Radio Drama Revival is a weekly radio show and podcast featuring the best of contemporary audio drama (work produced after the golden age of radio).
It airs Thursdays, 1-1:30PM EST on Portland, Maine's community radio station WMPG, 90.9/104.1 FM.
Podcasts appear here every Friday.
Your host is Fred Greenhalgh of FinalRune Productions.
Theme by Roger Gregg
Logo art by Jon Baker
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.
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.
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!!!
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:
All audio content copyright 2010 by Charles Moster and Deus Ex Machina. Video produced by NoirDame.com. Visual of Supreme Court courtesy of
It's an exciting, interesting story that tells about radio using the medium itself! Thanks, Deus Ex, and give us more!
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 9th – Feb 13th.
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 16th 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!
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!
Alright, here it is, folks – three days before Halloween and the height of scary story season. My inbox has been bombarded with new stuff all this month which I’ve been dying to get out there to you, and there is just so much happening that if I had my way, I would clone off five or six of myselves to check out all of the cool Halloween events.
That not being possible, you’ll find me in Portland, Maine putting on a two-hour Halloween radio drama with 5 original plays. Yikes. But no matter where you are in country (or the world, for that matter), if you want blood-curdling audio, there’s stuff out there for you.
After putting out my feelers the audio community, digging around on my own, and just collecting all of the awesome stuff people like you have been sending my way, I’m going to share what I’ve come up with for awesome haunting horror audio.
Starting, first, with the LIVE Halloween shows – these are events where you can show, participate, and be spooked in an audience with real people! Follow-up post coming soon with recorded programming
What is It? – My own show. I’ve talked about that already. Five plays by writers Roger Gregg, Mark LaFlamme, Kevin Anderson and yours truly.
How Do I Hear It? – Show up!!! Or, barring that, audio stream at wmpg.org and video stream at finalrune.com
What is it? For the second year in a row, Chatterbox will perform a live Halloween Show over the airwaves on 91.1 WKNO-FM Memphis / 90.1 WKNP-FM Jackson.
Just to outdo me, Chatterbox is doing SEVEN short tales of horror, suspense, and the macabre. Expect to encounter the undead, creative murderers, tentacled monsters, hungry demons, unseen beasts, and other horrors that will keep you awake well into the night. A talented team of actors, musicians, sound effects artists, and producers will create these stories while you listen — just like in the Golden Age of radio.
How Do I Hear It? 91.1 WKNO-FM Memphis / 90.1 WKNP-FM Jackson. If you don’t live in the Memphis area, you can listen live through the WKNO website.
What is it? The Post-Meridian Radio Players bring us “The Big Broadcast of October 30th, 1938″ – the latest iteration of their annual Halloween tribute to the Golden Age of Radio. This year they present two plays – “The Frank Cyrano Byfar Hour” and a special production of Orson Welles’ infamous “War of the Worlds” radio play, adapted to follow events in Boston during the ”Martian invasion.”
PMRP does amazing stuff, as you can grok from my raving of their New Year’s radio show.
How Do I Hear It? Check out Somerville Theater, next to the Davis Square T Station. Tickets are $15 in advance, $20 at the door. Further information about the show, ticket reservations, and PMRP in general may be found on their website at http://www.pmrp.org
What is it? Over in our sister city of Portland, Oregon, the Willamette Radio Workshop presents their 7th annual Halloween audio theater extravaganza at McMenamins Kennedy School. This year’s presentation is an original compilation of stories based on “The St. James Infirmary Blues,” featuring live music and foley, and streaming in real time on the internet. “Tales from St. James Infirmary” is a cross between ER, The X Files and EC Comics, featuring stories of zombies, lost loves, murder and revenge – in other words the perfect Halloween confection. You’ll never be unsatisfied with your HMO again.
There will be two programs with eleven stories split between the two. There were even MORE stories (including my own) that filled up their full roster… my but they do a lot of shows!
How Do I Hear It? All shows are free and open to everyone (who has the guts, that is). Streaming Mix for Radio 23. Listen in at http://radio23.org/#listen
What is it? It’s thrilling to hear from groups you’ve never encountered before, and when I put my call to action from the community I found out about a Frankenstein Halloween Special by the appropriately named “RadioTheatre” presented by Horse Trade Theater Group (separated at birth from Mad Horse Theater Company? The world will never know).
