Playwrights Horizons to Release Episodes of Milo Cramer's BOY FACTORY and Kirsten Childs' THE EDGE OF NIGHT

Playwrights Horizons today announced Episodes 6 and 7 of the acclaimed new anthological scripted fiction podcast Soundstage: BOY FACTORY, written and performed by Milo Cramer (Cute Activist), to be released on June 23; and The Edge of Night, by OBIE Award-winner Kirsten Childs (Bella: An American Tall Tale and The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin at Playwrights Horizons), out on July 7.

Milo Cramer's BOY FACTORY is a funny and heartfelt monologue tracking a young man's search for self-acceptance, through Google Image searches for pornography, family dynamics, college roommates, and low-wage jobs. Directed by Morgan Green and sound-designed and edited by Elisheba Ittoop, the episode was recorded at CDM Studios, with additional post-production services and support from Acoustiguide.

Telling stories is how we keep memories alive, and The Edge of Night reimagines a favorite family story as musical theater: Mrs. Annie Brown is determined not to miss her favorite soap opera, but has to grapple head-on with segregation in the 1950's south in order to succeed in her quest. Written and composed by Childs, the play is directed by Awoye Timpo, with sound design by Elisheba Ittoop and music direction and mixing by Gary Atturio. It features Darlesia Cearcy (Mable/vocalist) Brandon Gill (vocalist), Amber Iman (KC), Kevin Massey (vocalist), and Jasmin Walker (vocalist), and features musicians including Alan Markley (piano), Julie Pacheco (flute), and multi-instrumentalists Gary Atturio and Chris Cubeta. They recorded, with Cubeta as engineer, at Studio G Brooklyn. Casting is by Katie Meister Houben.

Soundstage offers "world premieres from world-class playwrights without having to leave your home" (The New York Times). Playwrights Horizons began production on it in 2019, motivated by the belief that playwrights are the great storytellers of our time, and inspired by the prospect of unleashing America's playwrights onto the fertile terrain of scripted content podcasting: a medium available to everyone, anywhere. Playwrights Horizons developed this podcast with the intention to release its first episodes later this year but decided to launch it sooner to serve its audience, as New Yorkers and people around the globe continue prolonged periods of social distancing.

Previous Soundstage episodes include Prime: A Practical Breviary by Heather Christian (Episode 1); Gather by Robert O'Hara (Episode 2); Play for Any Two People by Jordan Harrison (Episode 3); Outtakes by Qui Nguyen (Episode 4); and nightnight by Lucas Hnath (Episode 5). Playwrights creating later episodes include Jeremy O. Harris, Carlos Murillo, Jenny Schwartz, and Kate Tarker.

For Soundstage, acclaimed actors and award-winning directors, sound designers, and composers realize rich audio experiences in episodes 15-40 minutes in length. These works are available for free to listeners on all major podcasting platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and Stitcher.

The company received seed funding for this initiative through a generous, multi-year grant from the Scherman Foundation's Katharine S. and Axel G. Rosin Fund. Now, as so many aspects of daily life are crucially put "on pause" to combat COVID-19, initiatives like Soundstage allow audiences everywhere to continue to have access to groundbreaking new writing.

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