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Hello, and welcome to you Monacito. After sunset, you are
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entering a world of dissection. I am Christy, Welcome. If
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you found us here, it's probably because you love soap
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operas or audiobooks podcasts, you are in the right place.
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Montecito is a brand new audio soap opera that you
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are going to love it.
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If you hadn't listened to episode one yet.
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Go on over and listen to that, because we are
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going behind the scenes of the premiere episode with executive
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story editor Andrew Pemberton Fowler and creator and executive producer
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of Monasito Grant Runner.
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I want to take a moment and praise the both
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of you.
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Congratulate you on creating what is truly revolutionary, a whole
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new way to entertain people.
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It is really clear why this is creating so much buzz.
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The characters are unforgettable, the drama is explosive, and I
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am just so excited to get a little bit more
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scoop of what was all going down behind the unions.
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When you first started telling me Grant about this project
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that you were doing, I was a little confused.
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I thought, but were you going to tell a story
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with no video? But then I had a.
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Little preview at the first episode, and within the first
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I think ten seconds, you are immersed in the story.
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You are right there on location.
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With the stars, and it just thrust you into this
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world a mona Seito.
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Immediately I'm popping on the elevator. How did you do that?
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How did you thrust me into this world so expertly?
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Creating an immersive environment was obviously a one for us.
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We didn't want to lose anyone with where am I
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as who's entering the room like, it was very important
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that really builds it out without overdoing it, but that
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there were little cues and things to let people know,
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like there's elevator sounds and there's some footsteps, and it
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was really important to me make sure that we didn't
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lose anyone, but also that the production value was elevated
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where because yes, there's a connotation of what is this
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Is it just people talking into a microphone. But if
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people can read a book or listen to an audiobook
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and imagine and enjoy through those two mediums, they can
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connect with Montecito.
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Absolutely, and you've done such a great job of that.
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What I really want to know is what kind of
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direction did you give to the cast.
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This is an awesome a list cast.
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You have a lot of Emmy winners here, people who
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are huge names in the world of daytime. What did
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you say to them to get these incredible performances out
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of that?
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I think one thing that we worked on before we
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had the cast was how do we want to structure character?
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So we had a lot of everything was built into
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the script, so footsteps, approaching, sound effects, intonation, how we
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want to line read in, how we thought the characters
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would behave. So by the time we got to production
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and the cast had those scripts, they just ran to
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the moon. So it really was something where because we
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did so much work on the back end, getting them
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to these wonderful performances was almost effortless, but granted a
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wonderful job directing them during the sessions.
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It was an interesting experience to get back my director's
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hat back on after a while. This is my background
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and I enjoyed it so much, but it had been
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a minute since I really had directed talent in the
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acting world. I direct a lot of voice talent, but
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as far as scene work goes, it was really like
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restrengthening a muscle that you hadn't used in a while.
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Really enjoyed that. I will add to Andrews's earlier answer
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that none of these characters were written for a specific actor.
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We did a lot of work on character development and
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making sure that these were well rounded people know it
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was perfect. Deacon has different quotes that he says in
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his scenes, and we tried to really add little characteristics
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that can differentiate the characters. And then it was finding
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the right match with talent. Daytime TV is just full
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of incredible actors. I never once did I stray out
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of that mindset of wanting to capitalize on these very
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talented actors and their audiences that are so loyal and
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just so hungry for content.
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Yeah, and now we're in a I would almost say
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a renaissance with Beyond the Gates. Now we have Montecito.
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There are other shows that are firing on all cylinders,
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so it's really an interesting time for Montecito too debut.
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And one little behind the scenes to bit. Those quotes
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for Deacon came out of nowhere. I was sitting there
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writing the dialogue for episode one and I was like,
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he quotes dead people. I mean, that was like Seneca Shakespeare.
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It just seemed to fit his morose attitude when he's
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talking to during the party scene, and it really just
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started with me. He's talking to her and he says
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tomorrow and tomorrow because just thinking about another project, another hotel,
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another opening party. One does it end? And then I
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just threw them all into the script. I think one
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or two had to get cut, but throughout the season.
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But yeah, we tried to get as much in there.
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And then there's a little surprise with the quotes. I
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won't give it away. It's later in the series. It
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was a lot of fun to write and also to
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find character because you start with this. Grant came to
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me he had his long story where he wanted to
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go in the season, so we had to break it
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down into episodes. So he had to break that down
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into ten outlines, and then from those ten outlines you
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have to write ten scripts. So it was a really
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interesting journey just to see his initial idea, his initial
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story through what everyone is hearing now. So it's been
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a wild ride for us.
