With the current Broadway shutdown, the performance industry has been getting creative with ways to get out fix of theater from the comfort of our homes, and David Treatman Creative has just announced the release of PROPAGANDA! – the hilarious podcast musical perfect for our political moment.
The show will be available on all major podcast streaming platforms on October 6, 2020, for a totally unique theater experience for us all to enjoy. PROPAGANDA! is the witty story of the secret government agency tasked with covering up the messiest of political scandals. We spoke with Matthew Webster, Taylor Ferrera and David Treatman to hear all about the podcast musical! Check it out below!
The Knockturnal: What inspired you to create this podcast musical?
David Treatman: From my perspective – my friends and I had been writing lots of material that for one reason or another wasn’t viable as live productions in NYC. I thought it was a shame that nobody would hear these projects, just because they weren’t going to get big exclusive expensive Broadway runs. We started working on them as fully immersive narrative podcasts. The idea was for these to be concept albums on steroids. Matt and I knew each other from another project, and he and Taylor had independently thought of capturing their musical Propaganda! as a podcast. There was a mutual realization that we had to join forces once we knew what the other was up to!
The Knockturnal: Are there other podcast musicals which inspired you/this project?
David Treatman: There had been one or two projects out when we decided to lay this down, but nothing at the time was of this scope or level of production. You have to remember that we started working on Propaganda! in early 2019 so there were very few examples of this genre out at the time – let alone with a live band and a full company! While we were editing Luminary launched Anthem: Homunculus and suddenly more and more podcast musicals seemed to pop up with increasingly ambitious concepts. That definitely encouraged us that we were working on something really great and to keep pushing forward without compromising quality.
The Knockturnal: What is your favorite musical?
David Treatman: That’s got to be a tie between The Producers and Fiddler on the Roof!
The Knockturnal: How did you assemble the cast?
David Treatman: Much of the core cast are personal friends who believed in us and who we wanted to do something for and with. We went through a combination of personal connections and cold calls to get some of our “dream” performers.
The Knockturnal: What were some production challenges?
David Treatman: We chose to record many actors simultaneously for the most natural performances, but it presented some challenges with line isolation in post. Assembling the dialogue and adding sound design were tedious and the creative team paid very close attention to detail and precision to have studio-quality throughout the hour and a half of the show.
The Knockturnal: What is your collaborative process like?
David Treatman: We created a space where the best ideas could float to the top. I view my role as producer as the enabler of the art – the executor of the strategy involved in making the vision possible logistically. Matt and Taylor are fantastic writers and were very receptive to feedback from myself, the creative team, and the actors. For example, after our first table read, I suggested an ending that was a departure from the existing script, and everyone in the room joked and improvised around the best way to incorporate the twist. In the studio Matt, Taylor, Assaf, and Nathan were a blur of notes and lists making sure we got everything and manifesting changes on the fly. It was a very fun process to be a part of – the most kind and brilliant people in a tiny control room – just having fun!
The Knockturnal: What do you hope audiences take away from Propaganda!?
David Treatman: Propaganda! is the antidote we need right now. We recorded back in 2019 and delayed the release in early 2020 to make space for the dialogue the country was – and is – having. We are releasing the show now because it is a joy in a time when we need joy. I hope that people will immerse themselves in the world we’ve built and delight in the comedy and the music so many talented people poured their love into.
Taylor & Matthew
The Knockturnal: What inspired you to create this podcast musical?
Taylor Ferrera: We wrote Propaganda! The Musical before 2016, but it’s never been a podcast. We’re hoping that’s the reason everything in the world is terrible right now and that releasing this podcast will set the world right again.
The Knockturnal: Are there other podcast musicals that inspired you/this project?
Taylor Ferrera: I thought podcasts were just for murder, news, and rewatching television shows. Turns out I was wrong. There’s a lot of great podcast musicals out there and it’s a privilege to have one among them.
The Knockturnal: What is your favorite musical?
