Uncle Robot Media presents...
We believe that just because you're magical
doesn't mean your life is perfect...
Have you ever listened to a story about characters who seemed to have it all...
We didn’t want to write a story about people who had their shit together. Prototypical images of people in power do a great job of implying that everyone else isn’t important. Not women. Not people of color. Not immigrants. Not those who don’t or can’t conform standard identity roles. People with disabilities. People with mental and emotional challenges. Well, we say, "The hell with that!"
We want this story to be for all of us who don’t pretend to be some dishonest, insincere, chimerically-acceptable versions of ourselves, or at least don’t want to pretend. Our characters don’t always fit in, even if they want to. We like them just as they are. And for our listeners, we want to give a voice to everyone who doubts they'll ever have one. In "Sayonaraville," our hope is you will find someone who looks and sounds like you and maybe feels as you do. Give the megaphone to everyone.
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As creators, we want to write about characters of diverse races, genders, sexualities, and ethnicities. However, we recognize we are limited by our own cultural, racial, and ethnic perspectives. Mythologically, we've stuck mostly to our own Celtic, Western roots, and we've worked with sensitivity readers of various genders, races, and sexualities to help make our presentation as inclusive as possible. For future seasons, we hope to be able to hire a wider cast of voice actors to fully represent all our characters' backgrounds.
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We'd like to feature a greater diversity of characters, so if would like to help us produce sensitive portrayals of your unique group, please contact us!
Steve Pool
Creator/The Guy To
Blame For All of This
Besides having ADHD and being a writer, Steve has been a lot of things: a barista, a private investigator (yes, a long time ago Steve actually had a license), an optician, a corporate accountant and financial analyst, and a Silicon Valley seatwarmer, working complicated computer engineering jobs. Work for money, not for love, that was his motto, until he started tutoring high school students in English. This, he loved. Working alongside his wife, Robin, it also paid the bills for a number of years.
And while he did this job, he wrote at night. And wrote some more. Finally, he had enough stories to be published (“360 Tomorrows,” horror and sci-fi anthologies “Twisted 50” Volumes 1 and 2 and “The Singularity,” and the “Antipodean Radio Show” where his epic Norse poem “Hroerekr” [starts at 2:25] was read on Australian Community Radio by voice actor Marg Essex). Transported by hearing his work come to life, he had the idea to take one of his stories and turn it into a podcast series. And here we are.
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Steve is also an avid RPG gamer (since the early 1980's), comic book geek, and hobbyist photographer. You can see his photos on Instagram at
Robin Pool
Flagpole
Robin Pool is a professional web designer, writing teacher, editor, and self-professed “grammar nut” who serves as Steve’s muse and professor of "keeping it real." Having nearly perfected the husband-and-wife writing dynamic over the last 20 years, Robin is also the project’s astrology and divination consultant, making sure scenes like the ramen bowl divination are on point.
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In addition to listening to Steve's 2:oo am ideas ("Guess what the story told me...!?") Robin teaches astrology and divination at www.spiritsaid.com and runs the Spiritsaid Style Astrology and Divination Meetup group. She loves connecting with the spirituality of her ancestors and is excited to present Sayonaraville's modern twist on Celtic mythology and magic.
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In her spare time, she is a vintage thrift store fashionista and a zealous cook of non-spicy Indian food in her Instant Pot!
Emily Woo Zeller
Reader-in-Chief
Emily Woo Zeller has worked for over three decades as a voiceover artist, dancer, singer, and actor. Named a Golden Voice by Audiofile Magazine, Emily Woo Zeller has garnered many awards in her voiceover career, including being named “Best Voice” of the year numerous times by Audiofile Magazine; an Audie Award; Best Female Narrator from the Independent Audiobook Awards; several SOVAS awards; and over two dozen Earphones Awards. In addition to a wide range of narration and over 500 audiobook titles, Ms. Woo Zeller works in video games, most recent notable games including Cyberpunk 2077 as Panam and The Last of Us Part 2. She has also dubbed for dozens of anime series. In audio drama, Emily recently performed as Doctor Aphra in Star Wars, and the narrator in PASSABLE IN PINK.
Freya Kingsley
Celtic Vocal Specialist
Known for her work on feature and short films (Victoria in Running Memory and Emily in An Endless Summer) as well as on the BBC drama Baptiste, Freya had the following to say about her work for Sayonaraville:
“When Steve approached me with the role of Rigan, I jumped at the opportunity. Who would say ‘no’ to playing a warrior goddess?!? As I read the manuscript and learnt about Rigan’s background, I fell more in love with her and the story as a whole. I canNOT wait to find out what happens to Rigan and all of the other exciting, rich characters in the future seasons!”
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Check out Freya on Instagram at @freyakingsley
Merrique Marie-Sainte
Sound Necromancer
[she brings the story to life]
At her label DSS (Dissecting Sound & Soul), Merrique combines her passions for music, sound engineering, set design, and photography by creating art house films, fine art photography, and original scores. She completed the SEAF & Pan Eros Film Festival project "Body Positive" and served as sound editor for "The Real Short Box" podcast.
In addition to her background in industrial music and Bachelor’s in Music Production from Full Sail University, she is also certified in Wine Connoisseurship and Interior Decorating. Under the moniker St. Merrique, she has been represented by artists and galleries for the past fifteen years as an internationally known fine art model. She’s the host of “Fluid & Flow: A Body Positive Workshop” scheduled for July 10th, 2022.
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You can find her on Patreon.com/SundayBest.
