I had an audio affair In The Dark [Part 1]

In a room full of people, and it was wonderful

The other day, I asked Lauren Passell what she thought an underrated sound in everyday life was. Mine is the crunching of leaves beneath boots. She told me I’m probably going to hate this but, she loves the sound of someone sipping through the straw in a quiet theatre.

You see, what Lauren loves is the idea of it being silent around us while we listen to a sound together. 

Silence and listening to a sound together.

Something podcast lovers rarely get to experience. We’re usually plugged in in our respective chambers, experiencing the rhythms of the stories on our own, gasping and cooing and giggling on our own. 

[Sidebar — if anyone wants to host a 36 Questions concert, I’ll happily do the marketing for free 👀].

I had not experienced this manner of podcast listening until the In The Dark Variety Show at Tribeca, curated by Talia Augustidis. I immediately fell in love with it.

In The Dark is a collaborative project between audio producers and enthusiasts. From their website — ‘We are best known for our monthly live listening events […] – a bit like a cinema, but without the pictures.’

🟣 With Talia’s permission, I’m sharing 10 short audio pieces from In The Dark in New York and how they might make you feel. And why you, like me, might fall in love with at least one of them.

So turn off the lights, get comfortable, and revel in gratitude for great audio with me. [I am sharing four pieces here and six in part 2. These pieces need time to breathe, as do my words. Enjoy].

I’m currently living in Bushwick in Brooklyn. The floor of the apartment building thumps to the beats of the bar downstairs. Here’s a small symphony that scores me wrapping up my work and rushing to Talia’s show.

I’ll spare you the unfurling of expletives that ensued as I was running. Perpetually delayed, as it seems to happen to everyone in New York. 

After a lot of this ⬇️ , I make it to Tribeca. 

I’m aware that I’ve already missed the beginning of the show, but it’s okay. Right?

Me in New York. Every day.

I run as fast as my Hot Girl Walk Mix will carry me. Storming into the building I scurry up the stairs to the theatre. I can hear that they’re in the middle of the first one. So, obviously, we wait to enter. Like Alice sneaking just outside of Wonderland, I press my ear to the door to make what I can of the magic on the other side.

⭐ And so…

🎧 It Begins by Davy Gardner

The first audio short was by none other than Davy Gardner, the curator of Tribeca’s Audio Storytelling program. Unfortunately, I was not in the room when this played. I only heard the laughter subsiding to applause after this ended. However, having heard it now, I can say, it will leave you — missing The Truth, and reminiscing an awkward first encounter you had on a date.

▶️ Listen here to prepare for the magic short audio pieces can create.

🎧 The Brown Student’s Fear by Salman Ahad Khan

As a brown student who left her country for post graduation, Salman Ahad Khan hits the nail on the head.

To bidet or not to bidet? A question that haunts us all.

The unspoken tale of the unsung hero of the bathroom. I thoroughly reveled in the awkward giggles that turned into sincere nods around the room. The audience had now quickly become well-acquainted with each other. This piece will make you — chuckle, squirm awkwardly, and be grateful for non-spicy food.

▶️ Listen here but be ready to consider buying this.

🎧 Di Major by D. Peterschmidt

Situated comfortably in my seat now, I held my breath as this piece played. There is something magical about collective focus in a dark room. D’s question “do people actually like their names?” echoed across our minds. As we experienced D’s discordant relationship with their previous name, the tension rose. I wish you could have been there to witness it — a theatre full of people leaning forward, awaiting relief. And relief did come. I’ll let you find it on your own.

▶️ Listen here to find the secret chord.

🎧 Where Do I Find You Now? by Sara Curtis

A truly remarkable quality of short audio is how it manages to make you giggle and weep in under three minutes. Sara does just that. I find it difficult to say anything without spoiling it, without letting you giggle and weep at the same timestamps as the rest of us did.

▶️ Listen here, and you might find yourself thinking about birth and death.

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Thank you, Talia! For curating these wonderful pieces and letting me share them.

In the next part, we gather to — quiet down to search for what matters, hear out the agony and anger of student protests, and accidentally read an erotica.

Tell me, what are the sounds you wish the world would stop to hear with you?

Until next time,

Shreya