Creating Dangerously

Welcome to this episode of the Creating Dangerously Podcast sponsored by the Shawna Foundation. Today we have the privilege of speaking with the director, Iryna Pravylo and producer Yulia Zi of the documentary film Flowers Beyond the Dark, which will be screening at the Massachusetts Independent Film Festival, which runs from April 2 -4 in Worcester. 

“Flowers beyond the Dark” is an artful explor...

Join Patrick Bracken and Skip Shea as they drown in the sea of the never-ending daily stories of bad news. Nothing like cold coffee and stale diet cola to lift those existential blues. But then there is the cost of Bruce Springsteen Tickets. This Episode: This year’s Oscar nominees arrive at a moment when the world feels politically unstable, socially fragmented, and morally uncertain. The films w...

The Modern Classics Audio Play Series revisits foundational texts not to preserve them in amber, but to place them in conversation with the present. In this episode we adapt Ernest Hemingway's Hills Like White Elephants. The original story, linked below, is a tense conversation between an American man and his girlfriend at a Spanish train station, revolving around an unspoken, implied abortion. He...

Welcome to what will now be an annual event, our rebroadcast of the 1938 Mercury Theater production of A Christmas Carol. A Christmas Carol (1938) — The Mercury Theatre, Orson Welles, and the Enduring Power of Radio Drama When the Mercury Theatre on the Air presented its 1938 adaptation of A Christmas Carol, listeners expected to hear Lionel Barrymore, whose portrayal of Ebenezer Scrooge had becom...

Join us on this Halloween as we discuss all things Body Horror! And by that we mean movies about horrific things that happen to the human body, not about the horrors of the Executive, Legislative and Judicial Bodies of Government, And, most importantly, we bid farewell to one of our cohosts, Andrea Wolanin who moves on to bigger and better things. We are truly grateful for her time and commitment...

Earlier this year the New York Times published a list of the 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century. Compiled by, as they state: 

“More than 500 influential directors, actors and other notable names in Hollywood and around the world voted on the best films released since Jan. 1, 2000. Here is how their ballots stacked up." https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/movies/best-movies-21st-century.html...

The Shawna Foundation and the Creating Dangerously Podcast presents the New Classics Audio Play Series, where we reframe timeless stories through a modern lens. Our first episode is an adaptation of The Illuminati in Drama Libre, a short, audacious one-act by Alice Gerstenberg, a pioneering American feminist playwright of the early twentieth century. Alice Gerstenberg (1885–1972) was a bold and in...

Join Patrick Bracken as he interviews three filmmakers where they discuss their feature length films that are either fully or partially animated. It’s a fascinating discussion about this unique way of storytelling. All three films will screen at the Shawna Shea Film Festival. For full schedule and ticket info go here: https://www.shawnafoundation.org/ssff-film-festival Inbetweening by Mel House Sc...

Join Patrick Bracken as he interviews Chelsea Stone who directed the documentary Miss Fury and the Lost Legacy of Tarpé Mills and Rachel van der Bie who directed the documentary Love Me Bait Me. Both screen at the Shawna Shea Film Festival on July 17th at Studio 50 at WICN, Studio 50 at WICN 50 Portland St, Worcester, MA. Miss Fury and the Lost Legacy of Tarpé Mills by Chelsea Stone “Miss Fury and...

Join us as we explore the role of artists in the face of fascism and how it can shape the narrative. What's an artist to do? Links to show notes. Kendrick Lamar Halftime
 https://youtu.be/KDorKy-13ak?si=o84t6J0WE3vGwXpV 

 Shepard Fairey
 https://obeygiant.com/ 

 Banksy
 https://www.banksy.co.uk/ 

 Keith Haring
 https://www.haring.com/ 

 Philosophy Now 
 https://philosophynow.org/ 

 Lost Cause...

Join Andrea Wolanin as she interviews award winning filmmaker Susan Seidelman of such films as Smithereens, Desperately Seeking Susan & Musical Chairs. They will discuss her new book Desperately Seeking Something: A Memoir About Movies, Mothers, and Material Girls and her life in the world of cinema and all of its challenges. Especially for women.

Putting the politics of the USA aside we dedicate a full episode to David Lynch on his passing. We discuss some of his work, his TM and how he has influenced artists to be just that. Artists.

Join us as we play the full 1938 Campbell Playhouse radio production of the Mercury Theater’s performance of Charles Dickens "A Christmas Carol". The radio play had booked Lionel Barrymore to play the main character of Scrooge but his health prevented him from traveling to NY so a 23 year old Orson Welles took the role instead. He was already the narrator as it was a Mercury Theater Production. Th...

