The Amelia Project - Anniversary Special 2

Episode Date: August 19, 2022

"Would you tell me what you are auditioning for?" Featuring Julia Morizawa, Hemi Yeroham, Adam Raymonda, Julia C. Thorne and Philip Thorne. Curious about Cocoa Collabs, the fan run event of Amelia-inspired creativity? You can find out more about it on Tumblr or Twitter, and you can browse the fan art on our website or by searching #CocoaCollabs on Instagram, Twitter or Tumblr. Want to support the show? We'd be so grateful to you! You can make a donation and get some great perks here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Because the Skip app saves you so much time by delivering stuff like your favorite cool treats, groceries, and bevies, you get more time to have the best summer ever. Like riding roller coasters. Learning to water ski. Applying sunscreen to your dad's back. Yep, definitely the best summer ever. Squeeze more summer out of summer with skip did somebody say skip cold tapes a gripping crime story that will chill you to the bone you know life on the base means uh well it's close to six months without light that does things to people. That study that he was doing, to watch

us and then set off us like mice around this special little experiment. How many people are on this space? Sixteen on this one. Someone amongst them is our killer. Experience Cold Tapes, the murder mystery podcast game.

Start your investigation where you get your podcasts. You've reached the Amelia Project. You're welcome. Don't worry, this line is secure. No one else is listening. If you've come this far, then you must be considering a new life. We can help. What? What is that? Is that music? Since when has

anybody played music in this building? Ugh! You've reached the Amelia Project. You're welcome. Don't worry, this line is- You've gotta be fucking kidding me. You've reached the Amelia Project. You're... You've reached the Amelia Project. You're welcome. Don't worry, this line is secure. No one else is listening. If you've come this far, then you must be considering a new life.

We can help, but do not continue if you have any doubts. There is no way... Motherfucking shitballs! Shut up up there! What are you doing? It's 8 in the morning! You've reached the Amelia Project. You're welcome. Don't worry, this line is secure. No one else is- Listening. Just kidding! Everyone is listening. Because although it seems like this building is

quite large and partially underground, and although the last time I checked there were only two other employees working for this company who should be in this building at any given time, it appears that there is some sort of party that perhaps involves visiting zoo animals in an adjacent room. Either that or I've entirely lost my mind, which is, in fact, possible given the nature of my work. You know, now that I think about it, perhaps it would be funny if this message was full of the ramblings of a mad woman, because only if you were truly serious about faking your death and starting a new life

would you sit through a 20-minute long message just to see what's on the other side. through a 20 minute long message just to see what's on the other side. Maybe, maybe now you're deciphering it as if it includes some hidden code with further instructions, but I hate to disappoint you, it does not. In fact, at this point in my life, I sometimes wonder if my words have any meaning at all. I mean, what is meaning? What is life? What is the square root of 3,420... You've reached the Amelia Project. You're welcome. Don't worry, this line is secure. No one else is listening. If you've come this far, then you must be considering a new life. We can help. But do not continue if you have any doubts. There is no way back.

If you do not hear back from us within the hour, consider your case declined. Leave your message after the beep. Thank God. Hello and thanks for joining us for another anniversary episode. Last time I was telling the story of how five years ago I was adrift in Paris. I was on the metro where I'd been daydreaming about the allure of starting over and I got off at Saint-Germain-des-Prés and that's where I'd been daydreaming about the allure of starting over. And I got off at Saint-Germain-des-Prés. And that's where I am now. A few steps from the metro station sitting in Les Deux Magots Café.

Now, today, Saint-Germain is a very swanky and touristy area. There's a Louis Vuitton store just across the street and I'm actually sitting outside. It's quite quiet as it's the morning. It gets very busy with lots of tourists in the afternoon. I can see an elderly lady with an expensive haircut and a Chanel bag and a lap dock that matches her outfit. But it wasn't always like this. In fact, Saint-Germain used to be the gritty bohemian underground. In the 20th century, it was a meeting place for the largely clandestine gay community of Paris. Oscar Wilde spent his last days here. And after the war, it became the home of jazz and existentialism.

And this café, Les Deux Magots, has always been at the heart of it all. So five years ago, I'm sitting at Les Deux Magots for the first time, drinking an impossibly rich and expensive cocoa, thinking about all the amazing and eccentric people who have sat at these tables. Picasso, James Joyce, Berthold Brecht, Sidney Bechet, Sartre, Simon de Beauvoir, Juliet Greco, James Baldwin, the list just goes on and on. And the stories that they would have to tell. Stories, Coco, new beginnings. An idea started forming in my mind. The first person I told about this was my best friend, Øy Einstein, and the second person was my sister, Julia.

