Hannah & her mother in the photobooth at Archie MacPhee’s, a very silly store that sells very silly stuff.

	Listen to The Day My Mother’s Head Exploded: Version #1
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About the Piece

I’ve wanted to tell my mother’s story, and my own, for years now, but have struggled with form and structure. I’m a writer and producer with a background in theatre and documentary filmmaking. Despite all of the tools at my disposal, I just couldn’t get it right. Then, on a whim, I borrowed a mini-disc recorder and did an extended interview with my mother when she was on a visit to Seattle. A year later, Jack Straw Productions awarded me some studio time and the services of Scott Bartlett, an extraordinarily gifted and patient engineer, who helped me navigate a host of technical landmines so that I could find the true path to this particular story.

"The Day My Mother’s Head Exploded" was first presented to the public as part of the Jack Straw Artist Support Program in April 2003. When the piece was over, my mother joined me on stage where we performed her signature song, "Goodbye My Coney Island Baby."

And yes, we wore Groucho Marx Glasses.

Tech Info

The interviews for "The Day My Mother’s Head Exploded" were recorded on mini-disc in Seattle on a muggy afternoon in July, 2001. [I borrowed the mini-disc and have no idea what brand it was or what kind of mic I used! Sorry!]

The piece was edited in Pro-Tools using the mini-disc recordings, narrative recorded in the Jack Straw studios, audio from VHS-C camcorder tapes, sound effects from Jack Straw’s extensive pre-recorded library, and the music of artists like Moby, Ry Cooder and the B-52’s. In one section, I wanted the perky music of “The Donna Reed Show” to slow down to nothing as a way to underscore my futile attempt to become my mother. In order to achieve this effect, Scott recorded the Donna Reed theme onto reel-to-reel tape and then, during playback, manually slowed it down until the old machine came to a stop. It worked like a charm.

Hannah Palin

About Hannah Palin

I am a writer, producer and performer who enjoys working with a variety of different media. I trained extensively in the theatre but became disillusioned, took some time off, and found a living in the catering business. My eight years in the food industry gave me the freedom to explore different creative avenues — writing, oral history, letterpress printing, documentary filmmaking and, most recently, audio storytelling. I’ve worked on short form documentaries for KCTS Television in Seattle, as well as for local non-profit groups. I’ve had a series of essays aired on KUOW 94.9 FM in Seattle.

One of my interests is in small gauge film preservation and as such, I spend my days working for a company that transfers home movies and amateur film to videotape. I am the regional coordinator for Home Movie Day and am part of the Moving Image Archives Project at the University of Washington. I am a member of the Association of Independents in Radio as well as the Association of Moving Image Archivists. "The Day My Mother’s Head Exploded," is my first work for audio, and was completed in January 2003, with assistance from Jack Straw’s Artist Support Program.