Director's Notes – Episode 135 – The Mudstone Abyss Part 1

(NOTE: As always, Director's Notes contain spoilers)

We had a busy summer prepping the new touring live show, A Spy in the Desert. In mid-August, we had rehearsals here in my barn in upstate New York, then did workshop performance at Spiegeltent at Bard College. Then we did a seven-show run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival the last week of August.

Cecil made an appearance at DragonCon the first week of September and then headed out on a much-deserved vacation for a week or so. Then on September 20, we started our month long tour of the East Coast and Midwest. The touring company is still on the road right now.

I tell you all of this because 1) it's a reminder to myself what a cool job I have (blatant brag), and 2) it's not easy to record episodes while traveling. Sound quality varies dramatically when Cecil has to record from a Hampton Inn rather than his own home studio. Plus, a normal tour day involves spending 5 hours in a van, then having an hour or two in a hotel room, then heading to the theater from 5pm until about 10:30.

It's particularly exhausting for Cecil, because he's got to carry a live show for about 70-80 minutes each day. It's best not to add Recording a Night Vale episode to a rugged tour day.

The beauty of the Night Vale family is that we have a bunch of great actors and a bunch of great characters. For quite a while I've wanted to tell a longer story about Kevin from Desert Bluffs, so it only made sense to produce a three-episode arc featuring Kevin R. Free during the time Cecil was on tour.

Kevin's character often appears as a foil to Cecil's. Desert Bluffs is a bizarro Night Vale, after all. Cecil's voice is brooding and ominous, but underneath it all he's a sweetheart. Kevin's voice is bright and uplifting, but just below the surface is someone who demands absolute control.

So in episode 135, we get a bit more about Kevin's role in building up the new Desert Bluffs, his religious impact on the town, as well as a love interest.

I want Desert Bluffs to remain the dark mirror version of Night Vale, but I also want it to have its own life, independent of our more familiar city. I hope these next three episodes help expound more on who Kevin is and what his challenges are. I hope you feel a bit closer to him. I hope you smile.

- Jeffrey Cranor
October 1, 2018