YARMOUTH, Maine — Yarmouth creatives Linda Hildonen and Colby Michaud had just gotten their big break for a theatrical performance in spring 2020. But everything changed when the pandemic took over.
"We started exchanging emails, and then things started crumbling. ... It became clear we were living in the middle of this totally historic event," Hildonen said.
The duo, like many of us, had to find a new way to work. Hildonen and Michaud realized opportunities like this, to pivot into a new project, only come once in a lifetime.
"We're the type of people that have to create all the time so we just set that aside and started working on the next thing," Michaud said.
That's when "Once in a Lifetime: A COVID Love Story" was born.
With the pandemic necessitating social distancing, Hildonen and Michaud came up with the idea for the musical podcast, since they could no longer host theatrical performances.
"People were going to need something they could experience fully in their own homes," Hildonen said.
"We were confident in our ability to make the technical piece happen," Michaud said.
The podcast follows two characters who start a new romance together as the pandemic progresses. Hildonen and Michaud decided to base it on the pandemic after seeing a friend experience a romance in 2020.
Hildonen said talking about COVID in art helps dealing with it in real life.
"It really helped us deal with the emotions and uncertainty especially when we developed the larger story," Hildonen said. "That brings the realism, the character and the color."
"Once in a Lifetime" is a six-part series. As of May 3, only one episode remains unaired, which is scheduled to air May 10. You can listen to all the past episodes by following this link.