Wikipedia

Travis Vengroff

Travis Vengroff (born January 20, 1987) is an American podcast maker, comic book writer, composer, musician, actor, and role-playing game designer. He is best known for his fiction podcasts as part of the company Fool and Scholar Productions, founded and owned by him and his wife K. A. Statz.

Travis Vengroff
Born1987
Centerport, U.S.
Citizenship
  • United States
Education
Occupations
  • Podcast director
  • podcast producer
  • podcast sound designer
  • podcast editor
  • composer
  • musician
  • actor
  • comic book writer
  • role-playing game designer
Years active2005–present
Spouse
​
(m. 2016)​
Parents
  • Harvey Vengroff
  • Carol Vengroff
Websitehttp://www.TravisVengroff.com

Vengroff usually acts as director, producer, sound designer, and editor of Fool and Scholar Productions' works, with Statz as writer. He has also composed and performed music and voice acted in their works, and is the gamemaster of the actual play podcast Dark Dice (2018–present). Some of his other best known podcasts include The White Vault (2017–2022) and those part of the Liberty universe (2015–present), which he created.

Outside of podcasts, Vengroff is a member of the band Careless Juja and former member of Random Encounter, both under the stage name Careless. He has also written several Liberty comic books and picture books since 2010, and has developed tabletop role-playing games based on the universes of both Dark Dice and Liberty.

Early life

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Vengroff was born in Centerport, New York, in 1987 to Harvey and Carol Vengroff, with the family moving to Sarasota, Florida, when Travis was three-years old.[1][2] He had four siblings.[3] Harvey was the founder and owner of Vengroff Williams Inc., a housing company, for over 50 years, and also worked at a debt collection agency.[3]

As a child, Vengroff liked to listen to audiobooks, something he credits to eventually leading him to podcasts.[4] In 2006–2009, Travis Vengroff studied music at the Allegro Music Academy, game design at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, acting at the New York Film Academy, and business management at the University of South Florida.[5]

Travis and his brother Mark worked at Vengroff Williams Inc. in 2011.[6] From 2013 to 2019, he also worked with his father and brother in real estate in Sarasota, Bradenton, Orlando, and Memphis.[7][8][9]

Career

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Random Encounter (2005-2015)

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In 2005, Vengroff, under the stage name Careless, was a founding member of the band Random Encounter, specialized in covers of video game music and original music inspired by video games. He mainly played the accordion, while also performing vocals and the glockenspiel.[10] The band was voted by readers of Orlando Weekly as the Best Folk Act in Central Florida (2011), the Best Indie Act in Central Florida (2012) and the Best Rock Act in Central Florida (2013).[11][12][13]

In 2006, Vengroff directed a Resident Evil fan-made short film titled Resident Evil: Operation Mad Jackal, together with Kit Pennebaker. The film featured over 60 actors, and the crew received permission from the city of Sarasota to shut down part of the city's Main Street to film a scene. Vengroff stated in July 2006 that the film would premiere at a convention the following October.[14][15]

In 2010, he completed Liberty: Defiance, a comic book he wrote based on the science fiction Liberty fictional universe he had developed over the previous years; he had hoped to turn it into a full comic book series, but was unsuccessful in selling it to any publisher.[16][17]

Vengross, still using the name Careless, founded a second band in 2011, Careless Juja, together with fellow video game music cover artist The Great Juja.[10] The band took part in the Dwelling of Duels internet music competition and won five awards from 2011 to 2019.[18] They would release several albums, and are still currently active.

Among Random Encounter's releases during his time with them were studio album Unavenged in 2011 and Let Me Tell You a Story in 2013. On October 3, 2015, Random Encounter performed a show in Orlando titled "Farewell Careless / 10 Year Anniversary Concert", acting as both a celebration of the band's first ten years and the farewell show of Careless, who was leaving the band.[19]

Fool and Scholar Productions (2015-present)

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In 2015, Vengroff and his romantic partner (later wife) Kaitlin Statz decided to venture into audio fiction, creating the company Fool and Scholar Productions to produce fiction podcasts. Their first release later the same year was Liberty: Critical Research, a return to Vengroff's science fiction Liberty fictional universe; in the style the two would follow in their future podcasts, Vengroff directed, produced, edited and sound designed the podcast while Statz was the writer; Vengroff also voiced one of the main characters, Officer Severous Ljqvist. The series was an unexpected success, and led to the development of Liberty into a multimedia franchise.[20][21][22]

In addition to two more seasons of Critical Research, two more Liberty podcasts were produced: Liberty: Tales From the Tower, a horror anthology podcast that run from four seasons from 2016 and 2021, and Liberty: Vigilance, a one-season actual play podcast made in 2018 using Liberty: A.F.T.E.R, a tabletop role-playing game designed by Vengroff and released the same year.[23][24][25][26][27] It also lead to the release of two more Liberty comic books written by Vengroff, including the serialized Liberty: Deception, and two Liberty picture books co-authored by Vengroff and Statz.[28][17][29][30][31][32][33] The first volume was released at New York Comic Con in October 2016.[34][35][36][37][38][25][39][40][41][42][43]

