Episode 119: An Interview with James Kicklighter About “Theater of the Mind”

This week we speak with James Kicklighter, a talented young filmmaker who was recruited to direct the new documentary on the golden age of radio, Theater of the Mind. The project was sponsored by Georgia Southern university and kicks off a decade-long celebration of radio for the Broadcast Education Association. It also marks the beginning of a long term research project on radio.

The cast of the documentary includes:

• Edith Ivey: performer in numerous markets and Radio Soaps, including “Guiding Light”
• Rosemary Rice: Grammy, Peabody, and Emmy award-winning performer, from “Archie Andrews,” “When A Girl Marries,” and many othertitles
• Michael McDougald: performer and current Vice-Chairman, Georgia Public Broadcasting
• Michele Hilmes: Director of the Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, home of the NBC Archives
• Richard Fish: founder of The Lodestone Catalog and broadcaster on WFHB in Bloomington, IN
• Barry Stoltze: AFTRA Atlanta President

We talk with James about how the project came together and what learned about the age of radio, and the role of audio arts as it remains in our cultural backdrop today.

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Radio Drama Revival Episode 119 – Interview with James Kicklighter

Theme music by Roger Gregg. ?The offer still stands — first three people to correctly guess the Gerry Murphy Poetry where the theme comes from get a Crazy Dog CD shipped to them free of charge!

Theater of the Mind Credits:

Produced by James Kicklighter and Jonathan Pope.

Executive Producers Melanie Stone and Joanna Bastarache