Hit Play – Details, episodes & analysis

Ready to DIE??? Hope you have your will and testament ready to go as Michael John Improta sets out to kill you with his jokes! When was the last time you laughed so hard you couldn’t breathe? Could be today!

This season on Hit Play, we are facing impossible tasks – one audio experiment at a time.

This episode was created by Michael John Improta. 
Hit Play is produced by Anthony Sertel Dean and Jake Banasiewicz. 
Sound designed by Anthony Sertel Dean. 
Our logo is by Gabriel Drozdov. 
Special thanks this episode to Chris Heard, Annabell Mizrahi, Rob Neill, Julia Melfi, Mike Manship. 

Content Warnings: alcohol abuse, death

If you like what you hear and want to support the New York Neo-Futurists, subscribe to the show, tell a friend, and leave a review on your listening app of choice. We’d love to hear from you! @nyneofuturists on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook. If you want to support in other ways, consider making a donation at nynf.org, or joining our Patreon.
Take care!

This season on Hit Play, we are facing impossible tasks – one audio experiment at a time. This episode: love, loss, biting, singing, barking, pooping, and learning how to (or not) say goodbye. 

This episode was created by Joey Rizzolo. 
Hit Play is produced by Anthony Sertel Dean and Jake Banasiewicz. 
Sound designed by Anthony Sertel Dean.
Our logo is by Gabriel Drozdov
The painting of Marty is by Jen Tracy - JenTheTracy on Etsy. 
Special thanks this episode to Kendra Duran, Brooke Carrick, Avery Rizzolo, Jen Tracy, Jim, Debbie, Allyson, Ken, and Marty McFly. No thanks to Dolly Parton (the dog, that is).

Content warnings: death, suicide

If you like what you hear and want to support the New York Neo-Futurists, subscribe to the show, tell a friend, and leave a review on your listening app of choice. We’d love to hear from you! @nyneofuturists on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook. If you want to support in other ways, consider making a donation at nynf.org, or joining our Patreon.
Take care!

We are coming back for season 4, but first, we want to share with you the work made by the students in Joey Rizzolo's course “Podcasting Non-Illusory Audio Art” at Oberlin College. These students studied Neo-Futurist forms of storytelling and told their own stories using a wide array of sound modes. 

If you want to learn more about how we make our work, visit nynf.org to see when we are teaching our next workshop. 

Hit Play Season 4: Impossible Task premieres on August 23rd, so stay tuned right here and tell your friends!

Thanks for hitting play and listening to Hit Play all season!

We wrapped season 3 of the show with a live episode recorded at Caveat in New York City's Lower East Side on February 13th, 2023. In the future from that moment, we listen back to the time spent there, then, now. 

If you like what you hear and want to support the New York Neo-Futurists, subscribe to the show, tell a friend, and leave a review on your listening app of choice. We’d love to hear from you! @nyneofuturists on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook. If you want to support in other ways, consider making a donation at nynf.org, or joining our Patreon. 

3:12 - The Zippo Diaries by Cecil Baldwin
14:12 - Lullabies//An Invocation by Anooj Bhandari 
24:47 - Where? (for Joey) by Shelton Lindsay
26:49 - From Taiwan, With Love by Kyra Sims
31:13 - One Day Walking Away NYC 2023 by Rob Neill
34:08 - Tour Guiding is One Part Knowledge and 999 Parts Bullshit by Mike Manship
44:28 -  //CHROMATICITY THRU THE AGES// by Val Ramirez
52:19 - exactly one decade ago… by Anthony Sertel Dean

The album mentioned in the episode can be found here

Our logo was designed by Gabriel Drozdov

Our sound is designed by Anthony Sertel Dean

Hit Play is produced by Anthony Sertel Dean, Julia Melfi, and Ali Cronin

Thanks for Hitting Play all season and listening to Hit Play. This episode: some Neo-Futurists chose their favorite Hit Play pieces from the season to highlight. Some of the plays may contain sensitive topics. For more specific content warnings, check out the timecodes below.

We will be wrapping the season with a live podcast recording on February 13th at Caveat on the Lower East Side of New York. 