Hello, dear Amelia listeners. This is Julia, speaking to you from my living room in Vienna, where the first ever lines of Amelia dialogue were spoken out loud. But let me rewind to Christmas 2016. Philip and I were staying with our parents, and he told me about this idea he and Osten had, and gave me the first three scripts to read. I loved them immediately, and suggested getting the theatre Alan and I were running at the time involved. Back then, we didn't know anything about the possibilities of remote recording,

so Open House Theatre was a good partner, because we had a big network of English-speaking actors all in one place. So I sent Alan the scripts. As he has a very enterprising spirit and is always up for trying new projects, he was immediately on board. I remember waiting for the underground with him one night after rehearsals, and I remember how he turned to me with a grin and said that he would quite fancy the role of the interviewer. Alvina didn't actually exist yet. I originally came on board as casting coordinator, suggesting actors for parts and putting them in touch with Philip and Ostein. And that brings us back to May 2017, when Philip and Ostein came over to Vienna.

We'd booked a studio for the weekend, and were going to record the first episodes. There were rehearsals and planning sessions in my living room, my husband made mountains of sandwiches, and I made so much pizza that my oven broke down. Well, now five years have passed, and my oven has never been right since. Well, now five years have passed, and my oven has never been right since. But we have 56 episodes of the Amelia Project that were a complete joy to work on. And when I read the lovely things that our listeners say about the show, I think it was worth it. Anyhow, enough of my reminiscing.

Let us now pass the microphone to Hemi Yiroham, who has a strange encounter with a mysterious tattooed stranger just before auditioning for the part of Kozlovsky. Enjoy. Excuse me, may I sit here? Uh, sure, of course. You are being polite. Well, er... There are plenty of other tables, I know. That's true. And Londoners are always suspicious of strangers.

That's also true. They say we are famous for it. Well, thank you. My absolute pleasure. I want to surprise my friends, you see. They will come out of that building, so I want to keep an eye on it. That one? You see the gargoyles on the second floor? Oh yeah. What's that in their hands? Mugs of hot cocoa. Look how happy they look. Really? I've been here so many times, I had no idea. Cocoa drinking gargoyles of Brixton. I'm actually waiting to go in there. Second floor too. And when will that be? In about five minutes. You have time for another

cup of coffee then. Let me get you one. What would you like? Ah, no, you really don't have to... I insist. Come on. Oh, no, really, it's... Do not be so Turkish. Ah, I'll have a black Americano. I know. Dairy makes your throat go all phlegmy. How did you know...

Can I get you two anything? Two black Americanos, please. Right away. Thank you. Would you tell me what you are auditioning for? Well, it's... Wait, how did you know... Ah, you must have seen me talking to myself.

An actor practicing in public is a fascinating and a ridiculous thing to watch. We must look like lunatics. So? Well, I'm actually auditioning for a podcast. Fiction podcast. It's like a radio play. I know what fiction podcast is. How do you feel? What do you mean? How do you feel about what you're about to do in there? Your audition? A little nervous, to be honest. I would... Yes, yes, yes, of course. You want to get the job.

Well, not just that. But? But also to be able to play the part. So? I'm not sure what you're asking. What I am asking is if you have made a conscious decision about how much of your own self is in this character you're about to play. Anyone can read the lines, but are you bringing anything that is you,

your essence into it? That is the secret, I think. I apologize. I did not mean to give unsolicited acting advice to you. I am sure you know what you are doing. It's still good to be reminded from time to time. It must be exhilarating. Creating someone new and unique.

I do it too, but in a very different way. What do you mean? Have you ever thought about how much we all want to escape? Leave our lives behind? Anything that distracts us from our day-to-day mundanity, of course. We escape into films, art, music, theatre, a brilliant story, sometimes even a good anecdote. Love is a drug because it makes us forget and takes us into a whole new existence. We love travelling because nothing is the same in that new place.

The amount of times I've thought about putting a wig on, disappearing with a new passport and starting fresh... It would take more than a wig to disappear and start fresh, believe me. I guess. Right. Well, my point is, you are very lucky in that your job is not only to escape, but also help others do so. It is so simple. I envy you. What did you say you did?

