Radio Drama Revival » Radio Drama

Episode 264 – Sci-Fi February Is A Go!

captainradio — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 04:59:27 +0000

We kick off our Sci-Fi February with Great Northern Audio Theater’s fanciful anti-saga, Thwack That Dirigible!, performed before a live audience at last year’s Mark Time Awards ceremony during the CONVergence CON for science fiction and fantasy media in Bloomington, MN.

Brian Price of Great Northern Audio Theater, who directed this piece that was also produced by his frequent collaborator, Jerry Stearns, joins us after our feature to give us an update on the upcoming 15th Anniversary Mark Time Awards which will feature some very special guests.

Brian also reminds producers they have till March 1st, 2012 to submit their sci-fi or fantasy/horror audio dramas for the competition by visiting the registration and information page at Great Northern Audio.

Finally, we get a personal glimpse at how former Texas Gulf Coaster Captain Radio™ is getting along with Old Man Winter on Fred’s rural Maine goat farm.

Listen carefully and you’ll hear an audio cameo appearance by Tanja Milojevic from Lightning Bolt Theater of the Mind.

Download audio file (rdr-podcast264.mp3)
Radio Drama Revival – Episode 264

Episode 263 – North to the Yukon!

captainradio — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 04:55:15 +0000

We conclude our series New Year, New Audio, as Captain Radio™ guest-hosts once more for Fred Greenhalgh traveling abroad in Africa. On tap for our feature is the Captain’s own non-commercial redux of an episode from the very popular Old-Time Radio series, Challenge of the Yukon. Get ready for plenty of drama, intrigue, and action as your favorite Canadian Mountie and his furry, scene-stealing sidekick continue their relentless pursuit of lawbreakers in the days of the Yukon Gold Rush.

[RATED AD-G]

Sue Zizza of Sue Media and the National Audio Theater Festival returns briefly to help Radio Drama Revival honor distinguished audio dramatist Yuri Rasovsky who passed away last Wednesday, January 18th, 2012.

Download audio file (rdr-podcast263.mp3)
Radio Drama Revival – Episode 263

Episode 262 – There Is A Field, Part 2

captainradio — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 18:28:08 +0000

Captain Radio™ once again guest-hosts for vacationing Fred Greehalgh as we continue our series New Year, New Audio, which challenges you to step outside your past listening routine, to try something different for you. When you come across something new for you that you really like, share with others about it, so they can broaden their horizons as well.

Last week we featuree the first of a two-part docu-drama, There Is A Field, adapted by Marie Tueje from Jen Marlowe’s play of the same name.

Aseel Aslih

This poignant audio drama explores the life of youthful Aseel Aslih of Arrabeh, Israel. Aseel strove to find a healthy personal identity and peaceful purpose in life while coping with the stark political realities still faced by Palestinian citizens of Israel.

We continue this week with Part 2. After recovering from the shock of her brother, Aseel’s, death, his older sister, Nardeen determinedly seeks answers to the many questions the tragic incident poses for her family as well as their entire community of Palestinian citizens of Israel.

We are very pleased to have as our interview guest for this episode Marie Tueje who produced this audio drama adaptation by Jen Marlowe of Donkey Saddle Projects, an award-winning documentary filmmaker, human rights advocate, author and playwright.

[RATED AD-PG-13 for some strong language]

Download audio file (rdr-podcast262.mp3)
Radio Drama Revival – Episode 262

Episode 261 – There Is A Field, Part 1

captainradio — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 04:30:04 +0000

Captain Radio™ hosts once more for vacationing Fred Greehalgh as we continue our series New Year, New Audio, which, yeah, kind of dares you to step outside your past listening routine, to try something different for you. When you come across something new for you that you really like, share with others about it, so they can broaden their horizons as well.

Last week we enjoyed satirical short-shorts from the new “Rythmical Ravings and Rants”, or RRRants, consortium of modern UK troubadors.

This week we flip the theater mask to feature the first of a two-part docu-drama, There Is A Field, adapted by Marie Tueje from Jen Marlowe’s play of the same name.

We are very pleased to have as our interview guests for this episode Jen Marlowe of Donkey Saddle Projects, an award-winning documentary filmmaker, human rights advocate, author and playwright for There Is A Field as well as Aseel Aslih’s younger sister, Siwar Aslih, calling in all the way from Haifa, Israel.

[RATED AD-PG-13 for some strong language]

Download audio file (rdr-podcast261.mp3)
Radio Drama Revival – Episode 261

Episode 260 – RRRants Are Good For The Soul

captainradio — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 03:22:51 +0000

What a wild and eventful week for us here in Alfred, Maine (Fred’s hometown).

Fred’s life is a furious pile of boxes bags and wires as he and Amy gear up for a five week trek to one of the most dynamic and intriguing countries of the world, South Africa. While there, Fred hopes to connect with some of South Africa’s varied audio drama lovers and record sounds of curious critters from local baboons to the hippopotamus (from a distant, he assures us).

So what to do with Radio Drama Revival programming for that period? In hopes to keep the same quality podcast productions flowing. Fred had even come up with an exciting new theme for the first set of 2012 programs, New Year, New Audio, to challenge all of us to try out audio drama genres and troupes not on our personal “short list”, then to share any genuine great new finds in production and talent with others to get them interested in doing the same or in listening for the first time to modern independent audio drama. But as time grew short for his trek, this mini-series did not seem fit to happen.

Just when he’d reconciled himself to substituting OTR re-runs of Baby Snooks and The Alan Young Show, serendipity struck with sweet vengeance. By insane coincidence, a recent yardsale find (a gorgeous one-of-a-kind hardwood cathedral OTR radio and phonograph) turns out to coince-accidental-and-destructionally be the powerful and noisy secret Auralan Resistance teleportation device. Next thing you know, our own Captain Radio™ was standing before me, dusting himself off, wondering what to do for a whole month while the “radio” recharged.

And you know it, dudes: Fred made him an offer he couldn’t refuse … try as he might!

So, while Fred’s away soaking up sun in South Africa, our own Captain Radio™ will be hosting Radio Drama Revival while shoveling snowed-in driveways and learning the gentle art of milking cantankerous Maine goats twice daily in sub-zero wind chills. We can’t tell you how much this thrilled the native Texan. No, seriously, we can’t.

To get our New Year, New Audio series off on appropriately eccentric footing, we open with three clever and satirical sketches cooked up by the fun patchwork of “unusual” poets, songwriters, and storytellers now part of the UK’s Rythmical Ravings & Rants (RRRants) non-profit consortium of modern troubadours. Visit festivals with a curmudgeon’s trained eye, turn a committee meet inside out, and carefully deflect observation while discoursing with talking critters, all this week on one of the most action-packed and fun Radio Drama Revival episodes ever!

Download audio file (rrrants-are-good-for-the-soul.mp3)
Radio Drama Revival – Episode 260

Episode 259 – Illuminating Swordspoint’s Daring-Do with Ellen Kushner and Sue Zizza

Fred — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 04:24:24 +0000

With the New Year upon us, we seek to capture one last audio gem from 2011: the new illuminated audiobook Swordspoint, directed and produced by Sue Zizza and narrated by the author, Ellen Kushner. This dashing audio adventure is further complemented by a full suite of actors including Dion Graham, Katherine Kellgren, Robert Fass, Nick Sullivan, and Simon Jones.

We speak Sue and Ellen to learn more about the genesis of this enchanting title and the peculiarities of combining a single narrator with a full cast, and how you go about picking the best scenes to render when you have 11 hours of material to work with. The resulting work merit high praise, including these words from Neil Gaiman: “throughout the entire book’s soundscapes you will hear the cadences of the marketplace, the music of the drawing rooms, and of course the ring of steel drawn from the scabbard.”

We even get a taste of swordsplay before our show wraps today. First up, a review from Captain Radio of the UK sci fi audio serial, Golden Age.

Download audio file (rdr-podcast259.mp3)
Radio Drama Revival – Episode 259

Episode 258: A Christmas Special that Overrules a Horrendous Plot

Fred — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 03:36:56 +0000

Photo by kevin dooley

Yuletide greetings dramatites! We’re delighted to share with you a 2008 retelling of a treasure from the golden age of radio, Norman Corwin‘s “The Plot to Overthrow Christmas,” revamped for you by our good friend Richard Fish.

This 35 minute romp of rhyming verse introduces us to Nero, violining in hell, and co-opted into a plot to assassinate Santa Claus. Except Santa Claus is not all as it seems, and sometimes the cold can do more to warm the heart than the flames of hell…

We give time to celebrate the spirit of Christmas (and please, I hope you laugh as much as I did during the section about the congressional body in hell) and also think about the passing of audio great Norman Corwin, who passed to the next world this year at age 101. His work is as heartwarming about Christmas and as indicting of the odious as it was 73 years ago.

We also have a very special review from comrade Captain Radio, who reviews a suite of retellings of A Christmas Carol – the new Blackstone Audio production (with sound design by We’re Alive‘s co-creator Shane Salk), Quicksilver Radio Theatre‘s, Voices in the Wind and even Lifehouse Theater. It is indeed a classic tale! And the Capt’s splendid review gives you tastes of the range of them, from the rich and embellished, to the spare and haunting.

Finally, we launch a new donation program – FinalRune Fivers (won’t you consider donating $5 to this show?) – and give a special shout-out to our friends at the Wireless Theatre Company. Their ever increasing library of top-notch audio drama this year features some fantastic Christmas radio plays.

Download audio file (rdr-podcast258.mp3)
Radio Drama Revival – Episode 258

Transcontinental Terror Halloween Horror Streams Tonight

Fred — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 22:07:22 +0000

Halloween Horrors are here for your listening delight, tune starting 7PM EDT:

The second annual Transcontinental Terror audio horror streaming extravaganza features:

The Wireless Theatre Company (London, England)

“Curse of the Wolfman.” Here! Look here, for this haggard man who shuffles along this deserted road, his soul as bare and barren as the moors around him, his tears cutting through his heart like the road slices this open plain. His name is Covell. Covell the Wandering one. Let us fly toward him on the wings of a crow, and circle above him, looking down at his ragged coat, his tattered hat, his worn old boots and bundle, then let us swoop down in to his brain and listen to the wretch’s thoughts! His voice is a low growl, like the distant rumble of thunder…
“Cask of Amontillado.” Edgar Allan Poe’s short but enigmatic masterpiece. Set in an unnamed Italian City, we hear the story of how Montresor lures Fortunato through the catacombs into the Montresor family vault and there chains him up and bricks him in for eternity. Why he does it we will never know, but he does so with a casual savagery that is truly chilling. “Cask’ was recorded on location in ancient vaults. Every footstep and cough, every brick and every echo are captured and you will never forget hearing the final, faraway declamation: ‘In pace requiescat!’

Electric Vicuna Productions (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

“The Muse of Madness” speaks to the dark recesses of where story comes from. Angus plunges the depths of a lake to discover an ancient urn that holds a primeval god that wishes to remake reality into days of darkness and pain. The Hell that comes from when Angus goes into the shadows of this world of creativity threatens to swallow up the world, and there is only one way to save humanity from his “Muse of Madness.”
“Faith” explores what it is that underlies belief, what drives human beings to take their beliefs to the farthest regions so that it can overshadow everything else. Ted is a tortured soul who is left with no options and nothing left to believe but a single dark mission, realizing that it will probably end in tragedy and arrest but being driven to do nothing less than follow this course.

FinalRune Productions (Portland, Maine)

“Intensive Care” (with Aural Stage Studios). It’s late night in a hospital and visiting hours are over. A young patient discovers that he has a mysterious roommate who begins to terrorize him. As our protagonist screams for help, he realizes his is just one of many screams in this demented hospital…
“Dark Passenger.” Two teenage friends start scaring each other on the drive to a dismal “haunted” house on the coast of Maine. But when their innocent fun starts to become all too real, they soon realize what true terror is. A nod to Stephen King in a tale inspired by a true story too haunting to forget.

Chatterbox Audio Theater (Memphis, Tennessee)

Live Halloween Broadcast. For the fourth consecutive year, Chatterbox Audio Theater will present an anthology show of short horror stories that are guaranteed to chill your blood! Chatterbox actors, musicians, and sound effects artists gather in the studio to deliver this special performance, which is broadcast LIVE every year over WKNO-FM in Memphis, TN. This year’s show includes four terrifying tales — tales involving demons, werewolves, and things that squirm hungrily in the dark. Not for the faint of heart!

Icebox Radio Theater (International Falls, Minnesota)

“The Demon.” Four people huddle in a church basement as a violent and somehow unnatural thunderstorm rages outside. As the niceties of organized religion begin to peel away like so much dead skin, the four discover dark places they dared never go before. And — that they are not alone…

The Willamette Radio Workshop (Portland, Oregon)

“Dracula.” WRW is proud to present a fitting radio tribute for the Halloween Season: a recreation of Orson Welles’s first program for the Mercury Theater on the Air: Dracula!

Episode 250 – HALLOWEEN Special Continues, with a Grind Down the Grist Mill

Fred — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 13:35:01 +0000

Halloween not… ground you up already? Still fresh enough for some new ghoulery? Well, good! In a rare move, we have a double-double feature, courtesy of Scott Hickey with The Grist Mill.

We feature two previously never-heard Grist Mill episodes in this special bonus episode, #250, which seemed an apropos way to mark the milestone.

