Make-Believe

Make-Believe is proud to present its latest audio-drama project, a revelatory new take on the most famous play ever written. Our "Hamlet" takes you inside the prince's head, letting you hear the story entirely through his ears. Featuring an astonishing cast led by Daniel Kyri and binaural sound design by Mikhail Fiksel, "Hamlet" had its world premiere at the Tribeca Festival in June 2025. All six...

LAKE SONG makes its debut today on the Tribeca Audio Premieres podcast! Listen here . Starting on October 13, listen to LAKE SONG on its own podcast feed. Available everywhere, including Apple Podcasts , Spotify , Google Podcasts , and on the web at lakesong.fm . Follow or subscribe to LAKE SONG to hear new episodes as they appear each week.

Lake Song co-creator Nate Marshall talks about what Chicago poets have always done. . . and what they're *going* to do. Lake Song , the epic new audio-drama series from Make-Believe Association , will debut October 12 as an official selection of Tribeca Audio . For more, visit lakesong.fm .

OFFICIAL SELECTION - Tribeca Festival Audio Premieres. It's 2098 and the Republic of Chicago has what the world needs: fresh water. But with new opportunities come new threats, especially for a pair of siblings on the South Side. Can the people come together to save their city--and each other? LAKE SONG is the joint creation of seven multidisciplinary Chicagoans. Combining sci-fi and music, politi...

Following the cancellation of Shakespeare in the Park, Oskar Eustis talks about a utopian story in one of Shakespeare's plays. A practical guide to what a vision of the future can do--and what it can't. --------------- Hosted by Jeremy McCarter Music, mixing, and mastering by Mikhail Fiksel Graphics and social media by Carly Pearlman ---------------- Share Make-Believe on social media: Twitter: ht...

Can a new society arise from a cataclysm? Does humanity deserve a second chance? Chicago author and journalist Natalie Moore joins a virtual audience to explore utopia, dystopia, and the radical imagination while discussing the great Chicago dramatist's "What Use Are Flowers?". -------------------------------------- Listen to Lorraine Hansberry's What Use Are Flowers? : https://makebelieve.fm/flow...

To tide us over until baseball returns, sportswriter Will Leitch breaks down the most famous athletic contest of all time, and a lively virtual audience debates its moral today. ------------------------------------------- Subscribe to Will Leitch's newsletter: https://tinyletter.com/williamfleitch Consider an actual tortoise vs. an actual hare: https://metro.co.uk/2016/10/15/someone-staged-an-actu...

The sky might or might not be falling, but the story that gave rise to that phrase is everywhere. In episode two of our series inspired by Boccaccio, Stephanie Ybarra and a group of fascinating people from all over the country reconsider the tale of the moment. --------------------------------------- Hosted by Jeremy McCarter Music, mixing, and mastering by Mikhail Fiksel Graphics and social media...

Inspired by Boccaccio, a new series of conversations in which we share a story and invite a fascinating person to talk about what it means. In episode one, Martin Edlund of Malaria No More interprets the Zen fable about the tiger and the strawberry. --------------------------------------------- Hosted by Jeremy McCarter Music, mixing, and mastering by Mikhail Fiksel Graphics and social media by Ca...

A docudrama about the summer that ravaged a city--and remade it. Co-produced with WBEZ.   -------------------------------------------   CITY ON FIRE: CHICAGO RACE RIOT 1919 A co-production of WBEZ Chicago and Make-Believe Association Written by Natalie Moore and Jeremy McCarter Original music and sound design by Mikhail Fiksel Executive produced by Cate Cahan for WBEZ and Jeremy McCarter for Make-...

Odysseus, the "man of twists and turns", goes on five new adventures, portrayed by five amazing actors. Sing for our time, too. To contact Make-Believe, email us at talk@makebelieve.fm --------------- Lost Books of the Odyssey By Jeremy McCarter Adapted from the novel by Zachary Mason Music composed and sound team led by Mikhail Fiksel Directed by Jess McLeod Executive produced by Jeremy McCarter...

Brer Rabbit, the iconic trickster of African-American folklore, returns in new tales by the poet Nate Marshall: It's a whole new briar patch now. To contact Make-Believe, email us at talk@makebelieve.fm This program is dedicated to the life of George Terrell, a storyteller and enslaved man on the Turnwold Plantation in Eatonton, Georgia. He is one of countless storytellers with names that we will...

A brave girl's journey through a land of many monsters, adapted from a Mexican folktale by Nancy García Loza. Performed and recorded live in Chicago, followed by audience conversation. To contact Make-Believe, email us at talk@makebelieve.fm --------------- Brava A folktale con música Script and corrido by Nancy García Loza Music direction and additional music by Eréndira Izguerra Sound team led b...

How can creative artists make each other more creative? As we count down to the release of Make-Believe's first audio drama, we talk with Monica Beletsky, acclaimed writer for TV and film, about artistic collaboration, the highs and lows of the TV writers' room, and the fable of the Town Mouse and the Country Mouse. See Monica's thread on storytelling: https://twitter.com/MonicaBeletsky/status/946...

A preview of the first audio drama in our season of Grown Folks Fables, a Mexican folktale con música by Nancy García Loza. A brave girl faces many monsters. #muchowowwow #muchoguaoguao

Michael Sandel, philosopher and showman, helps us prep for Season 1 by showing how it's done. Plus: the art of listening, upstaging Matt Damon, and the case of Grasshopper v. Ant.   Want to talk with us? We're at info@mbelieve.org.   Want to support our work? Please consider a tax-deductible contribution here .  

Welcome to Make-Believe Association, a Chicago-based company producing new audio dramas--recorded live--and conversations about how stories shape our world. It's independent. It draws from the breadth of our vibrant city. And it's coming very soon.