Vignettes - An Improvised Audio Drama

E7. Siphon - They are trapped by what they are. They are trapped by what they are?

Vignettes, an improvised audio drama. Sci-fi suspense where you fill in the blanks, and every episode is different from the last.

Click here to listen -> Throw on those headphones, and talk yourself into or out of tearing apart your inner nature here Heading into the booth I genuinely didn't think Siphon would be the final episode; but these things have a way of choosing for you.

I woke up with that gravel in my voice and said: okay, we're gonna work with that. Wasn't expecting to be working with a lot of rage, however. And the rage and complexity of identity of this being has been long brewing.

Fun fact: though I felt this was an anthology, it was not long after I started talking did I realise I was wrong. It legitimately was "Charlie Kelly, wild-eyed, with the red strings" as I spoke lmao and I was making connections to the other episodes left, right, and centre. And that made me oh so excited, listener (my grinning between spitting venom must have looked so strange). Am I going to explain what connections I made though? Absolutely not :D Because this show isn't about explanations. It's about allowing raw emotion to surface. It's about the journey. It's about finding what moments or words connect to you, and discovering why that is significant.

It certainly made me think afterward why these moments hit me so hard. Even just acknowledging those feelings was important.

Vignettes was important for me to make. I didn't know I needed it, or that it was coming, but it made itself known to me anyway.

I hope you can have an outlet too -in any way that makes sense to you- because the world is on fire and feeling connected to others is more crucial than ever. They want us to feel alone, and disconnect from ourselves. I need you to know that you are not alone, not in physical space nor in your feelings, and that those feelings are real and valid.

Grief wears many faces.

Acknowledge it.

Sit with it.

But don't let it consume you.

You've got this.

-Lea

Episode art by Maria Damianou.

Seeker played by me.

Transcript link can be found in the show notes of your podplayer.

Coming up next week: Nothing! That's all she figuratively wrote, my loves!

E6. Glitch - They volunteer to test experimental tech. Was it worth the money?

Vignettes, an improvised audio drama. Sci-fi suspense where you fill in the blanks, and every episode is different from the last.

Click here to listen -> Throw on those headphones, use your nose if you have to, and make your choice here I did not expect to be revisiting this genre, but it happened. And boy did it keep me there. I reckon I had as much fun adding SFX & music to this as I did recording the happenings! I had no idea how to make a "not quite in one place" vocal effect, so working out how to audibly represent that was a real fun experimental pushing of buttons in my DAW until I found it. And when I had the idea of how to use the music, I was grinning like an idiot. I legitimately sat at my laptop until I was satisfied with the outcome - just like I've done with every episode; all done in one go & no second guessing whatever I came up with. So, hopefully my enjoyment is apparent when you listen to this poor protagonist's NDA journey haha.

Episode art by Maria Damianou.

Number played by me.

Transcript link can be found in the show notes of your podplayer.

Coming up next week: The final episode! Already?? Apparently!! When I got to episode six, I thought maybe we'd get to eight? But, the stories chose and dictated themselves, and it decided that that was the end of the series. It decided to come back around.

E5. Faces - Grief looms in any world. Does it hurt the same?

Vignettes, an improvised audio drama. Sci-fi suspense where you fill in the blanks, and every episode is different from the last.

Click here to listen -> Source those headphones and get ready to wonder if the protagonist is just talking figuratively about grief... surely so... but she has a gun? This one hit me the hardest. Unlike every other episode, my initial recording was not what I ended up using. It's true! I stopped talking and played it back like all four previous... but not only did it not fit the style of the show (a story of suspense with a twist), it was too real. Part of it was really hopeful, which is a good thing when one is discussing the topic of grief, but there was no fictional story to be found and it was... well it was me. Too close to home, and in my voice. I couldn't handle it that day; and ultimately I decided to save that specific talk to be something written and handled with great care some time in the future and not under the Vignettes title.

I ended up chatting to a friend -she who had made all the incredible episode art and the theme intro/outro- and I discussed having my first real 'blunder' of this series (not an actual blunder, I had just accidentally started something not for now). In that chat I realised I was enamoured by one sentence I had said in the original, and we briefly discussed a possible concept that could happen in the 'redo'. So, back to the booth with two smallest points of contact and away I went!

Did not expect that accent to appear and did not know how I was going to tackle grief without it falling into my true reality. What I ended up with... well, you'll just have to listen. It's funny what the brain wrestles with when we simultaneously do and don't want to tackle a specific subject. And though you possibly might need a second listen to clock what was happening, I hope you -if you've unfortunately ever experienced grief- that you enjoy the ride.

P.S - listening to the episode today (to make sure that I indeed upload the correct file - do any other creators experience that exact anxiety? tell me I'm not alone), I cried. Not because I'm depleted because I'm under the weather, but I didn't realise how many of the words were still mine, despite the ep technically going a whole a new direction and being told as science fiction. It's funny how art loves to mimic life sometimes... What a wonderful bitch.

Episode art by Maria Damianou.

Warder played by me.

Transcript link can be found in the show notes of your podplayer.

Coming up next week: my favourite sci-fi subject! And I didn't even know it was coming (as usual) so imagine my delight when I stumbled upon it in real time :D Hah. Time.