In 2017, Fool and Scholar Productions released their first Liberty-unrelated work found footage horror podcast The White Vault, about a group of individuals sent to the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard to investigate a remote outpost gone radio silent after sending a distress signal. The show lasted for a five seasons-run completed in 2022, and was accompanied by several spin-off shows set in the same universe, released between 2018 and 2023.[44][45][46][47][48]

Dark Dice, a horror-dark fantasy actual play podcast, premiered in 2018, with Vengroff acting as gamemaster.[49][50][51][52] It emphasized the potential deaths of all player characters, with campaigns including, among others, Statz (who joined Vengroff as co-gamemaster from season 3 onwards), Jeff Goldblum, Eric Nelsen, LilyPichu, and many voice actors featured in other works of Fool and Scholar Productions; it is still ongoing.[53][54] Vengroff also contributed as a composer and musician, directed an orchestra, a 40-person choir, and more than 30 medieval instruments for the soundtrack of the Dark Dice podcast.[55] The tabletop role-playing game Domain of the Nameless God, designed by Vengroff and based on the universe of Dark Dice, was released on 2023 by Dungeon Masters Guild.[56]

Vengroff and Statz also published VAST Horizon, a three-season science fiction story released from 2019 to 2021 about the passenger of a spaceship who awakens from stasis to find the spaceship empty and failing, and must survive and investigate with the help of the ship's artificial intelligence.[57] Don't Mind: Cruxmont, a mystery story intended to be the first season of a Don't Mind anthology series made of stand-alone seasons, was released in 2022, starring Adjoa Andoh and Marcus Bentley as two strangers who meet on their way to the small elusive town of Cruxmont, both in search of answers.[58] It was followed by The Boar Knight, a 15-episode family-friendly fantasy series released bi-monthly from October 2022 to June 2023.[59][60]

Other works

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From 2013 to 2018, Vengroff was a regular contributor to the Russian science fiction and fantasy magazine Mir Fantastiki.[61][5] Since 2018, several adventures for Dungeons & Dragons on the DM's Guild became Platinum bestsellers.[62]

Works

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Comic books

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Year Title Writer Notes
2010 Liberty: Defiance Yes Never fully published
2016–present Liberty: Deception Yes
2018 Liberty: Bridget Goes on a Date Yes Deception spin-off

Discography

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Filmography

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Year Title Director Producer Editor Actor Notes
2006 Resident Evil: Operation Mad Jackal Yes No No — Fan-made Resident Evil short film
2008 Killing Values No Yes Yes — Short film

Picture books

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Year Title Writer Notes
2016 Atrius: A Citizen's Guide Yes Part of the Liberty universe
2020 Liberty: Fringe Iconography Guidebook Yes

Podcasts

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Actual play series

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Year Title Director Writer Producer Editor Sound designer Composer Actor Notes
2018–present Dark Dice Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Main Gamemaster Also music editor, musical director and musician
2018 Liberty: Vigilance Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Recurring Newscaster, others Also musical director
2018–2019 The Lucky Die No No No No No No Recurring Onorino / Others

Scripted series

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Year Title Director Producer Editor Sound designer Composer Actor Notes
2015–2017 Liberty: Critical Research Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Main Severous Ljqvist
2016–2021 Liberty: Tales From the Tower Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Recurring Yamada / Media Director, various others Host in season 1
Credited as sound designer and composer as part of Careless Juja
Also writer on "Malfunction" and "Nightmares"
2019 Creepy No Yes No No No No — Episode: "Robert the Doll"
2017–2022 The White Vault Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Recurring Various Also music editor
2018 The White Vault: Artifact Yes Yes Yes Yes No Recurring Artifact Also music editor and musical director
2019 The White Vault: Imperial Yes Yes Yes Yes No No —
2019–2021 VAST Horizon Yes Yes Yes Yes No Recurring Various Also music editor and musician
2019–present Counterbalance No No No No No Main Auril
2020 The White Vault: Iluka Yes Yes Yes Yes No No — Also musical director and music editor
2021 The White Vault: Avrum Yes Yes Yes Yes No Guest Cossack 3 Also musical director and musician
2021 Someone Dies in This Elevator No No No No No Guest Gilgamesh Episode: "Most Secure Vault"
2022 Don't Mind: Cruxmont Yes Yes Yes Yes No Guest Deep Elder
2022–2023 The Boar Knight Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Recurring Various Also writer on 4 episodes and theme song lyricist
2023 The White Vault: Echoes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No —

Others

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Year Title Director Writer Producer Editor Sound designer Composer Actor Notes
2016 Enderal: The Shards of Order No No No No No No Various Video game mod of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
2019 The White Vault: A Musical Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes — Musical parody episode of the first two seasons of The White Vault
Also lyricist
2021 Role & Keep No No No No No No Renny Actual play web series
Episode: "The Ghost Light"
Pride Month: Tiefling in the Details No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Narrator / Gilzog Comedy non-canon spin-off episode of Dark Dice
Pride Month: A Date With Uriel No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes — Follow-up to Tiefling in the Details

