ars PARADOXICA

A training tape shown to new ODAR recruits.

Created by Daniel Manning & Mischa Stanton. Written by Julian Mundy. Directed & Produced by Mischa Stanton.

Featuring John Wallis as the Narrator.

Original music by Mischa Stanton and by Eno Freedman-Brodmann.

Chet draws a line in the sand; the Anchorites are trapped. But sand is easily washed away by a rising tide.

Created by Daniel Manning & Mischa Stanton. Written by Tau Zaman. Directed & Produced by Mischa Stanton.

Featuring: Kristen DiMercurio as Sally Grissom, Reyn Beeler as Chet Whickman, Katie Speed as Esther Roberts, Robin Gabrielli as Anthony Partridge, L. Jeffrey Moore as Lou Gaines, Preston Max Allen as Bridget Chambers, Lia Peros as Petra, Gabriela Milo as Carmen, Arjun Gupta as Nikhil Sharma, Bernardo Cubría as Mateo Morales, Hannah Trobaugh as June Barlowe, Lee Satterwhite as Ben Quigley, Lauren Shippen as Maggie Elbourne, Eric Rafael Ibarra as Victor Lambert, and Susanna Kavee as Helen Partridge, as well as Kathy Dorn, Mark Soloff, Todd Faulkner, and Tauheed Zaman*, with special thanks to Isabel Atkinson.

Featuring the song "When I'm Not Here," written by Tau Zaman, arranged by Evan Cunningham, featuring Susanna Kavee as Helen Partridge. Additional original music by Mischa Stanton and Eno Freedman-Brodmann.

The last remaining record of Dr. Nikhil Sharma, friend to Sally Grissom and foe to ODAR. His presence in only three days of 1949 caused deviations to the timeline not even the Blackroom could predict. What led this rogue element to betray his allegiances and leave everything behind?

Created by Daniel Manning & Mischa Stanton. Written by Tau Zaman. Directed & Produced by Mischa Stanton.

Featuring: Arjun Gupta as Nikhil Sharma, and Bernardo Cubría as Mateo Morales, as well as Jade Johnson.

Fight choreography and production help from Danielle Shemaiah. Original music by Mischa Stanton and by Eno Freedman-Brodmann.

The team has assembled, and it's time to take the fight to ODAR. Step 1: get Victor Lambert out of an ODAR prison facility, with a passcode from the desk of Director Chet Whickman himself. To pull this stunt off, they'll need help from an unlikely source.

Created by Daniel Manning & Mischa Stanton. Written by Daniel Manning. Directed & Produced by Mischa Stanton.

Featuring: Kristen DiMercurio as Sally Grissom, Reyn Beeler as Chet Whickman, Katie Speed as Esther Roberts, Lia Peros as Petra, L. Jeffrey Moore as Lou Gaines, Lauren Shippen as Maggie Elbourne, Preston Max Allen as Bridget Chambers, Hannah Trobaugh as June Barlowe, Lee Satterwhite as Ben Quigley, and Eric Rafael Ibarra as Victor Lambert, as well as Billy Finn, Julian Mundy, and Mischa Stanton, with special thanks to Isabel Atkinson. 

Fight choreography by Danielle Shemaiah. Production help from Dan Powell. “Clair de Lune” composed by Claude Debussy. Original music by Mischa Stanton and by Eno Freedman-Brodmann.

June Barlowe's done biding her time. She's out for vengeance for her late husband Quentin, and heaven help ODAR and anyone else who stands in her way–except for a face she never thought she'd see again...

Created by Daniel Manning & Mischa Stanton. Written by Eli Barraza. Directed & Produced by Mischa Stanton.

Featuring: Hannah Trobaugh as June Barlowe, Lee Satterwhite as Quentin Barlowe/Ben Quigley, Susanna Kavee as Helen Partridge, L. Jeffrey Moore as Lou Gaines, Lia Peros as Petra, and Kristen DiMercurio as Sally Grissom, as well as Lily Richards, Eli Barraza, Erin Bark, and Aze Gates*, with special thanks to Isabel Atkinson.