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I can only imagine. It's not like an incredible amount
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of work, but was totally worth it. And let's talk
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a little bit about the women in Deacon's life.
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Who he's talking to with all these quote Helena and Nina.
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Holy moly, I am so into this dynamic between the
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two of them. It's like they're both blaming each other
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for Deacon being a hot mess. They're both terrible people,
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but also I don't dislike either one of them. There
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must have been a lot of thought put into what
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the dynamic would be between these two women.
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So I love writing arguments because it's just something I
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guess I grew up at an argumentative household. I love
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like the little jabs, but also like when someone's standing
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in one position so strongly and the other is so
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not not going to move. And these are two women
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that represent very strong viewpoints and see nothing the same.
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And you have a protective mother, and then you have
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a narcissist who basically is living on.
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Top and she's not going to be knocked down. So
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they're writing for a narcissist.
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Is a I mean enjoyable and it's it's like an
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embarrassment of riches because and narcissist reacts different in all
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situations and with all different types of people and family dynamics.
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Andrew and I did a ton of research to write
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a true narcissist.
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And the thing about Mina, and I'll get to Helena,
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but the thing about Mina is that since nothing is
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ever her fault, you just really can play with the
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beat and the moment everything she says, every moment where
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she's reacting to what someone's saying to her, So you're
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always turning her. She's never staying still, even though the
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character's in a scene with Helena, with Deacon, with JJ,
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but that character, she's it's like a spin top. She's
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always moving, it's always changing. But with Helena, we have
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Crystal Chappelle playing her, and she just added so much
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depth and gravitas to that role. She's very steady. She's
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a rock for Deacon for the show. Actually, she's probably
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the only same character we have.
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I don't want to hear about saying people anyway, She's
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the most ground whatever.
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These are characters that have lived in my head for
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over a decade. So these are people like I know,
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I feel like more than some people of my own family.
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I've spent so much time thinking about them and how
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they would react to things, and what their life is
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and how they feel about things, and it's just Tanre's
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point of hearing someone like Crystal and the other actors
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read this dialogue, these are now like voices. It's clasy
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to say they've come to life, but it's really like.
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Now it's real.
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Now there's something actually here other than what's a here
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and what's on the Google doc.
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And I think one reason why we were able to
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give them these interior lives and why they seem to
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just be alive the minute we meet them is because
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when I was talking to Grant, I said, we need
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to start this story from what happened yesterday, because these
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people are having a life. What did they do up
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until the moment we meet them? So when the elevator opens,
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we're stepping into real life. It's like you walk into
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someone's home and they're already having dinner, they're talking to
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each other.
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That makes so much sense after hearing the first couple episodes.
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Because I did, I felt just a few minutes in
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like I already knew everything about these people, and then
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I was so invested in their lives. And I know
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you both personally, and I can't telp but think that
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you're so good at this because I know you both
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grew up watching and loving soap operas, so are we
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going to see any of those classic soap opera tropes?
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Even though it is a audio first medium, there are
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still plenty of tropes in the story and dramatic moments
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and music. It builds to things. What can I say,
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there's a level of bitchiness that is fully maintained. So yes,
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soap tropes throughout, but measured, We're not. This is not
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a comedy we have. I like to think these scripts
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are quite balanced, and there's some really soft and very
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tender moments relationships, and then there are just some caddy
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back and forth snipe thing that I live for in soaps.
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So I like to think that we're giving the audience
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a nice balance that Andrew and I grew up watching
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the soaps that we watched, so let's hope that the
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listener feels the same.
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And I will say one thing, sorry, Christy, that we
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always kept in mind with all of these scenes and
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all of these characters, no matter if it's high drama
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or it's a quiet moment, they all have hopes and
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dreams and wishes, and they all want something. So I
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think sometimes Grant and I would talk and we've not
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pull ourselves or the story back, but stay grounded in
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what does this person actually want? What are they hoping for?
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What are they desiring? Even if someone's being histrionic, but
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why are they acting that way? If you can answer that,
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even if the audience doesn't know, but if you can
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relate that to an actor, and then it just gives
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it a little more realness in a soap opera.
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Yeah, Like, even Geo's entrance just felt very like classic
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soap opera, Like I was watching Days of Our Lives
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for something that has been around and been being loved
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for decades, and I think fans can really appreciate that
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because it's what they expect a little bit.
