Part Two: The Mad Scientist takes us into Victor Frankenstein's perspective. We learn about his background, dreams, ambitions, and the youthful enthusiasm for education and scientific progress. But how did these aspirations steer him toward animating a corpse? How did something so pure become haunted, hated, and filled with despair in Victor's heart?

Join us as we travel along the river in Part Two: The Mad Scientist on Riverside Readings - Where We Bring the Classics to Life!

Music Credit:

Rachmaninov, The Isle of the Dead, Symphonic Poem Op. 29, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Andrew Davis
Tarantella Napoletana, Jo Brunnenberg
Dmitri Shostakovich: Waltz Quintet No. 2, Carion Wind Quintet, arr. David M.A.P. Palmquist
Mussorgsky's Promenade Pictures at an Exhibition, Cleveland Orchestra, Christoph von Dohnányi
Chopin, Nocturne in C Major Op 9 No 3, Claudio Arran
Tchaikovsky, Chanson Triste, Mario Schott-Zierotin & Georg Wagner
Per-Olov Kindgren - Study in E Minor, Eduardo Díaz
Maurice Ravel - Jeux d'eau, M. 30
Dmitri Shostakovich - Symphony No 10 in E Minor Op 93: II Allegro, Rudolph Barshai & WDR Sinfonieorchester

We begin this dark tale in the streets of St. Petersburg, the alleyways of Archangel, and on a ship crossing the icy seas, all narrated by Robert Walton, voiced by Bakari Garvin. What do these letters reveal, and how do they set the stage for the story ahead? Why was he destined to meet Victor and share this unique story?

Discover more on Riverside Readings - An Audio Drama Podcast - where we bring the classics to vivid life!

Part One Music Credit:

J.S. Bach, Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, BWV 565 - Jean-Baptiste Dupont, Basilique Saint Sernin
The Nutcracker, Op 71, Pas De Deux, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaichovsky, The National Philharmonic Of Russia, Vladimir Spivakov
Claude Debussy, Nuages from Nocturnes, YouTube Symphony Orchestra, Carnegie Hall

Welcome back! We continue our journey along the River, guided by more people than ever before for Part 2 of Little Women by Louisa May Alcott!

We were introduced to the Marches, the Laurence Boy, and we had a ball! What more awaits our humble family and will anybody new show their face to try and win a sister's heart? Listen to Part 2 and find out for yourself, on Riverside Readings - A Dramatic Reading Radio Show hosted by Trent Mylie

*Part Two consists of Chapters 11-23, unlike written by the authors chapters 24-47*

On Riverside Readings, we are traveling the waters of Massachusetts in Louisa May Alcott’s “Little Women”! Considered to be one of the most significant literary contributions, not just by a woman but by anyone who has put paper to pen, “Little Women” tells the story of 4 sisters, Jo March, played by Mary Kate Phillips,  Meg March, played by Amari Roach, Beth March, played by Nadia Jacobs (who voices Mrs.March as well) and Amy March, played by Maddie Morman, “Little Women” takes us on a semi-autobiographical journey into our author's life. During this story, we challenge the role of women in society and actively question what it means to be ‘prim and proper’ all while coming of age during a time in America that was filled with endless turmoil during the Civil War. Though there are countless others within this story, all of which are connected with the March sisters and their Mother (Marmee) in one way or another, I look forward to having these ‘Little Women’ guide us to safety on Riverside Readings - A Dramatic Reading Radio Show hosted by Trent Mylie.

*Part One consists of Chapters 1-10, unlike written by the Author of Chapters 1-23*

Our final author of Pride Month is none other than Emily Dickinson, who is regarded as one of the most influential and essential authors and poets who challenged the notion of standard poetry and the definition of poetry itself.

Her work sees the poems from a different perspective, one of an inescapable narrative in which they live and dwell within the confines of society. Much like Dickinson herself, a bisexual woman, her poetry points to a future she believed was possible, one where gay men and women can live openly and proudly about who they are without having to make themselves feel in prison when they want to make a home. 