Original music by Mischa Stanton and by Eno Freedman-Brodmann.

Lou Gaines is on a mission to find his friend David Marian, and in the course of his search ropes in others who have fallen beside ODAR's wake.

Created by Daniel Manning & Mischa Stanton. Written by Julian Mundy. Directed & Produced by Mischa Stanton.

Featuring: L. Jeffrey Moore as Lou Gaines, Hannah Trobaugh as June Barlowe, Preston Max Allen as Bridget Chambers, Lauren Shippen as Maggie Elbourne, Lia Peros as Petra, and Kristen DiMercurio as Sally Grissom, as well as James Oliva, Brock Bivens, and Erin Bark, with special thanks to Isabel Atkinson. 

Original music by Mischa Stanton and by Eno Freedman-Brodmann. This episode also featured music by Jazz Street Trio.

Anthony’s poking at the limits of the Blackroom, and facing his inevitable lonely demise, conspires with Sally to look for a way out. But when Esther and ODAR get word of the team-up, their concern for their future brings them to conflict.

Created by Daniel Manning & Mischa Stanton. Written, Directed & Produced by Mischa Stanton.

Featuring: Kristen DiMercurio as Sally Grissom, Reyn Beeler as Chet Whickman, Katie Speed as Esther Roberts, Robin Gabrielli as Anthony Partridge, Richard Penner as Dr. Fitzgerald, and Alexander Cole as David Marian, with special thanks to Isabel Atkinson. 

Original music by Mischa Stanton and by Eno Freedman-Brodmann.

**WARNING: This episode contains depictions of manipulation & implied harm of children. Listener discretion advised.

Petra and Carmen have been recruited for a special training protocol within ODAR. Their mission: Grow up through history backwards, make no connection with the world around them, in an attempt to Stave Off the deadly effects of Butterfly Syndrome. Helped along by their chaperone Van, their peers, and a mysterious guide who offers lemon drops with a side of dissenting opinions on the way things ought to be, can the girls become proper ODAR agents before their last connection to anything in the world–each other–falls apart?

Created by Daniel Manning & Mischa Stanton. Written by Eli Barraza. Directed & produced by Mischa Stanton.

Featuring: Elyse Cain & Lia Peros as Petra, Ai-Chan & Gabriela Milo as Carmen, Ian McQuown as Van, Katie Speed as Esther Roberts, and Arjun Gupta as Nikhil Sharma, as well as Richard Malmos, Katie Hume, On Shiu, Bonnie Williams, David Gallic, Billy Finn, and Erin Bark, with special thanks to Isabel Atkinson. 

Production help from Danielle Shemaiah, Ryan Estrada, and David Rheinstrom. Thanks to Mykki and her kids at the Khan Lab School. Original music by Mischa Stanton and by Eno Freedman-Brodmann.

A visitor appears. [http://thebrightsessions.com]

Sally starts gardening and digs up something from her past. Esther falls back on old habits. Chet realizes he’s not here to make friends.

Created by Daniel Manning & Mischa Stanton. Written by Danielle Shemaiah. Directed & Produced by Mischa Stanton.

Featuring: Kristen DiMercurio as Sally Grissom, Reyn Beeler as Chet Whickman, Katie Speed as Esther Roberts, and Richard Penner as Dr. Fitzgerald, as well as Fionna Thraille, Heather Auden, Thea Rodgers, Austin Beach, and Jean DiMercurio as Sally's mom, with special thanks to Isabel Atkinson.

Original music by Mischa Stanton and Eno Freedman-Brodmann.

**WARNING: This episode contains depictions of animal cruelty. Listener discretion advised. (No animals were harmed in the making of this episode.)

Still shaken since Sharma, Sally seeks a shrink. Meanwhile, mild-mannered Maggie manipulates mice.

Created by Daniel Manning & Mischa Stanton. Written by Daniel Manning & Mischa Stanton. Directed & Produced by Mischa Stanton.

