New Audio Drama from Glenn Hascall: Slipping Past the Garden Gate

Glenn Hascall has been in the audio drama world for a long time and has voiced numerous characters in many shows in recent years. But he hasn't released a new show that he has written in quite some time. That has changed today with the release of Slipping Past the Garden Gate.

This 35-minute production is a very unique story and while it is appropriate for all ages, it likely won't have as much of an impact on younger kids. Hascall refers to it as an allegory and makes it clear at the top that there is a deeper meaning to what you are about to experience. Without giving anything away, you'll want to go into this one with that in mind and look beyond the surface level. This production was written, directed, and produced by Glenn Hascall and it's obvious that he put his heart and soul into this project.

Summary

Dave Chrisman is a writer, lover of history and ultimately time explorer. He discovers a time between times that allows him a front row seat to the past. This story follows his trek through time, the people he meets and the choices that sometimes left him uncertain.

Cast

Dave Chrisman - Jonathan Cooke

Laura Chrisman - Alicia Hansen

Adult Carl - Joe Stofko

Corrie Sutton - Trisha Rose

Young Carl - Elliott Fisher

Michael Chrisman - Rigby Dehnart

Neighbor - Frank Ulle

You can stream the show for free on YouTube and Dramafy.

Glenn shared some of the backstory behind the creation of this audio drama and gave us permission to share it with you:

In early 2020, I found myself transitioning from a job where I had access to a studio every day of the week and had full use of that studio. A home studio would be built, but it would take a little time and initially allowed me to record, but lacked all the tools needed to produce. So, I set aside the idea of writing and producing audio drama (something I had done since 1994) in favor of voicing projects for other producers.

There was encouragement to get back to dreaming of new worlds and storylines. As an author, I became very busy writing book projects and assumed the days of writing audio drama were behind me and I convinced myself it was the natural order of things to live through this change.

Katie Dehnart and her family brought life to numerous productions of mine and they encouraged me to consider a new project. I declined. Joe Stofko, who has also been a great asset in many of my productions asked me to consider writing again for the purposes of creating an audio drama. Then? He asked again. And once more. Just after the New Year I found a window and began writing, still unsure if a new audio drama would be the result. I had written a novel twenty years ago and ultimately lost most of it by not bringing it forward to new computers. I did land on 4 chapters that reminded me of this world I had created back in the day. That was my starting point, but the story emphasis and conclusion were all new in this audio tale.

Stofko had even offered to mix the project because I wasn’t sure I would have time, but I had such a distinct vision for the project that once the ball started rolling I kept at it until it was done. The benefit was that I now had all the parts and pieces to produce from my personal studio and it was a joy to both dream of this world in writing and then again in sound.

Almost every role was hand-picked from voice actors I had worked with before. It included Stofko and Rigby Dehnart along with Alicia Hansen and Jonathan Cooke (Pirateers creators and producers) Frank Ulle (Nick Guy creator and producer) and a new talent I had worked with more recently, Elliott Fisher. I had one role left to fill and went to a couple of online sources to seek that voice. It turns out I have worked with Trisha Rose before, but through the individual voicing for other audio dramas and audiobooks. This was the first time working with her on one of my projects and she was perfect in her role of Corrie Sutton.

I intentionally kept the cast small and also insisted that my role would only be the introduction of the story and in providing the key to its allegorical nature at the end. It was rather affirming to hear back from the cast who found themselves surprised and emotional about the conclusion and the sense that the end result was even better than they thought it would be.

Having an extensive background in broadcasting, I recalled a song that I had played on the radio. I sought the artist out and asked permission to use a portion of her song. Thankfully, Lyndsay Jackson agreed and I think it puts a fine point on the power of a story that seems like a gentle visit via time travel.

My audio dramas have always been family friendly and this one is no exception. It will feel like a science fiction story (and it is), but it means something more and will likely find listeners recalling something else.

Be sure to give this powerful audio drama a listen and let us know what you think of it in the comments below.