If you like what you hear and want to support the New York Neo-Futurists, subscribe to the show, tell a friend, and leave a review on your listening app of choice. We’d love to hear from you! @nyneofuturists on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook. If you want to support in other ways, consider making a donation at nynf.org, or joining our Patreon. 

1:18 - wherever, whenever, it’s yours by Hilary Asare

3:08 - The: The by Jake Banasiewicz

4:53 [CW: Redacted slurs] - Neo Monologue: Constructed (Or, Questions from the Classroom) — Part 2 by Val Ramirez

8:26 - 13 by Joey Rizzolo

10:04 - Directive to those who are… by Rob Neill

12:16 - To save time, I didn’t write a script for this play. An AI wrote it. by Anthony Sertel Dean

17:36 - a glance. a pain. an abstraction. ...... (a hope.) by Kyra Sims

Our logo was designed by Gabriel Drozdov

Hit Play is produced and sound designed by Anthony Sertel Dean

Thanks for Hitting Play and then listening to Hit Play. This episode, we confront the big stuff: order, the beyond, and holiday travel.

If you like what you hear and want to support the New York Neo-Futurists, subscribe to the show, tell a friend, and leave a review on your listening app of choice. We’d love to hear from you! @nyneofuturists on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook. If you want to support in other ways, consider making a donation at nynf.org, or joining our Patreon. 

0:00 - Under Order Is Chaos. Under Chaos Is Order: A Hit Play Wrench by Mike Manship

3:05 - Clairvoyant Kitty WiIl See You Now by Rudy Ramirez featuring Ophelia

5:28 - Conversation with a cheesecake on a sunday night? (a recreation with Rob as Rob and Jeffrey as the cake) by Rob Neill featuring Jeffrey Cranor

9:55 - Artist Plan (Part 2) by Anthony Sertel Dean

12:54 - Falling Down The Well From: Chaos by Jake Banasiewicz featuring Rudy Ramirez and Rob Neill

14:34 - T(dom)ravelogue Decem(ized)ber 2022(ran) by Rob Neill featuring Anthony Sertel Dean, Mike Manship, Jake Banasiewicz, Jackson Bird

Our logo was designed by Gabriel Drozdov

Our sound is designed by Anthony Sertel Dean

Hit Play is produced by Anthony Sertel Dean, Lee LeBreton, and Rob Neill

Take care!

Thanks for Hitting Play and then listening to Hit Play. This episode: we start super, we accept the mission, and we do this show. Some of the plays may contain sensitive topics. For more specific content warnings, check out the timecodes below.

If you like what you hear and want to support the New York Neo-Futurists, subscribe to the show, tell a friend, and leave a review on your listening app of choice. We’d love to hear from you! @nyneofuturists on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook. If you want to support in other ways, consider making a donation at nynf.org, or joining our Patreon. 

0:00 - Play This Audio Experiment Before the Podcast Intro OR What If We Had a Cheesy Hit Play Opening Theme Song (Superhero Edition) by Mike Manship

3:50 - Directive to those who are… by Rob Neill 

5:58 - In Finite by Jake Banasiewicz, featuring Rudy Ramirez, Rob Neill, Mike Manship, Jackson Bird, and Lee LeBreton

8:08 - The Infinite Jelly by Rudy Ramirez [CW: Slurs]

12:10 - Artist Plan (Part 1)  by Anthony Sertel Dean, featuring Julia Melfi [CW: death]

16:26 - This Doesn’t End Well, Even If It Doesn’t End At All by Mike Manship [CW: Death, Eternity]

17:56 - One Possible Affirmation by Rob Neill, featuring Mike Manship, Rudy Ramirez, and Jake Banasiewicz

19:52 - 13 by Joey Rizzolo

Our logo was designed by Gabriel Drozdov

Our sound is designed by Anthony Sertel Dean

Hit Play is produced by Anthony Sertel Dean, Lee LeBreton, and Rob Neill

Take care!

This episode: odes, pep talks, and simulations. Our on-going and ever-changing attempt to create audio experiments for you continues. Content warnings in the full show notes.

Show Notes: 

Thanks for Hitting Play and then listening to Hit Play. This episode: odes, pep talks, and simulations. Some of the plays may contain sensitive topics. For more specific content warnings, check out the timecodes below.