Ooh by the way I need to share this too: the pod hit 300 total downloads yesterday! Which in reality are small numbers for a show, but I genuinely only had the expectation of double digits before it went live so this is, like, huge to me! I've barely advertised, I only made two general trailers and have no day-before-release trailers like I do with I Should Roll, the episode summaries give no context I'm such a tease, I know like two people who have time to listen to things, and this show is so fucking niche lol. So... am stoked. I really am greatful to anyone who has listened to any of this show. Really, you have no idea xx

CW for Faces: (SPOILERS)

E4. Speak When - They dared to speak up. Should they have?

Vignettes, an improvised audio drama. Sci-fi suspense where you fill in the blanks, and every episode is different from the last.

Pop your headphones on and click here to listen to this character have a six minute meltdown! Please note, this episode features constant, erratic, bi-lateral panning - so if you suffer from migraines or vertigo, perhaps it would be best to listen over speakers instead. (As much as I want people to hear the show over headphones, I care more about your health triggers x).

I was stunned by and happy with this one. It turned out to be a combination of a reaction to the general state of a world, of what I think it might be like inside an ADHDer's brain, and of what it's like to have no-one listen.

Does the Warlock they mention actually exist? What happens to them at the end? TBH it doesn't really matter. What matters is that they was heard, if only for a moment.

Episode art by Maria Damianou.

Breaker played by me.

Transcript can be found in the show notes.

Coming up next week: an episode directly referring to grief, and the question whether the protagonist is talking literally, figuratively, or both.

CW for Speak When: (SPOILERS)

IT'S ALIVE!!!

The first two episodes of Vignettes are available on the podcatcher of your choice raight noo!! Find your pod.links here! Transcripts are also available on the website https://vignettespod.carrd.co

Artwork by Maria Damianou (who also made the intro/outro themes with me).

E1. The Loop - They haven't been here before. Or have they?

CW: (SPOILERS) Derealisation, memory loss, lost time, swearing, sudden loud noise at 7:05

E2. Hex Code - An audio log is played. Are their suspicions real?

Well, hi Tumblr, I'm Lea! I've improvised seven episodes of an audio drama and thought you'd might like to hear them? Why? Because they're a little different!

You'll get dropped into a situation (or an about-to-be-situation) and get to decide if the episode's char is a reliable narrator

You don't need to know any backstory to jump into any of these! That said, maybe read each episode's show notes before hitting play for CWs if you have certain triggers – episodes can be intense at times and I made these feeling grief so pls take care x

You're gonna fill in the blanks because I don't give you context. Wait, was that char being literal or figurative? Wait, did they survive? Wait, is your theory about x episode different than your friend's? Maybe drawing your own conclusions is fun :)

The story part of the episodes only run sixish minutes, and with theme/credits only eight to nine mins long – bite sized audio, hooray! You have under ten minutes to spare, yeah? (But if you prefer longer audio.. just wait til multiple eps are out and you can binge them? lol)

I've solo'd this so it could be fun hearing what nonsense flew out of my mouth? Also it's my first showran show? Is.. is that the correct word? Showran? I don't think it is. Let's not dwell–oh, look, a release date below!

Vignettes airs May 26th! Find links to your chosen podcasting app here! https://pod.link/1896491660

There's a website too, if one is so inclined to read more https://vignettespod.carrd.co

Please share this post or the podlinks if you like the idea of this show. I am but a humble voice actor and my reach only goes so far (that's what she said.. 👈😎👉 [finger guns in bisexual] Wait, should I be less disaster to win new listeners??)

Hey, Tumblr! I've made a show and it's one woman improvised audio drama to be specific! Insane premise you say? Kinda, yeah!

Vignettes' seven episodes were pulled like rabbits out of a hat because this aussie needed to run from (or rather, to) her feelings. I believe over the space about two months I spent maybe 15-16 hours total making these episodes? (from the second I sat down in the booth and started talking shit to the final placed SFX... Listening & re-listening time not factored in, though). And as a recovering perfectionist, I've learnt to love this for what it is - messy and mine.

It airs May 26th, btw! Two episode drop, and then weekly after that until the end of June.

There's no context and no script. I'm just dropping you into the middle of a situation and you get to experience the moment with each protagonist. Are they reliable narrators though? Well that's up to you! All of this show is up to your interpretation and I'd love to hear later what, if any, episodes resonated with you or entertained you somehow, or even if you wanna share your theories with me. Interact with me here, on Bluesky, or in the comments of your podcaster of choice.

You'll probably love or hate that none of these episodes have conclusions. But the point is the journey, and the idea that the listener gets to interpret just WTF happened or wonder what did I mean by that excites me. There are no wrong answers! And the meat of each episode runs between six to seven minutes, so that means no episode runs longer than nine minutes! You have that time to spare, right? It's bite sized audio drama, and it'll only kick you in the stomach a little (sorry in advance).

So yeah, I've been in the voice acting game for two and a half years now, but this is the first project I've made on my own! Boy did I have fun with it! And now that I have had a taste, I wanna make more! Of what, IDK. But sky's the limit from here :D

Liiiinks:

Vignettes Website / Pinecast RSS Feed / Podlink so you can directly find the show on whichever is your preferred podcatcher ✌️😉

Oh btw the score for this trailer and the episodes is all done by Tim Kulig (timkulig.com Licensed under Creative Commons By Attribution 4.0), and the Vignettes intro and closing themes are by the goddess Maria Damianou.

P.S You should listen to I Should Roll if you like Mass Effect, TTRPGs, audio drama, voice acting, and actual plays. Just sayin'.