ABOUT THE PODCAST

The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel is a podcast for middle schoolers, performed by middle schoolers. The show is written by award-winning producers and writers, and pays homage to old radio plays and secret decoder rings, but is updated for today’s kids. Think Goonies, meets X-files, meets X-men for twelve-year-olds. Season one is in production now, with the first episodes dropping in the fall of 2016.

Here’s a little bit more about the show..

Trouble usually finds 11-year old Mars Patel and his friends, whether they’re asking for it or not. Just a case of middle school hard knocks, or are they actually getting singled out? This is the question Mars faces when two of his best pals—one a secret crush—suddenly go missing, and no grown-up seems particularly concerned. With few explanations and a nagging feeling something’s off, Mars and his classmates Caddie, JP, and Toothpick set out to recover their friends by any means necessary… a task undoubtedly putting their OWN lives in jeopardy. Then again, maybe their lives already were.

After a brief run-in with the law, and a text of unknown origin (from the beyond?), the gang lands themselves at the margins of the most elite prep school in the country, Pruitt Prep Academy. Penetrating this impenetrable school, both ultra-mysterious and ultra-hard to reach, feels critical to solving the mystery. As does taking a closer look at the school’s founder, the charismatic inventor/tech billionaire Oliver Pruitt. Pruitt Prep’s motto, “to the stars,” could be the creed of Pruitt himself. He thinks big and demands the same from his handpicked students, who are special in other ways too. “Special,” in all senses of the term, could describe Mars, Caddie, JP, Toothpick… even their friends who disappeared. Question is, are they at Pruitt Prep? If so, why the shroud of secrecy, the radio silence? Why them? What’s the real story behind Pruitt and his mysterious school?

Hocking their academic futures and all good will left with their parents, Mars and his motley crew set out on an audacious search and recovery mission. It’s a tall order, but as Oliver Pruitt might say, “to the stars!”

In fact, that’s where they might be headed….

WHO WE ARE

The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel is produced by the awesome team at Blobfish Radio. You can read about them below, or drop by for a visit at blobfishradio.com

 

CHRIS TARRY

Chris Tarry is a musician, writer, producer, and composer living in New York City. As an author, his book, How To Carry Bigfoot Home (Red Hen Press, March 2015), won the IndieFab book of the year for short fiction, and has been widely praised as one of the best short story collections of 2015. He holds an MFA in creative writing from the University of British Columbia, and his writing has appeared in publications such as MAD Magazine, Funny or Die, The Literary Review, On Spec, The GW Review, and PANK. As a musician, Chris is a four-time Juno Award winner (the Canadian Grammy), and one of New York’s most in-demand bass players. He has produced countless award-winning albums, developed short films, created cool podcasts, and excels in sound design and digital editing. His favorite job is being a parent to his two awesome kids, Chloe and Lucas, and laughing about all of it with his amazing wife, Michelle.

 

DAVID KREIZMAN

David Kreizman is an award-winning writer and producer with almost twenty years of experience telling stories and getting paid to do it.   He began his career as an associate producer and staff writer for the long-running soap opera, Guiding Light, eventually becoming the youngest head writer in the history of daytime drama. David led his writing team to both a Daytime Emmy and Writers Guild Award before moving on to be co-headwriter of All My Children and As the World Turns, where he earned another Writers’ Guild Award. During this time, David’s teen themed primetime telenovela, Summers End, was purchased and developed by the CBS Network. After leaving daytime, David spent a year as the head writer for World Wrestling Entertainment in Stamford, CT which he describes as “running off to join the circus.” He has developed, written and produced reality shows and digital content for AMC, Sony, Discovery, Bravo and TruTv and recently completed his debut novel for young adults.  David’s greatest inspirations and frequent writing partners are his wife, Natasha, and their three kids, ages eleven, eleven and seven.

 

JENNY TURNER HALL

Jenny Turner Hall creates and develops works for television, film, stage, books, and podcasts, including Studio B’s The B Word and Milkwood (both available on iTunes). In 2016 she scripted and co-hosted a live podcast as part of the SOUTH NEXT Festival. Her past projects have garnered attention from the Sundance Film Lab and the Austin Film Festival and graced the stage at Joe’s Pub (The Public Theater, NYC). After a decade working in film and television, Jenny founded Studio B, a non-profit arts organization bringing multi-disciplinary entertainment to the New York City area. With encouragement from a literary agent, she started writing fiction for young adults. Her stories are inspired by humor, underdogs, and her real life, which includes raising a child with special needs. She is passionately interested in featuring characters with disabilities.

 

BENJAMIN STROUSE

Benjamin Strouse is a New York born Attorney, Writer and Producer. As an attorney, he represented Pop Superstars like Madonna and Meatloaf, masterminded deals for Motion Picture Companies such as Sony and Fox, and negotiated multiple Broadway and Touring productions of Musicals such as Annie and Bye Bye Birdie. He was the founding producer of the cutting-edge NYC Pop-Theater Festival “Peekaboo”. In 2009, Ben changed gears to focus on his passion for writing and music, and his first book musical “Whatever Man” premiered at the prestigious New York Musical Theater Festival, receiving acclaim from the New York Times. Most recently, the world-wide rights for Ben’s first children’s book, “Hey Boy” were purchased by Simon & Schuster, with publishing date slated for 2017. A devoted New Yorker and enthusiastic Torontonian, Ben, his wife Ronni, their dog Phil, and their twin boys Sam and Arthur, make their Facebook-happy home in Maplewood, NJ.