Here we go — New Year’s Day two-fer! (Don’t miss this week’s podcast of Chicken Heart below.)

As mentioned, I had the huge pleasure of heading down to Boston’s First Night celebration to see the Post Meridian Radio Players perform two works — “Countdown to Chaos” the pilot episode of Red Shift, Interplanetary Do-gooder and a live rendition of Arch Oboler’s “Chicken Heart” (again, hear the studio version in this week’s ‘pod!).

When I say pleasure, I mean seeing the PMRP put on the play was great.

Digging myself out of the woods, driving through an onslaught of snow paired with slushy and grimy roads, then riding a train for over an hour and having to navigate some cold streets of Boston wasn’t the raddest experience ever. Luckily, I was with my girl and Scott Hickey of AM FM Theater (makers of the Grist Mill) so I had plenty of company and some great chats on the way!

The Orpheum is tucked into a little alleyway off from the major boulevards of New Year’s Eve craziness, and the funky, old-school artistic look cast a great mood for a live radio drama.

We got in just as the doors opened and set-up-shop with a shwag-stand operated by PMRP members. They were also doing a live SFX demonstration, and I couldn’t resist asking this fair lady with the propeller on her head what all the cool gadgets on this table were used for!

Joye Thaller Gives Us a Live SFX Demonstration

Oh, and we also found out the importance of Cosmoflakes thanks to narrator Gilly Rosenthol:

We got some decent seats near the front (thank goodness we were early — the place really did fill up!) and then sought out Neil Marsh, the “man behind the curtain” for this evening’s show, who was at the sound board when we first saw him.

I managed to catch up with him, not long enough to snap a photo, mind you, but long enough to capture this nice taste of what went into the hour-and-a-half live show:

Interview with Neil Marsh of Post Meridian Radio Players

About 7:30, prompt, the lights went out and the show began…

“Countdown to Chaos,” a fantastical farce of science-fiction fervor was the lead, and a nice way to introduce the audience to the kind of performance they were to expect. I actually hadn’t heard an episode of Red Shift, but by design this was a nice way to start — the plot was not, uhm, overly complex, but delightfully lampoonish of B-rated sci-fi standards. Villians were particularly vile, the heroes goody to a fault, and the bumbling and curious people of Earth typecast enough to be familiar but unique enough to make it fresh, engaging, and original.

And then: thump-thump-thump-thump-thump!

Chicken Heart, the infamous tale, done with live foley effects and in true OTR style. They kept the script close to the original — Ionized Yeast ads and all — though the cast brought fresh energy to the performance and the SFX table (of which I failed to get any good photos at all) did a stellar job.

You should’ve seen the collection of goopy goodies and squishy squashes they had for the sounds of the “Heart”!

Another special mention goes to the ASL interpreters, who had the daunting task of converting a full-cast, sound-effect and music production into a visual form. But man, they were great!

They gesticulated wildly, played off each-other, and even conveyed mood of music and effects. For a completely “aural” medium, making this into an enjoyable visual experience was quite something.

On that same note, another hats-off to the performers who all dressed up in simple costumes to make the stage presence a little more interesting. The shimmery silvering things Red and Lumpy were wearing might not have made much difference on the radio, but it sure made watching the show more enjoyable!

Overall, it was a great night, well worth the travel, and gosh, does it make you wish more of this was being done. Good job, PMRP, and hope to see you next year!

Episode one-hundred and three? Holy-fricken-cow! We’re closing on the show’s two-year anniversary and kicking off 2009 with a larger-than-life show to celebrate…

It’s the Post Meridian Radio Player’s studio rendition of the classic Lights Out Episode “Chicken Heart” (memorialized forever by Bill Cosby’s childhood fears).

Enjoy this fun and well-done tribute, and then listen on to more for the story on how their live performance came together!

Radio Drama Revival Episode 103 - Post Meridian Radio Players do “Chicken Heart”

Well, flurries be damned, I’ve just jammed 10 CDs of Radio Drama Revival Sampler CDs into my ditty bag with my Zoom H2 and other “must” audio gadgets and am jumping into a running car on my way to Boston’s First Night to see the Post Meridian Radio Players do “Chicken Heart” as part of First Night 2009.

If you’re going to be in Boston tonight, I highly recommend checking out the Orpheum Theater from 7:30-9PM — it’s a rare and awesome chance to see live radio drama performed at a highly visible venue. But if you do miss it, check out the show tomorrow for some photos, behind-the-scenes audio clips, and the studio version of PMRC’s

Well, Santa Radio was very good to us this year and stuffed my stocking with TONS of great stuff to share with you…

So break open that new mp3 player and stock it up! We have Christmas classic, Christmas irreverent, lots of voices and more than one surprise in this nearly 3-hour holiday extravaganza.

Soak it up and be Merry!

Radio Drama Revival Christmas Special - Part 1 of 4

• Quicksilver Radio Theater’s haunting rendition of “A Christmas Carol”

Radio Drama Revival Christmas Special - Part 2 of 4

• The Wireless Theatre Company’s “Pig in Boots”!

Radio Drama Revival Christmas Special - Part 3 of 4

• Interview with Regina Doman and Andrew Schmiedicke of Chesterton Productions

Radio Drama Revival Christmas Special - Part 4 of 4

Interview with Julie Hoverson of 19 Nocturne Boulevard

Best when listened to with a crackling fire in the fireplace, wood stove, or other FDA-approved fire burning apparatus. Thanks to Kevin MacLeod for wonderful holiday music.