Join Patrick Bracken, Andrea Wolanin and Skip Shea as they discuss the classic book "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens and many of the film adaptations. Why does this story still resonate today. And is it really possible for someone to change like Scrooge did in our present time. Enjoy. Happy Holidays everyone!

We understand there is an election coming up… So in this episode we take the lead from TCM who are using a list published by the New Republic last year listed The 100 Most Significant Political Films of All Time. Not the best. Or most popular. But most significant. 
Here is a link to the article:
 https://newrepublic.com/article/173376/100-political-films-new-republic-list 

 Here is an article ab...

Our Interview with Jay Kay about his time in the horror community as a writer for HorrorHound, podcaster, panel host, film festival programmer and filmmaker. And then we explore his new film which is anything but horror, Swing 46: The Last Swingin’ Supper Club Documentary about the Swing Renaissance of the 1990s, A Club in New York that was a part of the scene and is still working it today, to Jay...

Join Patrick Bracken as he interviews some of the nominated Filmmakers of this year's edition of the Shawna Shea Film Festival. And a very special interview with last year's Women in Film Fellowship recipient, Monaye Moyes as they discuss the world premiere of her directorial debut, Hunger. Joining them is Lindsay and Manny Serrano with Deana Demko for the short Concessions. Alexandra Gillespie fo...

The Truth is Out There In this episode I interview Brit Elders on the Release of the UFO…Contact from the Pleiades Volumes I & II (45th Anniversary Edition) by Lee Elders, Brit Elders and Thom Welch. Together they researched photographs taken by Billy Meier who claimed to have frequent visits with aliens from the Pleiades. Originally they thought it would take a day to label the photos as fake...

Part One where Patrick Bracken, Andrea Wolanin and Skip Shea explore the meaning of “Cults” in the arts. What is a cult movie? How is it defined? Does it extend into music like with Bruce Springsteen's SpringNuts and Taylor Swift's Swifts? Join us as we stammer our way in trying to define Cults in the Arts. Or do we just get more confused the deeper we go? Plus another shout out to JimMcDonough. I...

Patrick Bracken continues interviewing filmmakers from the 2024 edition of the Mass Indie Film Festival. Joining him for this episode are: Gabrielle Rosson She, Who Dared (Short) April 28 Block Two: Shorts Program at the Hilton 12:30PM Austin Smagalski To Die Alone (Feature) April 26 Block One: To Die Alone at the Hilton 12:30PM Jenny Herzog Hear Me (Feature Length Doc) April 26 Block Thee: Featur...

Patrick Bracken continues interviewing filmmakers from the 2024 edition of the Mass Indie Film Festival. Joining him for this episode are: Gabrielle Rosson She, Who Dared (Short) April 28 Block Two: Shorts Program at the Hilton 12:30PM Austin Smagalski To Die Alone (Feature) April 26 Block One: To Die Alone at the Hilton 12:30PM Jenny Herzog Hear Me (Feature Length Doc) April 26 Block Thee: Featur...

Patrick Bracken interviews five directors who will have their movies screen at this years Mass Indie Film Fest! Sharon Grace Badia Director of A is for Alice (Feature) World Premiere on April 24th at starlite in Southbridge 7:00PM Lauren Leger Director of How to Clean: An ADHD Story (Short) Screening on April 25th at starlite in Southbridge 7:00PM Lauren Musgrove Director of Ugly Sweater (Feature)...

We traveled to Rome Italy and sat down for a brief conversation with cult film director Luigi Cozzi in his Profondo Rosso store and talked about his movies, what is a cult movie, the future of filmmaking and a little advice to filmmakers today. It's always fun to sit down with our friend Luigi Cozzi! You can find Luigi Cozzi's movies on Amazon , Severin and most other movie retail stores. You can...

Join Andrea Wolanin, Patrick Bracken and Skip Shea as they discuss all things Oscars. And some things not Oscars. We'll even begrudging make some picks! But I wouldn't bet on them.

Host Patrick Bracken discusses the creative process with musician Fyfe Dangerfield as a solo artist and as a founding member of the indie rock band Guillemots. In particular his new unique approach with his Birdwatcher Series. Other links mentioned in the interview: Videos: Made Up Love Song #43:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EaAYi64Rpo Falling Out of Reach:   https://www.youtub...