These two delights were both written and produced by Jeff Adams (leader of the soon to be arriving Transcontinental Terror night train), and featuring George Ledoux, is THE DARK RIDE. What happens when a stranger arrives to a run-down traveling fair, offering too sweet a deal to let him open up an old ride?

Followed by AS YOU WISH.COM. The internet is a wonderful thing. Some say it can even grant all of your wishes. But, the real question is – do you really want it to?

Part 2 of 2 of our 2011 Halloween audio horror story special.

Download audio file (rdr-podcast250.mp3)
Radio Drama Revival – Episode 250

Captain Radio Visits Dead Line Anthology

captainradio — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 16:55:14 +0000

Graphic - FunGraphix.com
Theme music - Shane Lamb

Title: Dead Line Anthology / Shorts (series)
Producer: Jack Ward
Production Company: Electric Vicuña
Type: Dram
Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Length: Anthology episodes – about 25 minutes; Shorts – 5-15 minutes
Rating: AD-PG* (psychological horror, mortal danger/fear)
Availability: Free – Electric Vicuña

Greetings, Audionauts! Captain Radio here with a visit to Electric Vicuña’s Dead Line Anthology, from Electric Vicuña, made possible by RØDE Microphones.

[SOUND BYTE]

And so the mysterious disembodied Dead Line telephonic voice ushers listeners into another dark journey through mystery, horror, and, usually … murder.

As might an old Alfred Hitchcock Presents episode, each macabre tale begins mundanely enough, perhaps like a pair of generationally-alienated businessmen getting away on a hunting weekend, as in Clay Pidgeon Shooting …

[SOUND BYTE]

Soon, though, things begin to seem out of place as dialog exchanges or character actions build up viscerally uncomfortable apprehension:

[SOUND BYTE]

Then, suddenly, the dark journey twists violently off into stark and irrepressible horror as, here, a stunned husband listens to his doomed mistress plead desperately for help over voice mail:

[SOUND BYTE]

From 2003-2005, pioneer audio drama podcaster Jack Ward aired The Shadowlands old-time radio series from a public radio station in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Having authored and produced over a dozen originals among these shows, Ward joined forces in 2005 with Shannon Hilchie to host the Sonic Society, which focused on original audio drama from independent producers. Initially, associated Sonic Society producers included Jerry Robbins of Colonial Radio Theatre, Jonithan Russell of DreamRealm Enterprises, and Gregg Taylor of Decoder Ring Theatre.

In 2009, Ward formed Electric Vicuña to branch into audio cinema, voice acting, audio books, and audio anthologies. Regarding the latter, his colleagues encouraged Ward to develop a horror/mystery anthology that would more immediately fulfill evolving audio drama listener taste than would science fiction or fantasy equivalents.

He responded with the Dead Line Anthology that opens and closes on the slightly menacing telephone narrator signaling a warning or challenging the listener to explore the subtle edgy inner significance, or occasionally the message, revealed by the chilling story.

Later, Ward added the Dead Line Shorts as vignettes of evil that cut to the chase of their story, tossing listeners immediately into “the dark moment”, often requiring them quickly to suss out from the contracted plot and dialog what precisely is happening.

[Dead Line theme music]

Despite having already turned in over a half decade of continuous original creative production, Ward’s Dead Line tales, long or abbreviated, come across as refreshingly original with plenty of spine tingle, more plot twists than a Celtic pretzel, and plenty of unexpected moments when you may suddenly and instinctively wish to cover your ears, as horror movie viewers might shield their eyes, from the fearful scenes unfolding within your imagination.

Listen to the Dead Line Anthology and Dead Line Shorts at Electric Vicuña.Com.

Remember – passionate, unique audio transforms our world …You start with RØDE™

Visit RodeMic.com

CaptainRadio.com Reviews originate on the Radio Drama Revival podcast. Subscribe to free weekly downloads of more top-notch, independently-produced modern audio drama from around the world at RadioDramaRevival.com.

Until next time, Audionauts, this is Captain Radio™, signing off!

Download audio file (captain-radio-dead-line-anthology-extended.mp3)

Captain Radio™ Visits Electric Vicuña’s Dead Line Anthology and Dead Line Shorts

* Rating based on the Audio Drama Directory Ratings System.

Captain Radio Reviews: Knighttime

captainradio — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 14:38:54 +0000

Graphic - FunGraphix.com | Theme music - Shane Lamb

Title: The Secret of Donotalado (from the Knightime series)
Producer: “William”
Production Company: The Hazardous Players
Type: Comedy
Genre: Fantasy
Length: 15-20 minutes each episode
Rating: AD-G*
Availability: Free to Listen – The Hazardous Players

Greetings, Audionauts! Captain Radio here with a review of KnightTime’s The Secret of Donotalado, from The Hazardous Players, made possible by RØDE Microphones.

Too seldom do we see natural entertainers emerge from party antics as bonafide stars. When it happens, they tend to be delightful absurdists. Witness Steve Martin’s party shtick, The Great Flydini and Victor Borge’s classical grand piano party gymnastics both placing often among Top 100 Comic Routines.

Educated artist, turned realist carpenter, “William” in like manner delights in excavating his childhood of listening QUI-ET-LY (so his parents wouldn’t hear) to late night radio dramas and finding ways to foist that experience on his son and easily recruited accomplice, Sam.

Sam’s 10^th birthday party proved a turning point for “William”, who loved to create “seriously complex” treasure hunts. A series of concealed outdoor audio players, when found, gave young partiers “Where next?” clues embodied in the pre-recorded voices of ancient knights. When family and friends heard the clues afterward, “William” found himself surrounded by instant fans, urging him to unleash these marvelous characters into broader realms.

Once “William” also realized that he shared “a hidden aptitude for odd voices and a secret desire to act” with Comic CON buds “Lewis” and “Justin”, the trio launched, in his words, a quest “to pool our talents, to overcome our insecurities, and to construct a fantasy world both epic and absurd,” major emphasis, of course, on the last.

[SOUND BYTE]

Aimed at “children” young and old, the KnightTime series of audio dramatic chapter books takes Audionauts to medieval Udenland and the farcical exploits of buffoonish but able agéd survivor, Sir Cottington, his more genteel “Sancho Panza” straight man, Sir Bratwurst, and their long-suffering genius curmudgeon guardian dragon, Nigel, who, though perhaps the most “grounded” character in the KnightTime universe, has his moments:

[SOUND BYTE]

In The Secret of Donotalado, scheming young King Theodor, seeks to rid his court for at least a year of the bungling, naturally interfering duo of Cottington and Bratwurst:

[SOUND BYTE]

That’s about it on plot, folks. As it goes in Life, often it’s not the destination but the journey that counts. Recalling situation antics characteristic of creatives Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett, and Monty Python, the knights’ subsequent harrowing, comical picayune adventures through weird, enchanted landscapes, replete with magical plants and creatures, fills up the score card pleasingly.

[SOUND BYTE]

While online, be sure to enjoy “William’s” warm and very amusing artwork as well as entries in the clever Professor Flannagin Henchwood’s Guide that catalogs and further details magical flora and fauna encountered in KnightTime.

Listen to the KnightTime audio dramatic chapter book, The Secret of Donotalado, at HazardousPlayers.com.

Remember – passionate, unique audio transforms our world … You start with RØDE™

Visit RodeMic.com

Captain Radio.com Reviews originate on the Radio Drama Revival podcast. Subscribe to free weekly downloads of more top-notch, independently-produced modern audio drama from around the world at RadioDramaRevival.com.

Until next time, Audionauts, this is Captain Radio™, signing off!

Download audio file (captain-radio-the-secret-of-donotalado-extended.mp3)

Captain Radio™ Reviews The Secret of Donotalado from the Hazardous Players

* Rating based on the Audio Drama Directory Ratings System.

Captain Radio Reviews: The Cosmic Express

captainradio — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 15:24:00 +0000

Graphic - FunGraphix.com | Theme music - Shane Lamb

Title: The Cosmic Express
Producer: Joseph C. McGuire
Production Company: Radio Theater Project
Type: Drama
Genre: Sci-Fi, Speculative
Length: 16 minutes
Rating: AD-G*
Availability: Free to Listen – Radio Theater Project

Greetings, Audionauts – Captain Radio here, brought to you by RØDE Microphones, with a review of The Cosmic Express from Joseph C. McGuire and Radio Theater Project.

Be ever so careful what you wish for!

[SOUND BYTE]

In the far future, when, for most, work is more past-time than drudge, Eric Stokes-Harding (voice by Carl Waluconis) relieves his techno-lifestyle boredom by authoring adventure stories in former exotic Earth locales now erased by urbanization. He does so the hard way, speaking to an antiquated, voice-activated typewriter-replicant. Though less inclined to stray from her own modern voicewriter, Nadia (voiced by Laura Hale) shares her husband’s wistful longing to interact with more natural apparata:

[SOUND BYTE]

Their commiserating heightens until they genuinely long to abandon their sterile modernity for somewhere far more primal and sensually extreme – somewhere, perhaps, like …:

[SOUND BYTE]
Providentially, an experimental new long-distance travel mode exists, The Cosmic Express, a means so quaint and so familiar to a modern listener that perhaps it was restored from off a dusty shelf in an old 23^rd century relic shoppe.

Or perhaps the reverse: Three-and-a-half decades after sci-fi author Jack Williamson penned this short story, perhaps a Los Angeles beat cop, and a wannabee Hollywood screenwriter, named Roddenberry conceived something akin to the Cosmic Express as he prepared to make a little television history.

Regardless, the Stokes-Hardings eventually bribe Cosmic Express operator Charlie (voiced by Matt Clausen) with a metal flask of rare, very aged ambrosia. Faster than you can say, “Beam us up, Scotty”, the pair finds themselves stalking the showery alluvial jungles of Venus. All too soon, though, unexpected reverse nostalgia sets in just as neighbors come to call:

[SOUND BYTE]

It helps the couple’s cause little, meanwhile, that Charlie has met his liquor-holding Waterloo in the rare, very aged ambrosia.

The Cosmic Express is the first episode in producer Joseph C. McGuire’s public radio series project, Future Past, which debuts in September, 2011. Produced at Skagit Valley College radio station, KSVR, Future Past will dramatize stories written during the pre-World War II Golden Age of Science Fiction.

While this premier effort might seem, and sound, unpretentious compared to current flashier independent audio production benchmarks, it does authentically recall the audio austerity broadcast during the prime years of network AM radio drama.

Listen to Joseph C. McGuire’s Cosmic Express at the Captain Radio™ Audio Drama Showcase, or hear it and other Radio Theater Project productions at Radio-Stories.Blogspot.Com.

Remember – passionate, unique audio transforms our world … You start with RØDE™

Visit RodeMic.com

Until next time, Audionauts, this is Captain Radio™, signing off!

Download audio file (captain-radio-the-cosmic-express-extended.mp3)

Captain Radio™ Reviews Joseph C. McGuire’s Cosmic Express from Radio Theater Project

* Rating based on the Audio Drama Directory Ratings System.

Captain Radio Reviews: The Swamp

captainradio — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 14:07:35 +0000

Graphic - FunGraphix.com | Theme music - Shane Lamb

Title: The Swamp
Producer: Tanja Milojevic and LightningBolt Theater of the Mind
Type: Drama
Genre: Horror Mystery

Rating: AD-PG*
Availability: Free – LightningBolt Theater of the Mind

Greetings, Audionauts – Captain Radio here with a review of Tanja Milojevic’s The Swamp from LightningBolt Theater of the Mind.

If you ever experienced ghastly fear trying to escape a nightmare presence but unable to awaken, then you know Rachel’s terror.

[SOUND BYTE]

This hungry, menacing demon dream swamp metaphorically overflows into her conscious existence. First, Rachel (voiced by Milojevic) abruptly loses her best friend, Alice (voiced by Amanda Fur) when their college expels Alice for surreptitiously cheating off Rachel’s exam. Then, after Rachel pleads vainly with her mother (voiced by Deborah Adams) to forego a simple driving errand in an icy blizzard, Rachel receives the worst of all calls:

[SOUND BYTE]

Finally, adding to Rachel’s growing horror, the relentless swamp dream demon returns, this time with unholy help as Rachel’s mother, apparently casting blame for the accident, joins him in terrorizing her.

[SOUND BYTE]

The only seeming positive in Rachel’s waking life is the sudden appearance of dark, handsome, and very mysterious fellow student, Blake, who quickly, and quite literally, entrances her:

[SOUND BYTE]

Eventually, we gain the eerie sense of having missed a key scene along the way. By the time both we, and Rachel, learn what’s missing, it’s hideously late in the game … maybe too late.

Milojevic’s unhurried but increasingly suspenseful pace of revelation here renders The Swamp’s sudden finale all the more shocking, while the denouement “chaser” is served up suitably well chilled.

Milojevic emigrated with her family from Serbia to America at age 6. Since 2008, by day, she pursues an undergraduate degree in English Writing with a minor in Communications from Boston’s Simmons College. After-hours, she pursues her calling as an independent audio drama producer at which she steadily has improved.

For example, The Swamp, actually enlarged and scripted from a high school English Lit writing exercise, comes smartly decorated with background and bridging music so discriminately selected that I wished to hear the scoring again apart from the play.

Appearing instinctively to leverage her visual-impairment, Milojevic also aptly employs her keenly attuned hearing to evoke college environs and voices as binaural backdrop to her drama. You’ll need headphones or good stereo speaker separation to catch this particular nuance, but listen closely to this clip from The Swamp in which a professor’s voice seems at first to wander about randomly until we realize that he’s passing out student exam sheets:

[SOUND BYTE]

Having already completed over ten independent audio productions, Milojevic has also begun to create Spirit Blade Underground Alliance series episodes of Out of the Night in collaboration with Spirit Blade producer, Paeter Frandsen.