Well, everyone, Merry Christmas eve, and if you’re celebrating something else, cheers to that, too! (We had some pretty serious snow for the Solstice so I was celebrating that longest of nights in my own way…)

Couple interesting things to say — first, you’ll note that Graphic Audio is now on the “Friends of Radio Drama Revival” section of this site, and yes, that is a paid placement.

I hope you won’t consider this compromising my artistic integrity because it isn’t. I’ve operated Radio Drama Revival for nearly two years completely as an effort of passion, and believe me, one ad, or a dozen, won’t nearly pay for the work it takes to get it on the air. However, I’m hoping that partnering with commercial audio outlets can help make the show a bit more sustainable, and maybe even sponsor some greater innovation.

I have received a variety of works by Graphic Audio, and yes, they will be reviewed and possibly featured on the podcast, but no, they will not receive different treatment because of a banner on the site.

Whether you’re the most beginning podcaster or hardened professional dramatist, you can expect your treatment to be the same. I listen to the works, gauge their merit, and see if they fit within the motif we’re exploring. It often takes months for shows to go between the auditioning phase to the broadcast simply because the show is only 30 minutes.

If you want a chance to be on the show, contact me and let me know what you’re up to, and either mail a CD or send me an mp3 link (I prefer mp3s, by the way).

So that’s that part. If you have questions or an opinion, hit me up in the comments.

Two Killer Christmas Offers

Speaking of Graphic Audio, they’re currently offering 30% off new releases (CD or MP3-CD only) and 40% off for a one time purchase for filling out a survey.

If you haven’t heard of them, you’ll find that they feature a whole range of semi-dramatized audiobooks from different comic book franchises. They have an astonishing array of titles, at least if you’re into the sci-fi/fantasy/comic range. Don’t look to them for hard literature.

There’s also an interesting deal by the Stories from the Golden Age — these are the people doing the L. Ron Hubbard pulp shorts audio dramas.

They’re offering a chance to win what they call a “Stories from the Golden Age iPod,” an iPod packed full with eighty L. Ron Hubbard audiobooks. Again, these ain’t for your grandmother, but if you want ball-fisted, tough-damed, action-packed surly drama, it’s great.

For your chance to enter you actually need to make a purchase (is that legal?) of $9.95 at galaxypress.com and then answer two questions of skill.

You can go to their site to enter the iPod contest or take advantage of their holiday offers, too.

More to Come

And yes, there’s plenty more audio where this came from. While these are paid goodies, tomorrow we’ll have a special extended two-hour episode for the Christmas holiday. How’s that for some extra cheer?

This past Thursday marked the birthday of British writer HH Munroe AKA Saki, known for his razor-sharp stories of tricks and humor slicing up the British aristocracy. Doft your Edwardian cap as we listen to this deliciously devilish rendition of four Saki stories delivered to us by 19 Nocturne Boulevard.

BONUS: Here about the upcoming double-bonus episode and Christmas spectacular! And don’t forget to load up an mp3 player full of Radio Drama Revival for Christmas!

Radio Drama Revival - Episode 101

It was not a pretty day in Portland, Maine. And though I trolled around looking for Wifi connection in the middle of a severe ice storm, there was no internet to be found (just snapped tree limbs and downed powerlines, which, after we’d driven across a couple, we were told still might be dangerous and hold residual power… oops).

Power outages still persist, luckily I live off-grid and was happily generating my own power yesterday. Nothing better than to hole up in the house and listen to the gift of audio drama while cranking a fire in the wood stove, and it is my pleasure now to share with you another chunk of Shadow of the Bear.

Things are getting interesting with our two young maidens and their bear, though an annoying dwarf and a mystery the two heroines have yet to understand threaten them in ways they have yet to understand.

Here’s to episode 100!

Radio Drama Revival Episode One-Fricken-Hundred

This week we move from the world of the macabre to that of the fantastic, with a contemporary fairy-tale retelling by Chesterton Productions - The Shadow of the Bear.

Based on Regina Doman’s novel of the same name, this epic audio adventure follows two cultured sisters living in New York City as they encounter a mysterious stranger named “Bear” who becomes their friend, and unwitting entry into a dark mystery which they may not survive.

As ominous as that sounds, this is appropriate for all ages and MUCH lighter than the fare we’ve been covering since October.

Enjoy the first hour of about four-and-a-half.  If you like it, do check out the affordably priced MP3 Download.

Radio Drama Revival! Episode 99

P.S. Episode 99 already?  Holy Cow!  Wish the cold meds didn’t have me sounded quite as dazed and confused for this one…

Thank you Google Alerts for turning me on to this one — today (that’s Dec 3) there will be a live dramatization of “A Christmas Carol” put on at the Brewer, Maine Middle School and broadcast online on WHSN-FM.

The Bangor Daily News covered the live dramatization in depth.

Brewer’s a bit of a haul, even for me, but I think you’ll be able to hear it streamed online at: WHSN’s website. There are also rumors that it’ll be podcast later on.

And in case you miss this for your Scrooge fix, note that Radio Drama Revival will be broadcasting Quicksilver Radio Theatre’s rendition of A Christmas Carol for the Christmas Day episode.

I couldn’t resist. In addition to a great interview with Bob Arnold and Kyle Hadley of Chatterbox Audio Theater, I put up another one of their shows, “In the Penal Colony” by Franz Kafka.

A foreigner is brought to see the “wonders” of a remote penal colony, where the operator of a diabolical machine still believes it brings people closer to divinity…

Great listening for your Black Friday iPod!

Radio Drama Revival! Episode 98