Chad Eschman
ACTOR /// WRITER /// ARTIST
Background: live theatre + immersive events. Current obsessions: audio drama + multimedia storytelling.
Portfolio
Click on a project to listen, watch, and learn more about process and production history.
© 2021 Chad Eschman
Contact
Houseboat
Dana and Sophie need to evacuate Los Angeles ASAP – with or without their husband.
Notes
2013: The original version of Houseboat is developed as part of Three Stories, an evening of immersive plays by Living Room Playmakers. In this version, two teenage sisters hide in an attic while Chicago falls into chaos. It was performed for a live audience in the attic of an old house in Rogers Park.
Later: The piece is revised with Chicago Dramatists, cut from 20 minutes to 10, and performed as a staged reading.
2017: In collaboration with Kimberly Alexander and Katie Page, an entirely new version of the script is written and adapted as a short screenplay. In this iteration, the characters are adults in a polygamous marriage, preparing to escape Los Angeles.
2020: The new script is adapted again as an audio drama. It’s produced by Trap Street, and released on The Radiograph. You can listen to it above.
Never Stop
A hallucinatory short film inspired by the bizarre worlds and methods of William S. Burroughs. An Official Selection of the 2020 Los Angeles Lift-Off Film Festival.
Notes
2012: Eschman studies Naked Lunch under the guidance of Paul Edwards. Using a version of the cut-up technique harnessed by Burroughs, the first iteration of Never Stop is created. The piece is performed live at Northwestern University.
2015: After moving to LA, Eschman connects with Fresh Produce’d LA to adapt the story as a screenplay. Luke Rampersad and Kimberly Alexander are cast in the staged reading. Afterwards, the trio connects and decides to produce the piece.
2016-2019: The team brings on collaborators, shoots a teaser, and launches a crowdfunding campaign. The film is shot over just three days, but there are many delays before and after.
2019: The film is completed.
2020: Selected for the 2020 Los Angeles Lift-Off Film Festival.
Children of the Missile
It was a psychic radiation phenomenon.
Notes
1979: Reports begin to emerge of children with psychic powers. The CIA investigates and catalogues their findings.
2000: Documentation is released to the public, leaving many to wonder what is real and what is fabricated.
2021: Eschman discovers these reports and creates “Children of the Missile” in collaboration with The Purple Urchins.
Angela-Exit-01878
Behind a house in Hancock Park.
Notes
This audio drama was created during the COVID-19 pandemic, with all artists collaborating remotely.
Sabertooth Mosquitoes
A buzzing threat invades North Hollywood, but a scrappy hero punches back.
Notes
Last California is brought to you by My New Armor, makers of stylish body armor for the post-explosion era. For 10% off your first order, enter LASTCA at checkout.
This audio drama was created during the COVID-19 pandemic, with all artists collaborating remotely.
Sawdust
The Purple Urchins perform “Sawdust” live at The Pirate Disco.
Notes
Remember: you were never here.
Greetings Spirit Bomb
Welcome to your private channel. You have a new transmission. Press play to listen.
Below, you will find relevant information and materials about Chad Eschman’s storytelling abilities across various mediums. Questions? Send a message.
Background
Chad Eschman is a writer, performer, and designer based in Los Angeles. He’s the founder of Trap Street, a multimedia performing arts collective.
Previously, he was Co-Director of Living Room Playmakers, where he produced site-specific theater in unusual locations. He also used to write for VinePair, because he’s a cocktail nerd.
Currently, you’ll find him hiding in North Hollywood, splicing together audio dramas under the glow of neon light.
Recent Projects
Never Stop
A hallucinatory short film. Inspired by Naked Lunch, Eschman used a version of the “cut-up” technique to transform “messages from outer space” into a vision of the future:
In the post-explosion world, Miracle Workers create mystic drugs that allow you to relive the past...but you pay with years of your life. When local legend Big 10 disappears, her partner Jimmy stops dealing and starts using, falling into a spiral. Two hungry thieves arrive with an agenda.
The story will be expanded through a series of audio dramas, yet to be released.
Children of the Missile
Based on documents from an investigation into the existence of a cluster of children with odd psychic powers. Also using a cut-up approach, Eschman this time formed a piece of music with various details of the events, which may or may not remain rooted in reality. Additionally, Eschman included content from a series of never-released interviews conducted on the children, just before a violent uprising.
