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Welcome to Risky Business with Beau York. I’m your host, Beau York and today we have a delayed episode that frankly, I’m a little embarrassed that I’m just now getting it out to you. 

Before we get started I want to do 2 things. First of all, just apologize for the fact that this episode is so so very late coming out. We’ve been very busy behind the scenes working on our immersive theatre project and there are some very exciting things happening right now. In fact so exciting, that I’m having to up my timetables on what I want to do with this podcast. 

This will essentially be the final episode of what has been ‘Risky Business with Beau York’. Now Don’t go anywhere because the feed will still be here. But in the new year there will be a new name with a new focus on bringing you fully behind the scenes on what we’ve been working on for the past several months. I’ll also be discussing immersive theater from an industry level and highlight some news in this space as well as share my own personal thoughts on where the industry is headed. 

All of this is connected to the mindset that stories have power. And the various ways we engage with those stories can transform not just ourselves but also our understanding of the world. 

So for those of you have enjoyed this very short lived mini series of ‘Risky Business’ I hope you will stay tuned because we’ve got some really great things coming down the line. 

But now I DEFINITELY have to apologize again because this episode was recorded forever ago. Several weeks back I was able to meet up with some friends of mine as we were discussing the, then, very fresh on everybody's mind, controversy surrounding comedian Hasan Minhaj. Our conversation goes into the ideas surrounding emotional truth, as well as audience expectations, specifically in the realm of comedy. 

What is the exception for stories to be true verse entertaining? And when those lines are blurred, whose responsibility is it to recognize the blurring? 

Elodie Leroy is a hummerist, writer, editor. Aadam Keeley is a professional comedian and Second City alum. And despite the moment of this conversation having passed, I hope that you find a lot of value in it. We certainly had a lot of fun discussing it. Enjoy! 

www.EnterAYOR.com 

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Welcome to Risky Business with Beau York, I’m your host… Beau York, and before we get started I want to tell you a quick story. It’s the story of a poor Irish immigrant by the name of Catherine O'Leary who, on a crisp October morning in 1870, gathered her pale, stool and lantern to go out and milk a cow. This seemingly normal and insignificant ritual that surely Ms O’Leary had performed many a time before, would become one of the most talked about events of the decade, because as she went about her work, placing the lantern in it’s usual spot, the aforementioned cow kicked the lantern over igniting the barn and connected shed into a blaze. That inferno would quickly spread into what is now known as The Great Chicago Fire, killing approximately 300 people, destroying over 17,000 structures, and leaving more than 100,000 residents homeless. It’s an incredible, if not tragic story that was etched into the collective mental histories of a generation… The only thing is, it’s not true. That is to say - yes, obviously the Great Chicago Fire occurred and Ms O’leary was one of the first to be affected… but the story of her guilt and the famous ‘cow’ that kicked it all off, was all an embellishment of journalists at the time tapping into the anti-irish and anti-catholic sentiments of the day, in order to find a scapegoat.

Today we are speaking with someone who is very familiar with the role that stories play in both telling and corrupting our understanding of history. Dr Jemar Tisby is a New York Times bestselling author, national speaker, and public historian on a mission to deliver truths from the Black experience with depth and clarity. He’s the co-host of the Pass The Mic podcast, currently celebrating it’s 10 year anniversary, as well as host of the podcast Footnotes with Jemar Tisby. 

A bit of a different episode this time. Sleep No More is closing in January and I wanted to take a moment to bid it farewell to what has been such an inspiration to many in the immersive theatre industry.

In 1929, at the Galerie Le Centaure in Brussels Belgium, the world was first introduced to ‘The Treachery of Images’ by then 30 year old Belgian surrealist painter Rene-Francois-Ghislain Magritte.

Known for his propensity for horror, whimsy, and mystery, Rene joined with his surrealist contemporaries in constantly testing the boundaries and authority of both words and images through his art and never perhaps was it more evident than in this work depicting a simple bent billiard briar pipe with the French words scribbled bellow  “Ceci n’est pas une pipe”, which translates to English as “This is not a pipe”

Much has been said about this painting and its ability to flip the tables on the expectations of the viewer. That of course an image of a pipe is not a pipe but then can a pipe truly ever ‘be’ in an artistically rendered state? Maybe art takes the source and transcends it to a new being. Or, perhaps, an imitation will always be a superficial and flat shadow of the real. And all of this causes me to wonder if the surrealists were, in some small way, early pioneers of immersive theater in their ability to bring in the viewer, their audience, and make them in that moment of contemplation, part of the art itself. 

Ironically, Rene avoided in-depth analysis of his own works despite the intensively provocative nature of them. And so perhaps he would have appreciated my desire to parody “The Treachery of Images” several years ago with a meme announcing the newly minted logo of a pipe shaped microphone with the words ‘This is not a podcast’. 

For 10 years, Country Squire Radio was the number one pipe podcast that gave a rallying point for pipe enthusiasts seeking knowledge, community, and thoughtful conversations around the craft. My guest today is Jon David Cole, my former co-host of Country Squire Radio and the owner and tobacconist of the Country Squire in Jackson Mississippi. 

As a craftsman, Jon David has an intrinsic understanding of how art and product development can, or at least should, be deeply intertwined. As a retailer, he understands the experience driven economy that sustains his artistry through telling a story.

