Little Bird

Explicit content warning

08/24/22 • 22 min

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When triggered by a challenge from her peers, the daughter of a former military interrogator puts her father's inhumane lessons to the test, endangering her friends in order to protect herself.
“Little Bird” is adapted from the short story of the same name which won the Black Warrior Review Fiction Contest in 2014. I wrote the first draft of the story in grad school in a class titled The Literature of War. The title comes from an Army cadence call in which the speaker lures a beautiful bird to the window sill and kills it. I was inspired by the grotesque and inhumane images from Abu Ghraib prison. I couldn’t help imagining those guards who treated others in such a despicable manner going home to their own families.
The story has been adapted into a staged reading as well as a screenplay. This episode contains profanity and adult situations as well as suggestions of abuse. It is intended for listeners over the age of 13.

A little bird with a yellow bill
Was sittin' on my window sill
I lured her in with a piece of bread
And then I smashed her little head
—Army cadence call

Narrator: Lily Sanders
Soldier: Kai McAlvin
Sir: Tim Knudson
Sam: Ryan Goffman
Eddie: Eddie Philpot
Marco: Marco Marx
Sound effects courtesy of Pixabay.
Special thanks to Annie Weaver, Shenandoah Evans, and Travis Maguire.

All episodes directed and edited by Michael Mau
Original Music by Trevor Tremaine
Podcast cover art created by Geneva Hicks

You can leave a note for a writer or cast member. Click here to text the show.

A little bird with a yellow bill
Was sittin' on my window sill
I lured her in with a piece of bread
And then I smashed her little head
—Army cadence call

All episodes directed and edited by Michael Mau
Original Music by Trevor Tremaine
Podcast cover art created by Geneva Hicks

Previous Episode

Pal

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Abandoned by her mother, twelve-year-old "Kid" takes on the mother role to care for her only father figure, her profoundly disabled step-father Pal. A visit from her classmate Evander, terrified by what he sees in the house, illuminates just how precarious this unconventional relationship is.
Pal is adapted from the short story “Pal,” a 2020 finalist for the Bristol Prize in the UK. It was published in the Bristol Prize Anthology.
The screenplay adaptation has garnered several awards including an Independent Shorts Award, Cult Critic Movie Award, and Indie Short Fest award, all for best short screenplay. It was an official selection in the Paris International Short Festival and Vienna Indie Short Film Festival. Pal is, at its heart, a story of family.
The story takes place over two days, flashing backward and forwards in time.
CAST
Narrator--Sarah McGuire
Kid--Hannah Rose Dorph
Pal--Steve Kasan
Linda Sears--Julia Garlotte
Evander--Keillor Mau
Byers--Michael Mau
Additional Music--"Sad Reflection and Grief Piano" by MusicLFiles
Sound Effects--Pixabay
Special Thanks to Annie Weaver, Shenandoah Evans, and Kelsea Hume
"Sad Reflection and Grief Piano" by MusicLFiles
Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/8272-sad-reflection-and-grief-piano
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Artist website: https://cemmusicproject.wixsite.com/musiclibraryfiles

All episodes directed and edited by Michael Mau
Original Music by Trevor Tremaine
Podcast cover art created by Geneva Hicks

Next Episode

To the Touch

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After Grace is institutionalized for a potentially dangerous "disorder," she learns to embrace her powers and grow her self-worth.
“To The Touch” was published in the 2020 edition of Jelly Bucket Literary Journal under the pseudonym Gina Urban. That year it was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. This story grew out of a vision I had of a young woman touching a sheet of glass gently only to watch it shatter under her palm. If the story is an allegory, it is incidentally so. Or maybe subconsciously so.
Narrator: Chad Morgan
Grace: Rory Booth
Philip: Ryan Goffman
Mother: Malya Muth
Father: Michael Mau
Sound effects courtesy of Pixabay.
Special thanks to Annie Weaver and Shenandoah Evans.

Each week I want to direct our listeners to other great podcasts. During the scariest part of the pandemic, I was introduced to the podcast A Moment of Your Time, produced by Jenny Curtis at CurtCo Media. While these wonderfully endearing minisodes introduced me to Jenny, I want to plug her most recent endeavor, the immersive experience that is Solar. Check out Solar wherever you found A Blind Play of Social Forces. All of Season One is available now.

To pledge your support to the show: https://seedandspark.com/fund/a-blind-play

All episodes directed and edited by Michael Mau
Original Music by Trevor Tremaine
Podcast cover art created by Geneva Hicks