Ms. Milojevic, who aspires to graduate work at UMass and, thereafter, to teach Braille, seems also to be well underway with a moonlight career as a talented independent audio producer and voice actor.

Hear Tanja Milojevic’s The Swamp on the Audio Drama Showcase at CaptainRadio.com, and listen to all her productions at LightningBoltTheaterOfTheMind.Mypodcast.com.

Until next time, Audionauts, this is Captain Radio™, signing off!

Download audio file (captain-radio-the-swamp-extended.mp3)

Captain Radio Reviews Tanja Milojevic’s The Swamp from Lightningbolt Theater of the Mind

* Rating based on the Audio Drama Directory Ratings System.

Episode 226 – Orpheus’ One True Love, Pendant Power and Rats

Fred — Sat, 21 May 2011 03:02:57 +0000

The seductive backdrop of Ancient Greece returns in sticky sweet splendor in round 3 of Roger Gregg’s The Stuff of Myth. Orpheus recounts the journey to find – and lose – his one true love, Eurydice. In this installment Orpheus finally meets, and loses, his one true love. Tragedy at its funniest!

This great production won a Gold Ogle in 2007 and has gotten rave reviews as a stage play. After many times trying to schedule this into the show and failing, for May 2011 we’ll be featuring all four episodes of “The Stuff of Myth” plus a bonus mythological encounter as part of RDR’s spring festival of Bacchus.

First up, Captain Radio‘s tribute to the prolific production prowess of Pendant Productions, an audio house that has released a staggering 800+ dramas over the years from dozens of podcasts. And a bonus treat from Roger Gregg, a sample of his new poetry/music montage Cables to the Ace!

Download audio file (rdr-podcast226.mp3)
Radio Drama Revival – Episode 226

Cables to the Ace: 19 by Thomas Merton, from THE COLLECTED POEMS OF THOMAS MERTON, copyright 1968 by the Abbey of Gethsemani.
Music, Sound Design, Production & Direction by Roger Gregg. Crazy Dog Studios. 2011.
Voice: John Merriman & Tiernan Kearns.
Voice Recording by Colm Coyne.
Video by John Merriman.

This video is from ‘Selections from Cables to the Ace by Thomas Merton’ – a concept album by Roger Gregg, made with the Gaiety School of Acting Class of 2011.

Cables To The Ace can be found in The Collected Poems of Thomas Merton, – get a copy!

Captain Radio Review: Saki’s Quail Seed

captainradio — Wed, 11 May 2011 19:00:13 +0000

Graphic - FunGraphix.com | Theme music - Shane Lamb

Title: Quail Seed (19 Nocturne Boulevard Anthology)
Producer: Julie Hoverson and Wheeality Productions
Type: Drama
Genre: Social Satire

Rating: AD-G*
Availability: Free – 19NocturneBoulevard.com

Greetings, Audionauts – Captain Radio here with a review of Saki’s Quail Seed, adapted and produced by Julie Hoverson and Wheeality Productions.

High-profile classic literary oracles, like H.G. Wells and George Orwell, have astounded readers with profound and often disturbing scientific and social insights into the future. However, audio drama producer Julie Hoverson holds that lesser-known but certainly competent writers, such as Edwardian era author H.H. Munro, known better by his pen name, Saki, could cleverly employ biting humor to reveal equally rare foresights into mundane matters:

[SOUND BYTE]

Struggling small businesses today could garner an insight or two from Quail Seed which opens with Mr. Scarrick, a small-town shop owner who, having just topped off his inventory, abruptly faces dismal Christmas sales:

[SOUND BYTE]

However, some local gossips, trying to be discrete as they surreptitiously browse Scarrick’s lowly local establishment before traveling to the big city to make their purchases, witness two bizarre visitations, first, that of an unusual boy:

[SOUND BYTE]

Even as the ladies cackle feverishly over the departed boy, a stranger and more imposing customer stalks in:

[SOUND BYTE]

In no time the entire exurban community is abuzz, both about the strange visitors and Scarrick’s puzzling perfidy. On subsequent days, shoppers mill about the store, draining the shelves of goods, at last gasping when the strange boy, the imposing man and Scarrick’s deceit all score an encore. With that, the rumor dam crumbles:

[SOUND BYTE]

And no one can resist shopping at Scarrick’s thereafter for fear of foregoing the finale of all this unfathomable intrigue, perhaps … not even you.

Saki’s engaging satire, minimalistically, tastefully, and warmly adapted by Hoverson, might well be served as a delicious after-dinner dessert with a sherry apéritif or Turkish coffee. Though Hoverson jests about making relatively casual casting decisions for her many works thus far, no character of Quail Seed seems truly out of place or unapproachable here. Enjoy.

Listen to Julie Hoverson and Wheeality Production’s adaptation of H.H. Munro’s Quail Seed currently podcast on the Captain Radio’s Audio Drama Showcase or by visiting 19NocturneBoulevard.com where you can hear three other standout Saki yarns as well as over 60 other short Hoverson pieces.

You can also hear a podcast of Hoverson’s Mark Time Award-winning scifi drama, The Outpost, right here on Radio Drama Revival.

Until next time, Audionauts, this is Captain Radio, signing off!

Download audio file (captain-radio-quail-seed.mp3)

Captain Radio Reviews Quail Seed from Julie Hoverson and Wheeality Productions

* Rating based on the Audio Drama Directory Ratings System.

Captain Radio Review: Harrison Quest

captainradio — Wed, 04 May 2011 13:06:11 +0000

Graphic - FunGraphix.com | Theme music - Shane Lamb

Title: Harrison Quest
Producer: Justin Piasecki
Type: Comedy
Genre: Fan Fiction Satire
Rating: AD-PG13*
Availability: Free – HarrisonQuest.com (available at iTunes as well)

Greetings, Audionauts – Captain Radio here with a review of Harrison Quest from Justin Piasecki.

Ironically, social media networking seems to be creating more and more iconoclastic but energetically bound and resolute subcultures within our increasingly disaffected society.

Our poster child for the day, then, is the Sons of Ford, a bickering, potty-mouthed, occasionally rowdy klatch of young males all ultimately cinched together in blind devotion to superstar Harrison Ford. However, at their weekly meeting to sort through Ford’s trash, the Sons discover their failsafe scheme to aggrandize Ford will soon be despoiled big time by the celeb himself:

[SOUND BYTE]

The race is on, but the obstacles just keep a’ comin’. First, Simon (voiced by Piasecki) fails to register the Sons fan booth at the annual GalaxiCon that Ford attends, defaulting the slot to odious archrivals, the Harrison Ford Fan Club, led by sadistic Desoto (voiced by McCoy Jen). Then, unbeknownst to the Sons, Desoto plants Joel (voiced by Matthew Novak) as a spy in the Sons’ midst to capture the secret movie script. If that weren’t enough, unbelievers pop up like paint ball targets everywhere, even on a movie date:

[SOUND BYTE]

Stalwart listeners to Harrison Quest episodes gradually grow tolerant enough of the steady stream of expletives to sense how totally enraptured (perhaps self-deluded) Simon, Brent, Eddie, and Horris have become. Their daily lives, their art, even their metaphysics coincide with Ford infatuation. In this scene, brimming with hilarious irony, Horris (voiced by Brad Bogner, on occasion standup comic at NYC’s Eastville Comedy Club) piously exchanges “scripture” with Daniel (voiced by Kai Lahti), a Jehovah’s Witnesses who, erroneously assuming it to be a kindred gathering, shows up for a fan production of “Witness: The Musical”:

[SOUND BYTE]

With time running out, digital whiz Brent (voiced by Dane Williams) concocts a clever plan to foil the superstar’s date with icy Destiny. After sampling Ford’s dialog from various DVD’s, Brent dials up the cryolab to cancel the actor’s upcoming appointment by replaying the samples at opportune moments. All seems at first to go well, until Eddie (voiced by Brad Marriott) decides the lab staff are stone-walling:

[SOUND BYTE]

Subplots and random anecdotes abound, all persistently re-enforcing how deeply entrenched fan adoration is in these guys. The tone and mood of Harrison Quest most closely mirrors a zany blue MTV buddy sitcom.

Despite some low-no-budget audio disparities (dialog delivery comes from Piasecki’s former NYU film school cronies, other friends, and the odd stranger, with some lines home-recorded and emailed in from as far afield as Iowa), and despite the proliferation of expletives and adult innuendo, Harrison Quest delivers an intriguing if humorously embellished expose of celeb fandom. As the AD-PG13 rating indicates, this extended spoof is definitely not meant for the kiddies.

[SOUND BYTE]

Hear all nine current madcap Harrison Quest episodes, with a surprised-filled “season finale” tenth episode due out soon, at HarrisonQuest.com.

Until next time, Audionauts, this is Captain Radio, signing off!

Download audio file (captain-radio-harrison-quest-extended.mp3)

Captain Radio Reviews Harrison Quest from Justin Piasecki!

As a bonus this time, hear Mason Page’s fun, fired-up rap theme music for the series, We Are the Sons of Ford Download audio file (captain-radio-sons-of-ford-theme.mp3)

* Rating based on the Audio Drama Directory Ratings System.

Captain Radio Review: New Kids on the Block

captainradio — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 16:04:05 +0000

Graphic - FunGraphix.com | Theme music - Shane Lamb

Title: Wireless Theatre Kids
Producer: Wireless Theatre
Type: Drama
Genre: Children’s Educational and Entertainment Audio Plays
Availability: Free and Paid – WirelessTheatreKids.co.uk

Title: Sophie’s Adventures in the Dark
Producer: Matt Brown / Leo Media Ltd
Type: Drama
Genre: Children’s Fantasy
Availability: Paid – Explaudio.com
(Till 5/31/11 – hear it on Captain Radio’s Audio Drama Showcase!)

Greetings, Audionauts – Captain Radio here with reviews of ZooDudes from Wireless Theatre Kids and Sophie’s Adventures in the Dark from Leo Media Limited.

[SOUND BYTE]

Though the sudden Recession still stifles public funding in Britain and elsewhere for audio drama projects, Wireless Theatre boldly pledged, through its new offshoot project, Wireless Theatre KIDS, to continue audio drama production for children. ZooDudes mane-framed Bob Marley-esque Ryan the Lion affirms that vow in his opening metaphorical monologue from the pilot episode of the new series:

[SOUND BYTE

Our pleasantly languid narrator casually oversees the abandoned zoo-vivers who seem prone to traditional Celtic internecine wrangling. While these conflicts and their storylines ultimately emphasize the usual social values, the zany goings-on are entertainingly interstitched with UN-usually catchy tunes:

[SOUND BYTE]

In addition to such original audio content, Wireless Theatre Kids will feature more traditional fare, such as fairytales, like The Gingerbread Man, nursery rhymes, and poetry. They also offer more sophisticated works for older children, such as an abridged version of Romeo and Juliet performed by a cast of collegiates from West Thames College of London.

Another funding dearth victim was an experimental interactive kids audio game prototype that BBC commissioned in 2009 to 360 digital media company, Gamelab UK. Despite project termination, GameLab UK chose nonetheless to demonstrate their new 3D audio technology by producing a half-hour static audio play based on the BBC game script:

[SOUND BYTE]

In the resultant Sophie’s Adventures in the Dark, the first such drama to have rich 3D audio animation applied in post-production, multi-talented sound engineer and producer, Matt Brown, depicts all characters other than the fretful but plucky protagonist, voiced by Georgia Collins.

Even with a lower-quality audio compression file, listeners with headphones or good home theater surround systems easily perceive the immersive spherical point-of-view.

Also, like early gray hairs, the script’s gaming roots often show through, sometimes viscerally absorbing listeners. Check out this clip in which Sophie races through the whacky-hacky hell of Decapitation Alley with her unique ally, skeletonal Lord Smythe, rattling in more ways than one while clinging to her back:

[SOUND BYTES]

For a limited time only until May 31^st, audiophiles and kids can hear Sophie’s Adventures in the Dark on Captain Radio’s Audio Drama Showcase. You can also go online anytime to obtain this, the first 3D audio animation, from Matt Brown and Leo Media Limited, as well as other new 3D audio dramas from Explaudio.com. While online, you can also find more entertaining and educational childrens audio productions at WirelessTheatreKids.co.uk.

Until next time, Audionauts, this is Captain Radio, signing off!

Download audio file (captain-radio-new-kids-on-the-block-long.mp3)

Captain Radio Reviews ZooDudes from Wireless Theatre for Kids and Sophie’s Adventures in the Dark from Leo Media Limited!

Captain Radio Review: Chicago Gumshoes

captainradio — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 12:58:27 +0000

Graphic - FunGraphix.com | Theme music - Shane Lamb

Title: Trouble’s Up In Alphabet Town
Producer: Jared Jeffries
Type: Comedy
Genre: Detective – Noir Spoof – Serial (Adult Innuendo)
Availability: Free – Alphabet Town Podcast

Title: Trouble’s Up In Alphabet Town
Producer: Stephan A. Bellinger Productions
Type: Comedy/Drama
Genre: Detective – Humorous
Availability: Free – CaptainRadio.com

Greetings, Audionauts – Captain Radio here with a reviews of Trouble’s Up in Alphabet Town and Murder on the Evanston Express.

