Tue 5/26
Justin Glanville and Mindy Childress Herman are both noted members of Cleveland’s creative community. Glanville is a writer who has written extensively about Cleveland neighborhoods and people. And we just finished writing about one of Herman’s projects a little while ago: she produces the Dark Room writer/actor open mics at The Church at Cleveland Public Theatre.
In 2018, the two collaborated on a podcast drama called Munchen, Minnesota, described as “about a fading mill town on the verge of a supernatural invasion,” which grew out of the Dark Room sessions and was supported by Cleveland Public Theatre.
They now have another “audio drama” called The Mystery of Easter Island, written by Justin Glanville and directed by Mindy Childress Herman, produced by their company Footsteps Media with Cleveland Public Theatre. it recorded live at CPT and via Zoom, with cast of a dozen Cleveland-area actors.
The story is based on the life of early 20th century British explorer/adventurer Katherine Routledge, who sailed to the remote Easter Island to learn the background of its iconic statues of giant heads (moai). Her story involved a chaotic personal life and her own mental illness, as well as the conflicts and vicissitudes of the strenuous journey to an island with its own fraught history.
“I was drawn to Routledge’s story after a visit to see the moai for myself a few years ago,” says Glanville. “Here’s this upper crust English woman who sailed around the world to study the most isolated place on the planet — in 1914, before women even had the right to vote. All while battling significant demons of her own.”
The first season launches May 26, and will available on YouTube and all major podcast platforms.