Special: Off-Book (LIVE @ Once Upon A Podcast, NYC)

April 28, 2019·1 hr 10 min·6 clips

Misha introduces a live audio drama showcase with a warning about imperfect audio quality from Dixon Place in New York.

Host Misha introduces the episode with a note about substandard audio quality from the theater recording setup at Dixon Place and provides a transcript link. She introduces the four shows: The Far Meridian, Kalila Stormfire's Economical Magic Services, Yanis Descending, and Gal Pals Present Overkill. The Far Meridian segment is titled 'Off Book.' Perry delivers a monologue introducing herself as Hesperia and describing her lighthouse origins. The segment becomes self-referential when Penny interrupts with a script, forcing Perry to discover that every line — including her own emotions — is written out. Ruth, a woman from Perry's past, unexpectedly appears and Perry struggles to maintain composure in public. Perry eventually forgives Ruth for being one of those who left and never returned. The segment closes with fog rolling in and Perry returning to the lighthouse. The Kalila Stormfire segment follows Kalila receiving playwright Alex Burr, who believes a love spell is embedded in his script causing actor Jasper Simmons to become unnaturally drawn to him. Kalila uses a trance technique to enter the story and discovers that the spell reflects Alex's own pattern of projecting desires onto people he perceives as better than himself. She resolves the spell by annotating the script and advises Alex to be gentle with himself. The Yanis Descending segment, titled Unwritten, presents a sci-fi scenario in which a character is departing on a spaceship called the Adamantine. She confesses she has been dying inside, cutting pieces of her soul away, and that the prospect of space makes her feel alive again. An argument erupts between Axel and Rory about a past catastrophe involving alien creatures called Gorgons and Axel's complicity in the deaths of his brother and a woman. The scene ends in emotional exhaustion and mutual commitment to survival. The Overkill segment, titled The Lock Mess Monster, is narrated by a teenage ghost, Sophie, who possesses a girl named Madison at summer camp. Sophie describes camp politics, cabin social dynamics, and a ghost story about a river creature called the Loch Mess Monster — a spirit assembled from river debris. The story ends with Sophie physically wrestling the creature in a murky river at night.

As heard by us

A live-show special that blends stage energy with intimate, reflective writing.

Special: Off-Book gathers The Far Meridian into a live night at Dixon Place in New York City at the start of April, alongside Kalila Stormfire's Economical Magic Services, Yanis Descending, and Gal Pal's present Overkill.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

You want a live audio-drama night from Dixon Place in New York City, with applause, banter, and the kind of rough theater audio that makes you lean in.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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