How 'Tales From the Cloud Sea' Improvised Their Way to the Grand Prize

How 'Tales From the Cloud Sea' Improvised Their Way to the Grand Prize

Twice a year, contestants from around the world compete in the Biannual Sonic Dash, where they have only 48-hours to build a two-minute piece completely from scratch: meaning no pre-existing music, no archival audio, and no generative AI is allowed. So how do they do it? This season on the Sonic Dash Podcast, we're taking you behind the scenes of our finalists' processes. You'll hear the genius audio tricks and creative solutions our finalists used to create audio magic. In this episode, host Cory Choy (founder of the Dash and Emmy Award-winning sound mixer) sits down with the members of Tales From the Cloud Sea, the Grand Prize winners of the latest Dash. Their winning piece, "Go For Broke, or Gopher Broke?" took home the $1,000 cash prize and a haul of industry gear. Tune in to hear how they created a winning piece without a script, how they used creative constraints to their advantage, and more. Listen to more from Tales From the Cloud Sea here: https://www.talesfromthecloudsea.com/ [https://www.talesfromthecloudsea.com/] Learn more about the Sonic Dash here: http://sonicdash.nyc/ [http://sonicdash.nyc/] The Sonic Dash Podcast is a production of the New York City Podcast Awards, produced by Emily Reeves and Christian Cucinello. Thank you to our sponsors: Focusrite, Dell, Acon Digital, iZotope, Sweet Spot, Bravo Studios, Cockos, and Earthworks Audio.

Announcing the Summer 2026 Grand Prize Winner

Welcome to the Biannual Sonic Dash Podcast presented by the New York City Podcast Awards. The Sonic Dash is a 48-hour storytelling competition and we receive submissions from all over the world. The surprise prompt for this 2026 Summer Dash was “Go For Broke.”  This episode, we’ll be listening to our Grand Prize Winning piece "Go For Broke or Gopher Broke?" created by Long Island-based crack improv and podcast team, “Tales From the Cloud Sea” (Matt Silverman, Megan Leahy, Karen Cassady, Travis Sharp, Amanda Lee Williams, and Eve Krueger). Produced by Cory Choy, Emily Reeves, and Christian Cuciniello Edited by Zach Treanor Sound by Silver Sound

Announcing the Summer 2026 2nd Place Winner

Welcome to the Biannual Sonic Dash Podcast presented by the New York City Podcast Awards. The Sonic Dash is a 48-hour storytelling competition and we receive submissions from all over the world. The surprise prompt for this 2026 Summer Dash was “Go For Broke.”  This episode, we’ll be listening to our second-place winning piece “Free Piano” by Michael Satow. Produced by Cory Choy, Emily Reeves, and Christian Cuciniello Edited by Zach Treanor Sound by Silver Sound

Announcing the Summer 2026 3rd Place Winner

Welcome to the Biannual Sonic Dash Podcast presented by the New York City Podcast Awards. The Sonic Dash is a 48-hour storytelling competition and we receive submissions from all over the world. The surprise prompt for this 2026 Summer Dash was “Go For Broke.”  This episode, we’ll be listening to our third-place winning piece “Shooting My Shot” by Bronwen Livingstone from Scotland.  Produced by Cory Choy, Emily Reeves, and Christian Cuciniello Edited by Zach Treanor Sound by Silver Sound

Winter 2026 Finalist Spotlight ("Meddling Kids of NYC" by Amanda Kari McHugh and Kyle Studstill)

We're back with another finalist spotlight for the Winter 2026 Sonic Dash. Today we will be highlighting a piece entitled "Meddling Kids of NYC" by Amanda Kari McHugh and Kyle Studstill. Technical Director: Tom Fama Produced by Christian Cuciniello and Cory Choy Festival Directors: Mark Blumberg, Cory Choy, Emily Reeves