Featuring: Kristen DiMercurio as Sally Grissom, Katie Speed as Esther Roberts, Dan Anderson as Hank Cornish, Lauren Shippen as Maggie Elbourne, and Richard Penner as Dr. Fitzgerald, with special thanks to Isabel Atkinson.

Production help from Danielle Shemaiah and Andy Goddard. Original music by Mischa Stanton and by Eno Freedman-Brodmann.

**WARNING: This episode contains graphic depiction of gun violence. Listener discretion advised.

What’s an ODAR agent doing in the Philadelphia harbor? Nikhil Sharma is from a future dangerously close to Sally’s own, and he claims to have forgotten his orders. Claims. Happy to meet someone who gets all of her Back to the Future references, Sally ditches Esther to road trip back to Point-of-Exile with Nikhil. What awaits them at their destination?

Created by Daniel Manning & Mischa Stanton. Written by Tau Zaman. Directed & Produced by Mischa Stanton.

Featuring: Kristen DiMercurio as Sally Grissom, Reyn Beeler as Chet Whickman, Katie Speed as Esther Roberts, Robin Gabrielli as Anthony Partridge, and Arjun Gupta as Nikhil Sharma, as well as Conrad Miszuk, with special thanks to Isabel Atkinson. 

Production help from Danielle Shemaiah. Original music by Mischa Stanton and by Eno Freedman-Brodmann. Additional music by the US Army Blues via the Free Music Archive.

Sally and Esther fly out to the east coast. Sally has found a way to communicate with Anthony in the Blackroom, and needs to go to Philadelphia and commit a few crimes and put her life in mortal danger to make it happen– y’know, the usual. Meanwhile, Esther says she’s going to New York for boring supply line reasons, but instead meets with someone from her past.

Created by Daniel Manning & Mischa Stanton. Written by Daniel Manning. Directed & Produced by Mischa Stanton.

Featuring: Kristen DiMercurio as Sally Grissom, Katie Speed as Esther Roberts, Robin Gabrielli as Anthony Partridge, and Preston Max Allen as Bridget Chambers, as well as Zak Stevens, Amanda Bailey, and Brock Bivens, with special thanks to Isabel Atkinson. 

Original music by Mischa Stanton and by Eno Freedman-Brodmann.

Louis Gaines is a journalism professor in trouble for introducing taboo concepts to his students. David Marian is a chess prodigy with an anger streak. The two war buddies are recruited by a mysterious government agency. Is it ODAR? Of course it is. But will their new employer mean the end of their friendship?

Created by Daniel Manning & Mischa Stanton. Written by Julian Mundy. Directed & Produced by Mischa Stanton.

Featuring: L. Jeffrey Moore as Lou Gaines, Alexander Cole as David Marian, Dan Anderson as Hank Cornish, and Robin Gabrielli as Anthony Partridge, as well as Richard Malmos and AC Slamet, with special thanks to Isabel Atkinson.

Production help from Julian Mundy.

This episode features the song "Man at the Clock" by Paolo Pavan Pasqualino Ubaldini via the Free Music Archive, as well as original music by Mischa Stanton and Eno Freedman-Brodmann.

As punishment for his crimes, Anthony Partridge is exiled to the Blackroom, ODAR’s communications hub situated at the anchor point. He’s not so sure he wants to be ODAR’s slave until the end of his days, but that all changes when he’s the only one who can get Sally Grissom the care she needs. Sally’s fallen into a coma after a meeting with her future self, and ODAR’s off and running without her. What world will Sally find waiting for her outside the hospital?

Created by Daniel Manning & Mischa Stanton. Written by Daniel Manning. Directed & Produced by Mischa Stanton.

Featuring: Kristen DiMercurio as Sally Grissom, Reyn Beeler as Chet Whickman, Katie Speed as Esther Roberts, and Robin Gabrielli as Anthony Partridge, as well as Brock Bivens, Lia Peros, and Austin Beach, with special thanks to Isabel Atkinson. 

Original music by Mischa Stanton and Eno Freedman-Brodmann.