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Yeah, I want to talk about that moment with Geo's
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entrance because I was heavily involved in the sound design.
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I played with a little bit of reverb and flattening
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out the background music and really punching in on this
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moment from Menes's perspective where she's growing shaded Helena and
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she looks up and she sees someone and it's like
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a double take, and that is a huge game changing
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moment for her that will have a ripple effects through
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the end of episode ten. So that had to be
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a moment to grab the listener's attention. This entrance means something.
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And there's just there's so much chaos in episode one,
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but it all happened in one place.
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It goes down in real time.
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It's like the episode is just under twenty minutes, and
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it feels like we go for about twenty minutes of
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these people's lives. So what is next for Geo and
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Deacon and what does that all mean for me?
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Now?
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To tease me for episode two, guys.
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Oh, we pick up where we left off, and I
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think you will. We're going on a little journey. We're
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not staying at the hotel, That's all I'll say. But
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there will be pay all, so no one will be disappointed.
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I'm in the soap op for message board, so I'll
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find out if you are.
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Yeah, that's I love that celebrities never admit that they
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read the reddit.
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Yeah.
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Now, there's plenty to come with those two. It's a
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journey and it's going to be a full story arc
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of these ten episodes. We really took this kind of
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super couple I guess you could say, a leading kind
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of relationship romance, and we modernized it with it being
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a same sex couple and one of these men are
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married to a woman, then how does that happen in
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twenty twenty five? So there's a lot to unpack.
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Get ready, I am, I'm so ready, But I feel
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like now I have a little bit better understanding of
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all this all came together and how it became to
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be so incredibly good. And I want to invite everybody
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who's watching to submit their questions. We're gonna be breaking
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down every episode of Montecito. You can do that here
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on YouTube in the common section, or do not forget
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to follow up on Facebook?
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Do that there, Grant Where can everybody follow you and
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keep up with you at?
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You can find me on Instagram. That's the best place
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at its Grants France. Shout out to my old podcast, Andrew.
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I'm sure everyone would love to connect with you. How
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can they do that?
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You're gonna find me on Instagram as well at Andrew
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four twenty eighty three. I'm not a pothead. It's my
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birthday and it's too late to change it now.
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This was so much fun and I want to thank
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you all for joining us on Montecito.
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After sunset, We'll see you next time
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Hello, and welcome to you Monacito. After sunset, you are
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entering a world of dissection. I am Christy, Welcome. If
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you found us here, it's probably because you love soap
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operas or audiobooks podcasts, you are in the right place.
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Montecito is a brand new audio soap opera that you
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are going to love it.
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If you hadn't listened to episode one yet.
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Go on over and listen to that, because we are
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going behind the scenes of the premiere episode with executive
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story editor Andrew Pemberton Fowler and creator and executive producer
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of Monasito Grant Runner.
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I want to take a moment and praise the both
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of you.
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Congratulate you on creating what is truly revolutionary, a whole
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new way to entertain people.
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It is really clear why this is creating so much buzz.
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The characters are unforgettable, the drama is explosive, and I
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am just so excited to get a little bit more
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scoop of what was all going down behind the unions.
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When you first started telling me Grant about this project
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that you were doing, I was a little confused.
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I thought, but were you going to tell a story
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with no video? But then I had a.
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Little preview at the first episode, and within the first
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I think ten seconds, you are immersed in the story.
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You are right there on location.
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With the stars, and it just thrust you into this
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world a mona Seito.
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Immediately I'm popping on the elevator. How did you do that?
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How did you thrust me into this world so expertly?
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Creating an immersive environment was obviously a one for us.
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We didn't want to lose anyone with where am I
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as who's entering the room like, it was very important
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that really builds it out without overdoing it, but that
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there were little cues and things to let people know,
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like there's elevator sounds and there's some footsteps, and it
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was really important to me make sure that we didn't
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lose anyone, but also that the production value was elevated
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where because yes, there's a connotation of what is this
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Is it just people talking into a microphone. But if
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people can read a book or listen to an audiobook
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and imagine and enjoy through those two mediums, they can
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connect with Montecito.
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Absolutely, and you've done such a great job of that.
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What I really want to know is what kind of
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direction did you give to the cast.
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This is an awesome a list cast.
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You have a lot of Emmy winners here, people who
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are huge names in the world of daytime. What did
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you say to them to get these incredible performances out
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of that?
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I think one thing that we worked on before we
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had the cast was how do we want to structure character?
