Gypsy Audio

Gypsy Audio is a collective audio drama company headed by Gwendolyn Jensen-Woodard but populated by a lot of other folks (who have some unique titles "Defender of the Gypsys", "Fanboy", "Guy that shows up to eat all the donuts?"). There are quite a lot of cross pollination of actors and crew from Imagination Lane and for good reason. Like IL, Gypsy focuses somewhat on the feminine side of audio drama and storytelling. Among others, their offerings include "TamLynn: P.I.", "Lara Bond 0012", "Stargazers", "Twisted Tales", "Tomorrow People" and "The Wandering Minstrel". Scope of shows go from general audience to more mature fare.

Website
The website uses a kind of taupe color that permeates the entire scheme and while gives the basic information, is uninteresting to view. The most color goes to the bright tie-dyed image of a "magical mystery tour" Gypsy wagon on the front.
The information describes Gypsy as a kind of eclectic group of people who are just interested in making fun audio drama. The text also encourages people to sign up for their "forum" but there's no link I can glean on the page to get to it?
Another interesting word is "Chivani" which in the "Wandering Minstrel" is described to be a term for "wise woman". But a cursory look on Google and then Wikipedia finds no reference of such a word other than Gypsy audio's use of it?
The right hand side of the website includes links for the rest of the Gypsy pages as well as links to their shows with entry numbers so you can see quickly how many shows each series has produced. Twisted Tales is the current winner with 9 episodes but those are most audio stories than actual audio drama.
The website over all is uninteresting to look at, but still gets you where you want to go.
Rating 2.5/5
 
Audio Drama Type-Theater/Modern Audio Book
While some audio companies treat their productions like a business, Gypsy's audio dramas feel like a hobby and as such becomes a labor of love more than detailed professional quality. The general mood of Gypsy is a bunch of folks pulling up in a wagon, taking a few moments to set up an outdoor stage and presenting their wares. After listening to a number of "Wandering Minstrel" shows I felt like I just spent a weekend at a Renaissance Fair. The focus is on the old trappings of theater and audio storytelling one might get sitting around a roaring fire.

Acting Types: Amateur
While there are very good acting elements in some of Gypsy's productions, whether hampered by meager production values or little direction, much of the acting would be categorized as "fair". Some of the better productions are through the "Lara Bond" shows which show greater attention to detail and their singular shows "Earnest" and "Dracula" have also some stellar performances. MJ Cogburn puts in a steady performance as well as "TamLynn". I've not listened to all the productions however, but a strong hand in guidance and choice of actors would raise the level of all acting in the shows.
Rating 2/5

Production Type- Minimal 
Once again, this rating varies along the lines of the series, but over all the production of some of the core shows needs revamping. Trade offs are made when a production is considered "for our fun" as opposed to "for the listeners" and I think its a poor trade indeed. I do not believe that it is necessary to exchange the intimacy that Gypsy provides simply by raising the bar on the productions. Better sound effects are needed in more appropriate places, and perhaps the greatest sin of all is the differing hisses on many actors. Getting a consistent sound is perhaps one of the most difficult elements of basic production, but it is still a basic requirement for a good production. Nothing drops a listener out of the "magic" of the moment more quickly than hearing actors in two different sound environments pretending they are in the same room.
One bright element is the music. Kevin McLeod is one of the endlessly creative music resources for modern audio drama, and a series of fun Celtic songs are also included on various broadcasts which continue the mood of the simple fun of Gypsy Audio.
Please take the time to standardize your sound across the board. Jim Smagata does a fine job when he's given the best tools to work with and there are others that will help work with you.
Rating 1.5/5

Writing
The writing of Gypsy Audio comes from a number of different sources. Some of the best works come from Alexa Chipman in her take on Lara Bond, and Laura Frechette's poetry is mythic and timeless in Twisted Tales but doesn't fit in to the audio drama world. As I've written before, multi-cast recordings of a poem is still a poem put to audio. Audio drama has its own trappings and requirements. Stargazers has yet to find its footing but TamLynn: PI seems to be one of the strongest ideas out of the Gypsy minds.
Dialog tends to ramble at times and the plots slip and fall from a true course. Strong editing is required in many scripts and the ever present question "Why?" should be asked at every turn.
"Why do I care about this character?"
"Why is this character doing this?"
"Why aren't they just doing this the easy way?"
A back to basics approach is necessary to act as a backbone for the rest of each production. If the script is flawed from the beginning, no amount of acting or production will correct it.
Rating 2/5

Additional Notes
 Beyond their semi-regular offerings, Gypsy also has taken its turn at the wheel of recreating some classics. "The Importance of Being Earnest" and "Dracula" along with "War of the Worlds" and "Frankenstein" are some of the most overly repeated shows in audio history. No one can deny their fascination, but as a reviewer, I would love to see some other classics brought to the ear. How about some lesser known plays to draw in new listeners?

Over All
Despite the sometimes maddening production quality and wandering plots, Gypsy provides something that few other audio companies does for me. It's that ephemeral quality that makes me feel good listening to them. I'm not sure what exactly it is they do. I suspect somehow they drug their RSS feed with the kind of innocent joy they have in making their productions. Gypsy audio in the end is much like being given a hand-made craft. It's been lovingly crafted. It's kind of crude and there's flaws all around it, but it's also reflective that you feel like one of a community in gaining the gift- that you've been welcomed in- instead of being given a product off an assembly line. If that's what they were shooting for, then mission accomplished Lara Bond. My hope is they improve on their craft before handing out their wares.
Rating 2/5