Previously, we met Third Coast Live’s dodgy but durable Dick Private. Then we sauntered past, pretending not to notice, Washington Audio Theater’s Stosh Force on stakeout.

Now we’re off to the urban Heartland to meet two starkly different Chicago gumshoes, Spencer Marx and Johnathan Tower.

[SOUND BYTE]

Youthful sleuth Spencer Marx (voiced by Jared Jeffries) spouts obligatory, if slightly skewed, similes as he’s approached for help by rich and sultry Charlotte Branagan (voiced by Letitia Guillaud):

[SOUND BYTE]

The innuendo-ridden adult dialog of this first episode foreshadows heavy influence from Jeffries’ improv comedy team, Inkling, that performs at Chicago’s iO Theater.

For a first effort, rapid hat-shifting Jeffries edits in some decent stereo FX. Check out this zany clip in which the clueless cop duo of Tyler Samples and Jeff Rukes try to detain gumshoe Marx just as his client is kidnapped:

[SOUND BYTE]

While Gen-X writer-producer-actor Jeffries impeccably channels a youthful Leslie Nielson in his audio send-up of Naked Gun Gets Busted, Boomer Steve Bellinger dusts off the harpsichord as he elegantly reincarnates Hercule Poirot as the Windy City’s deducer extraordinaire, Johnathan Tower, in Murder on the Evanston Express.

[SOUND BYTE]

Trapped during the real-life Chicago blizzard of 1979 on a stalled “L” train in which the CTA Director himself is murdered, petulant Tower (voiced by Mark Burk) forgoes his longed-for catnap to flush out the ne’er-do-well from among a locally authentic lineup of suspects. The story eventually leans a bit toward Sheer Luck Holmes as effusive Dr. Stickney, DDS and Olympic Conclusion Jumper (voiced by veteran Jim Keith), becomes Tower’s Dr. Watson clone in the investigation:

[SOUND BYTE]

At first blush, the audio may seem fuzzy by current standards for this fun Chicago-style spoof of Dame Agatha Christi on a tea date with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. However, when you discover that this script was produced in the late 70’s using analog tape decks in a cramped home studio … Well, the Captain gets a lump in his throat to realize individuals, like Steve Bellinger, assured that the spirit of radio drama never entirely succumbed to the TV tsunami.

Listen to Trouble’s Up In Alphabet Town episodes at AlphabetTownPodcast.org, where Jeffries is about to release a second episode of this madcap caper, and hear Murder on the Evanston Express on the Audio Drama Showcase channel at CaptainRadio.com.

Also, be sure to catch SueMedia’s haunting production of the Witches of Lublin, a drama of three Jewish woman musicians who secretly aspire to live uncommon lives under a repressive 18^th century European regime on the next Radio Drama Revival podcast!

Until next time, Audionauts, this is Captain Radio, signing off!

Download audio file (captain-radio-chicago-gumshoes.mp3)

Captain Radio Reviews Trouble’s Up In Alphabet Town and Murder on the Evanston Express!

Episode 221 – Jonathan Mitchell’s Moon Graffiti and talking “the Truth”

Fred — Sun, 17 Apr 2011 03:47:01 +0000

Our guest today is Jonathan Mitchell, a seasoned radio producer, sound designer and composer whose work has appeared on Studio 360, Radiolab, This American Life, Fair Game, The Next Big Thing, Living on Earth, Weekend America, Marketplace, and All Things Considered. Wow!

What’s most exciting is that Jonathan is a lifelong fan of radio drama, and has created a new series called The Truth, a new fiction program for public radio produced by Jonathan Mitchell and American Public Media.

We feature The Truth’s debut piece, Moon Graffiti, the uses a script written for Richard Nixon in the event of a failed moon landing to explore what might have been said on the surface of the moon if the astronauts knew they weren’t coming home. We also talk to Jonathan, who has a lot of interesting things to say about radio drama (as evidenced in this excellent article on modern radio drama that appeared on Transom).

Our Captain Radio review this week is a double-header, featuring two Chicago based gumshoes, Murder on the Evanston Express and Trouble’s Up in Alphabet Town (a new serial).

It’s a great week of listening – dig in!

Download audio file (rdr-podcast221.mp3)
Radio Drama Revival – Episode 221

Witches of Lublin Now Available!

Fred — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 23:27:17 +0000

How exciting is this? In time for Passover, Sue Media is announcing the launch of The Witches of Lublin, a new musical audio drama chronicling the struggle for survival of one woman’s family in an old world Polish city, and offers a glimpse into the lost Jewish women’s lives of Eastern Europe. And get this – it features (among many other top notch actors) Neil Gaiman. Neil – freakin’ – Gaiman!

Many of our friends have said good things about it, such as:

WITCHES is gorgeous!

The music is perfect, the acting/directing is superb throughout. Tovah Feldschuh is amazing!! The words leap to life, the characters become real people — and the sound quality is fully up to even Tovah at her best.

Rich Fish – WFHB-FM, Bloomington, IN

And:

“A real winner! Great acting, music, production values, and a terrific script makes this story very accessible, even to those who are not Jewish. I was caught up in the story, couldn’t wait to hear what happened next.”

Tom Lopez – ZBS

You will be able to hear it here on Radio Drama Revival for our show on April 22… Try out this 30 second promo for now!

Download audio file (witches-of-lublin-30_Second_Promo.mp3)

Captain Radio Review: The Realm Unseen

captainradio — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 14:42:37 +0000

Graphic - FunGraphix.com | Theme music - Shane Lamb

Title: The Realm Unseen
Producer: Storyline Studios
Type: Interactive Audio Novel
Genre: Adventure-Suspense-Drama
Availability:
Paid – Digital – Spring Brook Audio
Paid – eBook, Paperback, Hardback – LampPost Publications

Greetings, Audionauts! Captain Radio here with a review of The Realm Unseen from StoryLine Studios.

[AUDIO CUE]

Eventually, you, the blind protagonist discover the outrageous yet plausible reason for your blindness. When you turn to the mysterious Dr. Griffin to help recover your sight, you also encounter your dark adversary, Cassius, who wants to step in line ahead of you.

The day then is spent entangled in dread, danger, and potential doom at every turn as you pray to stay a step ahead of Cassius, to avoid numerous horrid mishaps, and to race on to your final destination, one of London’s most eclectic landmarks. Even without the adversarial motif, audio participants might experience vicarious terror enough imagining their plight without sight.

Attempts to characterize this unique collaboration among scriptwriter, J.S. Earls, Narrator and co-developer, Josh Armstrong, and sound engineer/original score composer, Kevin Patterson, can rapidly degenerate into blind philosophers debating the essence of elephant.

Though clearly not a Duke Nukem ™ leveled shoot-‘em-up, this media creature is too interactive and too richly labyrinthine to be considered a forthright audio book. Given the size of the creative team, the vividly sensory mood of the production, and Earls’ recognized skill at writing independent comics, perhaps Realm would best be distinguished as an interactive audio novel.

The interface is basic enough. Plot unfolds on each chapter/track until you, the blind protagonist, must make a critical choice:

[AUDIO CUE]

Eventually, the track/chapters lead to one successful outcome, though, just as it might go down while mixing it with the mythical Cretan Minotaur, you could readily find yourself facing dire consequences:

[AUDIO CUE]

Ironically, these blind alley misfortunes give the plot surprising staying power. Whether from among the intended audience of adult audio book devotees or from among middle-schoolers who, surprisingly, latched on to Realm during Earls appearances at comic bookstores or cons, participant listeners quickly and keenly engage in ferreting out the single successful outcome.

Since completing The Realm Unseen, Earls has hatched many story ideas he hopes eventually leads to an even longer and denser sequel. However, he wants to hear more his audience’s experience with the original, so he invites The Realm Unseen participants to email him at storylinestudios@hotmail.com.

Though clearly you should not try to enjoy Realm in a moving vehicle, you might best immerse yourself in it by inserting the disk into a home entertainment system, lowering the lights, and preparing to be …

[AUDIO CUE]

… righteously creeped out!

Experience yourself the heart-pounding terror and excitement of The Realm Unseen by acquiring this unique interactive audio experience from http://springbrookaudio.com or from larger resellers, such as Amazon.

Until next time, Audionauts, this is Captain Radio, signing off!

Download audio file (captain-radio-storyline-studios-the-realm-unseen.mp3)

Captain Radio Reviews The Realm Unseen from StoryLine Studios!

Episode 219 – Severed Threads Cut Loose

Fred — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 16:26:22 +0000

This week we continue our feature of three lives intertwined by cheap labor in India… an exploration of the undertow of modern globalism and a test of the theory of degrees of separation… Penned by seasoned field recording radio dramatist John Dryden, here is Severed Threads, originally commissioned by BBC Radio 4.

Play write-up:

Second part of John Dryden’s epic story of inter-connected lives, set on three continents.

When journalist Prem Sharma rescues a child working in a textile factory outside Delhi, seven thousand miles away in Minnesota, Jim Nostrand, proprietor of church-owned clothing firm Cheap Threads, becomes the scapegoat. Meanwhile, in a private boarding school in England, troubled twelve-year-old Ben seems obsessed with school-shootings and vengeance.

Cast:
Jim ….. Brian d’Arcy James
Prem ….. Ameet Chana
Ben ….. Hugo Docking

US Cast:
Ruth ….. Marsha Dietlein
Faith ….. Amanda Scot Ellis
Pastor McGiven ….. Tom Tammi
Kyle ….. Matt Bennett
Sheila ….. Janet Foster
News Anchor ….. John Leonard Thompson
Billy ….. Jacob Knoll
Harry ….. Craig Bockhorn
Casey/Waitress ….. Felicity Jones
Prison Priest ….. Miles Chapin

India Cast:
Rahul ….. Ankur Vikal
Amit …..Vijay Yadav
Amit’s mother ….. Ayesha Raza
Amit’s brother ….. Sagar Shinde
Welfare Officers ….. Veruschka Menon, Pushan Kripalani
Dr Khunna …… Shaikh Sami Usman
Factory Owner ….. Kenneth Desai
Factory Workers ….. Rupa Kasbe, Jyoti Reddy, Shabana Sheikh,
Rita John, Neeta Chavan, Eisy T. John, Pramod Yedke

UK Cast:
Fiona …. Natasha Little
Timms ….. Henry Goodman
Elgood ….. Francois Testory
Jones ….. Gethin Anthony
Psychologist ….. Kate Fitzgerald
Travel Agent ….. Joanne Ferguson
Heyward ….. Daniel Bridle
Boy …..Callum Francis

Production Team:
India Line Producer ….. Nadir Khan
Assistant Director ….. Tasneem Fatehi
India Sound ….. Ayush Ahuja

US Producer ….. David Rapkin
US Line Producer ….. Kim Moarefi
US Casting ….. Janet Foster
US Sound ….. Frederick Greenhaigh

UK Broadcast Assistant ….. Sarah Tombling
UK Production Assistant ….. Lucy Howe
Music ….. Sacha Puttnam

Producer/Director: John Dryden
A Goldhawk Essential Production for BBC Radio 4.

Our Captain Radio review this week is the immersive and innovative audio experience The Realm Unseen, an interactive story that might remind you of those wonderful “Choose Your Own Adventure” books.

Download audio file (rdr-podcast219.mp3)
Radio Drama Revival – Episode 219

Captain Radio Review: Cat Whackers!

captainradio — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 14:44:10 +0000

Graphic - FunGraphix.com | Theme music - Shane Lamb

Title: Cat Whackers!
Producer: Washington Audio Theater
Type: Comedy
Genre: Contemporary Social Farce
Availability: Free – Washington AudioTheater

Greetings, Audionauts! Captain Radio here with a review of Washington Audio Theater’s production of Cat Whackers!

Brian (voiced by Carlos Velazquez) lives a bitter-bitter sweet life in the DC area. His boring job as a male receptionist for a law firm does seem redeemed each evening when he returns to cuddle with his well-heeled girlfriend, Maria Fettucini (voiced by co-author Carla Boccella), in her Georgetown condo digs. That is, until Maria abruptly adds a furry and distempered third to the mix:

[AUDIO CUE]

Glum Brian retreats to the grubby garage bachelor pad of his lifetime best friend, Jake, a seedy barkeep and angling “onTRAPanoor”. Airing out his cat miseries to Jake, Brian unwittingly sparks a fearful chain of events:

[AUDIO CUE]

Apparently out of misplaced “concern” for his friend, Jake (played by Jeffrey Wendel), arranges a very bizarre “accident” for “Mr. Sinatra” that ultimately leaves Brian once more on sweet street with Maria.

As the guys celebrate later at Jake’s urban saloon, barfly Ralph (voiced by veteran talent Hugh Hill) overhears, and dark Fate seals the deal:

[AUDIO CUE]

Soon, Jake and Brian have a going Cat Whackers concern. However, as “orders” proliferate, “jobs” go awry:

[AUDIO CUE]

Mike Madden, co-author, director, and a DC criminal defense attorney by day, says that, since its 2010 launch, Washington Audio Theater has assembled a talented though motley crew of “lawyers, a sports announcer, a veteran voice actor of over three decades, a physician with a Shakespearan background, a psych nurse, and several young twenty-somethings whose employment is questionable at best”. All seem united to relieve the stress of DC by creating alternate personas.

Cat Whackers! characters as well seem unconsciously self-confined to a two-dimensional surface teeming with pop culture inferences. As Boccella observes, “The idea was to depict youthful characters locked into their own virtual realities created by their saturation with visual and social media.”

