Have You Ever Been Waiting > Comments > "Review of Have You Ever Been Waiting"
Piece Comment
Commenter Profile
- A.D. Quig
- Username: adquig
- Location: South Bend, Indiana
- Joined PRX: May 06, 2010
Piece Information
- "Have You Ever Been Waiting"
- Summary: In this piece, students from the United World College in Montezuma, NM tell stories about loss, hunger, abandonment, and family. Have a listen to their unique experiences that are all connected by the line "have you ever been waiting...".
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Review of Have You Ever Been Waiting
A.D. Quig
Posted on April 30, 2013 at 11:16 PM
A beautiful collection of stories that are short and simple, beautifully written, and accompanied by expertly curated music to match each story's tone. I can picture each of these in my mind perfectly -- the kind face of a grandmother, the Canadian coastline, the little girls flitting about in their tutus, and a lone picture on a wall. The descriptions are not too lengthy, the stories are not too earnest, and the narration (though the fuzziness of the recording is a distraction) holds my attention and pauses at the right moments. The answer -- yes, we've all been waiting for something -- but maybe not for moments as profound as these.
Other producers can learn from many of the timing decisions made in this story. Each of the four segments last just around a minute, the pauses between them aren't distractingly long, and the music fades are artful. It's also important to note that when pieces like these rely almost entirely on the narration, it's key that the recording of the narration is the best it can be, so the listener can focus on the words, not the audio quality. It may be difficult to fit this piece in anywhere but arts and culture or poetry programming, but it stands very well on it's own.