When Anthony seeks revenge on Bill Donovan for his crimes, he finds more than he’d bargained for: due to the effects of CAGE therapy, he’s a frail old man, confined to a bed, but otherwise healthy. But that won’t be enough to stop Anthony Partridge when he’s got an axe to grind. Meanwhile, Sally gets a visit from her future self, and if you though one Sally was a lot to handle… Oh man. Just you wait.

**WARNING: This episode contains graphic depictions of violence. Listener discretion advised.

Created by Daniel Manning & Mischa Stanton. Written by Daniel Manning. Directed & Produced by Mischa Stanton.

Featuring: Kristen DiMercurio as Sally Grissom, Reyn Beeler as Chet Whickman, Rob Slotnick as Bill Donovan, Robin Gabrielli as Anthony Partridge, Katie Speed as Esther Roberts, Zach Ehrlich as Jack Wyatt, Charlotte Mary Wen as Penny Wise, and Dan Anderson as Hank Cornish, with special thanks to Isabel Atkinson.

Original music by Mischa Stanton and by Eno Freedman-Brodmann.

Anthony Partridge has stumbled across a box full of tapes in Bill Donovan’s office. Spoilers: Bill’s had the whole town wired for years, and he’s recorded EVERYTHING. And that’s not all–he’s been blackmailing politicians, he manipulated Helen, and he’s bending the fabric of spacetime to keep himself in power. He doesn’t stop for breath, even when his health starts to fail. Is there anything Bill Donovan won’t do?

Created by Daniel Manning & Mischa Stanton. Written, Directed & Produced by Mischa Stanton.

Featuring: Rob Slotnick as Bill Donovan, Reyn Beeler as Chet Whickman, Kristen DiMercurio as Sally Grissom, Robin Gabrielli as Anthony Partridge, Susanna Kavee as Helen Partridge, Charlotte Mary Wen as Penny Wise, Dan Anderson as Hank Cornish, Isabel Atkinson as Amelia Arnault, Julian Mundy as Ivan Maraczek, Eric Rafael Ibarra as Victor Lambert, and Pete Lutz as J. Edgar Hoover, as well as Amanda Bailey.

Original music by Mischa Stanton and by Eno Freedman-Brodmann.

It’s Christmastime again, and the team is on the verge of a breakthrough. Anthony Partridge has been working nonstop to finish his latest invention, and though he’s made substantial gains, he may stand to lose even more. Jack Wyatt is done with the whole ODAR game and wants to take his girlfriend Penny with him, but Esther’s just stuck one foot further in and might need his help. And Sally, all alone on Christmas, finds solace—and the answers she’s been looking for—in her new 20th-century family. But with Bill Donovan in dire straits and Anthony Partridge left all alone, who knows what discoveries yet lay hidden?

Created by Daniel Manning & Mischa Stanton. Written by Julian Mundy. Directed & Produced by Mischa Stanton.

Featuring: Kristen DiMercurio as Sally Grissom, Reyn Beeler as Chet Whickman, Rob Slotnick as Bill Donovan, Robin Gabrielli as Anthony Partridge, Susanna Kavee as Helen Partridge, Katie Speed as Esther Roberts, Zach Ehrlich as Jack Wyatt, and Dan Anderson as Hank Cornish, as well as Billy Finn, with special thanks to Isabel Atkinson.

Original music by Mischa Stanton and by Eno Freedman-Brodmann.

An accident finally leads to a practically-demonstrable use of the Timepiece: the CAGE, a bubble of time outside the universe. Chet isn’t too happy with Esther’s decision to spend 24 (relative) hours trapped inside it. But when he is trapped inside with her, it gives these two time to talk about the only thing they have in common: ODAR, and its potential future without Bill Donovan.

Created by Daniel Manning & Mischa Stanton. Written by Daniel Manning. Directed & Produced by Mischa Stanton.

Featuring: Kristen DiMercurio as Sally Grissom, Reyn Beeler as Chet Whickman, Robin Gabrielli as Anthony Partridge, Katie Speed as Esther Roberts, and Zach Ehrlich as Jack Wyatt, with special thanks to Isabel Atkinson.