Role-playing games

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Year Title Designer Writer Notes
2018 Liberty: A.F.T.E.R Yes Yes
2023 Domain of the Nameless God Yes Yes Based on the universe of Dark Dice

Personal life

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Vengroff married frequent collaborator Kaitlin Statz on October 2, 2016.[65] As of 2020, the couple resided in Portland, Oregon, with their adopted dog Eezo.[8][9][5] In August 2021, the couple moved to Germany.[66]

Vengroff's father Harvey died on October 11, 2018, at age 77.[3]

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Work Result Citation
2011 Orlando Weekly Best Folk Act in Central Florida Random Encounter Won [13]
2012 Best Indie Act in Central Florida Won [12]
2013 Best Rock Act in Central Florida Won [11]
2016 Parsec Awards Best New Speculative Fiction Team Liberty: Critical Research Nominated [67]
2018 Audio Verse Awards Best Production The White Vault Nominated [68]
Best Audio Engineering Nominated [68]
2019 Audio Verse Award Best Audio Play Production The White Vault Won [69][70][71]
Best Action Sound Design in a Production Won
Best Environment Sound Design in a Production Won
Best New Audio Play Production The White Vault: Imperial Won
Best Environment Sound Design in a New Production Won
Best Vocal Composition in a Production The White Vault: A Musical Won
Discover Pod Award Best Fiction Podcast The White Vault Nominated [72]
Webby Awards Best Original Music / Sound Design in Podcasting Nominated [73]
2020 Audio Verse Awards Best Instrumental Composition in a Production Dark Dice - "Danse Sanguis" Won [74]
Best Vocal Composition in a Production Dark Dice - "Funeral Song 1" Won
Best Player Direction in a Production Dark Dice Won
Best Audio Play Production The White Vault Won
Best Instrumental Composition in a Production Won
Best Action Sound Design in a Production Won
Best Environment Sound Design in a Production Won
Best New Audio Play Production The White Vault: Iluka Won
Best Instrumental Composition in a New Production Won
Best Action Sound Design in a New Production Won
Best Environment Sound Design in a New Production Won
Hear Now Audio Fiction and Arts Festival Platinum Award The White Vault Won
Webby Awards Best Original Music / Sound Design in Podcasting The White Vault Nominated [75]
2021 Audio Verse Award Best Improvised Production Dark Dice Won [76]
Best Player Direction in a Production Won
Best Vocal Composition in a Production Dark Dice - "Devil's Gamble" Won
Best Audio Play Production The White Vault Won
Best Original Compositions in an Existing Production Won
Best Music Direction for an Existing Production Won
Best Action Sound Design in an Existing Production Won
Best Environment Sound Design in an Existing Production (The White Vault) Won
Best Vocal Direction of an Existing Production Won
Best New Audio Play Production The White Vault: Avrum Won
Best Action Sound Design in a New Production Won
Best Environment Sound Design in a New Production Won
Best Vocal Direction of a New Production Won
New Jersey Web Festival Awards Best Sound Design in an Actual Play Production Dark Dice Won [77]
Webby Award People's Voice Award for Scripted Fiction Podcast The White Vault Won [78]
2022 Audio Verse Award Best Improvised Production Dark Dice Won [79]
Best Player Direction in a Production Won
Best Existing Audio Play Production The White Vault Won
Best Action Sound Design for an Existing Production Won
Best Environment Sound Design for an Existing Production Won
Best Composition for an Existing Production The White Vault - "Beneath the Ice" Won
Best Music Direction of an Existing Production The White Vault Won
Best Vocal Direction of an Existing Production Won
Miami Web Festival Awards Best Podcast Director Dark Dice Won [80]
New Jersey Web Festival Awards Outstanding Actual Play Podcast (D&D) Dark Dice Won [81]
Webby Awards Best Individual Episode Scripted Fiction The White Vault Nominated [82]
2023 Indie Series Awards Best Audio Fiction Series The Boar Knight Nominated
Dark Dice Nominated
The White Vault Nominated
Best Original Song The Boar Knight - "The Boar Knight Theme" Nominated
Best Editing The White Vault Nominated
Best Audio Fiction Series Dark Dice Nominated
Best Original Score Nominated
Signal Awards Best Sound Design Dark Dice Won [83]
Best Sound Design (Listener's Choice) Won
Most Innovative Audio Experience Won
Most Innovative Audio Experience (Listener's Choice) Won
Best Original Score Nominated
Best Original Score (Listener's Choice) Won

References

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  1. ^ "Sarasota Magazine: The archetypal entrepreneur". January 1, 1996.
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  3. ^ a b c "One Stop Housing - About Us". Archived from the original on March 27, 2020. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
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  5. ^ a b c "Austin Film Festival Official Bio". Retrieved October 17, 2019.
  6. ^ "How we grew our podcast to a million downloads". Retrieved November 2, 2019.
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  64. ^ Good, Owen S. (February 14, 2016). "Huge Chrono Trigger soundtrack tribute available now". Polygon.com. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
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