Today we’d like to introduce you to Jonah Simmonds.
Hi Jonah, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I’ve always been drawn to storytelling, especially the kind that lets you build an entire world from scratch. I’m a teacher, performer, writer, and lifelong fan of science fiction and fantasy, so creating stories has always been one of the ways I make sense of the world and connect with other people.
*Felix: Space Pirate* really grew out of that love. I wanted to create a science-fiction adventure that felt huge and strange, but still deeply character-driven; something full of aliens, pirates, bizarre cultures, ridiculous humour, heartbreak, and characters who genuinely cared about each other.
What started as an independent creative project slowly became something much bigger. I began bringing together local actors, artists, and other creatives to help turn the story into a fully produced audio drama. None of us had a massive studio behind us, so we learned as we went, recording, directing, editing, rewriting, solving technical problems, and figuring out how to make something ambitious with the resources we had.
Season One eventually became a six-episode audio drama, and seeing people connect with these characters was incredibly rewarding. The project went on to receive recognition at festivals, including winning Best Sci-Fi Audio Fiction at the Baltimore New Media Web Festival, which was a surreal moment for something that had started as this strange little space-pirate story we were making in Winnipeg.
Since then, the project has continued to grow. We received support from the Winnipeg Arts Council to help produce Season Two, and I’ve also begun expanding the work under Space Pirate Productions so that *Felix* can be part of a larger creative umbrella rather than the only thing we make.
The road hasn’t always been straightforward. Production has been interrupted by real life, loss, scheduling, limited resources, and all of the challenges that come with independent filmmaking and audio production. But we’ve kept coming back to it because we genuinely love the world and the people involved in making it.
Now we’re preparing to move forward with Season Two, bringing back returning cast members, introducing new characters, and telling a much larger story than we could when we started.
I think the biggest thing I’ve learned is that you don’t have to wait for someone to give you permission to create something. You can start with an idea, surround yourself with people who believe in it, learn what you don’t know, make plenty of mistakes, and slowly build something real.
That’s essentially what *Felix: Space Pirate* has been for me: a ridiculous idea that refused to stay small.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Felix: Space Pirate has been incredibly rewarding, but it has also been a very independent production, which means almost every problem eventually becomes our problem to solve. We’ve dealt with limited budgets, scheduling a cast around everyone’s day jobs, technical problems, learning parts of production as we went, and the constant challenge of trying to make something that sounds much bigger than the resources we actually have.
There have also been moments when real life understandably had to come before the show. We received a grant from the Winnipeg Arts Council in 2024 to produce our second season, but production was seriously delayed after the death of the mother of Michael, one of the key people behind the project. At that point, making an audio drama simply wasn’t the priority, and the project went quiet for quite a while.
Coming back from that hiatus has probably been one of the biggest challenges. When a project stops for that long, people’s lives change, schedules change, and you have to rediscover the momentum that made everyone excited about it in the first place. We’re doing that now, and in some ways I think the time away has helped. I’ve grown as a writer and producer, the scripts have become more ambitious, and we have better infrastructure for recording than we did during the first season.
I also balance this work with teaching and the rest of my creative projects, so there are plenty of days when Felix has to be built in whatever hours are left over. But I think that struggle is also part of why I’m proud of it. We’ve never had a huge company or unlimited resources behind us. It has survived because people cared enough to keep making it.
There have definitely been moments when it would have been easier to let the project end, but every time we come back to these characters and this universe, I remember why we started in the first place.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Today, I wear a few different hats. I’m a teacher by profession, but outside the classroom I’m a writer, director, producer, and the founder of Space Pirate Productions, an independent studio dedicated to creating original science fiction and fantasy stories.
Our flagship project is *Felix: Space Pirate*, a cinematic audio drama set in a galaxy of aliens, pirates, ancient empires, and interdimensional mysteries. I write the scripts, direct the cast, oversee production, and work closely with a talented group of local actors, composers, and creatives to bring the world to life. It’s been incredibly rewarding to watch something that started as an idea grow into an award-winning series.
What I’m most proud of isn’t just the recognition *Felix* has received, it’s the community we’ve built around it. Independent productions only succeed because people believe in them, and I’ve been fortunate to collaborate with incredibly talented artists who have helped turn these stories into something far greater than I could have created alone.
I think what sets me apart is that I enjoy building worlds that extend beyond a single medium. Whether it’s *Felix: Space Pirate*, tabletop role-playing games, live-action Star Wars fan films, or even the gamified classroom system I created for my students, I’m always asking the same question: “How can people become part of this story?” I love creating experiences where audiences aren’t just observing a world; they’re immersed in it.
At the heart of everything I do is collaboration. I love bringing people together around a shared creative vision, giving them opportunities to contribute their talents, and making projects that hopefully leave people feeling inspired, entertained, and excited for the next adventure.
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
Baltimore will always hold a special place in my heart because it’s where *Felix: Space Pirate* received its first major international recognition. Winning **Best Sci-Fi Audio Fiction** at the Baltimore New Media Web Festival was an incredible moment for our team. As independent creators from Winnipeg, having our work celebrated on an international stage gave us the confidence that our stories could resonate far beyond our own city.
The trip itself is something I’ll never forget. My dad came with me, and getting to explore Baltimore together made the experience even more meaningful. We spent our time wandering the city’s streets, trying just about every crab dish we could find, visiting museums, and admiring the incredible architecture. It was one of those trips where every day felt like a new adventure.
I also met people there who have become lifelong friends. That’s one of the things I love most about creative communities: they remind you that no matter where you’re from, storytelling has a way of bringing people together.
So whenever I think of Baltimore, I don’t just think about winning an award. I think about family, friendships, unforgettable experiences, and a city that became an important chapter in my creative journey.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.patreon.com/c/Felixspacepirate?view_as=patron&vanity=Felixspacepirate
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/spacepirateproductions/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Space-Pirate-Productions/61561376347811/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@FelixSpacePirate-tc3rn
