The micro audio drama below is a follow-up to "Another Year Older, Another Year Wiser," retroactively making that one the first episode of what is now this new series, One Day in Aspen Creek! Episode 2, " Another Day, Another Dollar," continues with the main character of Tom and reveals more about him and the small town of Aspen Creek that he calls home. You can read how this series came about in this post. While you don't need to have heard episode 1 to enjoy this one, it will certainly help provide some context.
Synopsis:
A stressed-out visitor to town stops at Tom's shop. Will he leave Aspen Creek with his burdens a little bit lighter?
Credits:
"Another Day, Another Dollar" was written, directed, and produced by J.D. Sutter.
The cast was:
Brent Sykes - Phil Lollar
Mrs. Helgerson - Betsy Nicholson
Tom Walker - J.D. Sutter
Music:
"Beckoning" by Telecasted, courtesy YouTube Audio Library
"Acoustic Capo 3 CGAm" by BaDoink, courtesy Freesound
"A Place in My Heart" by ELVGames & PEGGU-SENSEI, courtesy Fanatical
Behind the Making of "Another Day, Another Dollar"
The germ of the idea for this script originated with my friend and fellow audio drama creative, Christopher Green. I had recounted to him a situation that I experienced and he replied something to the effect of, "That would make a good story for an episode with your Tom Walker character." At the time I still had not made the decision to bring back the characters of Tom and Kate from my first micro audio drama, but thanks to this nudge from Christopher, and a few other folks, including Audio Drama Alliance member Josh Rodriguez, I began to seriously think about it. A few days later, I reached out to Rose Beasley who had voiced Kate in that episode to see if she would be interested, knowing that if Tom returned we would need to hear from Kate again as well. She was and so I began to plan out a series in earnest.
The situation I had told Christopher about became the basis for the backstory of Brent Sykes in "Another Day, Another Dollar." For the first several months of 2024, I was so sick that I had hardly been able to leave the house. One weekend in the summer, I was feeling very down and depressed but finally had strength enough to get dressed and out of the house. I had nowhere to go and no plan in mind, but I just knew I had to get outside of the same four walls. I jumped on US 60, a highway right near my home, and started driving west. Now I didn't drive as far as Brent did in the story, and with it being summer in Arizona, I most certainly did not have the windows down, but a while later I ended up in the small town of Wickenburg, about 60 miles outside of Phoenix. Wickenburg has a rich history dating back to the frontier and pioneer days. It's got some great western shops, wonderful murals, and a fun "old west" vibe.
I drove around the small town just looking at the sights. Most of the shops were closed for the day and I didn't feel up to walking around anyway, so I just explored the town a bit and snapped a few photos from my car. I was only there for about 30 minutes before I decided it was time to head back, but that little drive had refreshed me and relieved me of a lot of stress for some reason. My heart was a little lighter as I cranked the tunes and headed back to Phoenix.
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| A few of the snaps I took that day |
This is what I shared with Christopher that prompted him to suggest using this as inspiration for a new story with Tom Walker. After thinking it over for a bit, the idea began to grow into what eventually became the script of "Another Day, Another Dollar." You might say that not much happened in the real story I experienced, or in the version of it with Brent and Tom, and you'd be right. But since Aspen Creek is not necessarily about a fast-paced, go-go-go lifestyle, I thought it could work. While it's hardly an artistic masterpiece, I think it is a good illustration of the kind of small-town life that many people find rejuvenating.
Once I had a script drafted, I reached out to Phil Lollar to see if he would be willing to play Brent. As I was writing, I had him in mind and was hearing his voice for the character. He generously agreed to lend his voice to this project and I am so grateful. To be able to collaborate with one of my audio drama heroes is something I will never forget. We're talking about the co-creator of one of the world's most successful and longest-running audio dramas of all time, Adventures in Odyssey! His willingness to bring his talent to my amateur project meant the world to me. Phil, if you're reading this, thank you!
In this episode, we are introduced to the shop that Tom only alludes to in the first episode, and as I began to think about the sound design for Walker's Finds & Fables, I really thought I needed to get some authentic sounds to bring it to life. Not too far from where I live, in a section of Historic Downtown Glendale, is a few block area called Catlin Court. These few streets are filled with historic little homes that have been converted into all kinds of shops; an ice cream parlor, a gifts and toys shop, boutiques, and more. So I headed down there with my recording gear to see if I could get some good audio to use. I met Carol, the wonderful owner of a little clothing and decor shop called The Cottage Garden, who graciously allowed me to roam around her boutique recording footsteps, room ambiance, floor creaks, and doors. I also recorded some outdoor ambiance in the front yard of the shop, and then some more as I walked up and down the sidewalk as well. All of the footsteps for Brent and Tom, as well as the wonderfully creaky wooden door that you hear in this episode were recorded in Carol's shop. Thanks, Carol!
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| The Cottage Garden |
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| The great creaky door |
Bonus Tidbits
Here are a few little odds and ends that I thought were fun to include in the script.
- The shop name, Walker's Finds & Fables, was selected as the final name after polling the Audio Drama Alliance members with several options
- The wooden wishing well with a sign on it that Brent mentions is a reference to my grandfather who used to build just such lawn ornaments
- Both of the names Brent and Lowell are "borrowed" from family members
- The name given to Mrs. Helgerson is taken from a street I used to live on growing up in rural Wisconsin
- Speaking of Mrs. Helgerson, she was a last-minute addition to the script; I just felt like I needed a small little interaction there to add to the realism, and bring a little variety while also giving a little glimpse into more of the townspeople; huge thanks to Betsy for jumping in and quickly recording for the character
You can see all of the episodes in this series here. Rest assured, there is more to come with Tom and Kate.
Thanks for listening and reading this extra content! If you enjoyed this project, please share it with a friend, sign up for my email notifications for future posts, and consider clicking the button below to "buy me a coffee."
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