Audio Fiction: Sleep Deprivation and the Will to Swim Through It

This piece is a work of fiction which I based off a couple of separate encounters that have happened to me over the years. It follows my character recalling an account of when they were on duty as a lifeguard under extreme sleep deprivation.

My intent for this piece was to make it as authentic as possible. For this, I tried to write the script in a voice where I was talking without a script. I recorded myself a few times and when I did a take I liked, I put some music to it and a couple of sound effects to make it seem a little put together. I wanted the project to sound like someone’s real story, with emotion and intensity, but I also wanted to combine that with a sound design that would make it seem like an interview from a radio show or podcast.