Podcast on stage
‘Welcome to Night Vale’ coming to KiMo
Content is at the tip of our fingers daily.
Yet the creators of “Welcome to Night Vale” — a podcast — wanted to make their show about the storytelling.
“Welcome to Night Vale” is one of the most downloaded podcasts in the world.
And it’s coming to Albuquerque for a one-night live performance.
As with the podcast, the live show is hosted by Cecil Palmer, played by Cecil Baldwin, and stars Meg Bashwiner, Symphony Sanders, “The Weather” artists — Mal Blum — and surprise guests.
“Over the years, my character has gone through many aspects of his life,” Baldwin says in a recent interview. “When I first started, I didn’t know the show would take off the way it has. I’ve been able to travel the world with the live show.”
“Welcome to Night Vale” is a radio show hosted by Palmer for the fictional town of Night Vale.
Palmer is a one-man news outlet who often reports on the strange events that occur in the town.
The series was created by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor in 2012. The podcast is released twice a month.
“Cecil lives in this little town in the Southwest,” Baldwin says. “It’s a town where every conspiracy theory is true. This is a very strange town where dragons run for public office. Every person is treated differently. And here we have Cecil, who is just reporting the news.”
Though Baldwin is the voice of the show, he’s not involved with any of the writing.
“My voice is very closely intertwined to the show,” he says. “When it comes to plot and characters, I don’t have a stake in it. I do sometimes ask actor-y questions about direction. More often than not, I direct myself. I record my pieces for the podcast in my little apartment in Brooklyn. I record it over and over again until I’m satisfied. They’ll add the music later. Our motto has always been, ‘If it’s not broke, don’t fix it.’ The process works out for us.”
Baldwin says “Night Vale” harks back to the radio shows in the Golden Age of Radio, before television.
“It’s listening to theater,” he says. “But our live show gives a chance to listen and see us on stage. The show represents a different era, and it’s entertaining for the audience to see it live.”