As the half-hour audio unfolds, we soon learn why Antonio (Hill again) refers to Maria’s poppa (actor Steve Ray) as Don Fettucini:

[AUDIO CUE]

So, perhaps you think you know where this PG-13-esque Prizzi’s Honor meets the Capital Mall Rats buddy farce is headed? Not likely!

However, Don Fettucini encourages you to listen to Cat Whackers! either at CaptainRadio.com’s Audio Drama Showcase or at Washington Audio Theater.com to discover the error of your estimate.

Consider it an offer … you can’t refuse.

Until next time, Audionauts, this is Captain Radio, signing off!

Download audio file (captain-radio-washington-audio-theater-cat-whackers-extended.mp3)

Captain Radio Reviews Cat Whackers! from Washington Audio Theater!

Episode 218 – John Dryden’s Severed Threads

Fred — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 19:51:59 +0000

This week we feature a spectacular original story of three lived intertwined by cheap labor in India… an exploration of the undertow of modern globalism and a test of the theory of degrees of separation… Penned by seasoned radio dramatist John Dryden, here is Severed Threads, originally commissioned by BBC Radio 4.

Play write-up:

Jim Nostrand, proprietor of Cheap Threads, a church-owned clothing firm in Minnesota, becomes the scapegoat when news-reports implicate the company in a child-labour scandal.

Four thousand miles away, in a boarding school in the British countryside, troubled twelve-year-old loner Ben, seems obsessed with school-shootings and vengeance.

In India, British/Asian journalist Prem Sharma is making a radio documentary for the BBC about children working in factories. But after rescuing a young boy and taking him back to his village, the reception he gets there is not what he expected.

Over three episodes, these three stories interweave and revolve around each other revealing connections and layers as they build to one climatic resolution.

Cast:
Jim ….. Brian d’Arcy James
Prem ….. Ameet Chana
Ben ….. Hugo Docking

US Cast:
Ruth ….. Marsha Dietlein
Faith ….. Amanda Scot Ellis
Pastor McGiven ….. Tom Tammi
Kyle ….. Matt Bennett
Sheila ….. Janet Foster
News Anchor ….. John Leonard Thompson
Billy ….. Jacob Knoll
Harry ….. Craig Bockhorn
Casey/Waitress ….. Felicity Jones
Prison Priest ….. Miles Chapin

India Cast:
Rahul ….. Ankur Vikal
Amit …..Vijay Yadav
Amit’s mother ….. Ayesha Raza
Amit’s brother ….. Sagar Shinde
Welfare Officers ….. Veruschka Menon, Pushan Kripalani
Dr Khunna …… Shaikh Sami Usman
Factory Owner ….. Kenneth Desai
Factory Workers ….. Rupa Kasbe, Jyoti Reddy, Shabana Sheikh,
Rita John, Neeta Chavan, Eisy T. John, Pramod Yedke

and children from the Akanksa Foundation, Mumbai

UK Cast:
Fiona …. Natasha Little
Timms ….. Henry Goodman
Elgood ….. Francois Testory
Jones ….. Gethin Anthony
Psychologist ….. Kate Fitzgerald
Travel Agent ….. Joanne Ferguson
Heyward ….. Daniel Bridle
Boy …..Callum Francis

Production Team:
India Line Producer ….. Nadir Khan
Assistant Director ….. Tasneem Fatehi
India Sound ….. Ayush Ahuja

US Producer ….. David Rapkin
US Line Producer ….. Kim Moarefi
US Casting ….. Janet Foster
US Sound ….. Frederick Greenhaigh

UK Broadcast Assistant ….. Sarah Tombling
UK Production Assistant ….. Lucy Howe
Music ….. Sacha Puttnam

Written and Directed by John Dryden
A Goldhawk Essential production for BBC Radio 4.

We also have Captain Radio again with a review of Cat Whackers by Washington Audio Theater, a new audio podcast so outrageous you have to listen to believe it.

Download audio file (rdr-podcast218.mp3)
Radio Drama Revival – Episode 218

Captain Radio Review: William’s Leap For Freedom

captainradio — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 14:18:56 +0000

Graphic - FunGraphix.com | Theme music - Shane Lamb

Title: William’s Leap For Freedom
Producer: SueMedia Productions
Type: Historical Drama
Genre: Biographical-Literary
Availability: Donation – SueMedia Productions / ZBS

Greetings, Audionauts – Captain Radio here with a review of SueMedia Productions’s William’s Leap For Freedom.

Within his lifetime, William Wells Brown became America’s first bonafide Black novelist, playwright, and travelogue. Now, thanks to a serendipitous collaboration, this self-made literary’s challenging and sometime’s unblinking drama, Leap For Freedom, becomes the focus of a distinguished independent audio production.

After successfully staging Dr. Cheryl Black’s original adaptation of the play for the 2008 Missouri History in Performance Theater, the Missouri State Historical Society approached veteran audio producer, Sue Zizza, who recognized the script’s audio potential. Zizza recruited director Renee Pringle and producer David Shinn to continue working with Dr. Black on a further audio adaptation for performance at the 2010 National Audio Theater Festival Workshop in West Plains, Missouri. That effort produced an emotional and essential recording about the ostensible Father of Black Literature in America.

Though the NATF audio features an imaginative dialog between Wells Brown and a prospective drama producer, followed by lively excerpted scenes from the play itself, it opens with intriguing detailed historical background narrated ably by host Dion Graham:

[AUDIO CUE]

Years after William became house playmate to his slave master’s son, the extended household moved to St. Louis where some slaves were “let out” to earn for the master as described here by Mirron E. Willis who enthusiastically and punctually voices Wells Brown:

[AUDIO CUE]

After many failed attempts to escape, Brown succeeded ironically on New Year’s Day, 1834. Then, following two decades as an underground railroad operator and outspoken abolitionist in both America and Europe, Wells Brown focused on producing his own dramas that highlighted contemporary American self-deception about racial bigotry, particularly among those of faith, as the following scene illustrates:

[AUDIO CUE]

Ralph Ellison devastatingly re-visited this Wells Brownian view of compartmentalized American racism in his 1953 National Book Award-winning novel, Invisible Man, just as American Blacks began non-violently to assert their national right to political, social, and economic freedom in modern society.

[AUDIO CUE]

The Audio Publishers Association (APA) nominated William’s Leap For Freedom for an Audie® Award in the category Best Original Work.

Final awards will be announced during the Audies® Gala in New York City’s TimesCenter, May 24^th, 2011.

You can listen now to William’s Leap For Freedom on the Audio Drama Showcase channel at captainradio.com or by visiting the production web site at prx.org, where radio stations can also obtain a copy for on-air broadcast.

Until next time, Audionauts, this is Captain Radio, signing off!

Download audio file (captain-radio-suemedia-productions-leap-for-freedom.mp3)

Captain Radio Reviews William’s Leap for Freedom from SueMedia Productions!

Captain Radio Review: 1918

captainradio — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 14:13:10 +0000

Graphic - FunGraphix.com | Theme music - Shane Lamb

Title: 1918
Producer: Aural Stage Studios
Type: Comedy/Drama
Genre: Action-Adventure
Availability: Free – 1918 Show Site

Greetings, Audionauts – Captain Radio here with a review of Aural Stage Studio’s initial production, 1918.

Toward the end of World War I, if an off-course alien armada’s spaceships randomly crashed around our globe and you suddenly acquired highly-advanced alien weapons, what might be your first instinct?

[AUDIO CUE]

To her credit, Evelyn Ceriwyn, a vaudevillian performer aversely transformed into a savvy femme fatale (and portrayed by equally versatile actress Robin Reed), more often remains clear-headed. However, her brainy Allied scientist sidekick, Henry Isotope (rendered with hilarious aplomb by classical thespian Patrick Pizzolorouso) seems nigh incapable of casting off his boy-in-a-toystore fixation with alien tech.

These two set out to recover and to unlock the mysterious power of the off-world Orbs, master control devices that respond only to interaction with Evelyn. Racing against them to extract the same secrets are Avery Pearson’s “Dr.Heffeweissensteinhagen,” Alyssa Simon’s “Frau Hera,” and a fearsome creature resurrected with alien technology.

Aural Stage Studios, created to help productions at all funding levels maintain professional audio quality, came together as a collaboration between sound designer Matthew Boudreau and his mentor, Mike de Almeida, the resident sound designer at State University of New York in Oswego.

When Matthew and actress/director, Samantha Mason, decided through Aural Stage Studios to produce an original feature, she introduced him to playwright/actor Richard Lovejoy who, in turn, suggested adapting his dormant spec television script for 1918.

Though Samantha might have thought her role in the deal done, ‘twas not. Swiftly drafted as Director, she demonstrated subtle skill overseeing that everyone did their job to the level of professional potential present across the actor and designer resumes. In particular, Matthew and Mike combined their skills to give the production a refreshing sense of aural depth and clarity and sonic seamlessness that make it an adventure to hear.

Lovejoy joins in his own mayhem, depicting deadpan Dr. Xavier Xanders, Isotope’s colleague and an unimpressed “Control” who must endure Isotope’s “Agent 86” antics as, here, the latter shows off one of his “toys” to Evelyn:

[AUDIO CUE]

Discovering The Order of the Horizon’s secret lab trashed, the three confront Abe Goldfarb’s sneering, malevolent automaton re-creation of someone quite familiar:

[AUDIO CUE]

With most of the relatively brief episode allotted to introduce story premise and style as well as principal characters, this first 1918 offering runs a bit light on presumable action. However, the final scene leaves the audience locked and loaded for plenty to follow.

[AUDIO CUE]

Chris Chappell’s alternatingly heroic, eerie, and poignant scoring complement well Lovejoy’s script which seems to strike a good balance between sci-fi drama/tension and comic relief. And Pizzolorouso’s frenetic Isotope briefly had me bemusing whether, in that alternate timeline, Ritalin should be sold over the counter.

Listen yourself to 1918, Episode One on the First Sound channel at captainradio.com or by visiting the production web site at 1918show.com. While there, be sure to catch the previews which tantalizingly hint at what’s to come in this quirky pleaser as new 10-minute episodes appear every two weeks.

Until next time, Audionauts, this is Captain Radio, signing off!

Download audio file (captain-radio-aural-stage-studios-1918.mp3)

Captain Radio reviews 1918 from Aural Stage Studios!

Captain Radio Review: Third Coast Live Theater

captainradio — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 15:09:20 +0000

Graphic – FunGraphix.com | Theme music – Shane Lamb

Title: Third Coast Live
Producer: Third Coast Live Theater
Type: Comedy
Genre: Variety/Spoof
Availability: Free – Third Coast Live Theater

Greetings, Audionauts – Captain Radio here with a look at …

[AUDIO CUE]

When founded by Barbara Turning in 2001, Third Coast Live Theater recorded compilations of “live” shows performed before appreciative audiences in cozy public Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas venues. Their “variety” format included music, spoofed commercials, and sketches in the style of Old-Time Radio greats, Bob and Ray. Listen as Jerry Houston’s character turns a hippy-dippy interview segment into a molasses river:

[AUDIO CUE]

Barbara recalls originally feeling “a little like we were so geekie and ‘unusual’”, though, in retrospect, she now feels more like a “pioneer” as classic audio comedy/drama has made its comeback through, first, web simulcasts, then broadcast streams, and, most recently, podcasts.

Gradually, the troop developed a voice and style all its own. By mid-decade Barbara had become a consummate networker, and one of her connections, San Francisco comedy writer Jim Cranna, encouraged TCL to push on full-steam with their popular modern culture spoofs.

In this 21^st century send-up of “Who’s on First?,” where the humor of Abbott and Costello seems to encounter that of Stan Freberg, “Robin”, a prospective computer buyer, founders hopelessly on what to most of us now would be familiar computer-related product names:

[AUDIO CUE]

The troop’s success producing original material in live performance peaked in 2005 in a fateful theatrical run, grimly referred to thereafter as the “Lakewood Event”. TCL booked a performance run at the lavishly restored 1930’s East Dallas Lakewood Theater, and, for the first time, entrusted event marketing to a third-party.

Unfortunately, the underwhelming marketing campaign drew paltry attendance. Barbara recalls bitter-sweetly a cast member receiving a C-Note tip from a prominent, and sympathetic, patron after one of their performances.

Recovering from disappointment and looking for a new heading, TCL migrated into sound studios. There they began producing scripted studio sketches which evolved to resemble current podcast audio comedy. Skits grew to scenes that eventually matured into full episodes featuring recurring lead characters. Most recently appeared investigator Dick Private and his sidekick, Jocko, portrayed by voice veterans Bob Magruder and Robin McGee. Excuse yourself if you experience Guy Noir déjà vu while listening, as Magruder’s character salivates out similes regarding the best “dish” in a seamy restaurant scene that cameos John William Gault as Jacques, a muddled maître d’:

[AUDIO CUE]

Encouraged professionally to tackle “Westerns,” another easily-spoofed genre, TCL will soon release its first tongue-in-cheek episodes of Frontier Notary and The Loan Arranger.

Meanwhile, with tentative backing from no less an audio production luminary than Yuri Rasovsky, Barbara Turning soon hopes to land grant money to write and to produce a compressed timeline docu-drama on the disenfranchised San Francisco area Native-American tribe, the Ohlones.

Hopefully, some of these sonic samples have left you …

[AUDIO CUE]

… so be sure to drop by your friendly neighborhood Third Coast Live Theater web site at thirdcoastlive.net.

