THE PODCAST
PART II: BONFIRE OF THE ANCESTORS
Explore the roots and growth of white privilege in Part II of the surreal podcast Miss Experience White, a three-part audio drama. In “Bonfire of the Ancestors,” the narrator performs a ritual to purify her historical awareness and create the warrior consciousness within to battle the Pearly White Demon of white supremacy. Original music by Erik Ian Walker and Earwax Productions’ immersive sound design provide dynamic backdrops for stories weaving throughout centuries of American history.
Written and performed by Milo Starr Johnson, produced by the Tea Club and Jim McKee.
Keyboards, guitar, and bass by Erik Ian Walker. Fiddle by Dan Compton. Additional music on accordion by Melanie Clarin DeGiovanni. Also featuring the music of It Thing. Acting coach: Charlie Varon.
Limited Series & Specials
(Scripted) Fiction
Limited Series & Specials
Best Sound Design
Mini-series & Specials
Cause Awareness
Podcast Features
Best Use of Original Music/Sound Design
ABOUT MISS EXPERIENCE WHITE
Miss Experience White is a surreal, seriocomic audio drama about white privilege, produced as a three-part podcast, based on the political poem cycle of the same name. Through a series of mystical visions and revelations separated by a decisive ancestral inventory, the eponymous narrator comes to a new understanding of her inner landscape, along with the outer landscape of America. Beginning in 2018, impelled by the hideous logic of Donald Trump’s election and cruelty of his reign, Milo researched and wrote the poems not just to manage her daily rage and angst, but to address a sometimes crippling confusion caused by white privilege and guilt, and to explore these complex issues in depth.
Milo came across the name “Experience” while doing genealogical research on her Puritan lines. She found stillborn babies with the name, suggesting it was a Puritan version of John/Jane Doe. But eventually she found a man, “Experience White,” possibly an ancestor, who had lived to age 25. Although the characters in Miss Experience White are inspired by and based upon Milo and her family, they are more “truthy” than truthful. Having wanted to write about some of her ancestors for decades, she didn’t know how until the current political scene revealed plenty of connective tissue, forcing yet another radical examination of herself and predecessors.
“As a result of writing this, I shed some ancestral guilt, and feel more flexible when the need to question assumptions arises. The only time a person can change is in the now, which can’t be found if you’re lost in some past. If we don’t keep evolving as a country, after centuries of violence, oppression, and waste, what has it all been for?”
CREDITS
MILO STARR JOHNSON
WRITER, PERFORMER
CO-PRODUCER (THE TEA CLUB)
Acclaimed theater artist Milo Starr Johnson is a poet, playwright, songwriter, singer, producer, and performer specializing in personal, provocative work.
DAVID LAWRENCE
CO-PRODUCER, (THE TEA CLUB)
David Lawrence is a designer, producer, researcher, and media artist with over 30 years of expertise in all aspects of digital media.
JAMES MCKEE
CO-PRODUCER
SOUND DESIGNER (EARWAX PRODS.)
Sound designer, composer, engineer, and technical producer, Jim McKee is an inspiring leader in sound technology and the owner of Earwax Productions.
ERIK IAN WALKER
MUSIC COMPOSER
Erik Ian Walker has been writing, performing, and recording music for theater, dance, film, and television since 1982. His extensive collaborations include blues, rock, and jazz ensembles as well as numerous singles as Hash Brown and the Red Eyed Rangers. He runs his studio, WackoWorld Music, in San Francisco.
CHARLIE VARON
ACTING COACH
Based at The Marsh in San Francisco, Charlie Varon has been writing and performing for over 30 years. His award-winning solo show, “Rush Limbaugh In Night School,” toured nationally. He conducts writing and solo theater workshops on an ongoing basis.
MELANIE CLARIN DEGIOVANNI
ACCORDION
Melanie Clarin DeGiovanni is a longtime member of the SF Bay Area music community. Songwriter, singer, drummer, and accordionist, Melanie has played in bands such as Yard Sale, The Buckets, S.F. Seals, Donner Party, and The Catheads. She formed the underground pop band It Thing with fellow former Cathead Mark Zanandrea.
Dan Compton
FIDDLE
Dan Compton is a multi-instrumentalist, performer, and teacher in Portland, OR. As a fiddle player and composer, he’s adept at many different styles, including Irish and Appalachian, and has been part of the Pacific Northwest folk music scene for many years.
IT THING
FEATURED MUSIC
It Thing was an offshoot of the 80’s underground band The Catheads. Featuring Mark Zanandrea (strings) and Melanie Clarin DeGiovanni (drums, keys, harmonies, accordion) It Thing released two albums: "The Ode to Billy Joe Bob Dylan Thomas Jefferson Airplane Experience" (no longer available) and “Kensington Way Revisited”. Their home-recorded, eclectic sound is notable for striking guitar riffs, impeccable harmonies, and artful pop arrangements.