These guys look like they’ve been around for a while and have gotten some high accolades. Here’s what they say about their show:
The critically-acclaimed, award-winning RADIOTHEATRE pulls out all the stops for this one, folks…a grand, aural spectacular! From the company that brought you KING KONG, THE WAR OF THE WORLDS, THE TIME MACHINE, DRACULA and more…now comes FRANKENSTEIN!
In concert, LIVE, on stage…with a great cast of story tellers, an original symphonic score and a plethora of sound effects! Just bring your imagination!
Good to see the city that never sleeps is in the game. Go out and get spooked!
What Is It? The WTCT Players are scheduled to perform Oct 30 at Topeka’s Oldfather Theatre. Admission $6. No clue what they’re doing but they usually perform three vintage half hour plays. Last year, they did one each from Suspense, Inner Sanctum and The Witch’s Tale.
Let the theatre be your radio and take you on a trip back to a simpler time. The WTCT Players perform in the newly renovated Oldfather Theatre, complete with improved air conditioning, wheelchair access, and comfortably padded seats!
How Do I Hear It? I think you have to show up, no details if a stream or podcast version will be available.
4. In Washington, The Midnight Mystery Players announced they’d be doing a version of “The Bride of Frankenstein” on Oct 31 but there have been no further details on their website:
What Is It? The Midnight Mystery Players announced they’d be doing a version of “The Bride of Frankenstein” on Oct 31 but there have been no further details on their website.
How Do I Hear It? Few details of the show published. Try contacting them!
What is it?This is fun. The Cayman Drama Society will stage three Agatha Christie radio plays on Halloween. Um, that’s about it for info, though.
How Do I Hear It? There’s no too much detail, but check out Radio Cayman’s website, also, look there for a live stream link.
What Is It? Three episodes of “Suspense” (“Zero Hour,” “The Hitchhiker” and “The House in Cypress Canyon”) performed by Second Stage Players in Norman, OK on October 30. Formed in 2005, Second Stage Players perform various types of readers’ theatre, including live radio scripts, one-act plays and interpretive readings.
How Do I Hear It? Tickets for the performance are available at PAS’s home in the Depot during regular business hours, 8 a.m. – 3 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 1-5 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $7 in advance and $10 at the door. All senior tickets are $7; admission for children age 12 and under is $3.
Unclear if there will be a podcast, contact the PAS at 307-9320 or see this article for more details.
And there are always plenty of “War of the Worlds” recreations scheduled for this time of year. Here are two:
These are not quite on Halloween, but are spooky, so why not enjoy?
Sound Affects aired an Icebox Radio Halloween Special this past Sunday night, which is available on the station archives at: http://www.kfai.org/soundaffectsaradioplayground/ for two weeks after air date.
On November 1 Sound Affects will air “The Evil At Shady Lake”, a comic suspense tale made here at KFAI by the Deadbeats on the Air players. Written by Britt Aamodt. Appropriate for the day After Halloween.
How Do I Hear It? Tune into the live stream, or available in the KFAI archives after the broadcast.
What Is It? The On the Air Radio Players are doing something called “Fright Night Double Feature: Dracula and Frankenstein,” an original old time radio show! The hour-long event will be taped and offered later for podcast and features live music and sound effects.
Offered by the County of Henrico Division of Recreation and Parks.
How Do I Hear It? Looks like you can show up in Virginia, or look for a podcast down the line. Their website: http://www.otarp.com/upcoming_shows.htm
What Is It? The Possum Point Players’ Ad Hoc Touring Company are scheduled to perform Nov 1 at Possum Hall. For $5, you get vintage versions of “The Maltese Falcon” and the Jack the Ripper thriller, “The Lodger” according to this article in the Sussex Countian.
How Do I Hear It? Unclear if the event will be podcast. You could try calling the box office: 302-856-4560.
Thanks be to emruf7 over on the Audio Drama Talk board for contributing a number of stories to this release… and of course, all of the individual artists who sent me stuff. Keep it up!
