller this week, Ava Love Hanna. I'm a humorist, published playwright, and award-winning speaker and storyteller based in Austin, Texas. I've told stories at Listen to Your Mother, Testify, The Tellers, Fray Cafe at SXSWi, The Story Department, FronteraFest, and stages across the country. Most importantly, I’m continually amazed by how often I’m mistaken for a real grown up.
- Want to see me tell this story live at Listen to Your Mother in Austin? Watch HERE.
- Want to read the story? Read HERE.
Check out another story by me in Episode 1 - Am I Willing to Punch a Peacock? at StoriesFound.com
You can also find me at: AvaLoveHanna.com or follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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Want to be a featured storyteller in a future episode?
The First Time I Got Naked in Front of a Bunch of People I Didn't Know - Max Langert
Mon, 10 Aug 2020 15:30:40 +0000
In this episode of Stories Found, we hear the hilarious story, The First Time I Got Naked in Front of a Bunch of People I Didn't Know by Max Langert. 
Max takes it all off and describes his first experience at a spa in Amsterdam. Max Langert has had plays produced in New York, Los Angeles, Boston and Amsterdam. He's won the Henrico playwriting award, been named Best of the New Southern Theatre Festival in Tennessee and named Best of the Fest multiple times at FronteraFest in Austin. He’s told stories at Testify, Austin Bat Cave, and Listen To Your Mother. He also manages Cinnamon Path Theater and has a couple of teenage sons that make him laugh a lot.
Get more information about Max and links to some of his other work on our website: StoriesFound.com
You can also find him at: MaxLangert.com
or follow him on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. -----
Want to be a featured storyteller in a future episode?
We're accepting submissions!
Am I Willing to Punch a Peacock - Ava Love Hanna
Mon, 27 Jul 2020 04:14:10 +0000
In this episode of Stories Found, we hear the story, Am I Willing to Punch a Peacock? by Ava Love Hanna.
Ava's story was recorded live at Mayfield Park and the actual gang of rowdy peacocks that tried to ruin lunch with her son that day can be heard in the background. Links to a transcript of the story and a video of the performance are available on StoriesFound.com
Ava is the host of the Stories Found podcast as well as a humorist, published playwright, and award-winning speaker and storyteller based in Austin, Texas. She is continually amazed by how often she's mistaken for a real grown up.
You can read more of her work at: https://avalovehanna.com
or follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. ----- Want to be a featured storyteller in a future episode?
We're accepting submissions!
Stories Found - The Podcast Trailer!
Tue, 07 Jul 2020 22:36:43 +0000
Stories Found is brand new storytelling show... err, podcast. We've moved our staged comedy shows to the safe, germ-free world of digital storytelling!
Each episode features a different writer or storyteller and their weird, funny, and mostly true stories.
Check out the trailer, get to know Ava and Paul and get ready for our full episodes starting later in July. Also, make sure to submit your own story for a chance to be a featured storyteller in a future episode!
Stories Found -- We do funny stuff.