Half Alive with the La Brothers
21 episodes
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Creator: Attic La and Basement La
Full cast Comedy Serial Audio Drama
Synopsis:
Half Alive features the fictional La and La brothers who are sixty-year-old twins with more than a few career, financial, and size challenges. They chased big dreams in their youth (professional acting, writing), but were unable to catch them. Now, they've returned home to Schenectady from their years in Los Angeles and New York, and are trying to salvage some fraction of their career goals. They believe they can help others like them do the same, using real-life guidance from expert sources. Email them at halfalivepodcast@gmail.com.
Format: Audio Drama
Continuity: Serial
Writing: Improvised
Voices: Full cast
Genres: Comedy
Completion status: Partial
Not tagged: [Framing device] [Maturity] [Creator demographics] [Character demographics] [Country of origin] [Transcript] [Content warnings]
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Episodes:
Actor, Playwright, Screenwriter Daniel Guyton
Sat, 01 Mar 2025 05:00:19 GMT
Real life working writer and actor Daniel Guyton joins the La brothers for this episode to explain how he balances acting, directing, and writing with teaching theatre as a college professor. Basement La's insecurities morph into true inspiration as Dan patiently shows the brothers how it's possible to be successful with the right strategies.
Thu, 23 Jan 2025 05:10:13 GMT
With 2025 freshly born, the La brothers reminisce about the many insane holidays they've had in the past. One memory involves an ugly scene on the set of Friends, and another a chance encounter with Truman Capote's ghost in the restroom at Washington Square Park. And then there are the family Christmases...
Theme music "The Trapezist" by Quincas Moreira.
Thu, 31 Oct 2024 14:52:29 GMT
What do Oscar Wilde and the La brothers have in common? Nothing, of course, since Wilde was at least successful at one time and the La brothers never were. But the twins wrangle with an interesting quote from Wilde about the tragedy of getting what you want. They also sift through responses from listeners who've dealt with the compounded humiliation of being rejected for artistic work they wouldn't be getting paid for in the first place.
Rejection Comes on Little Cat Feet
Fri, 06 Sep 2024 13:42:46 GMT
Is it especially humiliating to get rejected for a non-paying acting role? Or to have your short story rejected by an online journal that doesn’t pay its writers? This week, La and La discuss this particular strain of rejection. Not incidentally, they are both newly-fired from their latest survival jobs. And, in keeping with the rejection theme, the brothers strategize on how to entice newly-destitute actor Armie Hammer to rent the middle apartment in their Schenectady house.
Thu, 18 Jul 2024 19:37:46 GMT
After reading irate subscribers' emails about their interview with Clementine Roach who killed a heckler with the instrument she was playing, La and La read some old journal entries, to see if they can get any inspiration from their younger selves. Basement La's journals turn out to be surprisingly poignant, while Attic La's poem from the early 90's reveals his utter lack of poetic skill.
Meet Clementine Roach, Didgeridoo Player
Mon, 10 Jun 2024 02:21:15 GMT
This week's guest is singer and didgeridoo artist Clementine Roach who tells the La brothers about her highs and lows as a performer in Hollywood and the Adirondacks. Her highs include performing for Jennifer Anniston, and her lows include an unintended homicide.
Guest podcaster Sari Bobbin as Clementine. Theme music "The Trapezist" by Quincas Moreira.
Mon, 06 May 2024 22:54:04 GMT
La and La have really annoyed their listening audience this time. The blow back from subscribers on the interview with Xerses Barnmuster-Weston (Ep 4) is harsh, and the brothers try to wade through it. Also, Basement La takes a job coaching a girls' basketball team despite knowing nothing about any sport.
Return of the Persian King (to Schenectady)
Tue, 12 Mar 2024 01:10:58 GMT
Though befuddled by technical problems due to their shaky [pirated] internet service, the La brothers still manage to interview classically-trained star of the stage and screen Xerxes Barnmuster-Weston. As luck would have it, Xerxes and Basement La knew each other from the early days in New York and then Hollywood, where Xerxes snagged all the good parts, leaving Basement La playing roles calling for "large janitor." This opens some old wounds...
