Award-winning playwright Kevin Kautzman focuses on the health of content moderators on various social media platforms
MINNEAPOLIS, MN / ACCESSWIRE / October 28, 2020 / "Moderation" was originally written for the stage, but Covid intervened and today it is launching via podcast.
Over three episodes, the play follows social media content moderators struggling at work. People have called it "dark and funny" and a "psychological thriller."
"If you enjoy the plays of Beckett and Pinter or dig Black Mirror, you'll probably get something from Moderation," said Kevin Kautzman, award-winning playwright and writer of "Moderation".
The podcast was adapted from a reading of the play organized by Washington DC-based Spooky Action Theater last Spring. Executive producer, Jeff Giesea, partnered with Kautzman and Spooky Action to adapt this play into a podcast as a way to interact with the audience even when they can't be there in person.
"Moderation is so good - we had to find a way to get it out to more people," said Giesea. "Covid has shut down a lot of theaters, but the podcast market is growing. Covid has pushed us to explore audio as a new medium for theater."
This performance of "Moderation" features the talent of Amanda Forstrom ("She") and Robert Bowen Smith ("He") with stage directions from Liz Divine. Brandon McCoy directed the public reading organized by Spooky Action Theatre, which was overseen by artistic director Richard Henrich. The podcast features original music by Shawn Phillips and sound design by Resonate Recordings.
While it avoids the partisan proselytizing, "Moderation" speaks to important issues like "brain sickness" from overexposure to the fringes of the Internet and our dependence on "big tech" even as it seems to threaten our very humanity.
"Moderation crystalizes many of the issues covered in the documentary The Social Dilemma," adds Kautzman. "What happens to these content moderators who have to view the worst of the worst constantly as part of their jobs?"
Moderation is intended for an adult audience. It is available on iTunes, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, and other platforms. Learn more at moderationplay.com.
About Moderation:
"Moderation" is a new, fiction podcast about social media content moderators at work. Originally written for the stage, the three-episode podcast focuses on the health of social media content moderators at large social media platforms, who are exposed to the fringes of the Internet day after day. People have called it "dark and funny" and a "psychological thriller."
Learn more at: moderationplay.com.
About Kevin Kautzman:
Kevin is an award-winning playwright and screenwriter originally from North Dakota. He holds degrees from the University of Minnesota (BA, History & Philosophy '03) and the University of Texas at Austin. Kevin first studied playwriting at the Royal Court's young writers program and has received both the Jerome and Michener fellowships as well as a number of awards and scholarships, including the UK International Student Playscript (COYOTE), the Kernodle and the Southwestern Playwriting awards (DREAM OF PERFECT SLEEP) and the Sewanee and Kenyon playwriting scholarships. He has been a finalist for the Yale Drama Series (THEN WAVES), the Pen Center USA (THEN WAVES, WOLF CRY WOLF), and the Princess Grace (DREAM OF PERFECT SLEEP) awards in addition to the Lila Acheson Wallace program at Juilliard (MODERATION). Most recently his new play MODERATION received a Zoom workshop with SpookyAction Theatre and was named a semi-finalist at the Austin Film Festival.
Learn more at: kevinkautzman.com
Contacts:
PR & Media Contact:
Nicole Liddy
Project Manager, CommPro Worldwide
O: 848.702.4173
E: nicole.liddy@commpro.com
Interview Inquiries:
Kevin Kautzman
Writer, 'Moderation'
O: 347.367.9309
E: kevin@kevinkautzman.com
SOURCE: MODERATION Podcast
View source version on accesswire.com:
https://www.accesswire.com/612644/Psychological-Thriller-Moderation-Launches-as-a-Podcast