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So we had a lot of everything was built into
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the script, so footsteps, approaching, sound effects, intonation, how we
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want to line read in, how we thought the characters
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would behave. So by the time we got to production
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and the cast had those scripts, they just ran to
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the moon. So it really was something where because we
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did so much work on the back end, getting them
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to these wonderful performances was almost effortless, but granted a
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wonderful job directing them during the sessions.
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It was an interesting experience to get back my director's
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hat back on after a while. This is my background
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and I enjoyed it so much, but it had been
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a minute since I really had directed talent in the
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acting world. I direct a lot of voice talent, but
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as far as scene work goes, it was really like
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restrengthening a muscle that you hadn't used in a while.
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Really enjoyed that. I will add to Andrews's earlier answer
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that none of these characters were written for a specific actor.
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We did a lot of work on character development and
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making sure that these were well rounded people know it
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was perfect. Deacon has different quotes that he says in
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his scenes, and we tried to really add little characteristics
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that can differentiate the characters. And then it was finding
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the right match with talent. Daytime TV is just full
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of incredible actors. I never once did I stray out
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of that mindset of wanting to capitalize on these very
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talented actors and their audiences that are so loyal and
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just so hungry for content.
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Yeah, and now we're in a I would almost say
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a renaissance with Beyond the Gates. Now we have Montecito.
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There are other shows that are firing on all cylinders,
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so it's really an interesting time for Montecito too debut.
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And one little behind the scenes to bit. Those quotes
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for Deacon came out of nowhere. I was sitting there
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writing the dialogue for episode one and I was like,
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he quotes dead people. I mean, that was like Seneca Shakespeare.
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It just seemed to fit his morose attitude when he's
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talking to during the party scene, and it really just
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started with me. He's talking to her and he says
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tomorrow and tomorrow because just thinking about another project, another hotel,
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another opening party. One does it end? And then I
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just threw them all into the script. I think one
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or two had to get cut, but throughout the season.
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But yeah, we tried to get as much in there.
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And then there's a little surprise with the quotes. I
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won't give it away. It's later in the series. It
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was a lot of fun to write and also to
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find character because you start with this. Grant came to
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me he had his long story where he wanted to
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go in the season, so we had to break it
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down into episodes. So he had to break that down
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into ten outlines, and then from those ten outlines you
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have to write ten scripts. So it was a really
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interesting journey just to see his initial idea, his initial
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story through what everyone is hearing now. So it's been
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a wild ride for us.
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I can only imagine. It's not like an incredible amount
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of work, but was totally worth it. And let's talk
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a little bit about the women in Deacon's life.
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Who he's talking to with all these quote Helena and Nina.
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Holy moly, I am so into this dynamic between the
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two of them. It's like they're both blaming each other
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for Deacon being a hot mess. They're both terrible people,
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but also I don't dislike either one of them. There
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must have been a lot of thought put into what
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the dynamic would be between these two women.
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So I love writing arguments because it's just something I
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guess I grew up at an argumentative household. I love
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like the little jabs, but also like when someone's standing
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in one position so strongly and the other is so
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not not going to move. And these are two women
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that represent very strong viewpoints and see nothing the same.
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And you have a protective mother, and then you have
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a narcissist who basically is living on.
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Top and she's not going to be knocked down. So
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they're writing for a narcissist.
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Is a I mean enjoyable and it's it's like an
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embarrassment of riches because and narcissist reacts different in all
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situations and with all different types of people and family dynamics.
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Andrew and I did a ton of research to write
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a true narcissist.
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And the thing about Mina, and I'll get to Helena,
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but the thing about Mina is that since nothing is
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ever her fault, you just really can play with the
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beat and the moment everything she says, every moment where
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she's reacting to what someone's saying to her, So you're
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always turning her. She's never staying still, even though the
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character's in a scene with Helena, with Deacon, with JJ,
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but that character, she's it's like a spin top. She's
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always moving, it's always changing. But with Helena, we have
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Crystal Chappelle playing her, and she just added so much
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depth and gravitas to that role. She's very steady. She's
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a rock for Deacon for the show. Actually, she's probably
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the only same character we have.
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I don't want to hear about saying people anyway, She's
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the most ground whatever.
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These are characters that have lived in my head for
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over a decade. So these are people like I know,
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I feel like more than some people of my own family.
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I've spent so much time thinking about them and how
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they would react to things, and what their life is
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and how they feel about things, and it's just Tanre's
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point of hearing someone like Crystal and the other actors
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read this dialogue, these are now like voices. It's clasy
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to say they've come to life, but it's really like.
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Now it's real.
