An queer sitcom about facing strange and insubstantial problems.

Running a business is hard. Running a business alone in an old, haunted building is even harder. Janine didn’t know what she was getting herself into when she opened Prism - but with the help of Ryan (an astronomy professor with a useful knack) and Kale (an artist with a mind for marketing), she manages to stay aloft.

Light Hearts follows the daily shenanigans of serving Prism’s customers, solving strange problems, and wrangling the occasional unexpected patron.

Transcripts

JANINE is up to her eyeballs in food prep. KALE and RYAN chat at the bar.

KALE: So...you see them all the time?

RYAN: It’s not quite like that.

KALE: What is it like?

RYAN: It’s hard to describe. It’s more like remembering something you had forgotten. You know that feeling? When it just comes to you, clear as day?

KALE: I...think...so?

RYAN: But not quite like that.

KALE: Uh.

RYAN: I sense things. I know them, they’re a fact, it’s just how they are. Like how I can look at your jacket and I know for a fact that you have bright blue paint splattered on the left sleeve. I don’t have to second-guess or analyze that, I don’t have to get a second opinion. I know what I’m seeing, because I trust my senses to tell me.

JANINE bustles in.

JANINE: What do your senses tell you about this tapenade?

RYAN: That it’s disgusting.

JANINE: You didn’t even try it.

RYAN: I don’t need to try it. It’s tapenade. Tapenade is not good.

KALE: I’ll try it.

RYAN: Do you know what tapenade is?

JANINE: Would you just let them try it?

KALE: It looks interesting.

RYAN: It’s olives ground into a paste.

JANINE: Excuse me, it is much more than that.

KALE: ...I’ll pass.

JANINE grumbles something about needing friends with more adventurous palates and disappears into the back again.

KALE: So it is a visual thing, though? You can see them?

RYAN: Not so much. I sometimes see something, but not all that often. Usually only if there’s a lot of energy or emotion. Even then, though, I don’t see the actual person.

KALE: What do you see?

RYAN: Colors, light, undefined shapes, that sort of thing.

KALE: That is so cool.

JANINE: (Yelling from the back.) How do we feel about stuffed sardines?

RYAN: (Calling to her.) How do you feel about poison?

Sound of JANINE grumbling in the distance.

KALE: This place has a lot of ghosts, right?

RYAN: Yeah.

KALE: So if you could see them all, all at the same time, it would probably look like…

RYAN: Sort of like your jacket. Swirls and splotches of all different colors.

KALE: Wow.

RYAN: I’m really enjoying how impressed you are with me. By all means, please keep that going.

KALE: The whole world would look like an abstract painting, then. If you could see them all the time, I mean.

RYAN: I never really thought of it that way, but you’re right.

KALE: I wish I could do that.

RYAN: It has its downsides.

KALE: Well, sure. All skills do.

RYAN: You think it’s a skill?

KALE: You don’t?

RYAN: No, not really. A skill is like...your art. Or Janine’s repeated attempts at making palatable food.

JANINE: (From back.) I heard that.

RYAN: What I can do, it’s more of...an ability. Just a thing I happen to be able to do. Like how some people can sing.

KALE: Right, but you can interpret all that. You can read the room and really read the room.

JANINE: (From back.) Either of you like escargot?

RYAN: Janine, I beg you, put down the ancient cookbook and pick up the internet.

KALE: (To RYAN.) I actually like escargot.

RYAN: Don’t encourage her.

JANINE: (From back.) What about -

RYAN: Are any of the words about to come out of your mouth related to organ meat?

JANINE: (From back.) ...so no to the fried livers?

RYAN AND KALE: No!

JANINE: (From back.) Son of a-

Her swearing is drowned out by a crashing sound.

KALE: Whatcha doin?

JANINE: Recording this radio ad, shh… This weekend, come on down to Prism, the new LGBTQ+ space-

KALE: So that’s really what you’re saying?

JANINE: Yes, why? What should I say?

KALE: Talk about the old-world charm.

RYAN: And the menu to match…

JANINE: But they need to know it’s for -

KALE: Listen, you have a bar with a jukebox that plays itself. Just say that.

RYAN: It doesn’t always, though.

JANINE: Right, and it’s not just a bar, it’s an LGBT-

RYAN: Queer?

JANINE: You think?

KALE: Yes.

JANINE: Fine. Queer community space.

KALE: Prism. Come for the queers, say for the weird.

RYAN: The snacks aren’t bad either.

JANINE: Aww - really?

RYAN: Really.

Creating a Gender Inclusive Podcast on a Shoestring Budget.

A Presentation by Evan Tess Murray and Tal Minear

Many creators see the universe of audio fiction and want to contribute, but funding is a barrier. Many creators also want to be inclusive of LGBTQIA+ people but have questions about how best to do that. The need for more stories from marginalized perspectives runs up against financial barriers. As a pair of collaborative creators, Tal and Evan have expertise in both of these areas, both on separate projects and together. They'll present their ideas about how to create queer-inclusive audio fiction on a tight budget. Do you want to tell more inclusive stories? Do you want to find a way to make your voice heard without outside funding? This introductory presentation will get you started.