Taylor Ferrera: West Side Story. Sweeney Todd. Sondheim in general. Urinetown. Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson was a big favorite of mine when I first moved to NYC. The Music Man is what I turn to when I’m structuring my shows. The Producers. Hamilton, clearly. Grew up listening to Jesus Christ Superstar and A Chorus Line. You asked for my top 9, right?
The Knockturnal: How did you assemble the cast?
Taylor Ferrera: A lot of the cast has been with the show through various iterations and have helped shape the show. Dale Sampson has always been the voice in our heads while writing the character of Rookie. Beyond that, we brainstormed about some dream casting and were so lucky to get the amazing talent you hear in the show.
The Knockturnal: What were some production challenges?
Taylor Ferrera: The meticulous piecing together of the show after recording was daunting. We recorded out of order, so it was always a slight fear that somehow we didn’t record a monumental part of the show. We did, though.
The Knockturnal: What is your collaborative process like?
Taylor Ferrera: Writing with Matt is great because he and I can always tell each other “this isn’t working” without the other person getting offended. That’s huge. Writing with Matt is also great because we both fight for things we really like. I really like fighting with Matt. Always write with someone you like to fight with. Also, write with someone who is good at editing you when you go on tangents. Matt would have been able to reel in my “what’s your favorite musical” answer (and this one.) David has been an excellent collaborator as well. He has fun ideas, is very open, and is great at keeping us in the loop, which we appreciate as writers.
The Knockturnal: What do you hope audiences take away from “Propaganda”?
Taylor Ferrera: Catchy melodies. And the desire to vote. Or run for office. Or write a musical.
Taylor & Matthew
The Knockturnal: What inspired you to create this podcast musical?
Matthew Webster: I wanted to make people laugh. That was always at the top of the list for me. And I wanted to make something completely original. That’s really important to me as a writer. But original content is hard to produce on Broadway these days – so a podcast seemed like the perfect fit!
The Knockturnal: Are there other podcast musicals which inspired you/this project?
Matthew Webster: I don’t think so. When we started working on this, we were one of the only groups trying out musicals on this platform. I love podcasts though, and some of my favorite are: NPR Politics Podcast, Office Ladies, Radiolab and Invisibilia.
The Knockturnal: What is your favorite musical?
Matthew Webster: I really like Urinetown the Musical, West Side Story, and Title of Show.
The Knockturnal: How did you assemble the cast?
Matthew Webster: Most of the people we had a personal friendship with. And then for some of the bigger names, we told them what we were up to, how unique of an experience this would be, and people just kept saying yes!
The Knockturnal: What were some production challenges?
Matthew Webster: Post-production was challenging. We had hours of footage, most of it recorded out of order because of scheduling. Putting the whole show together piece by piece was a labor of love.
The Knockturnal: What is your collaborative process like?
Matthew Webster: It’s great. I love working with Taylor. She’s my best friend and there’s no one else I could have ever written this with. Her brain is smart and fast and hilarious. We established early on in our collaboration (we’ve written over 5 shows together) that responding to something that one of us has written with “I’m not sure about that” doesn’t mean “I’m not sure of your talent and I hate you.” We can separate our ideas from our friendship, and that’s what has allowed our years-long friendship/business relationship to flourish. Our process includes a lot of talking and laughing and trying stuff out. We love a good “alternate joke.”
The Knockturnal: What do you hope audiences take away from “Propaganda!”?
Matthew Webster: Well first of all, I hope people vote. That’s the biggest thing. Even if you didn’t get the candidate you wanted, even if politics are gross to you, even if you are untrustworthy of the system, still vote. It’s the only way things are going to change. And when we inevitably don’t get the perfect ending – when we recognize that we’re left with a broken system even after the villain is taken down – that we don’t throw up our hands and say “blow it all up.” Listen to Tary. Find your voice. Work to make the bad things better.
PROPAGANDA will be available on all major podcast streaming platforms on October 6th!
