In this episode actor and creator Ben Warren returns to the podcast with just as much warmth and wit as before, with double the insights. He also brings EXCITING NEWS!

International, intense, inside, in-tertainment; these are just some of the “i” words which describe the first ever MonologueAthon! The MonologueAthon is a 24-hour live-stream event in support of The Actors’ and Entertainers’ Benevolent Fund, which will be hosted on May 29th AEST. Actors will be given a Shakespearean monologue and 20 minutes to prepare it before they perform it! We plug this at about the 32:00 mark, so if you want to listen while you fill out your application, you can!

This episode has a heap of laughs, and tips from someone on the inside (though I guess that’s all of us now?) on how to handle social distancing and any isolation blues we may be experiencing. It’s my first zoom recording but Ben made it a fun, relaxed and really easy experience. I hope you enjoy it, even with the odd sound wobble.

Keep well,

Paula

P.S. A garbage truck put in a cameo appearance; did it sound like a War of The Worlds monster, or sad recorder? DM me on Instagram to let me know!

EPISODE NOTES:

Things We Mentioned

..... 

Hiking as a metaphor for life. I love hiking. Despite my lack of motivation for exercise and distaste for sweating, I really love going for a long walk outside. There are many well researched reasons why, but if you want a quick look at why hiking is good for your mind and body, have a read of this. If you have any recommendations for hikes around Brisbane and the surrounding areas, I’d love to read them!

..... 

Quarantine vs isolation/physical distancing and what that entails. The best definition I found was:

“Self-isolation and quarantine are aimed at preventing people who are infected or are known to have had contact with people who are infected from passing on the virus. Social distancing is a wider measure aimed at stopping the kind of mixing of people that allows infections to spread through a population.”

Beall, A. “Why social distancing might last for some time,” BBC Future (online). 2020.

This is a great self-isolation how to guide from the Australian government, and here is (at time of release) an updated list of restrictions state by state from The Guardian Australia.

..... 

Will this change the way we interact going forward? Look, the obvious answer is yes. How could it not? Here are two fascinating articles (long reads, mind) from BBC future. This one is more about the economics of it all, and this one here steps out details about the nature of the virus and how social distancing is still our best bet going forward. In terms of an Australian perspective, The Guardian has a series dedicated to this called Life After Lockdown which is worth checking out (they’re much shorter too)

..... 

Surprisingly, MC Hammer, and how the world has changed around dating and intimacy. Now that physical intimacy is largely out of the question, what does dating look like? Or sex? Here’s an interview by VOX on how Rona is affecting sex lives, and an article from Quartz which takes a broader, but still American focused slant.

..... 

We touch briefly on how the world is geared towards extroverts and what the “new normal” has meant for introverts. Here’s a fun opinion piece about Introverts and plagues through history, and what the current climate can teach us.

..... 

The Actors’ and Entertainers’ Benevolent Fund is an amazing organisation doing critical work to support creatives and arts industry workers seeing as they have been left behind in the Australian and Queensland government’s Covid Response welfare net. If you can’t afford to donate, please like, follow and share. It does genuinely help.

..... 

You can find the MonologueAthon here:

Donate or register your interest on the website here

Instagram

Twitter

Facebook

Facebook Event for all the information and updates.

And lastly, here is a link to a time zone converter so if you aren’t on AEST, you can find out when to join in the fun. Hope to see you there!

Had a chuckle? Feeling less alone? Don’t forget to rate and review the podcast! It tells the algorithm to suggest us to other people.

If you’ve stumbled upon us, you can join the community on Instagram as stumblethroughpod here

And on Facebook as Stumble Through Podcast here

Produced by That’s Not Canon Productions. Graphics by Claudia Piggott. Music by Jessica Fletcher.

Subscribe to us on ITUNES, STITCHER, SPOTIFY, RADIOPUBLIC or your podcatcher of choice.

Find us on FACEBOOK or INSTAGRAM.