Bondfire Radio Theater Ensemble

I was thoroughly engaged by the story of Cumberland and his descendants! A digestible slice of a history that doesn’t always go down easy. I really hope they do more of these... can’t wait to hear what’s next from Bondfire Theatre.

This podcast series makes for a great storytelling moment - in a classic radio format (think Orson Welles' radio adaptation of "The War of the Worlds" - you may remember listening to this broadcast at least once in school - or if you are much younger - check YouTube if you're not familiar!). Check out their first project, 'The Comet' - You will see that Producers Keisha 'TK' Dutes & Conscious Walker deliver consistent high quality audio production. These performances included great conversational writing, well thought out vignettes of daily life at Weeksville during that time - chock full of research for both historic accuracy and continuity. I was present for the LIVE drama - Seeing characters thorughly fleshed out by seasoned screen and voice actors, who were well casted to fully flesh out their characters was very satisfying - they all worked so very hard these past few months to bring us this amazing project! Would love to hear more slice of life plays from this ensemble. A great dialogue followed in the Q&A session shortly after. Moderated boy Obden Mondesir of the Weeksville Heritage Center. This production in particular is a great, timeless, too for LIFELONG LEARNING - and teaching young and old about NYC history, American History, Black Americana, and BROOKLYN HISTORY. Weeksville was the First African American Settlement / Commumity for Freed Men & Women in Brooklyn, NY. It now stands as a Museum - with the original homes preserved for tours and discussions, and to foster civics & community for future generations.

You can tell all of the hard work that everyone put into this. From the scripts, actors, to sound design, this is a piece of living history. Rarely do we get to experience Black stories as something other traumatic, but this work does just that. Looking forward to more!

This is one of a handful of podcasts I always listen to completely through. Really great writing. Super engaging — highly recommend y’all check it out!