Until next time, Audionauts, this is Captain Radio, signing off!

Download audio file (captain-radio-visits-third-coast-live-theater.mp3)

Captain Radio Visits Third Coast Live Theater!

Captain Radio Review: The [BLEEP] and the CEO

captainradio — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 14:02:01 +0000

Graphic – FunGraphix.com | Theme music – Shane Lamb

Title: The [BLEEP] and the CEO
Producer: Larisa Naples Productions
Type: Audio Drama
Genre: Horror – Humor
Availability: Free - Larisa Naples Productions

Greetings, Audionauts – Captain Radio here with a review of …

[AUDIO CLIP]

As the daughter of an international airport architect, Larisa Naples grew up a “Global Nomad” in touch with diverse landscapes and peoples. As an adult, she realized many Americans tend to digest their culture in chunks during down times at such places as airport lounges or rush hour “parking lots.” So, she recently launched Larisa Naples Productions to create “original audio-dramatic ear candy for people on the go.”

As her first “go” at “ear candy”, Larisa wrote, directed, and produced a low-key, tongue-in-cheek horror tale entitled …

[AUDIO CLIP]

In this macabre tale, Jun-Li, a professional [BLEEP], shows CEO “Mr. Bruce” an exceptionally fine and suspiciously cheap waterfront office condo. Asked why it’s still available, the [BLEEP] laughs and obliquely mentions silly ghost tales. As if cued, Dave, a homeless bon vivant and disenchanted sidewalk squatter outside the structure, confronts Bruce and urges him to pass on this one.

Good advice, but not taken.

Once his company occupies the space, Bruce’s entire staff deserts him rapidly after glancing his face. Dave re-appears, a fallen former CEO himself, to help sort out Bruce’s plight:

[AUDIO CLIP]

Bruce discovers a mini-mob of infected CEO’s, who previously leased the condo, now surrounds it with a cardboard ghetto. They believe that Jun-Li uses the “ghosts” therein to make them public pariah, while she uses the computers inside slowly to empty their bank accounts.

Bruce and Ajeet, the callous CEO who apparently jump-started the morbid cycle, determine that one ghost engineer with a chilling, disembodied computer voice maintains a special “latchkey” computer program that keeps them all trapped:

[AUDIO CLIP]

After more, sometimes fatal, plot twists, interspersed with not a little social parody, Bruce hits on an outrageous and desperate scheme that will either free them all from the demonic presence … or kill them all, one-by-one.

Despite being a first effort, Larisa strives diligently for good production values. Both the plot and the acting in this necessarily slightly over-the-top “ear candy” chunk trilogy prove to be entertaining.

While Larisa acknowledges she plans to do some technical things differently after her first outing, she swears on a swarm of [BLEEP] locking boxes never ever again to use any trademarked keywords in her production titles, something done inadvertently here.

Shortly after her free-to-listen drama episodes appeared online, a very high-profile national association suddenly bore elephant-gun-to-fly pressure on Larisa. She was ordered to remove the [BLEEP] term from her drama title, her web site and domain, and any other associated materials.

Perhaps more troubling than this, two equally high-profile organizations outspokenly committed in public to defend civil/Constitutional or Internet freedoms both passed on helping Larisa.

Apparently deeply concerned about the impact of aggressive trademark litigation practices on small business, in March, 2010, Congress directed the Secretary of Commerce to canvass the public for anecdotal reports of such and thereafter recommend how to deal with them. To learn more about this recent government initiative, please visit the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office study web site.

You can listen to all three episodes of …

[AUDIO CLIP]

… by visiting the First Sound channel at captainradio.com. Also, please visit larisanaples.com to learn more about her “ear candy” productions.

Until next time, Audionauts, this is Captain Radio, signing off!

Download audio file (capt-radio-larisa-naples-the-bleep-and-the-ceo.mp3)

Captain Radio Reviews The [BLEEP] and the CEO from Larisa Naples Productions

Episode 213 – Ludlov the Witch Hunter Tells His Tale

Fred — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 00:32:37 +0000

This week we move to the next chapter of “Sci Fi February” with the blazingly awesome gothic tale, The Witch Hunter Chronicles.

In the Witch Hunter Chronicles, we meet Ludlov, who is, well, a witch hunter. However, his real motivation is destroy a cult called the Black Sickle and he is willing to defy his order in his quest to fight real evil. All of this conviction is put to the test when he meets a witch who is more a healer than a child stealer.

What can I say? The work is well produced, brilliantly scored and awesomely gothic. One of the most exciting new shows I’ve heard in a while and what I hope is an example of a burgeoning new scene in Belgium.

This week’s review is Captain Radio who sent me into tears with his review of the BLEEP and the Ceo by Larisa Naples.

Download audio file (rdr-podcast213.mp3)
Radio Drama Revival – Episode 213

Captain Radio Review: Spirit Blade: Special Edition

captainradio — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 14:00:16 +0000

Graphic – FunGraphix.com | Theme music – Shane Lamb

Title: Spirit Blade: Special Edition
Producer: Spirit Blade Productions
Type: Audio Drama
Genre: Sci-Fi
Availability: Paid – Spirit Blade Productions

Greetings, Audionauts – Captain Radio here with a review of Spirit Blade: Special Edition.

[AUDIO CLIP]

And there you have a taste of the sonic excitement of Dark Ritual, the second installment of Paeter Frandsen’s Spirit Blade Trilogy.

This scintillating, edgy PG-13 Christian-oriented sci-fi fantasy series follows the harrowing exploits of Merikk Venndarius, initially a disillusioned, self-doubting “one-hit” musician who very reluctantly is transformed into Merikk Scythe, the leader of the Underground Liberation. These futuristic Seekers of absolute truth find themselves outcast by a world dominated by deadly deceit, unbelievable technology, corporate power-mongers, mysterious “helpful” aliens, and plenty of soul-ravening demons. Hopelessly outnumbered by enemies and constantly on the run, Merikk and his small band of Seekers desperately attempt to recover the ultimate talisman to defeat Evil, the Spirit Blade, Frandsen’s cognate of Arthur’s enchanted Excalibur.

While creating Dark Ritual, Frandsen sensed his self-taught audio production skills had rapidly matured from the 2006 release of the original Spirit Blade installment. Audiences seemed to agree, reacting to the sequel as “the stronger” of the two productions. Thereafter, when Frandsen began work on Pilgrim’s Progress: Similitude of a Dream, he realized that this third effort would not exceed Dark Ritual in production quality. As Frandsen puts it, his skills had “leveled out to some degree.”

Frandsen then felt genuine concern that his production company’s eponymous flagship effort might likely be perceived by new listeners as less-polished than his subsequent work.

Mega-movie producer George Lucas could empathize. While producing the first of three Star Wars pre-quels beginning in the mid-90’s, Lucas decided to drop an extra $15 million on spiffing up the original three chronological productions. A disproportionate two-thirds of this sum went into upgrading the 1977 Star Wars. He re-released the trio as the Star Wars Trilogy Special Edition in 1997.

Determined to re-vitalize his own first installment of the Spirit Blade Trilogy, Frandsen returned to his production studio in Mesa, AZ, where he updated the musical score, remixed soundtrack songs, and added both new dialog and sound effects. Listen to a few before-and-after re-mastering samples:

[AUDIO CLIP]

While the Captain has not heard the original Spirit Blade in its entirety, after listening to both the new re-mix, then moving immediately into scenes from Dark Ritual, he can affirm for you, Audionauts, that Frandsen invested his redux time … well.

Both new and original fans should definitely check out Spirit Blade: Special Edition, the smart new first installment of the Spirit Blade Trilogy at spiritblade.net.

You can hear Prophecy, the full first track of Spirit Blade: Special Edition, on the Audio Drama Showcase channel at captainradio.com.

Also, be sure to listen to a sampling of Dark Ritual episodes here at Radio Drama Revival. Just search for “Spirit Blade”.

Until next time, Audionauts, …

[AUDIO CLIP]

… stay sharp! This is Captain Radio, signing off!

Download audio file (capt-radio-spirit-blade-special-edition.mp3)

Captain Radio Reviews Spirit Blade: Special Edition, the re-mastered first installment of the Spirit Blade Trilogy from Spirit Blade Productions

Coming Soon: Firesign Theatre’s Duke of Madness Motors

Fred — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 15:13:37 +0000

Exciting news for Firesign Theatre fans! Via “Snook” -

The Firesign Theatre and Seeland Records is proud to present DUKE OF MADNESS MOTORS, the long-awaited ultra-comprehensive “Dear Friends” radio reissue that fans have been dreaming of for decades: http://www.firesigntheatre.com/domm/index.html

DUKE OF MADNESS MOTORS is the ultimate box-less boxed set of Firesign’s complete broadcast output for the years 1970-1972, when they were blowing minds on Los Angeles radio with The Firesign Theatre Radio Hour Hour, Dear Friends, and Let’s Eat. Our reissue package is nothing less than the complete history of the period in one 108-page book and one DVD-ROM of MP3 data. The book contains an 8000-word historical essay, new interviews with Firesign and their producer and engineer, complete show rundowns, original scripts, vintage Phil Proctor photocollages, found objects and much more. Meanwhile the DVD-ROM is a data disk containing every show of the era, fully restored and remastered, encoded to MP3 – over 80 hours in all. Dump to your hard drive and let the fun begin.

DUKE OF MADNESS MOTORS will be available in stores starting February 15 – but if you pre-order now directly from the Firesign Theatre, we’ll ship you a copy the moment we get them from the printer, possibly as early as the beginning of January. It’s a limited print run and there’s gotta be more than a thousand of you Fireheads still alive and salivating for one of these babies, so act soon! One book-plus-DVD costs just $45 postage paid to the U.S. and Canada, or $50 post paid worldwide (we accept PayPal, credit cards, checks, or well-concealed cash). To order, just go to www.firesigntheatre.com, where you can also hear audio samples, take a peek inside the book, and read two rambling essays from your faithful Firesign archivist demonstrating the depth of his obsession as exemplified by his tragic proclivity for crate-digging and bunker-diving over the last ten years.

THIS MEDIA BLITZ IS WORD-OF-MOUTH ONLY, SO IF YOU KNOW A FIREHEAD – PASS IT ON!

If you’re a Firesign Theatre fan, you don’t need to be told more. If you’re not, order this, and prepare to be blown away!

Captain Radio Review: Saint Joan

captainradio — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 15:11:46 +0000

Title: Saint Joan
Author: George Bernard Shaw
Producer: Hollywood Theater of the Ear
Type: Audio Drama
Genre: Drama
Availability: Paid – Blackstone Audiobooks

Captain Radio here with a review of Hollywood Theater of the Ear’s 2010 production of Saint Joan by George Bernard Shaw.

Seeking reparations with his audience after alienating many through his outspoken pacifism during World War I, prodigious Irish playwright Shaw quietly staged a New York road-test premier of Saint Joan as 1923 came to a close.

Three months thereafter, the play opened in London to acclaim and featured distinguished actress and close friend for whom he personally wrote the lead role, Sybil Thorndike.

Now gifted audio drama director YURI RASOVSKY artfully melds the talents of actress AMY IRVING, as the gung-ho French farm maiden-turned-warrior by the “voices” in her head, to those of a veteran male cast to bring us a fresh and energetic revival.

Rasovsky again displays seemingly effortless skill in translating a lengthy theatrical piece to intriguing audio drama.

For example, note how he has Narrator John Lee deftly set both scene and character aspect:

[AUDIO CLIP]

In his preface to Saint Joan (nearly as long as the play), Shaw insists the work contains no villains, only patriarchitypes – unwitting but darkly sincere in defending the end of their feudal age – and precocious Joan, the sudden spectacular cometary come to catalyze what must be.

The men view Joan as an astonishingly disrespectful teenager and likely heretic, perhaps even a sorceress, who, unfortunately, gets the dirty work done they cannot. Eventually, they will betray her.

In this scene in the Rheymes Cathedral following the “miracle” coronation of Charles the VII, Irving’s maid uncompromisingly reveals to these defiant feudal lords, as well as a fearful church prelate, the extent of their blindness:

[AUDIO CLIP]

Author/critic T.S. Elliott observed that, although the play was not the masterpiece some claimed it to be, it “seems to illustrate Mr. Shaw’s mind more clearly than anything he has written before.”

Rasovsky’s highly competent and satisfying effort, then, represents both an excellent introduction to Shaw and a stand-out performance.

Hollywood Theater of the Ear’s production of George Bernard Shaw’s Saint Joan is available online at BlackstoneAudio.com.

Until next time, Audionauts – this is Captain Radio, signing off!

Download audio file (capt-radio-saint-joan.mp3)

Editor’s Note: This is a really, really good production. We encourage you check it out. Also see our interview with Yuri Rasovsky where he talked about casting this production.

Sound Design How To Video: Dreadgloom Swamp Scene from Spirit Blade

Fred — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 19:40:31 +0000

Another great sound design video via Paeter from Spirit Blade Productions.

He explains how they created the “Dreadgloom Swamp” sequence from the audio drama “Pilgrim’s Progress: Similitude Of A Dream”!

Says Paeter:

I’ve been asked multiple times exactly how this sequence was created, given all of the water involved. It was easily one of the most challenging to record! (But still a lot of fun as evidenced by the video.) And for the first time you can see how it was done!

Don’t miss his previous video, Making A Dragon SFX, or our feature of his show from a year ago

So You Wanna Create a Radio Drama?

