When I was at Resonate last November, one of the themes that kept popping up, over and over, was the discussion of hosting live listening events. I kept hearing people referring to having been to one, or were interested to host one…or more generally they wanted to talk about what these events were, and what they could be.
To be clear, this is an event where people gather to listen and celebrate audio. This is perhaps distinct from the concept of “live episode taping,” where audiences gather to witness an interview on stage, which often later ends up in the feed of the podcast on stage.
In The Dark was founded by Nina Garthwaite, who has been curating and co-curating listening events since 2010, mostly in London and around the UK. In 2022, after a Covid hiatus, Talia Augustidis successfully persuaded Garthwaite to let her fire up these events again.
Since then she has pushed out the boundary of what live events can be…and potentially helps to offer a roadmap for where this form of audience listening might go next.
Earlier this year I sat down with Augustidis to talk about her ground-breaking show from Resonate, in Richmond, VA, last November.
What makes a great listening event?
What are some of the key details you should consider?
What makes them good…and what makes the suck?
What are our ideal listening environments?
How do you replicate an excellent audience experience?
We also talked about where this moment finds her, at a crossroads facing some new artistic and creative choices ahead.
Some Highlights:
Discussion about identity, change, and the idea of an “exit interview” [at 1:30]
Learning curve from curating live listening events [at 4:13]
How Talia senses audience engagement in live rooms [at 6:00]
What reactions matter while listening to audio [at 9:20]
The importance of physical space and intimacy in events. Ideal room [at 11:15]
Different examples of experimental listening environments and embodied listening discussion starting [at 14:10]
Differences between the US-based and London-based In The Dark events [at 23:54]
Talia discusses her show from Resonate: Pangea [at 25:48]
Talia reflects on being in a moment of transition [at 30:07]
What’s next for Talia? [at 33:07]
