Finding Shakespeare in Unexpected Places with Where There’s a Will
This is not your English teacher’s Shakespeare podcast. Where There’s a Will tells the story of how The Bard’s words show up in all kinds of unusual corners of American life, like behind the walls of California’s Centinela State Prison, in the radio broadcast of a Major League Baseball game and in our contemporary conversations about gender.
Sound Engineering & Design / Podcast Production / Production Team Assembly / Mixing & Mastering / Scoring / Script Writing / Branded Content
Client
Pushkin Industries
Services
Overview
Pushkin Industries is the media company founded by Malcom Gladwell and Jacob Weisberg.
To develop the concept for Where There’s a Will, Pushkin worked with one of America’s leading Shakespeare theaters, the Tony Award-winning The Old Globe in San Diego. Pushkin partnered with Rowhome to produce the 8-episode podcast series. Rowhome staffed the project with a dedicated producer, story editor, sound designer and mix engineer.
The Old Globe’s artistic director, Barry Edelstein hosts the series with co-host, director Em Weinstein.
Where There’s a Will blends interviews, field recordings, personal audio diaries, and original theme music into a sound-rich, narrative podcast. Featured guests include the number two all-time Jeopardy! champion Amy Schneider, Shakespeare scholar James Shapiro, filmmaker Robert Eggers, Pulitzer prize-winner James Ijames, and political speech writer and screenwriter Eli Attie.
The Process
“The idea that Shakespeare might be American is enough to make Brits spit out their mead, but Barry Edelstein and Em Weinstein touch on the idea here. With lots of love for the bard, they meet obsessed teenagers, find his plays in prisons and see how his attitude to gender can help people today.”
The Results
Hannah Verdier, The Guardian
Barry Edelstein, The Old Globe’s Artistic Director
“Shakespeare is at the center of my professional life, and has been for three decades, but my relationship with him goes deeper than just my work. He’s a companion, a friend, and a mentor. It’s a huge delight to discover so many other amazing people who feel that way too, and in so many surprising places. Shakespeare appears in all sorts of unexpected and even crazy corners of our culture, and now I have the chance to ask why. Making this podcast has been a journey of discovery, and has reminded me again and again why this writer is so magical, and why I love him so much.”
Barry Edelstein, The Old Globe’s Artistic Director
