The Bright Sessions is a science fiction audio drama about people with supernatural abilities in therapy. The podcast was created by Lauren Shippen and premiered on November 1st, 2015. In April of 2016, Mischa Stanton joined the team as a sound producer and technical expert.
The Bright Sessions has been featured on iTunes, written about in multiple publications, and has received several awards. For more, please visit our press page. The podcast would not be possible without the amazing support from our patrons.
LAUREN SHIPPEN (CREATOR, WRITER, PRODUCER, VOICE OF SAM)
Lauren Shippen is an actor and singer who fell so far in love with audio drama that she had to make her own. The Bright Sessions is Lauren's first writing project. She also composed the original Bright Sessions theme and created most of the foley you hear in the first 16 episodes of the show. Any other sound effects are in the public domain or provided by our wonderful audio engineer, Mischa Stanton. Lauren is also the person who runs all the The Bright Sessions social media accounts so if you tweet, tumble, or email the show, you're probably talking to her.
MISCHA STANTON (AUDIO PRODUCER FROM EP. 17 ONWARDS)
Mischa Stanton is, in no particular order: an award-winning sound designer, a novice punk-rocker, a recent transplant to LA, a sufferer of Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), a psychoacoustician, a self-proclaimed expert on time travel fiction, a facet of a larger universe observing itself, a pretty decent cook, a non-binary person using They/Them pronouns, a staunch lover of the arts in whatever form they present themselves, a technology and futurology enthusiast, an advocate for the Audio Drama renaissance, a workaholic, and the co-creator and sole producer of ars PARADOXICA.
ANNA LORE (GRAPHIC DESIGN, VOICE OF CHLOE)
Anna Lore designed all our logos, the case files, and our t-shirts and stickers. For her full bio, click here.
ELIZABETH LAIRD (PSYCHOLOGICAL CONSULTANT, VOICE OF SARAH)
Elizabeth "Betsy" Laird has an MA in International Disaster Psychology from the University of Denver and is the Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Specialist for The Bright Sessions. That's a fancy way of saying Lauren Shippen is her little sister and asked Betsy how to make things sound more "therapist-y" (Lauren's words, not Betsy's). She has also provided story notes, general enthusiasm, and the voice for Dr. Bright's accommodating secretary, Sarah. Lauren would like to add that Betsy gives very good, well-informed notes that Lauren sometimes chooses to ignore - any bad therapy you hear is Lauren's.
evan cUNNINGHAM (composer)
Evan Cunningham is a composer and producer based in Los Angeles. He can be heard as a member of electronic duo Far Places. He also sang a cappella with Lauren in college! Check out his website for more music.