The piece begins with Ira Glass introducing the storyteller, who in turn introduces the story to the listener.
The way this episode uses music to convey parts of the story seems to reinforce certain details and emotions. At the beginning (45:35), we can hear “fairytales come true, it can happen to you…”. Later (46:00), the music cuts in to the narration with the line “you will go to extremes, with impossible schemes…”, which sets up the story.
Most of this work is narrated, but pieces of an interview with Nick Drakides are woven in. All of the interview segments are anecdotal. The first anecdote of the first performance occurs at about 49 minutes. Next, at 54:03, Nick tells the anecdote about the way the police officers acted the first, second, and third week of the show. Finally, at 55:10, Nick says a few words about how he was hugged by a stranger who enjoyed his performance.
I like the use of ambient sounds in this piece as well. They can give the listener a better idea of what is happening around the scene. I like the sound of Nick’s vocals throughout the piece because I can tell that his microphone is connected to a PA speaker. In other words, I can hear that it isn’t a studio recording. Aside from that, at 47:10 the sound of tap dancing on the wooden board accompanies a description of a tap dance.
Finally, I like how at 57:50, after the storyteller finishes his tale, Ira Glass mentions the program’s boss, imitates him, then plays a recorded quote from him, which gives the listener an awareness of the story of the story’s production.
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