SATIN RACKETS

Broadway showgirls use a repertoire of gags to get cash from men. But once a gangster squeezes the girls for protection money, they must find a way to give him the brush.

Listen back to Part One

Listen back to Part Two

Listen back to Part Three

SATIN RACKETS was written and directed by Megan McGurk.

Meet the stars:

Clara Higgins plays Kitty Adare.

Clara is an Irish artist and writer perhaps better known as her pseudonym Mot Collins. Under this moniker, she creates illustrations, zines, and tattoos. Mot is interested in subversive expressions of femininity, sexuality, occultism, and comedy. She is highly influenced by pulp and punk culture. She can be found on Twitter as @heavydutywoman and @motcollinsart on Instagram.

Art design for SATIN RACKETS by Mot Collins.

M Shawn plays Iris.

M. is a former television news producer, a writer, a researcher, an accidental homemaker, and a full-time Jean Harlow fan. After a year in quarantine, her blood type is banana bread, and if people were allowed to be fictional characters in a past life, she’d be Blondie Johnson.

Olympia Kiriakou plays Dinah and Mrs Healy.

Olympia Kiriakou is a film historian specializing in stardom and genre in classical Hollywood. She is the host of “The Screwball Story” podcast, and the author of BECOMING CAROLE LOMBARD: STARDOM, COMEDY, AND LEGACY (Bloomsbury, 2020). She is currently writing VIRGINIA GREY: GOOD LUCK CHARM for the University Press of Kentucky. Visit her website The Screwball Girl and find her on Twitter: @thescrewballgrl and @screwballstory.

Patrick McGurk plays Buzz Moody and Talbot.

Pat is a resident of Key West, Florida. He has been active in community theatre since high school as an actor, director and producer. Pat’s stage credits include such diverse roles as the Narrator in The Rocky Horror Show, Bud Frump in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Richard III, and various other parts in Shakespeare. He has also directed over 15 shows from Shakespeare to most recently Private Lives by Noel Coward. When not working on a show, or working, you can find Pat on the water with dive gear or a fishing rod.

Shane McCormack plays Joe Ryan and Corsairs.

Shane McCormack is a freelance illustrator specializing in movie and pop culture subjects.Recent licensed work includes Halloween and Ghostbusters. When not drawing he collects physical media especially 1930/40s movies and any Barbara Stanwyck film. He also enjoys photography and has a BA in Visual Art. He’s on Twitter as @mrharrylime. Shane is the cinematographer and editor for the short film Sex Pirates of 1931. You can see his work at www.mrharrylime.com

Savannah Monroe plays Pansy.

Savannah Monroe is a film writer and historian based in Colorado. Her focus is in the films and women of the classical Hollywood period. She has been researching and writing about Anne Bancroft, her life and legacy, since 2018. Her work can be found through her website Garbo Talks and on Twitter as @garbo_talks.

Beatrix Herriott O’Gorman plays Laurel.

Beatrix is a filmmaker and writer based in Dublin. She has worked for AMC, Disney, and Metropolitan Films. She was a Screen Ireland/Fís Éireann Fellow at the Stowe Story Labs 2024 Connemara Writers’ Retreat, the recipient of the 2022 Arts Grant from Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown, and the Agility Award from the Arts Council of Ireland. Her film FORTY FOOT is currently in development. She loves 35mm film photography and being by the sea.

Jack Warren plays Mad Dog Healy.

Jack Warren is an actor and filmmaker based in Dublin and New York. Their award-winning short films have screened all over the world, including at the Woodstock Film Festival, the GAZE International LGBTQ Film Festival, the American Cinematheque’s PROOF Film Festival, and the Irish Film Institute. They have a deep fondness for Barbara Stanwyck pictures and anything directed by Frank Borage. Check out all of their work at hellojackwarren.com and come say hi @hellojackwarren on Instagram.

Sound editing and special effects for SATIN RACKETS by Thomas O’Mahony.

Thomas O’Mahony is a London based Irish Podcast Producer who specialises in storytelling and audio design. He hosts a tattoo history show called Beneath the Skin, and is passionate about how we can use audio to tell new and innovative stories.
You can find Thomas on all social media @gotitatguineys or contact him for business related inquiries at thomasomahony.media

Tom’s podcast is here.

Megan McGurk is a writer and director who carries a torch for studio era woman’s pictures. Megan wrote, directed, and produced the short film Sex Pirates of 1931. She has hosted Sass Mouth Dames film club in Dublin since 2017 and the podcast from 2018. She has written and directed eleven original radio plays set in the 1930s. She wrote an essay for Criterion on Love Affair. She is on Twitter @MeganMcGurk @SassMouthDames, Instagram @sassmouthdames, and Blue Sky @meganmcgurk.bsky.social

A Star Was Born

Stardom. Love. Censorship.

Listen back to the new original series and meet the cast!