Children of the Missile was orginally released as an episode of The Radiograph
Darkness Comes Alive
Part fact, part fiction. Part audio tour, part ghost story. Darkness Comes Alive is an immersive experience set in the gallery of neon artist Lili Lakich in downtown Los Angeles. Attendees wander the industrial studio full of buzzing, glowing sculptures. Then, they pop in earbuds to follow a series of guided audio tours that reveal a deeper meaning: these neon tubes contain preserved spirits of the deceased, making each work of art an electric gravestone.
To learn more, and read reviews of the show, visit Trap Street.
Recent Positions
Brand Story Consultant
LibDib (Liberation Distribution)
LibDib is an online platform that enables small-batch distillers and winemakers to distribute their products in the hard-to-navigate US system. Eschman was hired to write a new brand story, and ultimately spent a full year revising the company’s voice. This involved character creation, copywriting, graphic design, scriptwriting, music composition, video editing, and content production, as well as creating a new Style Guide adopted across the company.
J.P. Sando (Character)
Madcap Motel (postponed!)
The Madcap Motel is a time-traveling immersive adventure spanning 17,000 square feet of LA’s Arts District. Eschman was hired to play J.P. Sando, the central character of this bizarre story, interacting with audiences as they explore a Will Wonka-esque world. But then, as they say, COVID happened.
Ambassador - Los Angeles
Upwork
Upwork Ambassadors help create community for independent freelancers through events, seminars, and discussions. Eschman was selected to be one of the first four Ambassadors in the US. He planned panel discussions, hosted happy hours, scheduled guest speakers, and fed a lot of pizza to LA freelancers.
Past Clients
Adobe
Beer Nuts
Bibigo
eBay
HBO
Hyatt
Microsoft
Palo Alto Children’s Theatre
Santa Clara University
Upwork
VinePair
Education
MFA - Writing for Screen + Stage
Northwestern University
BA - Theatre & Dance
Santa Clara University
AA - English
West Valley College
Thank you
Learn more at chadeschman.com, or send a message here.
About
Chad Eschman is a writer, performer, and designer based in Los Angeles. He’s the founder of Trap Street, a multimedia performing arts collective.
Previously, he was Co-Director of Living Room Playmakers, where he produced site-specific theater in unusual locations. He also used to write for VinePair, because he’s a cocktail nerd.
Currently, you’ll find him hiding in North Hollywood, splicing together audio dramas under the glow of neon light.
Past Clients
Adobe
Beer Nuts
eBay
HBO
Hyatt
LibDib
Microsoft
Palo Alto Children’s Theatre
Santa Clara University
Upwork
VinePair
Education
MFA - Writing for Screen + Stage
Northwestern University
BA - Theatre & Dance
Santa Clara University
AA - English
West Valley College
The Memory Tax
A full length stage play.
Jason (Anthony Comis) and Hat Man (Timur Kocak) rehearse in front of live projections mapped to hovering set piece.
Story
A young couple tries to build a future in a dystopian America, where memories are taken out of people's minds and archived — because there may not be a tomorrow.
Notes
Developed at the NNPN/Kennedy Center MFA Playwrights Workshop.
Selected for The Araca Project, leading to self-produced Equity Showcase at The American Theatre of Actors.
Reharsal with the cast at Leimay in Brooklyn. Leonore Wolf, Anthony Comis, and Grace Rex.
Set designer Devin Bertsch paints set pieces with integrated light panels for projection work.
Lighting Designer Matthew Johns on set, with set piece suspended above stage.
Darkness Comes Alive
This audio tour of the Lili Lakich Studio is part history, part fantasy, and part choose-your-own-adventure…and only you can decide what to believe. Pop in your headphones and follow one of three narrators, all of whom believe there’s more to this studio than neon artwork.
“On behalf of NEONS, the New Eternity of Nascent Souls, welcome to the Lili Lakich Studio. These sculptures were created by Lili Lakich. But the light? The color? The warm glow across your face? That comes from the energy of human souls. These neon lights have people’s actual spirits inside...”
Notes
Learn more about the show at Trap Street.
Garbage People
Notes
Written by Erin Austin. Produced by Chad Eschman in collaboration with Alaina McManus.
Created during the COVID-19 pandemic, with all artists sheltering in place and collaborating remotely.
You can listen to this piece on The Radiograph, an online audio series presented by Trap Street.