Nora goes to Transom Story Workshop

Hello there!

This fall I am heading to the Transom Story Workshop. The workshop is an immersive, 9-week course for radio/podcast producers in Woods Hole, MA.  When I leave the course I will be fully transformed into a real deal radio producer with a portfolio of radio stories under my belt!

The program is competitive and I am 1 of 9 people who got in (!!).  It's  kind of like the Julliard of radio production school.  I'm still in shock! I will study with some of the greats in radio and podcast production including:
Jay Allison (The Moth Radio Hour)
Rob Rosenthal (How Sound)
Nancy Updike (This American Life)
Daniel Alarcón (Radio Ambulante)

This is a BIG deal and marks a shift in my career path. I am still going to keep making, creating, and performing music (that will never go away, of course. I will always be gigging!), but I am shifting my professional endeavors into the radio/podcast realm. 

My Cause: 
I wanted to go to Transom because I feel deeply that stories connect us and help us to understand ourselves, the world, and others. There is no better way to achieve empathy than to power an individual’s story directly from their mouth into the ears of an attentive listener. I listen to radio and podcasts non-stop these days and I want to learn any and everything about the craft. 

My favorite radio stories are about everyday people. The taxi driver who just emigrated from Ghana, the teacher who’s going through a divorce, a couple dealing with one partner’s mental illness, a new mother who hasn’t been able to sleep. Through the intimacy of audio, we uncover that these people are just like us. We are all struggling to get by, to make sense of this life, and to find meaning in the everyday existence of being a human being on this weird, beautiful earth.

Within the small radio and podcast world, the Transom Story Workshop is renowned as a place to give the next generation of radio/podcast producers the skills and inspiration they need to create great radio and tell compelling, thoughtful, and surprising stories.  (If you're interested, their website is stock-full of tips, tricks & manifestos for radio producers & storytellers --> http://transom.org/

Alumni from this workshop have gone on to produce for Radiolab, WNYC, PRX, Buzzfeed, and more.  

Funding Goal:
As a working musician, the expense of this 9-week workshop is a real challenge. Tuition & housing are $8,850 and $1,650 for food/travel costs.  The total cost of the workshop is: $10,500. With the help of my family and my own savings, I am contributing $7,000 towards the program. I am writing you today to ask for your help  in reaching my goal of raising $3,500 that will go directly to this program. I am sincerely thankful for you taking the time to read my story!

What I Will Leave the Program With:
- a network of Transom alumni & professional connections with those working in the field
- a radio production portfolio including:
A vox-pop audio piece.
A radio promo.
A four-minute profile of a creative person, based on WCAI’s Creative Life Series.
A six-minute documentary feature
One or more Sonic IDs.
-adeptness with Hindenburg Journalist audio editing program

For more information, check out the website for the workshop: ---> Transom Story Workshop 


Last but not least, check out the above video (or watch it here ) to see what a bunch of amazing radio producers had to say about Transom.
 The video features:
Roman Mars (99% Invisible)
Stephanie Foo (This American Life)
Dave Isay (Storycorps)
Alix Spiegel (Invisibilia) 
Daniel Alarcón (Radio Ambulante)
Tobin Low (Radiolab: More Perfect)
& more folks!

Thank you for taking the time to read this!
Nora