Original music by Mischa Stanton and by Eno Freedman-Brodmann.

As work continues on a new iteration of ODAR’s time-bending technology, Jack Wyatt can’t shake the feeling that he might not be right for the job, and Esther is left picking up the pieces. Meanwhile, Anthony Partridge is investigating a new face in town: Agent Hank Cornish. But is it really worth all the fuss? Or is he just using this—and his research into Bill Donovan’s declining health—as an excuse to avoid supporting Helen in her cabaret debut?

Created by Daniel Manning & Mischa Stanton. Written by Daniel Manning. Directed & Produced by Mischa Stanton.

Featuring: Kristen DiMercurio as Sally Grissom, Reyn Beeler as Chet Whickman, Robin Gabrielli as Anthony Partridge, Susanna Kavee as Helen Partridge, Katie Speed as Esther Roberts, Zach Ehrlich as Jack Wyatt, and Charlotte Mary Wen as Penny Wise, as well as Zak Stevens and Erin Bark, with special thanks to Isabel Atkinson.

This episode features the song "A Nightingale Sang in Barkley Square," performed by Susanna Kavee as Helen Partridge, and original music by Mischa Stanton and by Eno Freedman-Brodmann.

Bill Donovan’s called in every favor he has to keep the lights on and the Timepiece up and running. Banished to the isolated mountain town of Point-of-Exile, Colorado, and with so many failures under their belt, can Sally, Esther, Jack, Chet, Anthony and Helen find reasons to continue on? And will Bill Donovan live long enough to see them finally succeed?

Created by Daniel Manning & Mischa Stanton. Written by Daniel Manning. Directed & Produced by Mischa Stanton.

Featuring: Kristen DiMercurio as Sally Grissom, Reyn Beeler as Chet Whickman, Rob Slotnick as Bill Donovan, Robin Gabrielli as Anthony Partridge, Susanna Kavee as Helen Partridge, Katie Speed as Esther Roberts, Zach Ehrlich as Jack Wyatt, and Charlotte Mary Wen as Penny Wise, with special thanks to Isabel Atkinson.

Original music by Mischa Stanton and by Eno Freedman-Brodmann.

Sally is drunk, locked in a broom closet and the town is about to explode. But it’s hard to invest in the future of Polvo when projects are getting cut left and right, and Intelligence Agent Hank Cornish is closing up the town for good. Can Sally and Jack pull off one last miracle? And how can Bill Donovan use that miracle to his advantage?

Created by Daniel Manning & Mischa Stanton. Written by Daniel Manning. Directed & produced by Mischa Stanton.

Featuring: Kristen DiMercurio as Sally Grissom, Rob Slotnick as Bill Donovan, Robin Gabrielli as Anthony Partridge, Susanna Kavee as Helen Partridge, Katie Speed as Esther Roberts, Zach Ehrlich as Jack Wyatt, Dan Anderson as Hank Cornish, Eric Rafael Ibarra as Victor Lambert, Julian Mundy as Ivan Maraczek, and Hannah Trobaugh as June Barlowe, with special thanks to Isabel Atkinson.

Original music by Mischa Stanton and by Eno Freedman-Brodmann.

Something else instead!

Quentin Barlowe dies mysteriously, and all fingers point to Sally Grissom. To prove her innocence, Sally works through the night to create the TAP, a window through time, so she can see what really happened. But when she’s confronted by the widow June Barlowe, Sally may wish she had left well enough alone.

**WARNING: This episode contains depictions of gun violence. Listener discretion advised.

Created by Daniel Manning & Mischa Stanton. Written by Daniel Manning. Directed & Produced by Mischa Stanton.

Featuring: Kristen DiMercurio as Sally Grissom, Reyn Beeler as Chet Whickman, Robin Gabrielli as Anthony Partridge, Katie Speed as Esther Roberts, Lee Satterwhite as Quentin Barlowe, and Hannah Trobaugh as June Barlowe, as well as Geoff Pictor, with special thanks to Isabel Atkinson.

Original music by Mischa Stanton and by Eno Freedman-Brodmann.