Fred — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 03:09:58 +0000

The (Increasingly) Definitive Resource List for Aspiring Audio Dramaturges

Interested in writing, directing, or producing radio drama? Then, grab a mic and a recorder and get going – nearly everybody in this field is producing it themselves. There are less than a handful of paying gigs for this kind of work out there, and if you want to make it, you better believe you’ll have to earn your stripes producing on your own first.

The fun part about this challenge, however, is that you CAN produce on your own, and create quality audio drama for much less money than you’d think. As a showcase of quality radio drama for over four years, Radio Drama Revival has collected this list of resources by top radio drama producers so that you, too, can get your start in radio drama.

Hey, and when you got something to show for it, submit your show to us, okay?

Step 1: The Radio Drama Script

Writing for radio is very different than other medium. Your tools are limited – voices, sound effects, and music – but your palette is limitless – the human imagination.

A good script is the heart of quality radio drama, in fact, it is the only thing that makes a radio drama worth producing.

Resources:

Writing for Audio Theatre – a splendid essay by Roger Gregg
Tony Palermo’s Towards a Radio Drama 101 – not about radio drama writing, specifically, but an invaluable resource about learning the craft for the first time
Tony Palermo’s Radio Drama Script template for MS Word. I use this to this day.
Tim Crook’s Principles of Writing Radio Drama
BBC Writer’s Room Guidelines
Yuri Rasovsky on the audio drama text

Step 2: Pre-Production

OK, you’ve got a hot, killer script in your hands, a blueprint for the next “Sorry, Wrong Number” waiting to happen, and now you want to take it to the next step. As anyone in film will tell you, minutes spent in pre-production will save you hours later. Planning is everything.

Resources:

Yuri Rasovsky’s Well Tempered Audio Dramatist is the single most valuable resource I can think of for this aspect of the art – covering everything from why you need a production assistant, what you should look for in casting, and even some tips on directing actors.
Tony Palermo also has a nice resource on starting a radio drama troupe

Casting if you’ve never casted before can be hard. For FinalRune’s early plays, I started putting posters up around at my college, which got a few people through the door… On each subsequent production I knew a bit more about what I wanted from each of the actors, and I also started attending more plays, and being introduced to more actors working professionally, which lead me to be comfortable inviting specific people to be in my shows. Now I even write with a specific person’s voice in mind.

Step 3: Producing the Radio Drama

Here’s the hard part… You’ve got actors in a room, you’ve got a script, now how the heck do you make the thing a radio drama?!

Luckily, this area is rich with resources because nearly any sound-recording article, regardless of being radio drama specific or not, can help you out. There are basically four methods of recording a radio drama:

1 – Recorded in a Studio

The traditional way of recording a radio drama involves actors, one or more microphones, and a device that’s either recording the dialogue or broadcasting it live as you’re saying your lines.

Yuri Ravosky’s WTAD has a nice section on studio production
Charlie Potter’s essay on The Role of The Director in Radio is a nice take on what you should be doing on-set

2 – Recorded Live Before an Audience

You have a bunch of actors on a stage, and they are performing for a live audience, and perhaps a listening audience as well (I’ve never really seen the point in performing a radio play to a live audience without a listening audience, but that’s another story…).

This is perhaps the most complex form of recording, because you need to account for a variety of mics (up to 4 for the performers, 2 or more for sound effects, then you’ve got live music, perhaps, and probably a computer for supplementary sound effects).

Tony Palermo’s Radio Drama Live On-Stage has a brilliant write-up of the overall process
Of course, you’re going to need sounds, lots of sounds! Tony Palermo also has some great articles on creating sound effects props – as does Roger Gregg

3 – Recorded Remotely

This is a fantastically innovative new production method, whereas producers collaborate with voice actors around the globe who record lines independently and then mix them together in post-production to create the final product. I’ve heard of some groups who do this via live Skype sessions, so that actors can still act “against” each other, though others have voice actors record completely independently.

Here’s a cool presentation by Richard Elen, who presented this talk at OpenTech 2009 on producing “Radio Drama At A Distance” using Skype:

Radio Drama At A Distance

View more presentations from Richard Elen.

Here are some comments from listeners who have written in to me since this article was originally published.

This is from Elaine:

We make extensive use of yahoogroups as well as Facebook for communication, casting calls, etc. There’s a lot of collaboration acting wise. VAs often work for multiple companies. It’s all volunteer, of course … In general, we also make a lot of use of skype. We don’t normally record lines there but I personally sometimes will get a couple of my actors together to run through a scene and bounce lines and improv off of.

We each have headphones and our mics on and I then have my actors zip up the files and email them over to me. Most people use Adobe Audition (what I also use to mix with), Audacity, or Goldwave to record with. I’ll also use that skype method for the recording of episode commentaries where I get a couple of my actors and we listen to a previously released episode and comment on it much like Hollywood does with DVD movie commentaries.

There’s also an audioauditions@yahoogroups.com group that’s a great resource for VA’s looking to get involved with audiodrama. Most of the companies post casting calls to it as well as their own yahoo groups. Also, another great place that’s a resource and supporter of the audiodrama community is the Sonic Society. Jack Ward and Shannon Hilchie are great about featuring audiodramas from the different companies on the net on their live radio broadcasts.

The internet audiodrama community is alive and kicking and we’re always looking to welcome anyone interested.

We have most of the contact information of the people who are making this stuff happen. Contact us if you want to get hooked up.

We also got this feedback from Fiona:

You asked for links to resources on making audio dramas remotely. I’m sure there are many other resources, but some that spring to mind are:

Rob Paterson’s Audio Dojo – particularly Episode 4 – Making Satellite Audio Drama
http://kungfuactiontheatre.com/?cat=14

Julie Hoverson’s Tone Didactic – an audio blog on aspects of satellite audio drama
http://nineteennocturne.libsyn.com/

There is a lot of discussion on and tips on remote recording on the Audio Drama Talk Forums:
http://www.audiodramatalk.com/index.php

Jeffrey Bridges of Pendant Productions has written an in-depth account of his group’s process, stage by stage at his blog here:
http://mrpendant.blogspot.com/2008/04/life-of-pendant-show.html

I wrote a beginner’s guide to voice acting for satellite productions in Radioplay Magazine episode 4
http://radioplaycontests.com/mag/ and there are several other articles in other issues on the subject of satellite audio by producers.

4 – Recorded on Location

Ahhh, now here’s adventure. Instead of recording in the confines of a studio, why not let the world BECOME your studio? That’s the principle of field recording – taking gear, and actors, with you somewhere and record your drama as if it were happening in that real-world situation.

FinalRune Productions has a nice guide on field recording on the cheap
Remote Recording Survival Guide by Tom Lopez of ZBS
Transom Tools has lots of good reviews of field recording gear on the market
AIR has a nice guide on How to Mic a Field Interview which has a lot in common with how you’d mic actors
Vermont Folk Life Center also has a excellent resource list of field recording gear. They bash the Zoom-line of inexpensive field recorders, but I still like ‘em
Rode has some nice videos on doing location recording – aimed at fans of their (excellent) mics

Step 4: Post-Production

OK!!! Now you have a bunch of audio tracks, now it’s time to turn them into an actual audio drama. This requires you learning a post-production tool – Audacity, Reaper, Audition and ProTools all come to mind – and getting comfortable with how to turn your work into a broadcast-ready WAV or MP3 file (let’s not talk about .AAC, okay?)

AUDACITY Skillz – The name is goofy, but this is a straightforward guide to using the free program Audacity to create a multitrack audio production
TRANSOM has a nice guide on post-production using Reaper
The best guide I could find for Pro Tools is this guide to sound editing for Film – article idea, baby!
Oh, here’s one – Voice Editing with Pro Tools – for the defunct “Free” version, but the principles are still sound

For the life of me I couldn’t find any good guides to using Adobe Audition for dramatized work. To be honest, I use it for everything (including production of Radio Drama Revival) even though I have Pro Tools 8, Adobe Audition is way faster at most things and Version 3 is very intuitive. I’ll write that article, too, and be back to you with it…

From the “Giggles” section, here Paeter of Spirit Blade shows us how to create a “Dragon” using post production software

This section to expand as I dig up more articles on sound effects, sound design, etc…

Step 5: Releasing it to the World

OK! You got a brilliant, produced piece! Here’s what to do next

Go introduce yourself on AudioDramaTalk.com
Acquaint yourself with this podcast as well as The Sonic Society
Build your own, easily Googley indexed WordPress page, podcast your show with PowerPress and promote it using SEO and social media

Keeping the Revival Going

Did I overlook something? Have questions? Let me know what you’re thinking in the comments and as we start talking maybe we’ll start building a new text, you and me.

Leviathan Chronicles Special Edition Episodes Now Available

Fred — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 11:58:07 +0000

Exciting audio news this week. The creators of the Leviathan Chronicles have released two special edition episodes available as pay-per-download on their website.

This is an enormous amount of content available for a shockingly low price of $1.99 per download. From the horses mouth:

Internal Affairs is the longest and most epic episode we’ve ever created. Clocking in at almost two hours, it is the length of a feature film. Internal Affairs is a self-contained, action packed story focused on The Blackdoor Group which chronicles the aftermath of the shootout in Sanctuary. In this episode, you’ll learn the ultimate fate the SSN Dakota and get a peek into the beginning of Season 2. I’ve never been prouder of an episode we’ve released.

The Dramatist is the second episode we’re releasing today . Written by Nobi Nakanishi, The Dramatist is a character driven, noir piece set in the 1930s in old Hollywood. It gives a glimpse into the origins of the immortal rebellion and how the population was forced to pick sides. The crew at Silver Sound did an amazing job creating an authentic period feel for the episode while still maintaining the kickass technology that makes Leviathan so slick.

Now, the content alone should be enough of a driving force to get you to buy these – without gushing too much, let me say that Leviathan is easily the most epic and well produced independent audio production I’ve ever heard. For a taste of it, listen to our feature last April.

Top-notch production values, a talented cast, and kick-ass music do not come free, my friends, and it’s totally nutty that the entire first season was released for free, and that they’ve only started monetizing it now… So, if you love this awesome audio, I hope you’ll treat yourself to some more and give the Leviathan Special Editions episodes a listen.

Download audio file (The_Leviathan_Chronicles_Internal_Affairs_Trailer.mp3)

Episode 197 – The Train of Horror Crosses International Falls and Arrives at the Bloody Pacific

Fred — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 19:59:14 +0000

This week we feature a thrilling Halloween special with back-to-back horror including works from the Icebox Radio Theater and the Willamette Radio Workshop.

These are the last two stops on our Halloween penultimate event – the six-hour live radio drama fest called Transcontinental Terror.

First, Icebox introduces us to a pair of teenage girls whose relationship starts to… well, suck, in a story of teenage vampires unlike anything you’ve ever heard.

Then, Sam Mowry of the WRW renders us a spooktacular version of the classic Lovecraft tale “The Outsider,” with delicious soundscape thanks to Joe Medina and others.

Stay tuned for the main event!

Download audio file (rdr-podcast197.mp3)
Radio Drama Revival – Episode 197

BBC Radio 4 Airs “Severed Threads” – FinalRune Featured in BBC Blog

Fred — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 15:02:38 +0000

Wow! Lots of exciting news here. So, as you might remember, I had the great pleasure of working with BBC Director John Dryden in New York City this past August. His new show, “Severed Threads” airs at last, and you’ll be able to hear it on BBC Radio 4′s Afternoon Play slot over the next three days.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00vvx21

I also got the great opportunity to actually be FEATURED on the BBC Radio 4 Blog, yeah!

Here’s a clip of what I had to say about recording on location with John Dryden in NYC:

Recording on location requires nerves of steel – keeping your cool when cars drive by, airplanes take off overhead, dogs bark incessantly or a foghorn goes off. Or, as in the case of our trip to suburban New Jersey, when an army of gardeners with high decibel equipment shows up in the middle of the session. Juggling an uncontrollable, noisy world with the needs of a large cast and production crew seems a way to drive yourself insane.

And maybe it does. But for John Dryden – who kept a good attitude and smiled through the most stressful parts of recording – maybe it’s also the knowledge that all the trouble is worth it.

In case there was any doubt… Here’s a clip of us recording in a New York City apartment:

Stay tuned to the Afternoon Play this week for more Severed Threads!

Making Dragons

Fred — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 23:56:20 +0000

Hey would-be sound designers! Educational – and quite funny – video on creating dragon sound effects by Paeter of Spirit Blade Productions (who we featured last January)

This is great stuff, if you’ve heard Spirit Blade you know he always has top notch sounds, and as you can tell from the pics of his recording setup, he’s one of us working in a well supplied home studio (no ProTools HD rigs here!)

Sounds for Soldiers Needs Your Help!

Fred — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 00:43:32 +0000

Via Jeff Adams at Sound Stages Radio:

Sounds for Soldiers, the project by audio theater producers all over the world to send 10,000 MP3 CD’s to men and women serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, continues to inch upward on the Pepsi Refresh project.

To remind everyone, that’s a grant Pepsi pays out to worthy causes IF they are voted in the top-ten of their category in an online poll. Everyone can vote once a day, either on the Pepsi Refresh site or by texting the number 101175 to the text number 73774.

Early in the week, we were at 184th. Then we jumped to 87th. Yesterday, we were 79th, and today we’ve climbed to 75th. That means were heading in the right direction, but going pretty slowly. The voting continues until August 31st.

