Some thank-yous, on the occasion of the final episode of Starship Iris
(In case you missed it, the last-ever episode, 3.08, is here)
To give you an idea of how much time has passed since I first started sketching out my preliminary podcast ideas in a doc on my computer titled βspace pals,β I started writing this show during the Obama administration. Making Starship Iris changed my life in any number of ways. So allow me to express some gratitude, while Iβm at it and while nobody can play me off:
Alex Yun designed our logo, which I still love ten years later.
Erin Baumann and Hannah Cross did all the sound work for the first two seasons of Starship Iris. This was a monumental undertaking they pulled off with aplomb. Jeffrey Nils Gardner handled the third season by themselves, like an absolute pro. In all cases, the sound design involved some enormous tasks: hell, just making it sound convincingly like the actors, recording in different locations and sometimes on different mics, were all in the same spaceship requires a lot of skill and hard work. Sci-fi shows live and die by their sound design; itβs basically the special effects budget plus the background worldbuilding details. The mixing and sound design made this show more believable, more exciting, and funnier.
(A few standouts to me are Hannah deciding Krejjh wore flipflops, and Jeffrey adding a little hollow metal knocking sound in 3.04 when Krejjh pauses to describe the ship as crappy, like Krejjh slapped the wall a la the Fonz.)
(Incidentally, Jeffrey Nils Gardner has a new show theyβve sound designed out now! Itβs called The Harbingers and trust me, you should listen to it.)
Margaret Clark and Phoebe Seiders stepped in directing the second half of the first season while I was having a small nervous breakdown and it was a revelation to me that people out there actually enjoyed directing and were good at it (I donβt and am not!). Jeffrey Nils Gardner and Rachel Kellum handled the directing for season two, really making those character moments (and emotional breakdowns) shine. For season three, Newton Schottelkotte, Ella Watts, and Lauren Grace Thompson landed the ship, ably steering us through those final arcs. Directing is magic to me, and you all are magicians.
(Newtβs work includes Where the Stars Fell. Ella Watts has directed a bunch of things, the most dear to my heart being Camlann. Lauren Grace Thompsonβs other directing work includes Fawx & Stallion, and she also stars in The Harbingers.)
Amber Devereux of Tin Can Audio also helped out when it came to cutting some of the episodes together; a big thanks for that!
Season Two was a season of attempting to grow in painful ways and never being sure I was doing it right; in the process I made a lot of mistakes. Emily Jade Lomax and Aysha U. Farah helped me hammer out the season outline and work through the early episodes. (You should absolutely check out their show Second Star to the Left; bonus for Starship Iris enjoyers, it is directed by Rachel Kellum and its stars include Ishani Kanetkar!)
Sam Gray helped me out of a real bind by helpfully and swiftly creating a Dwarnian-English pidgin, which is the best language work on the entire show.
Tabitha OβConnell production managed season two. Eleanor Hyde production managed season three. In both cases, it was such an enormous relief to let someone who is talented at scheduling and organizing do the scheduling and organizing.
Eleanor Hyde and Jeffrey Nils Gardner also served as story consultants on Season Three. They did vital, important work, and to be honest, I think I credit them with the fact that there is a Season Three at all.
Andrea Klassen stepped in and helped tremendously when it came to the behind-the-scenes interviews, which was hugely necessary and much appreciated. She and Phobe Seiders have a show currently in post-production that I am really looking forward to. It's called No Normal Life, and you should all keep an eye out.
Chiron Star orchestrated and produced our incredible theme song (Erin Baumann handled the vocals, and credits Jamie Priceβs in-episode arrangement with her harmonies). You can buy or stream it on his bandcamp, along with a few other Season Two bangers.
Tail Light Rebellion wrote βGoing to Fallβ specifically for the show, and it was exactly what I needed, exactly when I needed it. You can download that here, or wait for their album on October 31st. And hey, if you're US-based, check to see if theyβre coming to your town; theyβre super fun live. (Tell them Jess Best sent you!)
Now a few words about the actors:
Ishani was a revelation as Arkady, and if Starship Iris never did anything elseβhey, we were the first to cast her in an audio drama (although certainly not the last). She had never done any professional acting at the time, and I pretty much immediately threw her in the deep end, where she swam like a goddamn fish, if youβll forgive the weird and offputting metaphor. I could not imagine anyone else in the role.
Cindy showed up when I was despairing of ever finding a Violet, with such an impressive resume (sheβs been on TV, multiple times!) and a versatile, natural delivery that I was stunned. The first time I tried to direct her and Ishani, I genuinely had no notes because I had to scoop my jaw off the floor at how good they sounded together. She's the real deal, folks.
Jamie absolutely embodied Brian in a way I didnβt see coming. I could hear the lines in their voice as I was writing them, which was tremendously fun. (Also, Jamie was the one who kept the best track of Dwarnian words and phrases, a fact which never fails to delight people who listen to the show.) Jamie makes music under the name Must Be Tuesday and also arranged all the vocals for the plot-important sing along at the end of season one, which really went above and beyond. If that moment worked for you, know that it worked because of Jamie.
Bri brought so much energy, heart, and humor into the role of Krejjh. Sometimes in the script, I would just write βKrejjh says this word weirdlyβ and I knew I could always trust them to pull it off. Krejjh couldβve easily come across as a gimmick character, but Bri always grounded their performance in so much down-to-earth warmth.
Rukhmani was always an absolute joy as Sana. It can be hard to play the βmom friendβ of the group while keeping her a fully fleshed out character but Rukhmani knew how from day one. I think she was a little nervous about the solo/monologue episodes this season, but I knew sheβd knock it out of the park, and I think we can all agree that she absolutely did.
Jackie managed to change Agent McCabeβs entire arc by imbuing the character with genuine emotions in a way that made me go, βhuh, maybe I donβt fully understand whatβs going on here.β I love that, and I love the nuances and depth they brought to McCabe from the beginning.
Chris I basically hired to read the credits, and then each season, I threw bigger and wilder stuff at him and every single time he delivered. βYouβre leaving because you believe youβre gonna find Shelley!β βYouβre in love now!β βYouβve been shot!β He made it all work, and he totally sold Parkβs dry sense of humor. I get the sense Park is a lot of peopleβs stealth favorite character, and I think Chris is a substantial part of why.
So many people also lent their talent and their voices to this show that listing them all would take a prohibitively long time, but the little cameos here and there of everyone giving their all really added up, I think, to a sense of a vast universe out there, which is absolutely what I was going for. If you played a role in Starship Iris, even if it was just a few lines, I will always be grateful.
To those of you who funded the show, whether that was backing us on Patreon, buying merch, or purchasing show music on bandcamp, thank you. Your support kept the lights on and the team paid.
To everyone who rated and reviewed us, or told a friend about us, or drew fanart or covered the songs or made TikToks as the characters, or dropped me a note personally saying the show meant something to you, or took the time to reblog us, thank you.
As a former theater kid, I joke sometimes that making audio drama is weird because thereβs no curtain call moment. You work really hard on a project, you put it out into the world, and then you just have to hope that people got something from it. But in reality, there have been people from the beginning taking the trouble to reach out and express in some way that the show touched them, and I understand that is an incredible privilege.
Finally, but not least, to those of you who listened: thank you, from the bottom of my heart.
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