Chet Whickman, head of ODAR security, is here to break up the party. Time is ticking down til Judgment Day, but their transport vehicles break down in the middle of the desert. Sally, Chet, Anthony and his wife Helen witness the dawn of a new age of military science, and some of them realize that they may not come away from ODAR with their hands clean.

Created by Daniel Manning & Mischa Stanton. Written by Daniel Manning. Directed & Produced by Mischa Stanton.

Featuring: Kristen DiMercurio as Sally Grissom, Reyn Beeler as Chet Whickman, Rob Slotnick as Bill Donovan, Robin Gabrielli as Anthony Partridge, Susanna Kavee as Helen Partridge, Katie Speed as Esther Roberts, Zach Ehrlich as Jack Wyatt, and Lee Satterwhite as Quentin Barlowe, with special thanks to Isabel Atkinson.

Original music by Mischa Stanton and by Eno Freedman-Brodmann.

Sally and her assistants Jack Wyatt and Esther Roberts have to present a working Timepiece to the top brass in a week’s time. The only problem? It’s really hard to present time travel in the flesh. To ease the pressure, Anthony Partridge suggests a weekend trip to the newest desert vacation spot: Las Vegas, NV. But sending Sally off in public is a dangerous prospect. Will Sally’s foreknowledge of card-counting techniques and the looming Trinity nuclear test land her in hot water?

Created by Daniel Manning & Mischa Stanton. Written by Daniel Manning. Directed & Produced by Mischa Stanton.

Featuring: Kristen DiMercurio as Sally Grissom, Reyn Beeler as Chet Whickman, Rob Slotnick as Bill Donovan, Robin Gabrielli as Anthony Partridge, Susanna Kavee as Helen Partridge, Katie Speed as Esther Roberts, Zach Ehrlich as Jack Wyatt, and Lee Satterwhite as Quentin Barlowe, as well as Cameron Scott Nadler, Barry Stanton, and John French Williamson, with special thanks to Isabel Atkinson.

Original music by Mischa Stanton and by Eno Freedman-Brodmann. This episode features the songs “Stardust,” performed by the US Army Blues, and “Til The End of Time,” performed by Susanna Kavee as Helen Partridge.

A power outage creates an unlikely friendship.

Created by Daniel Manning & Mischa Stanton. Written by Daniel Manning. Directed & Produced by Mischa Stanton.

Featuring: Kristen DiMercurio as Sally Grissom, and Robin Gabrielli as Anthony Partridge, with special thanks to Isabel Atkinson.

Original music by Mischa Stanton and by Eno Freedman-Brodmann.

Dr. Sally Grissom is stuck in the past. When a quirk of physics draws her into the middle of a top-secret military test on the deck of the USS Eldridge in 1943, Sally must convince Director Bill Donovan and his Office of Developed Anomalous Resources that she isn’t a hostile force bent on espionage. But she may be just the answer Donovan has been looking for: an end to the Second World War, and control over the post-war world.

**Be advised: This episode contains the sounds of humans vomiting.

Created by Daniel Manning & Mischa Stanton. Written by Daniel Manning. Directed & Produced by Mischa Stanton. 

Featuring: Kristen DiMercurio as Sally Grissom, Reyn Beeler as Chet Whickman, Rob Slotnick as Bill Donovan, Robin Gabrielli as Anthony Partridge, Katie Speed as Esther Roberts, and Zach Ehrlich as Jack Wyatt, with special thanks to Isabel Atkinson.

Special thanks to Julian Mundy, Mark Rizzo & Dylan Winter.

Original music by Mischa Stanton and by Eno Freedman-Brodmann.

ars PARADOXICA is a story about people searching for meaning in a universe that aggressively lacks one, and who occasionally find the next best thing in those around them.

It's also about the way power corrupts. When you've got a Time Machine and the backing of the most powerful nation on Earth, you start to get the idea that you can always tilt the scales in your favor, but there is cost and consequence for every action.

Above all, it's about science, America, and the deeply human desire to fix our mistakes.

A product of the Whisperforge http://whisperforge.org