A Radio Drama Revival Exclusive! With much gracious thanks to Roger Gregg and the Crazy Dog Audio Theater, I’m pleased to share with you some of these shots behind-the-scenes of the production of The Salmon of Blackpool. To get a sense of what is going on in some of these shots, make sure to listen to the interview with Roger Gregg where he talks about the production in more detail.

Roger Gregg directs a scene for Salmon of Blackpool. All of the indoor scenes were recorded, well, indoors. Even the smashing crashing and carrying-on at the end of Episode 1! Wine glasses were hurled to Roger’s tile floor in the same room where the scene was recorded, no foley sound stages here — nor OSHA compliance, I imagine.

Roger Gregg and actress Sarah Greene record Sinead’s fateful song in Roger’s living room.

Here Roger is working in the studio to develop a more produced track of Sinead’s song, versus the “in-situ” version recorded above.

All the scenes in “Salmon of Blackpool” were recorded in the field, even ones in the car!

Here’s where it gets fun — actor David Murray was directed to “freak out” in this scene where the prima donna movie star, Johnny Gallagher, first encounters the symptoms of the disease that will lead to his slow decline into a miserable death.

The cast of Salmon of Blackpool sits back after a triumphant recording session — just in time for curious Dublin police to cruise by wondering what all the screaming was about?

Thanks again, Roger, for these great shots, and for sharing about all the hard work and synergy it takes for an incredible story like this to come to fruition! If you missed it, here are the short links to Salmon of Blackpool:

• The Salmon of Blackpool, Episode 1
• The Salmon of Blackpool, Episode 2
• The Salmon of Blackpool, Episode 3
• The Salmon of Blackpool, Episode 4

Things aren’t looking good for Johnny Gallagher in the last episode of The Salmon of Blackpool, but the story of Richie’s little fish isn’t over yet. Sinead makes a break, Sheldon comes from the states, and the bond between Richie and Johnny is tested in the powerfully moving final episode of Crazy Dog Audio Theatre’s magnificent tale.

Radio Drama Revival! Episode 55

Crazy Dog Audio Theatre’s The Salmon of Blackpool Credits:

Written, Directed and Produced by Roger Gregg.

CAST:

David Murray: Johnny Gallagher.
Sarah Greene: Sinead Murphy.
Michael Sheehan: Richie Ryan
Morgan Jones: Doctor Whitman
Georgina Miller: Nurse Marcella.
Liam Heffernan: Donal MacSweeney
Roger Gregg: Sheldon Berkus.
Other parts played by the above members of the cast.

Mark McGrath: Sound Engineer, location recording.
David Grimes: production assistant.

Music composed and performed by Roger Gregg.

Vocals by Sarah Greene.

Recorded and post-produced the Summer of 2007

Oh radio drama fans, do we begin a treat for you today… I am absolutely tickled to bring to you, for the first time broadcast in the United States, the latest startling, bold, gripping, and mesmerizing tale by Crazy Dog Audio Theater… The Salmon of Blackpool

Now the phrase “audio movie” gets kicked around a lot in audio circles, but this work is by far the first to show just what an “audio movie” can be. Cut-throughs, fades, in-scene sound effects, stunning performances and the feeling of being in a real room with these people… “Salmon” does all this and more, propelled along by the cutting words of Roger Gregg, who shows us his skills as a literary writer are on par of that of his biting satire.

Today we begin to learn a little bit about the world we’ll be visiting for the next four weeks… A world where two Irish talents collide in their hometown, a place neither ever wanted to return to, in a situation riddled with irony and dotted with a desperate search for truth, all while voices from across the Atlantic cry out for the “feel good.”

Whether “Salmon” makes good box office is up for your ears to decide. But it’s a hell of a story.

Radio Drama Revival! Episode 52

Crazy Dog Audio Theatre’s The Salmon of Blackpool Credits:

Written, Directed and Produced by Roger Gregg.

CAST:

David Murray: Johnny Gallagher.
Sarah Greene: Sinead Murphy.
Michael Sheehan: Richie Ryan
Morgan Jones: Doctor Whitman
Georgina Miller: Nurse Marcella.
Liam Heffernan: Donal MacSweeney
Roger Gregg: Sheldon Berkus.
Other parts played by the above members of the cast.

