Tales from the Hearth

A modern folktale about a young woman's betrothal to an enchanted mouse, and her journey to break the curse placed upon her whiskered husband. THE MOUSE'S WIFE is an audio storytelling spin on various famous fairy tales and myths including Psyche, the Enchanted Pig, and Beauty and the Beast.

This audio short story was created as a proof of concept of TALES FROM THE HEARTH for film and podcast festivals.

THE MOUSE'S WIFE was written, voiced, and produced by Lisette Alvarez.

Transcript

A spider, a rabbit and a raven walk into a bar...and all hell breaks loose. Well, what else do you expect when dealing with tricksters? The latest interview with a storyteller is a little more like an interview about storytellers. Specifically, the tricksters (and their stories) who have the power to shape our world.

Dr. Emily Zobel Marshall is a professor at Leeds Beckett University and has been a full-time Lecturer at the School of Cultural Studies there since 2007. Emily is an expert in the role of trickster figures in the literatures and cultures of Africa and its Diaspora and has published widely in this area, most recently "American Trickster: Trauma Tradition and Brer Rabbit"; and one that first brought me to her work -- "Anansi's Journey A Story of Jamaican Cultural Resistance." I highly recommend both.

In this interview, we also mention places where Anansi and Brer Rabbit show up in modern pop culture, including "American Gods" and the latest season of "Random Acts of Flyness", which I also highly recommend. If you know of other modern stories that feature these trickster figures, please reach out as Emily is currently researching this area! Transcript auto-generated via Descript. Episode edited and sound designed by Sarah Buchynski. Stay tuned for more interviews and modern folk tales by signing up to our newsletter, or wherever you find your digital hearth!

One moon related story is still in the works, so here is an interview with a storyteller who also writes moon-related tales. In this episode, we talk about what kinds of stories feed us and making tales that explore the grey areas of life.

M. Molder is the creator and all-the-hats wearing producer for the audio drama, "The Moon Crown." They've spent much of their life striving to make art, and have delved into many skills they've always wanted to try out through audio drama. You can find information about the show on https://themooncrown.com or follow along on most social media via @TheMoonCrownPod, with the occasional closer look at the sound design process on Twitter.

Transcript auto-generated via Descript. Episode edited and sound designed by Sarah Buchynski. Stay tuned for more interviews and modern folk tales by signing up to our newsletter, or wherever you find your digital hearth!

What you're about to hear is a fully edited trailer for "The Seamstress Who Wove the Moon", a modern folk tale told via audio short -- the complete episode which will be recorded, edited, produced and uploaded tomorrow. Ideally. Stay tuned via whichever podcatcher, social media, or other hearth you follow.

Our final Storyteller Workshop via the discord will also take place tomorrow at 12PM EST. Come join!

We are keeping the micro-crowdfund open until the end of the week We are almost 20% of the way to our goal of raising $500. Please consider supporting the Storyteller Project if you haven't already!

All music and sound was sourced via a Creative Commons license with Freesound.org.

Transcript

Today marks day three of the Storyteller Project. Over the course of the week I have been sharing the process of creating an audio drama short from the ground up.

What you are about to hear is a sample sound mix for "The Seamstress Who Wove the Moon", a modern folk tale and audio drama short premiering on Monday, March 6. This clip gives you a taste of the tone the story is aiming for. I have also been working on the script for recording and production! Tomorrow you will receive a fully produced trailer and another piece of concept art.

If you haven't yet joined our daily Storyteller Workshop this week, you have two more days to hang out! Join our Discord channel. And find your hearth, we're all over the internet now!

If you like what you hear, toss a coin to your storyteller via our Storyteller Project fund. We've raised $65 out of $500, and we have only a few days left! Thank you to everyone who has contributed so far, you are helping to sustain art in your community.

All sounds and music are sourced under a Creative Commons License from FreeSound.org.

The synthesizing of yesterday's tarot reading into a coherent hook and logline for a modern folk tale called "The Seamstress Who Wove the Moon". A much shorter unedited episode this time!

You can find the full logline and the story's moodboard on our social media. Find your hearth.

Want to join tomorrow's 12PM EST livestream? Connect via our Discord server.

We have 4 days left to raise $500! We are 10% of the way there. Support indie creatives, and contribute now.

And we're back with another experiement in collective creativity in order to make a modern folk tale! If you joined us back in December, you'll notice the format is more or less the same, with a few strange hiccups and coincidences because, well, magick.

Enjoy and share our tarot reading on social media, which you can find wherever you find your hearth.

The decks used:

Tarot of the Divine by Yoshi Yoshitani

Next World Tarot by Christy C. Road

The final spread:

• The nature of the main character(s): The Moon (Divine)

• The nature of the conflict: Four of Cups Reversed (Next World)

• The character's motivation: Six of Cups (Next World)

• The allies/skills needed: The Hanged Man (Divine)

• What must be sacrificed: The Lovers (Next World)

• The antagonist: The Fool (Divine)

• The message: The Fool (Next World)

• A message from collective's shadow: The Moon (Next World)

See and share the tarot spread across our social media. Find your hearth.

Want to join our daily livestream? Connect via our Discord server.

This is an experiment paid for by the Storyteller Project Fund. We have 5 days to raise $500! You can contribute now.

Audio transcription automated by Descript

Tonia Ransom is the creator and executive producer of NIGHTLIGHT, a multi-award-winning horror podcast featuring creepy tales written by Black writers, and Afflicted, a horror thriller best described as Lovecraft Country meets True Blood. Tonia has been scaring people since the second grade, when she wrote her first story based on Michael Myers. She's a World Fantasy Award Winner, and This is Horror Award runner-up. She lives in Austin, Texas. You can follow Tonia @missdefying on all the socials. Risen is her debut book.

Transcript auto-generated via Descript. The next audio folk tale experiment will run beginning March 1st. Stay tuned by signing up to our newsletter, or wherever you find your hearth!

Welcome to the interview side of the Storyteller Project and Tales from the Hearth: Interview with a Storyteller. Alongside modern folk tale experiments such as "The Wedding Gift", your host--Lisette Alvarez--will also be interviewing fellow storytellers across mediums and experiences to explore the position of a storyteller within their community and culture. CONTENT WARNING: Discussion on mental health, mortality, and references to writing that discusses suicide. Ester Ellis is a Los Angeles based Sound Designer and Writer best known for her work on "Dungeons and Daddies", "Hit the Bricks" and "Arden". She created the isolation horror podcast "Station Blue", and the surreal microfiction "The Goblet Wire". Follow Ester on Twitter @EsterTheEsper Mentioned resources:

• Vulture article on the state of podcasting in 2023
• Characteristics of White Supremacy

Transcript auto-generated via Descript. The next Interview with a Storyteller will be shared February 15, 2023 and the next audio folk tale experiment will run beginning March 1st. Stay tuned by signing up to our newsletter, or wherever you find your hearth!

Three brothers. A magical pair of dice. A wedding disaster which must be averted.

Listen now to "The Wedding Gift", a modern folk tale and audio short created, written, performed, and produced by Lisette Alvarez as a part of the Storyteller Project. Thank you to everyone who has supported, shared, and listened to the journey so far. We'll be back in the new year with a new experiment.

We have until December 4th to raise $500 for the Storyteller Project fund, and we are 54% of the way there. Please consider contributing.

All sound and music was sourced with a Creative Commons or Attribution license at FreeSound.org. The tango piece, Passion Tango, was created by Lena Orsa.

Thank you for listening.

Transcript