Original CAPS Proposal

My Original Capstone Proposal. It's Changed A Lot...

Janey Bombara: CAPS Proposal Answers

Through the CAPS project, I see myself gaining the experience of doing self motivated and passion-driven learning. In high school much of what we do in the classroom is teacher-driven, but with CAPS teachers or advisors simply provide assistance and a framework so students gain more educational independence. I would love to finish my senior year with a tangible project that is 100% mine, and to also have the knowledge going into college or work that I have the capability to do independent research and have problem solving solutions prepared for when I run into trouble.

Storytelling: An exploration into audio theatre and what makes a good podcast.

I have been listening to podcasts in some form or another my whole life. As a toddler I would listen to tapes of Winnie The Pooh books and Sesame Street Stories in the car all the time. These were just audio recordings of books but I loved the way the readers would intonate the words in a way I couldn't in my head or the way my mother would when she would read aloud to me. I wrote a lot of stories in my childhood and I did NaNoWriMo for five years in middle school and as an underclassmen. Storytelling has always come naturally to me however, I have never put my stories out into the world or read them aloud before. I have been listening to more traditional podcasts for about four years now and I enjoy both storytelling and traditional news podcasts. I really enjoy comedy podcasts from online personalities, like The Show with Sam and Joe. I like The Rich Roll Podcast as well.I also enjoy Welcome To Night Vale and The Thrilling Adventure Hour. I think I like these podcasts because the they often match my type of humor. I love making people laugh and making jokes and these podcasts usually make me laugh as well. The Rich Roll Podcast is by an ultra runner and healthy living guru whom I listen to for inspiration and advice for my own life. I enjoy Welcome To Night Vale and The Thrilling Adventure Hour because I love mysteries and spooky stories but actually scary things freak me out so I like it to be a little absurd as well. I also like to listen to podcasts about my favorite tv shows. I love worldbuilding and getting more information and different perspectives on stories. I listen to a pretty wide range of podcasts and so I think I have a pretty good base for my research already. I'm not sure what kind of podcast I would like to write or what kinds I will research yet, or if I will research all different types. I am also not sure if I should do research on radio or traditional oral storytelling, which I do not know much about. I don't really listen to traditional radio shows other than for music, nor do I know much about folk tales or oral traditions. I anticipate doing research on these mediums in my work.

Paper: The History of the Radio Show and Podcast/What Makes A Popular Podcast.

Project: Creating an Original Podcast.

I will be turning to podcasts as sources of information for the most part, in order to study what effects they use, how they convey their stories, and what kind of technology they use. I also hope to reach out to some authors and writers of podcasts to get information on their style and what they like about podcasting. I also hope to reach out to some Boston based groups like the Public Radio Exchange, based in Cambridge, to perhaps get behind the scenes about how they produce their podcasts. They produce This American Life, which is a very popular podcast. For my own, I hopefully will be able to use the Library resources for recording and sound engineering.

The scope of my project is quite large, since I hope to produce my own podcast. I anticipate my paper subject being difficult to narrow down, since the history of podcasts, and by proxy oral storytelling, is quite large.I will have to work on my paper and my project at the same time, most likely. If I produce my own podcast, it will probably have to be short, under 30 minutes. It might also be a challenge to listen to as many podcasts as I need to for this project, since my attention span is quite short. I also anticipate having difficulties getting around to different podcast studios, since I don't have my drivers license.

I will see my project as a success if I am able to turn my research into a podcast that I would enjoy listening to. Even if no one else listens to it I will be happy if it is something I am proud of and I know I put my heart into it.

For starters, I hate the sound of my voice on tape so listening to myself speak over and over will take great strength on my part. On a more serious note, I have always wanted to write or create my own podcast but I have never had the courage or the means to. However, having a support system to help me achieve this dream and having other students trying new things makes me feel like this could really happen. I hope to achieve some personal growth as well- I hope that doing a serious independent research project based on something I truly enjoy will help me become more independent in my educational journey.