Make-Believe – Details, episodes & analysis

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 episodes are available at hamlet.fm and wherever you listen to podcasts.

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.

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

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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

Performed and recorded live at the Harold Washington Library, Chicago

CAST (in order of playing Odysseus)
Kareem Bandealy
Kristina Valada-Viars
Lily Mojekwu
Ian Paul Custer
Henry Godinez

SOUND TEAM
Sound designer - Mikhail Fiksel
Associate sound designer and audio technician - Robert Hornbostel
Recording engineer - Joe Palermo

PRODUCTION STAFF
Production manager - Madeleine Borg
Stage manager - Brennan T. Jones
Community manager - Kaitlin Fine

POST-PRODUCTION
Editing, mixing, and additional recording by Mikhail Fiksel
Additional sound design, final mixing and mastering by Joe Palermo

Graphic design by Carly Pearlman

Equipment provided by TechMagic Designs

Make-Believe theme music by Mikhail Fiksel

SPECIAL THANKS
Catherine Allen and The Den Theater; Brian Bannon and the staff of Chicago Public Library; Carolyn Casselman of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton, and Garrison; Bill Clegg; Nancy García Loza; Nate Marshall; Kevin Reader, Max Temkin, and Cards Against Humanity; Chris Rooney; SAG-AFTRA.

PRODUCTION SPONSORS
The Chauncey and Marion Deering McCormick Family Foundation, for an essential launch grant
The Poetry Foundation, our lead season sponsor
Joyce Chelberg, whose generosity supports the work of Make-Believe’s actors
All our donors and supporters

To support Make-Believe with a tax-deductible contribution, please visit:
https://makebelieve.fm/support-us/

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 never know or get right.  

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Bruh Rabbit
And the Fantastic Telling of Remington Ellis, Esq.
By Nate Marshall
Music composed and sound team led by Mikhail Fiksel
Directed by Wardell Julius Clark
Executive produced by Jeremy McCarter

Performed and recorded live at the Harold Washington Library, Chicago

CAST (in order of appearance)
Interviewer/Mayor/Tar Baby - Sydney Charles
Remington/Fam Bear - Osiris Khepera
Fam Wolf - Charles Andrew Gardner
Fam Fox - Kiayla Ryann
Bruh Rabbit - Al’Jaleel McGhee

SOUND TEAM
Sound designer - Mikhail Fiksel
Associate sound designer - Robert Hornbostel
Recording engineer - Steve Labedz
Audio technician - Maddie Doyle

PRODUCTION STAFF
Production manager - Madeleine Borg
Stage manager - J.C. Widman
Community manager - Arrion Jones

POST-PRODUCTION
Editing, mixing, and additional recording by Mikhail Fiksel and Robert Hornbostel
Mastering by Joe Palermo

Graphic design by Carly Pearlman

Equipment provided by TechMagic Designs

Make-Believe theme music by Mikhail Fiksel

SPECIAL THANKS
Catherine Allen and The Den Theater; Brian Bannon and the staff of Chicago Public Library; Carolyn Casselman of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton, and Garrison; Nancy García Loza; Chris Rooney; SAG-AFTRA; Maria Tatar

PRODUCTION SPONSORS
The Chauncey and Marion Deering McCormick Family Foundation, for an essential launch grant
The Poetry Foundation, our lead season sponsor
Joyce Chelberg, whose generosity supports the work of Make-Believe’s actors
All our donors and supporters

To support Make-Believe with a tax-deductible contribution, please visit:
https://makebelieve.fm/support-us/

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

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Brava
A folktale con música
Script and corrido by Nancy García Loza
Music direction and additional music by Eréndira Izguerra
Sound team led by Mikhail Fiksel
Directed by Laura Alcalá Baker
Executive produced by Jeremy McCarter

Performed and recorded live at the National Museum of Mexican Art in Pilsen, Chicago

CAST (in order of appearance)
Young Girl - Ilse Zacharias
Father/Patrón - Christian Castro
Viejita/Cook - Ana María Alvarez
Walking Stick/Servant - Brandon Rivera
Guard/Soldado - Carlos Rogelio Diaz
Prince/Bolumbí - Eduardo Curley-Carrillo

BAND
Violin - Eréndira Izguerra
Guitarron - Jeanette Nevarez
Vihuela - Laura Velazquez

SOUND TEAM
Sound designer - Mikhail Fiksel
Associate sound designer - Robert Hornbostel
Recording engineer - Steve Labedz
Audio technician - Maddie Doyle

PRODUCTION STAFF
Production manager - Madeleine Borg
Stage manager - Jaclynn Joslin
Community manager - Jennifer Aparicio
Folk music adviser - Juan Dies, Sones de México Ensemble

POST-PRODUCTION
Editing, mixing, and additional recording by Mikhail Fiksel
Additional recording by Robert Hornbostel
Mastering by Joe Palermo

Based on a folktale in Tales from Jalisco, Mexico by Howard T. Wheeler, published by The American Folklore Society.

Casting by Paskal Rudnicke Casting

Graphic design by Carly Pearlman

Equipment provided by TechMagic Designs

Make-Believe theme music by Mikhail Fiksel

SPECIAL THANKS
Catherine Allen and The Den Theater; The American Folklore Society; Carolyn Casselman of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton, and Garrison; Erica Daniels and Victory Gardens; Maria Hinojosa; Nate Marshall; Chris Rooney; SAG-AFTRA; and Carlos Tortolero and the National Museum of Mexican Art

PRODUCTION SPONSORS
The Chauncey and Marion Deering McCormick Family Foundation, for an essential launch grant
The Poetry Foundation, our lead season sponsor
Joyce Chelberg, whose generosity supports the work of Make-Believe’s actors
All our donors and supporters

To support Make-Believe with a tax-deductible contribution, please visit: https://makebelieve.fm/support-us/

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/946479909903282177

See @edithdrod's visualization:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/16AMvLZhqHvX9KpwLRYmFPhuJ_Ez4SpaP/view

Talk to Make-Believe: talk@makebelieve.fm

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.

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.