Ep 6: Low Battery Warning
Three artists with extraordinary day jobs make time in their busy schedules to connect in our final Atlanta studio session. Writer Emily McClain and soundies Garrett Range and Willie H. Smith Jr. chat about dealing with burnout, favorite sci-fi franchises, and the best Nic Cage movie ever.
Emily McClain (writer) is a professional playwright, theatre educator, and a proud member of Working Title Playwrights. WriteStuffATL, and the Dramatists Guild. She teaches theatre at School of the Arts @ Central Gwinnett, the fine arts magnet for Gwinnett County Public Schools.
Her play SLAYING HOLOFERNES was co-winner of Essential Theatre’s New Play Festival and received a world premiere production in 2019. Her full length comedy JULIE’S PLACE was selected for the JOOKMS Spotlight Series in July 2020 and went on to be a semi-finalist with the New American Voices with The Landing Theatre Company. Her tragedy TERMINUS ANDRONICUS was a finalist at the American Shakespeare Center Shakespeare’s New Contemporaries competition in 2019. Her Risk Theatre play CHILDREN OF COMBS AND WATCH CHAINS was named a finalist for the Risk Theatre International Competition in August 2020 and was produced by the Quarantine Players in February 2021. She is published through Next Stage Press and more of her work may be found on New Play Exchange:
Instagram: @emilymcclain234
Torture Castle is the creative efforts of GR, musically and otherwise. None of this has anything to do with anything, and it’s all just made up. We see the thing and the thing sees us and we talk about that a lot. This has been something to do for over a decade, in between nothing important, beauty, wonder, and all the tiny moments in between. Surf naked.
Instagram: @torture_castle
Dr. Willie H. Smith, Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia and completed his
undergraduate education at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia with a
Bachelor’s of Science in Chemistry in 1999. From there, he attended Baylor
College of Medicine in Houston, Texas and earned his medical doctorate
degree in 2003.
Dr. Smith returned to Atlanta to begin his residency at Emory University
School of Medicine in 2003. Upon completion of the residency program in
2006, he joined the Division of Hospital Medicine as a hospitalist, at the
Emory University Hospital Midtown campus and is board certified in
Internal Medicine.
His musical journey started off with joining the concert band on alto
saxophone in the 6th grade. He was also a member of the symphonic, jazz,
and marching bands at Mays High School and Morehouse College. In
addition, he was a musician at Hunter Hill Baptist Church during high
school and college. While in med school, Dr. Smith continued to play alto
sax with a couple of music groups that played jazz, funk, R&B, and rock.
After establishing himself as a physician, Dr. Smith picked back up
performing music but this time on the tenor saxophone. He has performed
at churches, house parties, birthday celebrations, lounges, and hospital
holiday parties. He now regularly plays at Mount Calvary Missionary
Baptist Church as a part of the music ministry and gigs with the band
known as the Daryl Morgan Experience (D.M.E.), headed by Atlanta bassist
Daryl Morgan.
He is happily married to his high school sweetheart of 22 years, Oronda.
They have one son Joshua who recently graduated from high school.
The contributors on the “Genesis Finality” music project:
Song Title: Starbeam Faded Dream
*Willie Smith, Jr.
Original music concept design, tenor saxophonist
*Daryl Morgan
Producer, bassist
*Oronda Smith
Original music concept consultant
*Joshua Smith
Song Title Consultant