Are you in Foreward?

The Foreward podcast is a fictionalized story, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t in it… pieces of you, at least.  For Season 1 of the Foreward podcast I “invented” 67 characters.  Many of them are based loosely on real people.  

When I began this project I conducted interviews with the people closest to me, and then my imagination went to work.  What aspects of the story could be fictionalized to tie the stories together?  What aspects could I leave untouched?  

For instance, the character of Grace is based on a real person.  In the story there are 4 main characters - a mother, a father, a son, and a daughter.  I call the mother Grace.  She has a few things in common with my real mother, but in many ways she is different.  I changed her name and started inventing aspects of her story.  Generally, I combine aspects of a few different people to form one fictionalized character.  Part of Grace is a real person who I love deeply.  Grace is also built from components of other people I’ve encountered in my life with similar struggles to hers.  In moments, Grace even becomes me, when I edit real life situations to unfold the way I wish they would have.

I created conversations I wasn’t a part of on her behalf.  I portrayed emotions she may or may not have felt.  I built relationships for Grace.  

After that, I cast the actress that would bring her to life.  Grace was played by actress Cara Scott.  I directed Cara to avoid attempting to sound like the Grace I have invented in my head.  I wanted Cara to become her own version of Grace - to breathe life into a character that only existed within a script.  From the moment we started recording, I suddenly knew what fictionalized Grace sounded like.  I started to understand what made her tick.  She was different than the real Grace.  She took on a life of her own.        

Many, many aspects of the podcast are true.  Some of them are invented, in order to represent a larger collection of perspectives and experiences.    

Did I know you in 2006/2007? Chances are a little piece of you is hidden somewhere in one of those 67 characters.  Do I know you now?  Stay tuned for Season 8.  

Want to hear the trailer?  It’s ready, and it will be released as soon as we hit 1,000 subscribers.  Subscribe here.