If you like what you hear and want to support the New York Neo-Futurists, subscribe to the show, tell a friend, and leave a review on your listening app of choice. We’d love to hear from you! @nyneofuturists on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook. If you want to support in other ways, consider making a donation at nynf.org, or joining our Patreon. 

View episode transcription here!

1:58 - TODAY’S SIMULATION OF SELF-ASSISTED SURVIVAL MODE by Katy-May Hudson [CW: discussion of PTSD and depression]

4:36 - Rhyming pep talk for holiday anxiety by Hilary Asare

5:22 - ODE TO THE FATHERLAND by Rudy Ramirez

6:31 - Carolina (In My Mind) by Mike Manship, featuring Karen, Calvin, and Bee Manship, Jake Banasiewicz, Katie Kay Chelena, Winn Foreman, Joya Joseph

14:10 - wherever, whenever, it’s yours by Hilary Asare, featuring Katy-May Hudson, Mike Manship, and Rudy Ramirez

Our logo was designed by Gabriel Drozdov

Our sound is designed by Anthony Sertel Dean

Hit Play is produced by Anthony Sertel Dean, Lee LeBreton, and Hilary Asare

Take care!

Thanks for Hitting Play and then listening to Hit Play. This episode: Top Gun. Communication without tone. And, Hilary listens to herself, for once.

If you like what you hear and want to support the New York Neo-Futurists, donate to our Best Of Theme Contest! You can also subscribe to the show, tell a friend, leave a review on your listening app of choice, or join our Patreon. 

We’d love to hear from you! @nyneofuturists on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook.

View episode transcription here!

1:47 - Six short messages, full of subtext, written about an abbreviated weekend full of long drives, with an extra hour spent mainly at fast-charging stations by Mike Manship, featuring Hilary Asare, Katy-May Hudson, Rudy Ramirez, and Anthony Sertel Dean

2:29 - experiments in intimacy #3 by Rudy Ramirez, featuring Mike Manship 

4:52 - WHEN AMERICA’S GREAT WORKS OF PROPAGANDA MEET: FEATURING TOM SKERRITT’S TOP GUN MONOLOGUE & A SUPERCUT OF ALL THE LOL’S FROM THE FIRST 15 MINUTES OF A RANDOM EPISODE OF SELLING SUNSET by Katy-May Hudson

6:02 - frequently asked short question by Hilary Asare

8:22 - BUT WHY IS THE DOG LAZY? A Symphony // (Or, In Which Rudy and Chan Explore The Limits of their Voices Without Judgment) by Rudy Ramirez and Chan Lin

9:43 - Tiny message to an old friend at 2am by Katy-May Hudson

Our logo was designed by Gabriel Drozdov

Our sound is designed by Anthony Sertel Dean

Hit Play is produced by Anthony Sertel Dean, Lee LeBreton, and Hilary Asare

Take care!

Thanks for Hitting Play and then listening to Hit Play.  bones, hauntings, and s-s-s-songs! Some of the plays may contain sensitive topics. For more specific content warnings, check out the timecodes below.

If you like what you hear and want to support the New York Neo-Futurists, subscribe to the show, tell a friend, and leave a review on your listening app of choice. We’d love to hear from you! @nyneofuturists on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook. If you want to support in other ways, consider making a donation at nynf.org, or joining our Patreon. 

View episode transcription here!

3:28 - Spooky Scary Skeletons by Jackson Bird [CW: dysphoria, transphobia]

11:45 - tic tec tac by Kyra Sims 

13:16 - Candles in the closet by Chan Lin

17:32 - Behind The C-Word: The Haunted Saga by Anthony Sertel Dean, featuring Robin Virginie, Katharine Heller, Rudy Ramirez, and Kyra Sims

28:25 - Skeleton on the couch by Michaela Farrell [CW: death]

30:44 - So there’s this song from 1969 called “It’s Halloween” by this band called The Shaggs…. By Kyra Sims, featuring Michaela Farrell, Jackson Bird, Chan Lin, and Joey Rizzolo

Our logo was designed by Gabriel Drozdov

Our sound is designed by Anthony Sertel Dean

Hit Play is produced by Anthony Sertel Dean, Lee LeBreton, and Kyra Sims

Take care!