Really enjoying this show, but pretty frustrated at how Grim & Mild is behaving as the producer. A review in 3 parts: The Show, The Producer, The Fix THE SHOW Something really cool is happening here that needs to be highlighted. Grim & Mild hired Nicholas Tecosky to create and produce a ghostly anthology series for the holidays. Nicholas Tecosky is an Atlanta-based writer and co-founder of Write Club Atlanta. Tecosky collaborated with 11 other Atlanta-based writers to create this series. Except for you-know-who, it's all Atlanta actors. It's a fucking brilliant idea. The fact that this series has a Regional voice and is created by a community of writers is so cool. It's packed with references to Atlanta, Birmingham, I-10 and the Gulf Coast. It's a Haunted South that avoids the trappings of Southern Gothic - full of a roster of diverse characters that are often lacking in Southern Literature. And the stories are fucking rad. "La Bruja del Desierto" and "You Again" are stand-outs (the sound design in "You Again" is a goddam masterclass in how audio dramas can transport you somewhere distant) - but every story has something to leave you tingling, whether it's the "recording of a recording" voice in "Rest a Spell" or the spirit that eats memories in "The Land of Hungry Ghosts." A sister's ultimate sacrifice, a mother desperate to protect her unborn daughter, a queer daughter finally shaking herself free of her disapproving mother - this series is full of riveting stories by a roster of authors that will leave you wanting to encounter more of their work. Which is why it's SO FUCKING DISAPPOINTING that Aaron Mahnke doesn't give a shit. THE PRODUCER The whole point of an anthology series is discovering new authors, but that doesn't seem to be on Grim & Mild's radar. Want to read a transcript of a story you loved, good luck, I can't find one. Want to know more about the author? Try Google, I reckon. Want to connect with the creators via twitter/insta/website? Not something anyone at G&M has considered. But don't take my word on it. You want more info on 12 Ghosts, head on over to grimandmild.com where you can do awesome stuff like: Check out what else Aaron Mahnke is working on (Unobscured is covering Rasputin right now!) Read Aaron Mahnke's bio (did you know he lives in Massachusetts' Historic Northern Shore?) Click a link to become an advertiser! It's just so fucking disrespectful. Look, I'm a playwright living in Cincinnati - which is a wonderful, artistically-vibrant town, but not exactly a nationally-recognized cultural hub. If someone with Aaron Mahnke's profile wanted to elevate a roster of local writers and actors working and living in Cincy, it wouldn't be hard to find a coven of truly-gifted writers and performers. For most of those artists (myself included) getting to be featured in a Grim & Mild anthology would be a career highlight. But when you take the creative output of people who aren't famous outside their local sphere and then dump your own name all over the cover art, it's exploitative. And it makes you a shit heel. Now, to give Aaron his due, he did do a great job of reading the end credits. And who's to say he didn't do more! Maybe he individually stuffed the mattresses they sell on those Casper ads. If he did, hopefully he's able to sleep well at night. THE FIX This is not a small problem, but it has such a simple fix. Show notes are an endless amount of free space - use them: include artist bios, links and transcripts. You have a website, give meaningful credit, share the exposure. G&M, Lore, Aaron Mahnke, you all have twitter/insta followers - use your platforms to amplify others. I don't give a good shit if G&M is a for profit company whose sole goal in life is to sell Raycon earbuds - it just doesn't matter. Aaron, you've made it to the top of this industry, it's just your goddam job to lift up others.

Dec 24th, 2022

shawnmfielding