Love a good mystery? Then take heart: one of the finer mysteries to cross our ears continues.
In Episode 374, we shared the start of the mystery that is Dirt: An Audio Drama. It ended on a far too tantalizing note, so we had to bring you some more (mainly so we’d have an excuse to listen to more).
We mentioned last time that creator Kris Kaiyala found inspiration for this tale from the real places, real events, and real people in his grandfather Arvo’s life. Arvo took up metal detecting in the 1960s and 1970s, and spent several years writing his memoire as a series of entertaining short stories, a number of which are recounted or paraphrased in Dirt. It’s the perfect launching pad for a fictional mystery, as the main character tries to decipher the messages his long-dead grandfather is telegraphing to him in writings and old home movies.
The voice actors in Dirt bring it all to life. Nearly all are amateurs who simply loved the script and poured themselves into the characters. Kaiyala wanted a less-polished, more rough realism to his production, and focused on making sure the actors sounded like real people – in real conversations and situations. He wanted the sound effects to be authentic, too; for example, instead of recreating the sound of a metal detector using foley, he bought a vintage Coinmaster IV from a collector – the same model metal detector his grandfather used.
We think it all comes off beautifully, especially in these next two episodes – “What Blossoms in the East” and “There’s Something I Want to Show You.” Enjoy!
To Help You Dig Deeper:
