We Are Trying to Reach You

Centered around actual voicemails left on Lead Artist Katie Gould’s phone while she was undergoing in vitro fertilization, We Are Trying to Reach You is an original audio work that dives into the medical, financial, and emotional realities of one woman’s experience with infertility. Making the personal public, We Are Trying to Reach You casts listeners as a patient besieged by a litany of medical information, overwhelming advice, and conflicting emotions. Though silence and stigma around infertility abound, the CDC reports that “12% of women aged 15 to 44 years in the United States have difficulty getting pregnant or carrying a pregnancy to term.”

With bracing intimacy, We Are Trying to Reach You lifts the veil of secrecy, inviting listeners into deeply personal moments of heartbreak, rage, compassion, and hope. In Lightning Rod Special’s signature explosive style, witness the buzzing chaos that one woman faces as she strives to start a family.

CREATIVE TEAM

We Are Trying to Reach You is presented by Lightning Rod Special as part of Sound Break

Lead Artist: Katie Gould

Created by Katie Gould, Madeleine Oldham, and Alice Yorke

Director: Alice Yorke

Sound Designer: Madeleine Oldham

Performer: Lori Felipe-Barkin

Featured Music: “Stranger” by GANG: written and produced by GANG (Amanda Damron, Jaclyn McGraw, Nicole McGraw, Tim Sonnefeld), recorded at Milkboy The Studio in Philadelphia, PA. “They Say Wait” by Katie Gould with accompaniment by Alex Bechtel. Additional music by composer and cellist Brent Arnold.

Creative Producer: Scott R. Sheppard

Special Thanks: Cyrus Wolanske for his guest performance, Margot Melcon, Tyler Marandola and all of the friends, family, nurses, and doctors that helped Katie through her journey.

SOUND BREAK

Co-Directors: Mason Rosenthal, Scott R. Sheppard, Alice Yorke

Sound Supervisor: Jaechelle Johnson

Project Manager: Lawryn LaCroix

Graphic Designer: Jesse Armine