Remember, this is not a “I’ll get there next week and vote,” thing – it’s a “I’ll go their EVERY DAY and vote thing.” Do it at breakfast, do it at dinner, do it as you sit down to surf the web in the evening, just do it! And the other thing? Tell your friends. Forward this message to your email list. Let everyone know.

This idea was originally put forth by veterans who told us men and women serving in forward areas depend on iPods to relax in the middle of the impossibility of combat. That’s the idea, helping the people who are helping us in a very small way.

Now you can donate from your own pocket at http://www.sounds4soldiers.org, but if you don’t want to give money, just vote daily in the Pepsi refresh project. Thanks for your time.

This is a very worthy cause, so cast your votes now!

Episode 180 – FinalRune’s Stony Troll, and ZBS’ Brass Fantabulous

Fred — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 02:50:46 +0000

Well, call it a festival of short-form audio fiction. This week we hear the first serialized episode of FinalRune’s new tale, The Troll of Stony Brook, an exciting completely original audio drama that makes it out to the world and to your ears first.

Stay tuned all this month for additional episodes of the new show, or head to FinalRune to purchase the whole show now (for the ridiculously low price of $2.99).

We follow up with two parts of ZBS’ steamy new show, Lady Windermere’s Brass Fantabulous, which you saw earlier in the YouTube form and with a really bad ass mug.

So, let’s enjoy this excellent work. Just don’t ask me about the mysterious latin music in the background.

Download audio file (rdr-podcast180.mp3)
Download Radio Drama Revival – Episode 180

Steampunk Dreams over at ZBS

Fred — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 13:14:26 +0000

What utter joy this morning to open my mailbox and find a little gift from ZBS, one of their new, heavy-duty, industrial strength steampunk state of mind mugs:

Mm… delicious, organic green tea goodness.

This make seem passed the point of utter geekiness, but in my house we are serious mug fanatics and most of the hot-beverage vessels that pass through the door end up on their way to goodwill because they fail to meet the important criteria of superior lip feel, heat retention, heft and general sense of zen when sipping your morning brew.

My report is that the ZBS mug meets and exceeds all criteria and will have a honored space on my writing desk for years to come (no, I was not paid to say that, and you can buy the mug yourself here).

I also just ordered one of their spankin’ new Jack Flanders tees. What can we say? Things are steamy:

To whet your appetite for steaminess, here’s Landy Windemere’s Brass Fantabulous, episode 5, courtesy of YouTube. We’ll be featuring this production on the ‘pod soon:

Creator of “Inner Sanctum” and “CBS Radio Mystery Theater” Dies at 99

Fred — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 14:59:21 +0000

In memory today for Hiram Brown, a virtuoso of radio who created some of the most memorable and enduring radio dramas, including the incredibly creepy “Inner Sanctum” and, later, “CBS Radio Mystery Theater” (which served to haunt and inspire a new generation of listeners, such as the creators of The Grist Mill)

The New York Times reports:

While radio dramas are now celebrated as wistful nostalgia by people in their 70s and 80s, Mr. Brown never stopped believing in the form. In 1974, when radio drama was all but extinct, he began a nightly series called CBS Radio Mystery Theater that ran until 1982 and even revived the creaking door. He continued to produce radio dramas about influential Americans into his 90s for Brooklyn College’s station.

“I am firmly convinced that nothing visual can touch audio,” Mr. Brown said in a 2003 interview, his eyes sparkling. “I don’t need 200 orchestra players doing the ‘Ride of the Valkyries.’ I don’t need car chases. I don’t need mayhem. All I need to do is creak the door open, and visually your head begins to go. The magic word is imagination.”

While some of the greats from the Old Time era are no longer with us, we’re here to report that imagination is working better than ever! Rest in peace, Mr. Brown.

Episode 176 – Going Beyond 2000 to a World of Robots

Fred — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 02:53:49 +0000

This week we feature the work of another major name in audio drama – Yuri Rasovsky, a luminary who as of last week boasts two new Audies in a belt well studded with audio awards. If you’ve never heard the work of “El Fiendo,” well, you’re in for a treat.

I raved about his work in my gushing review of his rendition of The Maltese Falcon – other splendid dramatizations of his include The Odyssey, The Orestaia, Ben Franklin on Craven Street, Sweeney Todd and the String of Pearls, and much more.

Today’s focus is from the series Beyond 2000, which originally aired on NPR – oh yes, that NPR, in what was clearly a different era for radio drama.

The story is RUR – Rossum’s Universal Robots – which was first performed in Prague in 1921. It asks the question, which has haunted the science fiction world ever since: What does the creation of an artificial life form mean for the fate of humankind?

Download audio file (rdr-podcast176.mp3)
Download Radio Drama Revival – Episode 176 (MP3)

Like this? There are MANY more titles available on Audible (search 2000x). Also, check out Yuri’s site for more about the different episodes: http://www.irasov.com/future.htm

Episode 174 – Norman Corwin’s Curse of 589

Fred — Fri, 21 May 2010 19:08:19 +0000

This week we continue our celebration of Norman Corwin, audio luminary, poet laureate of radio.

We skip ahead from the Golden Age of Radio to recent memory – a series he ran sponsored by NPR called “More by Corwin.” This was all produced live with celebrity actors including, no joke, William Shatner!

Fun stuff. Enjoy this delightful tale, “The Curse of 589″ about the most classic conflict – science and magical creatures.

Download audio file (rdr-podcast174.mp3)

BBC Reaffirms Commitment to Radio Drama

Fred — Wed, 05 May 2010 02:43:25 +0000

To follow up on our coverage of BBC announcing the end of the Friday play, today it was reported that the BBC has made a commitment to keeping radio drama free from cuts for the near future.

The Stage News quotes BBC head of radio drama Alison Hindell as saying:

We are still the biggest broadcaster of radio drama in the world by miles and make hundreds and hundreds of titles – a claim that Hollywood can’t make. We now have to say, let’s guard that stronghold. And part of my job is to protect that.

So, not as dire a prediction as some fans felt after the Friday Play disappeared, but still not quite the moment to break out the champagne.

Still, as Roger Gregg pointed out last we chatted, radio drama’s only sustainable way to survive (at least on broadcast radio) is to adapt to new listening habits and become accessible to the iPod generation.

One podcast at a time

New Steampunk Audio Drama / Video from ZBS

Fred — Mon, 03 May 2010 17:41:00 +0000

Hot from Tom Lopez of ZBS comes this YouTube’ified steampunk audio drama… of Lady Windemere’s Brass Fantabulous:

A Steampunk State of Mind from ZBS Foundation on Vimeo.

Why not the French, right?

Curious what you all think of this audio story slideshow mashup.

New Dramatized Poetry by Roger Gregg – And Comments on BBC Radio Drama

Fred — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 02:29:19 +0000

Fresh from Ireland, a cool new video from a new show, ‘THE BEE-LOUD GLADE: A Living Anthology of Contemporary Irish Poetry,’ with music by Roger Gregg & Crazy Dog Audio Theatre.

Meanwhile, I solicited some pretty candid comments from Roger about the news regarding BBC radio drama:

Behind all this is the well-entrenched paradigm which has been embraced since the year dot over here.

Namely that ‘Radio Drama’ is Theatre on the radio and that ‘theatre’ must always come in the form of ‘plays’.

‘Plays’ are presented in long formats, 90 minutes, an hour, 45 minutes.

Half hour things are ‘Light Entertainment’ or half-hour or less slot ‘Serials’ such as the Archers [which I think is around the 15 minute mark]. … The Radio Networks do the research and time and time again it comes back to them that relatively NO ONE listens to the long-form ‘drama’ – go over half an hour and the numbers go down…down…after 45 minutes down…down…over that .. down …down… gone.

But since ‘Theatre’ and ‘Drama’ MUST always in their paradigm be about presenting ‘Plays’ they are stuck.

I don’t know how many times I’ve banged the drum for SHORT slots citing the wonderful success Dirk Maggs achieved with
so much of his BBC Radio 2 adventure series. Daily in short segments, an omnibus on the weekends and if and when a CD is released or it’s put up on the internet, then you can connect all the daily segments together with discrete track i.d.s between each segment for easy cueing. I have said this in writing to RTE and Radio 2 as well as suggested in writing to a couple of the independent stations,
but NO ONE is interested.

The emprical marketing and listening pattern research is there. Time and time again the statistics and conclusions therefrom are plain to see. Station Programmers meticulously study this data and have adapted old and created new highly successful programming and
styles and modes of presentation.

YET the bastion of ‘Radio Drama’ remains impervious to this. This is one reason why they do themselves no favours and are often regarded as the hindbound nuisance in stations compelled to produce drama.

Youch! Hard truths but worth meditating on. I know that plenty of people listen to long-form drama – on demand – but on broadcast radio it’s a whole different beast.

Roger’s comments bring Tom Lopez’s work on 2 Minute Film Noir, indeed, his work with Ruby and Jack Flanders being released as ongoing serialized shorts. In an environment where attention spans are short and time is precious, less is more.

Wall Street Journal Features FinalRune Productions!!!

Fred — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 07:00:19 +0000

What can I say, I’m giddy beyond words.

My own audio drama group, FinalRune Productions, was featured in the Wall Street Journal on February 25, 2010.

The article, entitled “Return With Us to the Thrilling Days Of Yesteryear—Via the Internet,” heavily focused on FinalRune’s signature field recording style and director Fred Greenhalgh’s passion for reviving audio drama in an age of the iPod.

I’ll let the article speak for itself, and wait, there’s more… great video!!!

New Audio Tribute to Nikola Tesla

Fred — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 18:38:24 +0000

Another exciting release in the world of audio drama land. Our friend Patience Wieland aka @Noirdame has helped to announce a new work that, well, we’ll let her talk about in her own words:

NoirDame.com is pleased to present the world premiere of Tesla vs. The United States, released online on Thursday, January 7, 2010 — the anniversary of the passing of brilliant and eccentric inventor, Nikola Tesla.

Tesla is the central figure in this radio drama – and a central figure in the development of radio – famed for his innovations and inventions, including a legendary, rumored “death ray”. The drama takes place in 1943, shortly after Tesla’s death, and provides a fascinating, historical mix of business intrigue, time travel and suspense. Who really invented radio? What ghostly figure influenced Tesla in his last days? And why did the FBI take away so many of Tesla’s papers?

“Tesla vs. The United States” was written by playwright Charles Moster, whose plays have been carried over National Public Radio (NPR) and public radio affiliates nationwide, and features the talented cast and crew of Deus Ex Machina, an Austin, Texas-based drama troupe.

You can listen to the whole piece on Noir Dame’s blog, or, provided this code works… Just below:

Get the Flash Player to see this video.

RunMJrun / CC BY 2.0

It's an exciting, interesting story that tells about radio using the medium itself! Thanks, Deus Ex, and give us more!

Wireless Theatre Company Announces New Plays!

Fred — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 18:14:08 +0000

Our friends at the Wireless Theatre Company have announced some new radio plays available for your download NOW in their latest newsletter. Woot!

DULCE ET DECORUM EST PRO PATRIA MORI by Joe Wells

Directed by Fran Kirkham

Edited by Paul Winston Churchill

A touching glimpse into the experiences of the soldiers of the first world war. This series of letters from the front powerfully evokes the horrors and emotions of the men who fought and died on the battlefield, focusing on Wilfred Owen’s eternal question, is dying for your country an honour or a curse?

With: Matt Kirby, Mostyn James, Dhugal Fulton, Joe Wells, James Everett, Fred Godward, Julian Boote, Collette Zacca and Justin Palmer.

DULCE ET DECORUM EST PRO PATRIA MORI download for free here!

Wait! That’s not all….

COCK OF THE WALK Part 2 by 31 Pumpkins

Edited by Tony Stephens

The long awaited part two of 31 Pumpkin’s Cock Of The Walk! Very funny stuff. If you like this download, then you’ll simply love seeing them doing it IN THE FLESH – they have a live show at The Hen and Chickens – Feb 9^th – Feb 13^th.

More details HERE.
COCK OF THE WALK Part 2 download for free here!

Exciting Things To Come…

WTC’s next LIVE show will take place on the 16^th APRIL, at a very exciting new venue.

The LOST Theatre is a brand new, multi-fangled, 180 seater theatre and we will be recording Sci-Fi comedy 2010: Space Commander! By Stuart Price. It’s an incredible space and will be a great recording. Come along and see for yourself.

Welcome to The Wireless Theatre Company’s vision of the future. In the year 2062 the human race, ravaged by population expansion and lack of resources, decided to phase out the human body.

In 2268 the last non-virtual human being died in Ulan Bator of Dysentery.

In 2269 two space engineers, curious at what the extinct human body used to look like, decide to un-freeze Walt Disney. With hilarious consequences.

Tickets available very soon!

Things are progressing nicely with Wireless Theatre Kids – we expect the site to be up and running very soon, we have some wonderful writers on board. So keep your ears peeled, and let all you parent friends know we’re coming.

WTC were thrilled to have a lovely article featuring us in this week’s STAGE newspaper. We’re on page 26, but you can read the article HERE.

We have two VERY exciting new productions coming up in the next few months, with special performances from two wonderful actors. We can’t quite believe our luck!

HAPPY LISTENING!

www.wirelesstheatrecompany.co.uk

We’ve featured the Wireless Theatre Company many times on the show, and are psyched to hear what they have for us next. Check out our archives or visit their site at www.wirelesstheatrecompany.co.uk for more audio goodness!