Mark McGrath: Sound Engineer, location recording.
David Grimes: production assistant.

Music composed and performed by Roger Gregg.

Vocals by Sarah Greene.

Recorded and post-produced the Summer of 2007

The turkey is stuffed, the appetizers are ready, and there are mince pies ready for the latecomers. But for Ellen, it’s all just not Christmas yet. And in one long evening on the rooftops, she starts to figure out why… Enjoy this marvelous and offbeat Christmas story by UK’s Wireless Theatre Company… “Waiting for Father Christmas”

Radio Drama Revival! Episode 48

Well, we’re big fans of trying different things here at Radio Drama Revival! and now I’m pleased to feature the first work I’ve ever written produced by another — In this case, it’s “Fall of the Hero,” produced this time around by Central Audio Theatre.  CAT is based out of Mt. Pleasant, Michigan and features a great run of talent from Central Michigan University.   Today’s tale kicks up the epic sound of the FinalRune version of the tale and features a wholly different interpretation of the characters of this cautionary tale.  Enjoy!

Radio Drama Revival! Episode 47

No, we’re not referring to eerie references to Santa Claus, but to the megalomaniac loose in the streets of London in this week’s tale, “The Confessions of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.” We’d actually just reached the “confession” portion of the program last week, and now we learn all about the darker half of London’s fair doctor and see what chance he has at redeeming himself from the evil he’s unleashed.

Radio Drama Revival! Episode 46

On a long lonely stretch of desert, a hitchhiker catches a ride.  But as two strangers head to the next town, tales of a loose criminal on the road cast suspicion on their uncertain relationship.  And reality is more dangerous that either can imagine…

This week I’m proud to present the work of Doug Bost and Jeff Ward, two upcoming audio stars who tell a tight, gut-wrenching story in style of the classics but with a refreshingly modern take.  Enjoy “Roadkill”

Radio Drama Revival! Episode 43

Wow, what a hell of a week for Radio Drama Revival! I got interviewed by Justin Ellis of the Portland Press Herald for the NXT Podcast, a youth culture column, and my chat with him made it on the NXT Halloween Special… thanks Justin for a great chat and for being interested in what this audio thing is all about. If you were referred to this site by listening to that podcast, I’d love to hear from you — email fred@ the domain of this site.

Also a shout-out to the Strange Maine blog, an ongoing insight into the spooky and dark crevices of Maine, who did a great write-up for the special… And if you haven’t heard it, yeah, the Halloween special was a hell of a hit! So much, in fact, that radiodramarevival.com went down for a couple of hours last night… that technical issue’s been sorted out, and I apologize if you had trouble getting the stories. It’s now all cool so hit that button going on your podcast player!

In general, this month of horror has DOUBLED the amount of people visiting the site… So hey, lots of love to the loyal listeners, and very very welcome to those who are just checking this out for the first time. Hope you stick around for a bit, and drop me a line on what you think, what you’d like to see happen, and why not comment on a story?

And finally… to today’s show. We leave the dark and twisted corners of the human imagination (for a little while) to head to New Orleans, land of dreams, land of the dead… It’s my true pleasure to play the very first piece I ever did, for the holiday that bears its name — Day of the Dead.

A young man heads to New Orleans in search of his missing lover… He finds much more than he expects, and is changed in ways he could never imagine. A tribute to a beautiful, strange and magnificent city, with a story inspired by my own strange journey and the myth of Orpheus.

Enjoy.

Radio Drama Revival! Episode 42

Terror Stalks the airwaves! On Halloween we heard three tales of horror guaranteed to haunt your dreams “Forevermore.” We kick off a killer fright-night with William Dufris‘ adaptation of “The Statement of Randolph Carter” by H.P. Lovecraft, followed by the Grist Mill production of Joe R. Lansdale’s “God of the Razor,” and conclude with a scathing double feature from FinalRune Productions with the debut of “Dark Passenger” and the replay of “The Blind Man’s Confession,” two tales written and produced by yours truly, to make you fear all things that go bump in the night… Turn out your lights, hide under the blankets, and prepare to get spooked!

Radio Drama Revival! Halloween Special 2007