Your Americanos? Ah, thank you. May I also have sugar? Oh, of course. Actually, do you have any brown sugar? No, scrap that. Agave. Do you have any agave? Yes, I'll be right back out with that. Thank you.

What is the point of gentrification if you cannot have agave, right? This area has changed a lot. It's inevitable, they say. Progress. But at what price? Always keep an eye on the price tag. May I ask something? Of course. How did you know I was from Turkey? My theory is that we all have a bit of each other in ourselves. And sometimes, something clicks. Something clicks. You recognize something. Are you from Turkey too?

I have to say you have a great way of not answering questions. I have been told so. Many, many times. Well, I will have to go very soon. Thank you for my coffee. My absolute pleasure. Kozlowski. Finally.

When you meet your friends from that building, thank them, will you? For what? For this meeting to begin with, but more importantly, for the last five years. Of course. And Hemi. Yes? Break a leg. I have a very good feeling about this. Congratulations. You've reached the Amelia Project. This phone call isn't happening.

If you're not serious about this, hang up. Now. If you continue, there's no way back. Good choice. A new life awaits. You'll hear back from us within the hour. If you don't hear back, please consider the whole thing a hoax. I just said hoax. I just said hoax.

Yeah, I just said hoax. Okay. Hoax, hoax, hoax. Please consider the whole thing a hoax. She sells seashells by the seashore. Rubber baby buggy bumpers, rubber baby. Oh, mother. I hate this. Stay tuned for the epilogue, but first the credits. The voicemail was written and performed by Julia Morizawa. Hemi meets Kozlowski was written and performed

by Hemi Yeroham. Memories shared by Philip and Julia Thorne. Audio editing by Philip Thorne and Julia Morizawa. Sound design by Adam Raymunda.

Music by Frederick Barden. Production assistance by Mati Patsival. And graphic design by Anders Pedersen. We've been blown away by all the amazing artwork and creations you shared this week as part of Coco Collabs. If you haven't yet, do check out the Coco Collabs hashtag

on Tumblr, Instagram or Twitter. Coco Collabs, that's C-O-C-O-A-C-O-L-L-A-B-S and we'll be posting the art on our webpage, ameliapodcast.com in the coming weeks too we were delighted to receive lots of listener voicemails from around the world wishing us a happy anniversary so we'll play you a compilation now thanks to everyone who has listened spread the word and supported us over the last five years. And we look forward to telling more stories for many years to come. happy five-year anniversary for some reason amelia sounds similar to amapola, that in Spanish is Poppy. So for some reason I thought it was about supernatural flowers,

some kind of project or organization that was about flowers or something. While relishing in the excellent storytelling and audio composing of the Amelia project, I hadn't for one moment considered that Les Deux Magots was an actual place in Paris. That is until last November, when my girlfriend and I literally happened upon it during our trip. We were rushing to get to our museum reservation when the beautiful facade caught my eye. I just had to experience the fabled cocoa, so we decided to take the gamble, cancel our reservation and indulge. And my oh my, not a single word uttered about this magnificent cocoa was an exaggeration. Heavenly, divine, need I say more? I think not.

Thanks for five sublime years of audio drama and to many more. Choki musi Amelia, li yoi, siki suno luka, pono mute! Maligayang ikalimang taong Aniversario sa Amelia Hello, this is Anna from Australia Wishing Amelia a very Happy 5 year anniversary Daragaya Amelia

Spitaletem, yuhuu Hello Amelia Project Podcast Crew, this is Yami Kakyu Saying how much I have Enjoyed your podcast. I've loved every single episode. I love the story. My favorite episode is

episode 49 with Tim Meredith. I just think it's spectacular. And looking forward to seeing where the podcast goes. Okay, that's enough. Emilia? Jovina? Interviewer? Salvatore? Alien? Oh, well, I guess I'll leave donde el podcast va. Ya sé que no es chocolate de Le Dume Aux Pero es chocolate Moctezuma y está muy rico

Y yo sé que les va a gustar Y Gracias por Bueno, ya saben En serio no pensaba que la tratadora de chilaquiles Internacional fuera realmente una Ya sabes, profesión Que tuvieran disponible

Pero bueno, realmente ustedes hacen lo imposible Bueno, eso es todo ¡Feliz quinto aniversario! y abrazos, besos y chocolate, chocolate ¡Chao!