Guest podcaster Dr. Manuel Simons as Xerxes. Theme music "The Trapezist" by Quincas Moreira.
Mon, 05 Feb 2024 19:44:45 GMT
This week, La and La deal with the onslaught of listener responses to their interview with Tracey Bracegirdle in Episode 2, and to their reaction to meeting their recently-discovered half-brother Todd Vongool in Episode 1.
Interview with a Hollywood Survivor
Mon, 08 Jan 2024 15:44:30 GMT
The La brothers interview Hollywood actor Tracy Bracegirdle who explains how she made lemonade out of lemons when her acting career didn't turn out quite the way she planned. Theme music "The Trapezist" by Quincas Moreira. Guest podcaster Adira Amram as Tracy.
New Season, New [Half] Brother, New Energy
Tue, 26 Dec 2023 01:15:13 GMT
La and La are back for Season 2 with stories about their newly-discovered half-brother, and all manner of exciting new artistic endeavors. One of the Las has even landed a decent survival job. And they have a big announcement about their new format for Season 2. Theme music "The Trapezist" by Quincas Moreira.
Tue, 30 May 2023 04:01:40 GMT
Season 1 finale! While things are looking grim financially, the La brothers are defiantly pursuing their creative endeavors. And there's a surprise in store--Will La and La find out there is yet a third La they never knew about?
The Noise of Failure Growing Beautiful
Mon, 24 Apr 2023 13:17:59 GMT
A French horn and a tiny dog with bad teeth threaten to completely bankrupt the La brothers. But at least Basement La has an Equity audition in sight.
Mon, 10 Apr 2023 04:01:43 GMT
Attic La takes a tumble on Easter Sunday, further complicating his efforts to find new employment. The brothers try to be philosophical about being broke. Basement La gives advice on how to be an actor.
Mon, 27 Mar 2023 04:02:06 GMT
Attic La has quit his job, casting the La brothers into even more financial peril. They discuss the problems of trying to find a new job in one's sixties. They also learn something about each other's spiritual beliefs, or lack of.
Mon, 20 Mar 2023 04:02:06 GMT
The La brothers discuss how to manage people who are impossible, especially at work. They also give advice on how to make it in show business, sort of.
Mon, 13 Mar 2023 04:02:10 GMT
Attic La asks if he is in actuality a sucky writer. The La brothers discuss an article that encourages the reader to redefine the meaning of failure. They also read a fan letter that reveals a different perspective on their remembered high school bullying experiences.
Mon, 06 Mar 2023 05:02:34 GMT
Basement La is absolved for botching his audition for the pilot of Two and a Half Men many years ago, while Attic La tries to let go of a horrible encounter with an editor from Putnam. They discuss a Forbes article about making survival jobs tolerable, and read Attic La's short story composed entirely of dialogue.
Mon, 27 Feb 2023 11:01:26 GMT
La and La keep trying to move forward with their lives. This week they attempt to exorcise a ghost that has haunted them since they were ten. They also try to express gratitude for little things that have gone right this past week, and once again they commit to their artistic endeavors.
Mon, 20 Feb 2023 14:00:29 GMT
Today the 60-year-old La twins concede that they will never make a living doing what they love. But they refuse to give up on acting and writing altogether. In that spirit, Attic La has written a monologue for his actor brother Basement La who is not quite ready to read it aloud. Finally, they share their first listener letter which leads them to a memory from their childhood that they agree is their only happy one.
Mon, 13 Feb 2023 20:16:10 GMT
In this episode, twins La and La explain why they are back in Schenectady at age 60 after decades of trying to make it in showbiz (Basement La) and in publishing (Attic La). They scrape together a living working abominable jobs that wear them down. La and La describe the now-deceased cast of family characters who unwittingly bequeathed this difficult life to them. And they share juicy stories about people from their professional past, including show business personalities. They also give some expert tips for surviving survival jobs, and commit to at least one creative endeavor before the next podcast. Email them at halfalivepodcast@gmail.com.