THE STORY:
Little Miss Higgins’ latest work is audio drama - a fictional radio play told through the voice of an artist navigating complicated feelings of desire. The protagonist recalls her memories through prose which weaves around music from her own Juno-nominated Bison Ranch Recording Sessions.
What People Are Saying
“Little Miss Higgins has once again dazzled us with her talent and creativity. A western Canadian story with fabulous music! It’s a hit!!”
— Juanita Dawn (Puppet maker, manipulator and storyteller, Long Grass Studio)
“It’s a beauty! Very well paced, as they say. Very intimate and engaging and yet also somehow nicely light. And having all that music doesn’t hurt either.”
— John Scoles (President/Janitor, Times Change(d): The High & Lonesome Club)
"The imaginative braiding of sound, song and story. My Heart is Train took me on a (very welcome) trip. I was there. On the train. Jolene Higgins is uniquely positioned to deliver on the promise of a hugely pleasurable listening experience."
— Shelagh Rogers (The Next Chapter, CBC Radio)
“As the album's title [Bison Ranch Recording Sessions] implies, the setting played an important role, most often conveying the sense of an intimate jam session or, more accurately, a pre-war radio show.”
— Jason Schneider (Bison Ranch Recording Sessions review, Exclaim Magazine, 2013)
My Heart is a Train
...a musical wander through a work of fiction.
Written and performed by Little Miss Higgins
Directed by Darla Biccum
A train ride
A text
A dive bar
And the cold Canadian Prairies
Boots crushing snow, filling in words unsaid
What goes through one’s mind when the one you love, can’t be the one you love?
Little Miss Higgins brings together her love of music and her passion for storytelling into a unique, modern, half hour audio drama. Using songs from her JUNO nominated album created with The Winnipeg Five, Higgins takes listeners on a journey of the heart (of love and longing).
An unmastered reviewer copy of the podcast is available now.
Please contact ella@mysteryplanet.net
Directed by Ontario actor and writer, Darla Biccum, My Heart Is A Train is an innovative project. Though Biccum and Higgins live almost 2,000kms apart, these two artists and long time friends were able to come together virtually to create this unique listening experience.
Higgins is working on the second episode of My Heart Is A Train, and will continue to release more Canadian storytelling podcasts including The Fire Waltz, a collaborative miniseries by Higgins, musician Kris Demeanor (and Calgary’s first poet laureate) and Eric Rose (Ghost River Theater), as well as many more stories from many other artists.
How It Began
With a background in theatre, Higgins is always drawn to the narrative. Her debut as a story writer, Higgins is no stranger to putting together words. She has been a songwriter for almost 20 years with 6 independently released albums of mostly original music. As well, if you have ever been in the audience of a Little Miss Higgins show, there is a lot of telling of tales going on.
Actor and writer, Darla Biccum, takes on the role of director and helps pull the words off the page, or rather, screen. Though they met 18 years ago in Saskatchewan during a stage production of Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead, Biccum resides in Ontario and Higgins in Manitoba. After continuous discourse of friendship and desire to work on a project, My Heart Is A Train, has finally reunited this dynamic duo.
“I couldn’t have done it without her. My first go at the script was pretty stiff. My acting chops were pretty rusty. Biccum got out the ol’ elbow grease (pun intended), and reminded me what it takes to tell a story.”
Higgins casts a tongue-in-cheek reference to Biccum’s independently produced web shorts, Elbow Grease, co-created with fellow actor Juno Rinaldi. Both Higgins and Biccum feel being an artist doesn’t always mean waiting for the work, rather being an artist can often be about making the work happen. From their humble, hardworking prairie roots to a high-tech, headphone binaural experience, these two creators are excited to present My Heart Is A Train.
Are you a reviewer?
An unmastered version of the podcast is available now for press only.
