Upper St. Clair man chronicles life experiences in podcast
A few years back, Upper St. Clair resident Frank Schiffman was writing some humorous stories about his life, and reading them to his colleagues during lunch.
One day, one of Schiffman’s co-workers suggested that he do a podcast.
For someone who came to adulthood before the Internet Age, Schiffman’s response was not surprising. He replied, “What’s a podcast?”
In the time since, Schiffman has more than gotten up to speed. Last year, the 67-year-old launched “Out-Of-Place,” a podcast series where he relates funny and memorable life experiences in episodes that typically fall into the 20-minute range. The podcast has the tagline, “Stories that don’t fit. Endings That Do!”, and episodes have dealt with the construction of a Pinewood Derby car for his son, working the midnight shift in Pittsburgh produce yards as a college student and other topics.
Schiffman initially recorded his podcasts in his home office, but has since refurbished a third-floor closet in his home to serve as a recording studio. Schiffman recalled recently that his son “taught me the fundamentals of how to do it. And I started teaching myself.” In the podcasts, Schiffman imitates character voices and uses sound effects and background music.
Even though he was a stranger to podcasts not that long ago, Schiffman now listens to a whole variety of them “so I can see how they go about doing it.” He also points to the NPR program, “This American Life,” as an inspiration.
“I try to make (the podcasts) as vivid as I possibly can, so the listener can actually envision what they are listening to,” Schiffman said.
Becoming a podcaster is something of a natural development for Schiffman. He explained that he had ambitions to be an entertainer as a child and, in the course of a 45-year marketing career, has put his performing skills to work in training films, one-man training shows and motivational speaking. Schiffman calls himself “a showman at heart.”
“I primarily wanted to be a comedian,” Schiffman said. “I could do all sorts of imitations when I was a kid. I liked being an imitator, I liked to tell jokes, and I liked to express wit.”
Though he is within range of getting the proverbial gold watch and settling into retirement, Schiffman said there are no plans to do so imminently.
“One of the things that’s most important to me is to stay relevant,” he explained. “And sometimes I think this is what the podcast could do in the future.”
“Out-Of-Place” can be found on Apple, Google, Spotify and Stitcher podcast platforms, and also at www.out-of-place.com.