Jefferson County native Carole Ann Miller is bringing her award-winning podcast, “The House of Branching Paths,” to a live audience.
Miller, 24, along with co-host Mark Killmer, 36, released the first episode of the podcast’s second season on May 9. The podcast brings classic fairy tales, myths, and short stories to life with the help of voice actors and sound effects.
To celebrate the new season, Miller said the podcast will put on a live show of Andrew Lang’s “Beauty and the Beast” at 7 p.m. Friday, June 7, at the Showboat Community Theatre, 112 East Fourth St., in Hermann.
“Hermann is a beautiful city,” Miller said. “If you’re looking for a family outing, I think it would be a fun evening for the entire family to attend.”
The PopCon Podcast Awards recently recognized “House of Branching Paths” for its first season containing 10 episodes with an award for best family and kids podcast.
“We were so excited to win,” Miller said.
She said the podcast is bigger and better this season, with four new cast members joining Miller and Killmer.
One member, April Sita, attended St. Pius X High School in Crystal City with Miller, where they both graduated in 2018.
Bill Blanke of St. Louis, Caitlin Souers of St. Louis and Kimmie Kidd of St. Charles also join them on the show.
Miller, who originally is from Festus and now lives in St. Charles, said each cast member brings a fresh plot line to the “House of Branching Paths” that ties into the classical stories being retold.
The podcast, which began in October 2023, will have 22 episodes this season. Each episode is about 15-25 minutes long, which is perfect, Miller said, for the commute to work.
Killmer, who lives in University City, said new audio equipment will enhance the listening experience this season.
“We have a binaural microphone now, so we’re recording true directional audio,” he said. “If you close your eyes while you’re listening to it, you’ll be able to tell not just if somebody is on your left or your right, but if they’re left and in front of you, or if they move around.”
Miller said those interested in the podcast may follow “The House of Branching Paths” on Spotify or YouTube. New episodes will be released weekly until December, Miller said.
The podcast also has a social media presence on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok under the same name.
Live show
Miller said the show in Hermann will be a radio-style play, with cast members from the podcast reenacting “Beauty and the Beast” onstage. The show will have an American Sign Language interpreter, along with a musician performing live Foley sound effects and music.
“I think it will be a different experience for people who come to see it and definitely an educational experience because you’ll get to see a sort of evolution of where ‘Beauty and the Beast’ came from; this is one of the original sources for it,” Killmer said. “Getting to see how the sounds are made is very interesting, too, because you can hear it in the podcast, but then you actually get to see it live in the show.”
Tickets for the live show may be purchased for $10 at the Showboat Community Theatre. An hour before the show, cast members will be available in costume for photos and autographs. For more information about the performance, call the theater at 636-359-3588.