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Now there's something actually here other than what's a here
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and what's on the Google doc.
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And I think one reason why we were able to
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give them these interior lives and why they seem to
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just be alive the minute we meet them is because
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when I was talking to Grant, I said, we need
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to start this story from what happened yesterday, because these
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people are having a life. What did they do up
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until the moment we meet them? So when the elevator opens,
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we're stepping into real life. It's like you walk into
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someone's home and they're already having dinner, they're talking to
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each other.
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That makes so much sense after hearing the first couple episodes.
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Because I did, I felt just a few minutes in
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like I already knew everything about these people, and then
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I was so invested in their lives. And I know
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you both personally, and I can't telp but think that
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you're so good at this because I know you both
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grew up watching and loving soap operas, so are we
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going to see any of those classic soap opera tropes?
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Even though it is a audio first medium, there are
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still plenty of tropes in the story and dramatic moments
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and music. It builds to things. What can I say,
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there's a level of bitchiness that is fully maintained. So yes,
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soap tropes throughout, but measured, We're not. This is not
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a comedy we have. I like to think these scripts
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are quite balanced, and there's some really soft and very
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tender moments relationships, and then there are just some caddy
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back and forth snipe thing that I live for in soaps.
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So I like to think that we're giving the audience
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a nice balance that Andrew and I grew up watching
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the soaps that we watched, so let's hope that the
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listener feels the same.
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And I will say one thing, sorry, Christy, that we
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always kept in mind with all of these scenes and
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all of these characters, no matter if it's high drama
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or it's a quiet moment, they all have hopes and
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dreams and wishes, and they all want something. So I
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think sometimes Grant and I would talk and we've not
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pull ourselves or the story back, but stay grounded in
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what does this person actually want? What are they hoping for?
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What are they desiring? Even if someone's being histrionic, but
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why are they acting that way? If you can answer that,
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even if the audience doesn't know, but if you can
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relate that to an actor, and then it just gives
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it a little more realness in a soap opera.
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Yeah, Like, even Geo's entrance just felt very like classic
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soap opera, Like I was watching Days of Our Lives
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for something that has been around and been being loved
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for decades, and I think fans can really appreciate that
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because it's what they expect a little bit.
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Yeah, I want to talk about that moment with Geo's
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entrance because I was heavily involved in the sound design.
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I played with a little bit of reverb and flattening
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out the background music and really punching in on this
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moment from Menes's perspective where she's growing shaded Helena and
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she looks up and she sees someone and it's like
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a double take, and that is a huge game changing
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moment for her that will have a ripple effects through
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the end of episode ten. So that had to be
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a moment to grab the listener's attention. This entrance means something.
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And there's just there's so much chaos in episode one,
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but it all happened in one place.
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It goes down in real time.
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It's like the episode is just under twenty minutes, and
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it feels like we go for about twenty minutes of
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these people's lives. So what is next for Geo and
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Deacon and what does that all mean for me?
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Now?
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To tease me for episode two, guys.
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Oh, we pick up where we left off, and I
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think you will. We're going on a little journey. We're
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not staying at the hotel, That's all I'll say. But
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there will be pay all, so no one will be disappointed.
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I'm in the soap op for message board, so I'll
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find out if you are.
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Yeah, that's I love that celebrities never admit that they
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read the reddit.
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Yeah.
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Now, there's plenty to come with those two. It's a
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journey and it's going to be a full story arc
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of these ten episodes. We really took this kind of
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super couple I guess you could say, a leading kind
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of relationship romance, and we modernized it with it being
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a same sex couple and one of these men are
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married to a woman, then how does that happen in
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twenty twenty five? So there's a lot to unpack.
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Get ready, I am, I'm so ready, But I feel
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like now I have a little bit better understanding of
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all this all came together and how it became to
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be so incredibly good. And I want to invite everybody
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who's watching to submit their questions. We're gonna be breaking
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down every episode of Montecito. You can do that here
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on YouTube in the common section, or do not forget
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to follow up on Facebook?
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Do that there, Grant Where can everybody follow you and
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keep up with you at?
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You can find me on Instagram. That's the best place
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at its Grants France. Shout out to my old podcast, Andrew.
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I'm sure everyone would love to connect with you. How
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can they do that?
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You're gonna find me on Instagram as well at Andrew
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four twenty eighty three. I'm not a pothead. It's my
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birthday and it's too late to change it now.
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This was so much fun and I want to thank
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you all for joining us on Montecito.
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After sunset, We'll see you next time
