The Production Team
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Joe Palermo (He/Him) Sound started as a medium and grew into a life philosophy. The constant hunger for new and interesting sound objects and spaces is the driving force behind every project that I take on. Total immersion is my goal for every soundscape I create. I firmly believe the process of capturing source materials is equally as important as the sounds themselves. This process may be more time intensive, but it is essential to truly envelop the audience. Want to develop true sounds of nature? Let's grow contact mics into trees and listen to storms roll in off of Lake Michigan through a hydrophone. Want to capture the emotional essence of a city? Compile clips of random street people playing a Kazoo and listen for repeating tonal patterns and rhythms.
No project is too abstract; No idea too "off-kilter".
Maybe your project doesn't need a soundscape made from tuned lumps of jello, but you can't be sure until you hear it, right?
To learn more about Joe, you can visit him on the web at www.joepalermo.style.
Role: Director of Sound
Rachel Staelens (she/her) is a freelance director, producer, event planner, and people wrangler based in Chicago, IL. She spent many years pushing go buttons, calling cues, and wrangling schedules for groups such as the Chicago Fringe Festival (Production Manager), The Neo-Futurists (TML Technician, pre-Infinite Wrench), CerquaRivera Dance Theatre (Stage Manager), and Redmoon Theatre (Youth Spectacle Stage Manager), amongst others. Rachel has also had the pleasure of directing several productions, with her favorite and most memorable creation being Down the Moonlit Path, produced by NWaC, and adapted by the author of this podcast, Tate A. Geborkoff. Rachel has spent the last few years on the development of new work, particularly that of a tiny human, as well as in pursuing a career adjacent to theatre that pays the bills slightly better. Still, Psychopompos has been the spark keeping her creative flame alight.
She cannot wait to share that spark with the world.
Roles: Director, Producer
Roy Freeman (He/Him) is a musician, educator, and advocate for new and experimental artistic endeavors. Roy is a dedicated music teacher in the Chicago Public Schools, where his primary focus is to introduce elementary school students to the diverse and enriching world of the performing arts. Roy fosters a love for music and cultivates his students' creativity and self-expression, instilling in them a lifelong appreciation for the arts.
Roy's artistic talents extend beyond the classroom. He has contributed as a keyboardist to notable albums like Claire and the Bears' self-titled album in 2019 and Big X's "Priceless" album in 2013. As a Company Music Director for Three Cat Productions since 2014, Roy has played a pivotal role in various theater productions, showcasing his skills as a Music Director, Arranger, and Foley artist. His contributions include works like "The Holiday Radio Show Trilogy," "At. Mr. Kelly's," and "Diamond Lil," among others.
With his unwavering dedication to music education, extensive professional experience, and commitment to artistic innovation, Roy Freeman continues to leave his mark on the music community in Chicago and beyond. To learn more about Roy, you can visit him on the web at www.royafreemanmusic.com/.
Role: Musical Director/Composer
Tate A. Geborkoff (He/They) is an acclaimed multi-disciplinary queer artist working and living in Chicago.
His writing has appeared in many national literary journals and on Chicago stages. As a poet, his work has recently appeared in Juked, the Charleston Anvil, Birch Gang Review, Curbside Splendor, and Burningword Literary Journal. As a playwright, he was nominated as a semifinalist for the National Playwright’s Conference for his play It Rained All Night, and as a finalist for the Great Gay Play and Musical Contest for All Around the Mulberry Bush. Other productions include Down the Moonlit Path (Broadwayworld Chicago Award for Best New Work/New Adaptation), Rebecca and Robbie Do Nothing at a Bar (The Last Abbiefest), A Heart of Tweed (Chicago Fringe Festival), Chicago AfterDark (The Charnel House), And the Snow Came Down (Step Up Productions). He has served as a guest lecturer on writing and adaptations at Northwestern University. You can follow them on instagram at @adjinntonic.
He is endlessly excited to share Psychopompos - a new mythology with the world.
Roles: Author, Performer, Producer