Welcome to Risky Business with Beau York, I’m your host… Beau York, And today we are talking about the challenge of crafting stories meaning, like a deeper meaning, when you layer stories on top stories with a purpose… because you want to get a message across through the lens of a story… ok trust me I'm not going to go full inspection but speaking of Inception. Let’s talk about movies for a minute. 

We all love a good movie, and we all really hate a bad movie. If you think about how people will complain about a movie being a soulless cash grab, a lot of times what they are talking about is that it’s a movie that doesn't have that deep of meaning or really a story worth telling. 

It’s like a slot machine versus a AAA video game like Assassin's Creed or God War. You’ve got all the sensory elements there to stimulate the brain into pouring out cash but no actual substance to communicate something deeper.

 By contrast Early Pixar films are a fantastic example of stories that on the surface have very pleasant messages with well thought out characters that go on their own journeys, but each one also has a deeper meaning and message. 

This layering of story, to know the truth you want to communicate, wrapped in all of the elements that connect with the audience, it takes many if not most of us years to create just one story… but there's a group of people who do this on practically a weekly basis. Faith leaders across various religious traditions are constantly met with the weekly challenge of crafting narrative to connect their congregation to their holy texts. 

I’m joined today by somebody who knows this challenge all too well. 

Rev. Tyler Burns is a pastor, podcaster, writer, and justice advocate. He currently serves as Lead Pastor of All Nations Worship Assembly in Pensacola, Florida and is the President of The Witness: A Black Christian Collective. 

As a writer, he has been featured in The Washington Post, The Atlantic, and Religion News Service to name a few. 

Tyler and I have a lot of history built up over the past 10 years of working together. We both grew up in the American church, though through different traditions, and met through an organization with a shared desire to promote justice and equity within and throughout our faith communities. 

And for myself, As someone who has since stepped away from the church but still identifies as a person of faith, over the past few years Tyler has not only been a close friend and confidant but also a pastoral voice in my life that I greatly value.  

He's also a major proponent of the Black Church tradition and a devout student of preaching and the various styles and techniques used to connect the audience with the story.

Shoutout to Father Roderick and his 'Mass For Geeks' series during the pandemic.

Episode 1: A Bad Idea

This is a bad idea. And while that could arguably be true about a lot of what I'm doing right now... I'm specifically talking about this podcast. 

You see for the past 10 years I've ran what has been a fairly successful podcast company in the United States south east. I've built up a trusted reputation, extremely amazing clients, and that all important x factor: an audience. So I feel I need to start this thing off by pointing out that by launching this podcast, I am doing the exact opposite of what I've told all my client to do. 

This is a branded vanity project from the founder of the company, using a name that is so bland there are already 15 podcasts with the exact same name and to make matters worse, the album art is completely AI generated. 

So why am I doing this? Why create Risky Business with Beau York? 

I’ve always felt that openness and vulnerability is a powerful tool to help people connect with someone's story. And for much of my career it’s been my job to nudge people in that exact direction… However, ironically, I'm terrible at doing it myself. Like most self proclaimed entrepreneurs I’m driven by fear of public failure more so than a desire for personal success. And as someone who has convinced friends and colleagues to follow me into ventures before, I’ve felt the weight of their expectations in every step and misstep along the way. But that's literally true of everyone to some extent right? I mean you don’t have to start a business or make a thing in order to know that feeling of being under the microscope. Weather it’s your friends, your family, or just that little overly critical voice in the back of your head that you should probably see a therapist about. 

Anyway all that to say, as I reach the end of my 30s I feel that I finally have discovered what I truly want to be when I grow up: I want to be a storyteller. And not just the stories of others or even my own lived experience. I want to tell fantastic stories that create wonder and terror and build worlds in the imaginations of anyone willing to experience them. 

I have a few. 3 actually! We'll more like 2 and a half… 

I’ve worked on them for the past several years but they each require a unique path to being told. The first one… the only one that’s really fully written out. Is a play… but not just any play. An immersive play. That might not mean anything to many of you… but for context it’s a story that plays out like a living video game where you as the audience get to wander around the set and choose which characters to follow and how you want to experience the story. Intrigued? Confused? Need more information? Stick around… we’ll get there. 

But before diving into how we are working to bring this new story to life through sets and actors and tech, we’ll take the first few episodes of this series to talk with some artists and storytellers, who I’ve had the pleasure of working with over the years to discuss creative ways of expression that can connect and challenge an audience. 

For those of you familiar with my previous work, you're likely to hear a few familiar voices pop up here and there. But I’m also excited to introduce you to some new voices who I am working with that are pushing boundaries and helping to create something exciting and truly special. 

But all of this is a risk. A big risk. I’m literally putting everything I’ve ever done professionally on the line. My company, every penny of profit I’ve saved up from it… it’s all going into the new era of story telling. And it could fail. And I know that that. So all the more reason to shine a spotlight on the process right? So what’s is this podcast? What is Risky Business with Beau York. It’s an exploration of what takes to tell a good story. But it also very well may be A front row seat to watch the biggest trainwreck of my career… I guess we won’t know how it all ends until we start telling the story.

Thank You for listening to this episode of Risky Business with Beau York. I’ve been your host Beau York and you can follow me at incognitbeau on instagram and learn more about this project at ENTERAYOR.com that EnterAYOR.com. And if the spelling for all of this is too crazy I’ve got them linked in the show notes. Be sure to check back in the next week or so for the latest episode of Risky Business with Beau York.