Short Sound Stories
Season 11, Episode 01
January 30, 2023
Student storytelling with sound(s)
Re-Imagined Radio presents "Short Sound Stories," an anthology of eighteen short stories. Each is a unique experience told with vocals, sound effects, field recordings, and music. Subjects include soundscapes, dreamscapes, deep questions, audio drama, radio drama, radio historical highlights, memories, emotional states, loss and redemption, scary stories, uplifting stories, collages, sound poems, and more. All created by local, emerging artists.
Access the episode script
Background
These eighteen short stories told with sound(s) were produced by local, emerging artists. Students in John F. Barber's Storytelling with Sound(s) class, Fall semester 2022. Students conceptualized and produced their stories. They recorded and edited their stories. They explored radio storytelling.
Production
Contents
Samples from eighteen final projects by students in John F. Barber's Storytelling with Sound(s) class,
Fall Semester 2022. The works included, in order of appearance, are . . .
"Sensory Overload"
by Adele
"A mixture of a memoir, soundwalk of the campus, and soundscape about how I, as someone who deals with
sensory processing disorder, views the world."
"What’s in Your Head?"
by Marianna
"A soundscape and sound walk about a typical Tuesday where I go about my day through work, dance, school
and going home."
"Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark"
by Miryssa
A reading of a favorite childhood scary story with added vocal and sound effects. Original story by
Alvin Schwartz.
"The Box"
by Lyndsey
An imaginary, futuristic space tale. The listener is scavenging through a spaceship to find a box. Once
the box is found, listeners must deal with the inhabitants of the alien craft, and what is on the other
side of a mysterious door. Part Jetsons, part arcade game. Lots of interesting sounds.
"A Mo(u)ring to Remember"
by Kristen
A mixture of narrative and field records to produce a story about the importance of memories.
"Paranoia"
by Even
Combines sound walk, field recordings, and audio drama to create the sense of creeping paranoia.
"Dreamstate"
by Hayley
"A soundscape about my nightmares, how I keep falling back into them, and my fear of zombies."
"Gaming System Sounds"
by Paiten
Combines sound archive, soundscape, and sound-installation methods to construct a collection and
analysis of old gaming systems starting up and being played. Samples are heard throughout this episode.
"An Anxious Lifetime"
by Logan
A combination of memoir, performance, and oral history to portray a person’s struggles with anxiety.
This project is meaningful because it highlights struggles faced by students, and encourages people to
have a conversation about mental health.
"Radio Spirit"
by Cameron
Seeks to capture the ethos of radio by presenting examples of broadcasts from the 1930s-1960s that
provided information and entertainment before the advent of television.
"A Mind of Two"
by Jose
Uses soundscapes, oral history, and audio drama to create a representation of the mind of a bilingual
person and how these sounds interact and influence the two individuals with different identities.
"Life Holds Everything"
by Daniel
Combines poetry and soundscape to create a collage of sounds addressing the challenges and weirdness of
life.
"A Day at a Museum in Sphinxaria"
by Gabriel
Sphinxaria (Sphinx-Aria) is a fantastical setting in the same vein as Dungeons & Dragons, but more
industrialized. In this work we hear elements of fiction, audio drama, and sound walk as soundtrack for
an evolving game. This sample follows an unnamed protagonist through a museum where we learn about the
exhibits.
"A Cast of Amontillado"
by Rich
An audio drama based on this short story by Edgar Allen Poe. "This work provides me the opportunity to
reflect on how extremely I have reacted to my peers in the past."
"Disquiet"
by Gaz
"Combines audio drama, soundwalking, and some elements of soundscape and sonification to share a story
of the anxieties I am experiencing at the end of the semester. Words can’t express the unease, the sense
that something is not quite right, that I feel at this time. Sound(s) can stand in for those missing
words."
"The Real Talk"
by Rachel
Combines soundscape and soundwalk in a free-wheeling podcast-like structure as three friends discuss the
question of the day, "Does Disney make better content?".
"A Western Tale"
by Glen
Combines oral history, audio essay, and soundscape to create a fictional story that touches on
relationships, family, travel, heartbreak, happiness and reconnecting.
"Three . . . Two . . . One. We’re live!"
by Caleb
Combines radio, audio essay, and a memoir to depict a radio broadcast that hopefully you'll never hear.
Death is the host. Time is the theme. Two guests discuss their thoughts on time, Dr. Ty Mez Shortz in an
audio essay format, and Caleb, the artist, in memoir format. We sample the former.
Significance
These are student projects. Several of these students had never before worked with sound recording and/or sound-based storytelling. Their results are remarkable, and worthy of attentive listening.
Producer's Notes
My challenge was to select A representative sample from each of these works. Often times this was
difficult. Not for want of content. But because each work was worthy of attentive listening throughout
its entire length. But only so much time was available for this episode. Enjoy listening to the selected
samples.
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Promotion
Press
Re-Imagined Radio “Short Sound Stories."→ City of Vancouver.
Re-Imagined Radio presents “Short Sound Stories."→ The Columbian, Events.
Graphics