Part One:

In 1931, Warner Bros. star Cleo Longe tops the box office in pictures where she gets away with it: no strings sex or sending men to the morgue. One night at a party, she meets Richard Tulliver, a new contract player who is cast as the juvenile in her next production. Cleo coaches him through the part and suggests a new name for his screen billing.

Part Two:

Cleo finds a story for her next picture from an unlikely source. From the ground up, she builds the plot, takes a chance on a new screenwriter, casts the picture, and presents creative opportunities for her crew. Meanwhile, Cleo’s romance with Tully takes a serious turn.

Part Three:

Despite her success, Cleo discovers that having script approval in her contract is meaningless once the Production Code is enforced. Under the new rules, Cleo must argue over every page and justify her artistic choices to men who don’t care about the integrity of woman’s pictures. At the same time, Tully’s star rises.

A Star Was Born is a Sass Mouth Dames production written and directed by Megan McGurk.

Art design by Mot Collins.

Sound editing and special effects by Thomas O’Mahony

Meet the cast:

Clara Higgins plays box office star Cleo Longe. Clara is an Irish artist and writer perhaps better known as her pseudonym Mot Collins. Under this moniker, she creates illustrations, zines, and tattoos. Mot is interested in subversive expressions of femininity, sexuality, occultism, and comedy. She is highly influenced by pulp and punk culture. She can be found on Twitter as @heavydutywoman and @motcollinsart on Instagram.

Danny Reid plays actor Rick Tully. Danny is a librarian who lives in Western Germany with his yappy dog, adorable children, and perfectly splendid wife. He spent most of his adult life working in videostores and movie theaters, watching any movie he could get his hands on, eventually writing about old Hollywood at pre-code.com. He is also fond of potatoes. Danny is @PreCodeDotCom on Twitter and Instagram

Jeanne Sutton plays hair and makeup artist Babe Dempsey. Jeanne is a former journalist and occasional writer who has been published in Banshee, IMAGE, STELLAR and The Gloss. Her favourite movie scene is Jean Arthur and Joel McCrea sitting on that stoop in The More the Merrier. She publishes a newsletter and is @jeannedesutun on Instagram.

Olympia Kiriakou plays press agent Phyllis Blake.

Dr. Olympia Kiriakou is a film historian based in south Florida. Her research focuses on stardom, gender, and genre in classical Hollywood cinema, as well as contemporary fan cultures. She is
the author of Becoming Carole Lombard: Stardom, Comedy, and Legacy, an exploration of the star persona and career of the late star. Her work has also been published in Transformative Works and Cultures, Journal of Fandom Studies, In Media Res, and Film Matters. She has a website and is @thescrewballgrl on Twitter.

You can find Olympia’s book here: Becoming Carole Lombard

M. Shawn plays starlet Maxine Raymond. M. is a former television news producer, a writer, a researcher, an accidental homemaker, and a full-time Jean Harlow fan. After a year in quarantine, her blood type is banana bread, and if people were allowed to be fictional characters in a past life, she’d be Blondie Johnson.

Peter Bryant plays agent/manager Hank Webber. Peter’s interest in classic Hollywood started—later in life than he would have liked—with the discovery of Preston Sturges comedies. This soon led to the Astaire-Rogers and Busby Berkeley musicals and much more. His latest avocation is writing about the career of Ida Lupino at his blog Let Yourself Go … To Old Hollywood and is @pmbryant on Twitter and @pmbryant_oldhollywood on Instagram

Matt Harris plays film director Carter Hilary. Matt is a Joan Crawford superfan and talented TV news archivist who lives in London. You can find Matt on Twitter (@Glamorous_Matt)

Megan McGurk plays wardrobe woman Edel Geary. Megan carries a torch for studio era woman’s pictures. She is the host of Sass Mouth Dames podcast and film club. In the past year, she has written and directed four original radio plays set in the 1930s (Salon Devine, Mannequins, Stenographers, and A Star Was Born). Megan is on Twitter @MeganMcGurk and @SassMouthDames and sometimes remembers to use Instagram @sassmouthdames

Tom’s podcast is here

Salon Devine

Do you like stories about women who get what they want?

Listen back to an original podcast series set in a Broadway salon during 1933.

Beauty operators and showgirls make their way through the Depression with wit and style.

Will Mae lose the shop?

Does Polly hit it off with Bennett Cerf?

What happens when Cora thinks a circus party means trapeze artists?

Will Ruby get a studio contract?

Is June’s ‘rafter romance’ going anywhere?

Listen to part one here

Listen to part two here

Listen to part three here

Starring:

Clara Higgins as Mae Devine

Jennifer O’Meara as Polly Trainor

Jeanne Sutton as Cora Smith

Olympia Kiriakou as Ruby Dawn

M. Shawn as June Winter

Megan McGurk as Mimi Stone/Mrs Howard

Salon Devine was written and directed by Megan McGurk

Art Design by Clara Higgins

Sound Editing and Effects by Dan McAuley