As we end this Pride Month, know that we all love who we love; it is not a choice we make per se, but it is ingrained in us, in our nature as humans, something beyond us and understanding. We are born to love whom we choose; when we find that love, the earth’s ground may crumble beneath us, but we will not be stirred. Love yourself, Love each other, Love Love Love as we navigate the river once more on Riverside Readings - A Dramatic Readings Radio Show hosted by Trent Mylie.

Our Fourth Author of Pride Month has yet to be normalized in America. He hails from Kvikne, Norway, and his name is Bjornstjerne Bjornson. He also won a Nobel Prize for Literature in 1903 “as a tribute to his noble, magnificent and versatile poetry, which has always been distinguished by both the freshness of its inspiration and the rare purity of its spirit.” 

In a letter to his lover, Hans Christen Anderson (author of Thumbelina, The Ugly Duckling, and the Little Mermaid), Bjornstjerene wrote, “Here inside myself, You are blossoming despite the winter, and I have sunshine and warmth from You despite the distance.” He was a prolific character and a pioneer in decriminalizing gay relationships in his home country of Norway. Not only does his work and artistry touch on poetry, speeches, and books, but he is also the lyricist behind Norway’s national anthem, Ja, vi elsker dette landet or Yes, We Love This Country. 

I look forward to continuing our journey as we travel the waters during Pride Month on Riverside Readings, a dramatic readings radio show hosted by Trent Mylie.

Our third author of Pride Month is Katherine Mansfield, who has connections with other LGBTQ icons, such as last week's Oscar Wilde and prolific author Virginia Wolf.

Hailing from New Zealand, though her life was short, it was certainly not viewed as “wasted.” She was bisexual, and she described one of her relationships with a Maori woman (natives of New Zealand) as “unclean, I know but true. What an extraordinary thing - I feel savagely crude”. However, this did not stop her from living her truth and bringing the difficulties and tribulations of her sexuality and the outside perception of it in her stories and prose.

Our second Author of Pride Month is none other than Oscar Wilde!

Traveling around the world from Ireland and self-proclaiming that he kissed another famous poet named Walt Whitman, Oscar Wilde was persecuted, jailed, and sentenced to two years of hard labor for being gay. Oscar Wilde used his artistry to continue the narrative that there is more to love than the singular, heterosexual man-and-woman relationship. Love knows no bounds and, many times brings us our biggest strengths. Famous for his book, “The Portrait of Dorian Gray” (1891), we will be reading from his list of poems that he might not be more attributed with.

“Be yourself; Everyone else has already been taken.” “The only people I would care to be with now are writers and people who have suffered: those who know what beauty is, and those who know what sorrow is: nobody else interests me.”

To begin Pride Month, we will read some of the works of the Ancient Greek Lyricist Sappho. Unlike many stories I have done in the past, these selected works will have an undertone of music, as is Sappho's style!

She was given nicknames such as the “Tenth Muse” (in Greek mythology, there are nine) and whose work highly spoke about her reverence, love, and desire for women, and who today is known as the symbol of love and desire between women with Sapphic and Lesbian deriving from her name and homeland in Greece called Lesbos. 

So travel with me as we discover the world of LGBTQ authors from when they could not be genuinely open and be who they were born to be on Riverside Readings, a dramatic reading radio show hosted by me, Trent Mylie.

Fun Fact: Centuries after her death, statues, pottery, and even coins were made in her likeness and admiration!

Hello and Welcome to Riverside Readings. I am your host, Trent Mylie, and today, we will undertake the spooky, murky, and mystique world called The Call of Cthulhu. Written by H.P. Lovecraft, who is regarded as the king of spooks, The Call of Cthulhu takes us on a journey from a small town to the dark forest, swamplands, and the vast endless void that is the ocean.

Will you follow me as I guide us through the murk and muck? Will you continue through the drudge or get left in the sludge? I look forward to guiding us to safety as we journey the river on Riverside Readings - a dramatic reading radio show hosted by Trent Mylie.