A Blind Play

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A timid man with a dark secret tries to mend his broken relationship with his brother. 

The Man from the Egg was written and directed by Michael Mau,

And stars Andrew Hunter as Jamie

Bryce Townsend as Cliff

Annie Weaver as Mother

Christa Burton as the Balloon Lady

And introducing Lucien deMan y McGeehan as Young Jamie

The theme music was composed by Trevor Tremaine

With additional music by Alexander Nakarada, Aleksey Chistilin, and Serge Quadrado

Geneva Hicks created the podcast cover art

Additional sound effects courtesy of Pixabay

Nina Dicker helped produce this episode. 

Special thanks to assistant casting director Annie Weaver who has been with me every step of the way.

You can find out more about our cast and crew at ablindplaypodcast.com or on Instagram @mauhausproductions 

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Two Albanian refugees find comfort in their clandestine dance rendezvous while surviving the lasting trauma of ethnic cleansing in Kosovo.
Adapted from the short story "Best Launderette," first published in Fifth Wednesday Journal.

Best Launderette stars

Ethan Herschenfeld as Beznik

Vassilea Terzaki as Bora

Irene Santiago as Lindita

This episode was written and directed by me, Michael Mau

The theme music was composed by Trevor Tremaine

Geneva Hicks created the podcast cover art

Additional sound effects courtesy of Pixabay

Nina Dicker helped produce this episode. 

Special thanks to assistant casting director Annie Weaver who has been with me every step of the way.

I also want to thank Seed & Spark and all of the show’s supporters for making season two possible:

I’ll be dropping names all season, but today Our Tip the Editor contributors include Jason Roemer, Blaque Fowler, Adam Zopf, Daniel Wescott, Steven Chapman, and Dustin Hornsby 

Finally, thank you to J. Barton Mitchell, creator of the sci-fi podcasts Derelict and Fathom for not only helping support the show financially but for being such an inspiration to independent producers such as myself. Jack, you make this look easy, and we both know it is not. You can listen to the full season of Fathom where you found A Blnd Play of Social Forces.

If you aren’t already, please follow the show. Your podcast app should have a Follow Button. And please rate and review. Ratings and reviews are the lifeblood of podcasts, and they take so little time. Click those five stars. Tell us about your favorite episode. Share with friends and family. And thank you for listening.

Next week on A Blind Play of Social Forces, Episode 11, The Man from the Egg

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This season on a Blind Play of Social Forces:

• BEST LAUNDERETTE:
• THE MAN FROM THE EGG
• LEFT & LEAVING
• THIS IS OUR NORTH DAKOTA
• GINA #ENGENDERED
• SLEEPWALKER X
• MARLBOROS, THE KING, AND 8 O’CLOCK BEAN
• GREETINGS FROM HAITI
• HOTEL DEL SOL
• ANOINT YOUR ENGINE FOR A HEAVENLY RIDE
• TEN SECONDS
• SIGNS

Starting May 4 and every Thursday after that, we will bring you ten more stories focused on damaged relationships and lonely people looking for wholeness. In other words, humans.

You can find out more about our cast and crew at ablindplaypodcast.com or on Instagram @mauhausproductions 

If you haven’t clicked the follow button on this app, do it now. Each episode will be waiting for you when you wake up on Thursday. Plus, you can go back and listen to Season One. Rate and Review the show, and share with friends who love great stories. 

If you have any writers in your life, we are hosting a contest to find the best stories for season three. New voices, new genres, new life. Find out more at ablindplaypodcast.com

Until Next Week… 

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Invited to a "Predator/Prey Summit," Lion, Gazelle, Polar Bear, Seal, Crocodile, and Pelican must decide if they are willing to make peace or tear one another to pieces.

Adapted from the short story published in Ferocious Quarterly, Best Laid Schemes was inspired by a work of art by illustrator Emory Allen and a poem by Robert Burns–the same poem from which John Steinbeck borrowed the title of Of Mice and Men. The editors of Ferocious Quarterly paired me with Emory for the issue “Be Prepared.” His illustration was so perfect, I wrote the first draft in one sitting. That was ten years ago. This version includes an alternate ending that is maybe a little less bleak. 

“Best Laid Schemes” was written and directed by Michael Mau

STARRING
Sandie Keane as the Narrator,
Reagan Prumm as Lion
Brian Wiggins as Seal
Toni Poe as Gazelle
Misti Medders as Pelican
Ryan Gaiser as Crocodile
Kymberley Cochrane as Polar Bear
Aivi Dam as Mouse
Michael Mau as Man

To find out more about our cast, to read the original short stories, or donate to the show so we can make an unforgettable second season, visit us at ablindplaypodcast.com or on Instagram @mauhausproductions.

You can leave a note for a writer or cast member. Click here to text the show.

Following a bigoted lesson on the September 11 tragedy, Sara is brutally attacked by a classmate. As school officials downplay the incident, the teacher who inspired the violence defends his backward beliefs. 

“ A Blind Play Of Social Forces” is adapted from an unpublished story originally written in 2014 and performed as a staged reading. It is based on several accounts of bullying which took place in American schools between 2001 and 2014. However, Mr. Avery, the middle-school social studies teacher who inspires the hate crime at the heart of the story, is based on a real teacher with whom I attended grad school. Many of his words are echoes of words spoken in class by the real Mr. Avery. This episode deals with violence against children. As they say, parental discretion is advised. 

Written and directed by Michael Mau
STARRING
Yosra Zekry as Sara,
Pascal Casimier as David,
Malya Muth as Mrs. Sterner,
Andressa Da Silva as Ms. Price,
Olya Aman as Maryam,
Rich Greene as Mr. Avery.

