This August and September I have become passionate about podcasts. As a teacher I am thrilled by the way it has enriched my Shakespeare class. As and administrator I am excited about how it has connected stakeholders to the school in a meaningful way. As a life-long learner the experience enriches my life.

                                                                           ShakenBakeCast

ShakenbakeCast is a collection of interviews with actors, academics, directors, movie makers stage managers and assorted experts on Shakespeare. I have woven the interviews into by course curriculum for the Shakespeare class but the series is also intended to serve a broader audience of Shakespeare lovers. Most recently I interviewed two independent film makers who have made a movie of Love’s Labour’s Lost  at a boarding school. They have just released a new trailer of the film and are thrilled by their project.  It was great fun to chat with them about a film that is aimed a young audience like my students.

                                                                  Accent on Mercy Alumnae

Accent on Mercy Alumnae  was inspired by Shakespeare interviewees. Two of them were former students who earned doctorates in Early Modern English. I thought it a shame to limit my interviews to alumnae Shakespeare experts and thought it would be fun to “catch up” with other alumnae– classical musicians, entrepreneurs, CEOs of non-profits, etc. It is also gratifying to do this in partnership with Julie Earle (MHS Communications) and Margaret Kurpiers (MHS Alumnae Office).

At the recommendation of educators/podcasters Derek Rhodenizer and Jethro Jones, I have used Zencastr for these audio interviews.  I do some mixing in GarageBand and then upload to SoundCloud. I can then use the RSS feed to podcast on iTunes where anyone can subscribe.  This is much simpler then it sounds. In fact I am considering a presentation at MHS Tech Talk for K-12 Educators on “Feeling Podcastic!”