Press Kit

About the Show:
Light Hearts is a queer sitcom about facing strange and insubstantial problems.

Janine didn’t know what she was getting herself into when she opened Prism - but with the help of Ryan (an astronomy professor with a useful knack) and Kale (an artist with a mind for marketing), she manages to stay aloft. Light Hearts follows the daily shenanigans of serving Prism’s customers, solving strange problems, and wrangling the occasional unexpected patron.

Contact Details:
Website
Email: [email protected]
Social Media: lighheartspod on Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr

Release Schedule:
The first episode debuts April 6, 2020.
Subsequent episodes will be released on an as-finished schedule, with no set time between episodes.

Where to Listen:
RSS Feed
Apple Podcasts
Spotify
Radio Public
Stitcher
Pocket Casts
Google Play, Podcast Addict, and several other podcast players.

Transcripts:
Transcripts are available here

Cast and Crew:
Caroline Mincks (she/her): Lead Writer / Social Media Manager / Actor
Evan Tess Murray (they/them): Lead Director / Transcriptionist / Writer / Actor
Tal Minear (they/them): Executive Producer / Lead Sound Design / Writer / Actor

Cover Art:

Creators & Showrunners

Caroline Mincks (they/them)

Caroline Mincks (they/them) is a voice actor, writer, and director. They are the creator of Seen and Not Heard, SHIFTS, and Scary Stories for Modern Minds, and they co-create Light Hearts and Hughes and Mincks: Ghost Detectives. You can hear them on This Planet Needs a Name (Zahava), Ad Read (Computer God), and as a co-host on Empty the Queues (Avatar: The Last Airbender track). At any given moment they have at least five other podcasts up their sleeve.ade mostly of hope and defiance. Find Caroline on Twitter @saucymincks.

Lead Writer / Social Media Manager / Actor / Choreographer

Lead Director / Transcriptionist
/ Writer / Actor / Costuming

Evan Tess Murray (he/they)

Evan Tess Murray has been a podcast creator and voice actor for about five minutes, a writer for about forever, and works as a professional feminist in Portland, Maine when they’re not podcasting. They launched their podcasting career by making everyone cry as Zei in This Planet Needs a Name, and you’ll be able to hear their voice in a few projects currently in production including a cameo role in the upcoming Seen and Not Heard. They genuinely believe in the power of stories to create community, supply comfort, and inspire action, and if you dig down to the bone you’ll find they’re made mostly of hope and defiance.Find Evan on Twitter at @evantessuraea.

Tal Minear (they/them)

Tal is a SoCal based voice actor, sound designer, and podcast podcaster. Tal is the creator of Sidequesting, What Will Be Here?, and Someone Dies In This Elevator, and is working on several upcoming projects for Parazonium Podcasts and The Shadow Network. Their voice can also be heard in audio fiction shows such as Novitero, Circles, The Path Down, Deconstructive Criticism, and more.

Tal does sound design for Seen and Not Heard, Surreal Love, and their own podcasts, among others. They occasionally write for other shows, including The One Stars and The Ace Audio Archive, and they write about audio drama production on Medium and for Discover Pods. Find Tal on Twitter at @starplanes and at talminear.com.

Executive Producer / Lead Sound Design /Actor / Cinematography

Episode Guests

Sarah Werner (she/they)
Episode 2 - Painting the Night

Sarah Rhea Werner is a professional writer and podcaster who loves to help other creators find confidence and success. She is a contributor to Forbes and creator of the Girl In Space and Write Now podcasts. She currently lives in the Midwest with one husband, two rescue cats, and a ceiling full of spiders. Find Sarah at sarahwerner.com or on Twitter and Instagram at @SarahRheaWerner.

Sawyer Greene (he/they)
Episode 3 - Writing The Story

Sawyer Greene is a Virginia born and NYC trained actor who can be found in shows such as This Planet Needs a Name, Sidequesting, and Hughes and Mincks: Ghost Detectives. He can be found on Twitter @queer_elf_club, Instagram @vaguely.stressed.flower, and TikTok @queerelfclub.

Alexander Endymion Hernández Díaz (he/they)
Episode 3 - Writing The Story

Endymion recently showed off an animated short he wrote, drew, and acted in when he was 11, proving that voice acting was always his destiny. He lives on the Canary Islands, where he studies astrophysics and sends pictures of beautiful tropical weather and occasional sand-blasted hellscapes to everyone else in the cast. He was initially unsure how his accent would sound but has since learned that Americans love it. Find him on twitter @endyxanders.

A. R. Olivieri (they/them)
Episode 4 - Borrowing The Book

A. R. OLIVIERI is a writer, actor, director, producer, french fry addict, & podcast creator who resides in Sarah Rhea Werner's brain. Find them on twitter @AROLIVIERI and visit their website arolivieri.com.