TAFCON this weekend was perfect??? Shoutout to the Malevolent cosplayer, to the well-known creators who still got flabbergasted by having fans, to everyone who signed my yearbook, to people whose tumblr names I recognized, to the live bloggers, to Roshan Singh Sambi making me wheeze with laughter describing Madame Web, to Gabriel Urbina stopping by the script clinic and even reading for a character, to DESTINY HOWELL I LOVE YOU, to all my new fantasy podcast besties, to the artists who thanked me for bringing them a table (apparently cons don’t always do that?), to the Boston contingent, to Hera, to Victoria, to everyone I met who worked on Breathing Space, to Ester for telling me all about dndads workflow, to people who were like “you’re such a good moderator,” (I’M CRY), to running out of stickers, to the confused Boulder uber driver, to falling into perfect synch with a partner I just met in person, and above all, to Tal and Will and Anne.
I love this con and I love these people and I love audio drama and I love the world.
TAFCON yesterday was an absolute WHIRLWIND; to be in a space, in-person!!, with people who all love this weird and at times reclusive hobby we all share has rekindled my probably-unkillable love for this medium and those in it. I've spent all of my early 20's enmeshed in this community since founding PBC and I'm so incredibly grateful to be able to witness how fiercely us audio drama folks continue to create, celebrate, and share, (despite the way the world continues to demand so much of ourselves.)
Thanks to Tal, Anne & Wil for all of their hard work in making this happen (& inviting me to chat about community!) Spaces like this, where we're reminded that what we're all doing matters, that true creativity is still alive and well, is endlessly important. Thanks to everyone I was able to meet and chat with about their shows, or about that show they really want to make. &, of course, thank you to everyone who shared their appreciation for PBC. Being able to see and hear how it's impacted the space and other people means the world to me.
Keep creating. Tell the stories no one else is telling. Don't be afraid to reach out and ask for help - it's okay not to know things; we all start somewhere, and people want to see you succeed and share your art with the world!! I hope we can all enjoy TAFCON for many years to come :) Audio drama forever!!!!
It's hard to capture the exact alchemy that happened this weekend, because no one part of the day was some keystone perfect moment. For me personally, it was incredible to even just be in the same room as so many of my closest collaborators and people who have made art that has deeply moved me; but then, there were also a good number of audiodrama fans who showed up and kept things from getting too "let's all talk shop." The vibes, so to speak, were immaculate, with people all coming together to appreciate each others' expertise and artistry - and that is NOT a given!
I think the thing I was most struck by, consistently through the whole day, was the spirit of generosity and community from setup at 7:30 a.m. (when more volunteers showed up than Tal planned for) to 8:00 p.m. (when the venue coordinator seemed genuinely shocked by how helpful everyone wanted to be putting the space back together). I had constructive, inspiring conversations with titans of the field and new artists under 20. I learned about how people brought their own loves to their work: linguists, teachers, musical gear distributors, used bookstore owners, ex-marketing firm full-time writers, experts in Greek history, civil rights history, marine biology. And not once - genuinely, seriously, taking account of the whole 12+ hour day - did I feel a single shred of selfishness, competitiveness, or jealousy in any room or conversation I was in. Acknowlement of our egos? Sure! But never indulgence in shit-talking, never a single person saying "that show is so overrated" or "that actor didn't earn that part" or "[whatever] should have been successful instead" and that is *remarkable*
In the closing presentation on how to keep making art in our dark, dark days, Lauren Shippen was asked "what gives you hope?" She thought for a brief moment, and said what I'd been thinking all day: this. This gives me hope. This community that refuses to be cruel to the naive, refuses to be lazy about inclusion, refuses to look away from the pain of the world and yet writes, sings, acts, designs, creates, creates, creates. Dear listener, I did tear up. I did feel that lump in my throat. To be in a room of 200 people who love so fiercely the creative act was nothing short of a spiritual experience for me.
I don't know if it's possible to catch this lightning in a bottle again. There will be a TAFCon 2, and I will do nearly anything to be there, because I loved being so indulgently immersed in our so-often atomised community. It reminded me how powerful our stories are, how essential. So thank you to each and every person who gave me even a minute of their time at the @re-dracula table, who told me about their weird, wonderful pet project, who joined me and @chemicallywrit for the script clinic. It was one of the best days of my adult life. Long live the creative act and the spirit of giving. Long live audio fiction.
The award-winning comedy-mystery audio drama about the (second) best detectives in London is raising funds for its third season!
Our season 3 Kickstarter is live! Fawx & Stallion is a comedy-mystery podcast about the best detective team in London! Not that one. The other one. Across the street, and slightly to the left, at 224B Baker Street. We've successfully solved two mysteries, and we'll need your help to get a crack at a third! Scripts are written, pre-production has begun, and all we need is the funding to make this show's engine start in earnest!
Season one of the show was primarily self-financed, and season two's 10 episodes were crowdfunded and produced for $8000. For season 3, we are telling a story unlike any you've heard, with 12 full-cast episodes. Thank you to our Patreon members who have helped finance our pre-production and our wonderful team of five guest writers! For this season, we are asking for $10,000 to bring this sprawling, absurd, ambitious story to life.
We invite you to check out our crowdfunding page, which is live now, for more info on the season, our budget breakdown, and our fantastic set of rewards (early access! annotated Holmes stories! stickers! for the first time, the opportunity to name a character or provide walla for the show!)
In the interest of highlighting our rewards, take a look at our first set of 4 stickers, because we have an offer for you: help us get $3000 in pledges in the first 72 hours, and we'll add a FIFTH pride-themed sticker to all $30 and up tiers!
More info about the season under the cut!
What can you expect from season 3?
LONDON, 1892! Now established as the go-to detective team in London, Fawx & Stallion are hired by a Canadian showbiz duo who believes they've brought a Curse with them across the Atlantic. The case kicks off a chain of events that sprawl across a rapidly-evolving London and threaten not only the soul of the city, but also the character development of the last two seasons!
As a team, we're always asking ourselves how we can continue to grow with this story, how we can challenge not only our characters, but ourselves - how we can find new ways to expand what this story can be. In doing that, we ended up with a set of scripts that are more ambitious than anything we've attempted before. Some things you can expect out of Season Three:Â
More Episodes! This season we’re expanding our plate to 12 episodes! That’s 2-to-2.5 more than usual! Why? Keep reading!
More Writers! Part of the concept for this season was to expand not just the world of the show, but even our own conception of it! With that in mind, this season features new mysteries crafted by 5 incredible guest artists including Bob Raymonda (Forgive Me!, Windfall), Newton Schottelkotte (Where the Stars Fell), Christopher Hainsworth (Monstrous Regiment, Midnight Cowboy), Sam Robotham (Dead Coats, Chocolate Grandpa), and Shawn Pfautsch & Jessica Ridenour (The Green Heron; Season on the Line and Captive)!
Serialized Mysteries! That’s right: along with our season-long arc, within this season you can expect full-meal, original, beginning-to-end mysteries! Fawx & Stallion are getting new cases and you are going to see more of them than ever before, in our love letter to the Golden Age of Detective Fiction!Â
More World Building! One of our favorite things that came from Season Two was getting to explore our version of Victorian London. This season we really dove in on that idea, getting a larger picture of the colorful characters and ludicrous locations that make up the world of the show, including (but not limited to) the West End, the Victorian Culinary Scene, Secret Clubs, the Sewers of London, a Yacht Party, a Trip to the Countryside, and Big Ben!
New Characters! Season Three is easily the most expansive season we’ve done so far, and with that expanse comes a dearth of new characters, new voices, and new stories. We've got over 100 characters in this new season!Â
Special Surprises! You didn’t think we’d show all our cards in the crowdfund, did you? As much as we’d love to, all we’ll say is this season is so special in the evolution of Fawx & Stallion, the show and characters. Maybe it includes talking animals! Maybe one of them gets a dog! Maybe there are musical numbers! Who knows…?
It's almost Dracula Season! Consider joining the fun with Re: Dracula, an immersive audio drama in chronological order! And if that's not enough, come chat in our discord!
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