Sound effects courtesy of Pixabay.
Additional Music by Kevin McLeod. All link’s to the music are below.

The following music was used for this media project:
Music: Almost New by Kevin MacLeod
Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/3353-almost-new
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Artist website: https://incompetech.com

Music: Daytime TV Theme by Kevin MacLeod
Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/3622-daytime-tv-theme
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Artist website: https://incompetech.com

Music: Cheery Monday by Kevin MacLeod
Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/3495-cheery-monday
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Artist website: https://incompetech.com

Happy Alley by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3851-happy-alley
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Music: Gymnopedie No. 1 by Kevin MacLeod
Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/3837-gymnopedie-no-1
License (CC BY 4

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Inspired by a painting by Bo Bartlett, “Papa” was published in the British journal Firewords Quarterly in 2014. In 2018, the story was adapted into a staged reading. It is one of two stories I wrote about Albanian refugees. Like many of my stories, this one features a young female protagonist (voiced by my daughter).
Narrator--Dr. Michael Westmoreland
Blerta--Emaline Mau 
Lycrad Woman--Chad Morgan
Boyfriend--J. Barton Mitchell
The song Gypsy Shoegazer is by Kevin MacLeod. 

"Eyes" was first published in the A3 Review out of Spain. An even shorter version of the story can be heard on the podcast A Moment of Your Time. 
Narrator--Michael Mau

The following music was used for this media project:

Music: Gypsy Shoegazer by Kevin MacLeod Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/3841-gypsy-shoegazer License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Artist website: https://incompetech.com

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A childhood memory of a racist encounter is brought to the surface when a young man once again faces a bigot.

“The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.”
-WB Yeats, The Second Coming

In the summer of 1994, I was a college student working as a stocker at Piggly Wiggly in Montevallo, Alabama. I grew up in the South, so racism was not a new concept for me. As a white male, I did not understand how privileged I was nor how entitled. This combination bred a cowardice in me that I am still coming to terms with. This personal narrative is just as much a self-indictment as a criticism of the south. 
Written and Directed by Michael Mau
STARRING
Narrator--Michael Mau
Buck--Blaque Fowler
Slurpee Man--Paul Fegan
Grandmother/Teacher--Christa Burton
Mom--Shenandoah Evans

To pledge your support to the show: https://seedandspark.com/fund/a-blind-play

You can leave a note for a writer or cast member. Click here to text the show.

After Grace is institutionalized for a potentially dangerous "disorder," she learns to embrace her powers and grow her self-worth. 

“To The Touch” was published in the 2020 edition of Jelly Bucket Literary Journal under the pseudonym Gina Urban. That year it was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. This story grew out of a vision I had of a young woman touching a sheet of glass gently only to watch it shatter under her palm. If the story is an allegory, it is incidentally so. Or maybe subconsciously so.
Narrator: Chad Morgan
Grace: Rory Booth
Philip: Ryan Goffman
Mother: Malya Muth
Father: Michael Mau

Sound effects courtesy of Pixabay.
Special thanks to Annie Weaver and Shenandoah Evans.

Each week I want to direct our listeners to other great podcasts. During the scariest part of the pandemic, I was introduced to the podcast A Moment of Your Time, produced by Jenny Curtis at CurtCo Media. While these wonderfully endearing minisodes introduced me to Jenny, I want to plug her most recent endeavor, the immersive experience that is Solar. Check out Solar wherever you found A Blind Play of Social Forces. All of Season One is available now.

To pledge your support to the show: https://seedandspark.com/fund/a-blind-play

You can leave a note for a writer or cast member. Click here to text the show.

Abandoned by her mother, twelve-year-old "Kid" takes on the mother role to care for her only father figure, her profoundly disabled step-father Pal. A visit from her classmate Evander, terrified by what he sees in the house, illuminates just how precarious this unconventional relationship is.
Pal is adapted from the short story “Pal,” a 2020 finalist for the Bristol Prize in the UK. It was published in the Bristol Prize Anthology.
The screenplay adaptation has garnered several awards including an Independent Shorts Award, Cult Critic Movie Award, and Indie Short Fest award, all for best short screenplay. It was an official selection in the Paris International Short Festival and Vienna Indie Short Film Festival. Pal is, at its heart, a story of family.
The story takes place over two days, flashing backward and forwards in time.
CAST
Narrator--Sarah McGuire
Kid--Hannah Rose Dorph
Pal--Steve Kasan
Linda Sears--Julia Garlotte
Evander--Keillor Mau
Byers--Michael Mau

Additional Music--"Sad Reflection and Grief Piano" by MusicLFiles
Sound Effects--Pixabay
Special Thanks to Annie Weaver, Shenandoah Evans, and Kelsea Hume



"Sad Reflection and Grief Piano" by MusicLFiles
Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/8272-sad-reflection-and-grief-piano
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Artist website: https://cemmusicproject.wixsite.com/musiclibraryfiles

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When awkward teen Joey discovers that Shannon, the girl he is obsessed with is actually a platypus from another planet, he is forced to come to terms with his own definitions of gender, sexuality, and friendship. 
Our second episode is adapted from the short story “Platypus” which began as a writing challenge in 2014. In the original five-page draft, the main character, Joey, finds a giant eyeball on a beach. After many drafts, this version of the story was published in the Spring 2018 issue of Black Market Re-View. It was inspired, in part, by my own high school experience in the early 90s when a prefix  like “trans” was followed either by -vestite or -former, and repression was survival.

Narrator--Aryeh Krause-Nadler
Shannon--Kyra Leigh
Joey--Logan Broadway
Arnie--Ryan Goffman
Deirdre--Rachel Leon

Sound Effects--Pixabay
Special Thanks to Annie Weaver and Shenandoah Evans