Make-Believe

Every story is a crossroads. A diverse company of Chicago artists produces new audio dramas—recorded live—and stages freewheeling audience conversations about them. Led by Founder and Executive Producer Jeremy McCarter, Make-Believe shares suspenseful, moving, hilarious stories, and tries to discover how they shape our world.

Listening to Lake Song 10/12/2022

Listening to Lake Song LAKE SONG makes its debut today on the Tribeca Audio Premieres podcast! Listen . Starting on October 13, listen to LAKE SONG on its own podcast feed. Available everywhere, including , , , and on the web at . Follow or subscribe to LAKE SONG to hear new episodes as they appear each week. /episode/index/show/mbelieve/id/24664386

Trailer 2: Chicago Poets--Past, Present, Future 10/06/2022

Trailer 2: Chicago Poets--Past, Present, Future co-creator Nate Marshall talks about what Chicago poets have always done. . . and what they're *going* to do. Lake Song, the epic new audio-drama series from , will debut October 12 as an official selection of . For more, visit . /episode/index/show/mbelieve/id/24605514

Trailer: Lake Song 09/30/2022

Trailer: Lake Song OFFICIAL SELECTION - Tribeca Festival Audio Premieres. It's 2098 and the Republic of Chicago has what the world needs: fresh water. But with new opportunities come new threats, especially for a pair of siblings on the South Side. Can the people come together to save their city--and each other? LAKE SONG is the joint creation of seven multidisciplinary Chicagoans. Combining sci-fi and music, politics and poetry, it's a collective response to our times, and a shared dream of our future. Go to the new LAKE SONG feed to subscribe. Coming in mid-October. /episode/index/show/mbelieve/id/24544041

Our Decameron: Shakespeare in Utopia 04/24/2020

Our Decameron: Shakespeare in Utopia Following the cancellation of Shakespeare in the Park, Oskar Eustis talks about a utopian story in one of Shakespeare's plays. A practical guide to what a vision of the future can do--and what it can't. /episode/index/show/mbelieve/id/14130896

Our Decameron: Lorraine Hansberry at the End of the World 04/16/2020

Our Decameron: Lorraine Hansberry at the End of the World Can a new society arise from a cataclysm? Does humanity deserve a second chance? Chicago author and journalist Natalie Moore joins a virtual audience to explore utopia, dystopia, and the radical imagination while discussing the great Chicago dramatist's "What Use Are Flowers?". /episode/index/show/mbelieve/id/14013455

Our Decameron: The Tortoise, the Hare, and Will Leitch 04/01/2020

Our Decameron: The Tortoise, the Hare, and Will Leitch To tide us over until baseball returns, sportswriter Will Leitch breaks down the most famous athletic contest of all time, and a lively virtual audience debates its moral today. /episode/index/show/mbelieve/id/13803824

Our Decameron: Chicken Little 03/24/2020

Our Decameron: Chicken Little The sky might or might not be falling, but the story that gave rise to that phrase is everywhere. In episode two of our series inspired by Boccaccio, Stephanie Ybarra and fascinating people from all over the country reconsider the tale of the moment. /episode/index/show/mbelieve/id/13687040

Our Decameron: Zen in Seattle 03/17/2020

Our Decameron: Zen in Seattle Inspired by Boccaccio, a new series of conversations in which we share a story and invite a fascinating person to talk about what it means. In episode one, Martin Edlund of Malaria No More talks about the Zen fable about the tiger and the strawberry. /episode/index/show/mbelieve/id/13584818

City on Fire: Chicago Race Riot 1919 10/04/2019

City on Fire: Chicago Race Riot 1919 A docudrama about the summer that ravaged a city--and remade it. Co-produced with WBEZ. /episode/index/show/mbelieve/id/11514122

Lost Books of the Odyssey 03/01/2019

Lost Books of the Odyssey Odysseus, the "man of twists and turns", goes on five new adventures, portrayed by five amazing actors. Performed and recorded live in Chicago, plus audience conversation. /episode/index/show/mbelieve/id/8839823

Bruh Rabbit 02/07/2019

Bruh Rabbit Brer Rabbit, the iconic trickster of African-American folklore, returns in new tales by the poet Nate Marshall. Performed and recorded live in Chicago, followed by audience conversation. /episode/index/show/mbelieve/id/8558117

Brava 01/15/2019

Brava A brave girl's journey through a land of many monsters, adapted from a Mexican folktale by Nancy García Loza. Performed and recorded live in Chicago, followed by audience conversation. /episode/index/show/mbelieve/id/8265578

Overture: Where Do Stories Come From? 01/10/2019

Overture: Where Do Stories Come From? Monica Beletsky, acclaimed writer for TV and film, talks about writerly collaboration--a key component of Make-Believe's creative process. Plus: Lennon and McCartney, making space for more voices, and the fable of Town Mouse and Country Mouse. /episode/index/show/mbelieve/id/8207387

Coming Soon: Brava 01/03/2019

Coming Soon: Brava A preview of the first audio drama in our season of Grown Folks Fables, a Mexican folktale con música by Nancy García Loza. A brave girl faces many monsters. #muchowowwow #muchoguaoguao /episode/index/show/mbelieve/id/8119073

Overture: Why Talk About Stories? 12/13/2018

Overture: Why Talk About Stories? Michael Sandel, philosopher and showman, helps us prep for Season 1 by showing how it's done. Plus: the art of listening, upstaging Matt Damon, and the case of Grasshopper v. Ant. /episode/index/show/mbelieve/id/7901282

Coming Soon: Make-Believe 12/06/2018

Coming Soon: Make-Believe Welcome to Make-Believe Association, a new company producing funny, moving, suspenseful audio dramas and conversations about stories. Recorded live in Chicago. /episode/index/show/mbelieve/id/7820846

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