The Sonic Society

Episode 2: All Alone In The Black With a bit of of an homage to another sci-fi favorite, we bring you the second installment of Sonic Cinema’s first fan audio drama of the Firefly series. It will again be sure to leave you wanting more! After, a round-table interview with a few of the actors in the series, and we end this meeting as always with more outtakes!

Episode 1: Nuthin’s The Best ThingA treat for podcasting Browncoats everywhere! The production company Sonic Cinema (www.soniccinema.ca) is proud and very excited to bring you the premiere episode of the first Firefly fan audio to hit the ‘Verse. These podcasts will be in addition to the normal Sonic Society podcast, with a new episode every other week. It’s the season two that never was. You will also be introduced to the host of Sonic Society’s next season, Andrew Dorfman. After, join the Audio Addict as she chats with Jack Ward and Andrew Dorfman about writing, directing, and producing the series, why they chose to continue the series after season one, and tell us more about Sonic Cinema Productions. We close this extra-special podcast with some outtakes from their recording of the series. Sit back and strap in, because we’re ’bout to hit atmo!

Our regular broadcast through our radio affiliates this week has ended with Archibald MacLeigh’s “The Fall of the City” a triumphant distopic view of a society in distress. Because of various contract requirements, we’re unable to present this show for our podcasting audience. If you wish to listen to the Fall of the City, please tune in to one of our affiliate stations or download the archives from the CKDU website. In its place I’d like to present a special show available only through our podcast- Texas Radio Theater’s “The Snowman”. A Hans Christian Anderson tale adapted by our member in good standing Richard Frolich. This is our final meeting of this season’s Sonic Society, and there’s so much to be done. I want to thank all of our contributors and urge any of our more quiet members to send us your works or your thoughts for season 2.Afterwards, a chat with next season’s host Andrew Dorfman, and Audio Addict Dani Cutler, as they reminisce over the first season and give some hints as to what will be in store for Society Members next season. We then conclude this very successful first season with part 1 of Shadowlands Theatre’s “Ghosts of the Present”.**Please go to the show notes page for a link to Part 2 of “Ghosts of the Present! (this link will take you to the original episode that you can download and hear the exciting conclusion! Yes the show notes will match, but the media file is different.

This week’s meeting completes our voyage into Hell. Not some travelogue by Dante but rather a ghoulish vision of the Abyss on Earth. A play on words like “Aftermath” in which the authors of Ollin Productions look at how humanity would fair with Hell superimposed upon it. This idea, the brainchild of Joseph Medina works on many levels, not the least of which is mythic/psychological. As I’ve mentioned on previous episodes, I find when you explore religious icons and myths in tales you provide an excellent opportunity to look at the human condition. Maybe it’s because myths deal with such stark archetypes it’s easier to explore the human heart, truth, belief, love, good and evil. I think the use of anthology stories, while incredibly popular in past radio dramas has been underutilized today. Now, I love a good continuous story where we can get to know and explore characters, but it’s in the anthology format that I find we can especially focus on themes and concepts. We continue with “Dark Descent”, then finish our interview with the “After Hell” crew. We close out this meeting with a very special treat from Shadowlands Theatre. A sobering lesson on the consequences of greed is taught to the crew of a cargo holder soon to be lost in what appears to be deep space. From the Deadly Sins Scripts we present to you part 1 of “Greed: Ghosts of the Present”.

The series “AfterHell” arrived in my mail and once again I feel like a kid waking up on Christmas morning- or perhaps in this case Hallowe’en Morn. The episode “Dark Descent” has everything in it I love about good audio cinema. A strong narrative, powerful actors, great music, and attention to one of the most important details- an understanding of the medium. I’ve spoken before about the brilliance of the very first known radio drama that explored the milieu through a tale of miners sealed off in the darkness. To tell a really good radio drama, you can’t simply do a movie without pictures. The best audio stories use sound as a plot device. When you’re left in darkness in a mining shaft, sound is your world. When you spend most of your time on the telephone trying to elicit help, sound is your savior- or your damnation. The folks at Ollin Productions recognise this and use sound to drive their story forward. After our feature we’ll have an interview with the good folks from Ollin Productions about the After Hell project, then finish up with a final set of Wasted Tape.

In this week’s late St. Patty’s Day feature, two American tourists become lost in Western Ireland and stop to ask directions of a local shepherd. A hilarious exchange ensues, as each tries to slog through the hidden cultural assumptions of the other- helped along by the comments of several local sheep. Fresh from our mailbag, this addition to the first season of the Sonic Society comes from our friend and member in good standing Kerric Harvey with her play, “Driving in Ireland.”
After, we travel to Prescott, Arizona and hear a sketch from Coyote Radio Theater, followed by the real ending of the interview with Sam Mowry of Willamette Radio, and finishing up this meeting with some more Wasted Tape.

Light a candle, stoke the fire, and lean back in your plush chair curled up with a warm blanket as we present Willamette Radio Workshop’s “Frankenstein”. This week’s feature is an adaptation of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s “Modern Prometheus”.
Afterwards we’ll finish our interview with Sam Mowry.

Have you noticed that recently Westerns are making a bit of a comeback? I’m not speaking directly about the most recent Oscar buzz of “Brokeback Mountain”, but rather the successes of shows like Colonial Radio Theatre’s “Powder River” which is getting rave reviews and thunderous applause from all quarters. XM Satellite radio can’t seem to get enough Powder River, and Jerry Robbins is now working on season three of the hit series. On televsion, even science fiction takes a turn moseying along with the “wagon trains of the stars”. Gene Roddenberry claimed to sell Star Trek in the 60’s with that phrase, and Joss Whedon’s pre-empted triumph “Firefly” along with its followup movie “Serenity” leans heavily on that age of old west. While I’m well aware that genres weave in and out of popularity, I’m more interested in why cycles occur rather than suggesting that they somehow have a regular pattern- if they did, wouldn’t it have been time for a big 30’s pulp movie like Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow? How long has it been since we’ve had a new renaissance in that genre?
I think there’s something about the world we live in today, and the values that the Old West represented- simplicity, even a clearer sense of what’s right and what’s wrong. In today’s complex society, there’s a real yearning for a tangible way to make a better life.
Later we’ll finish our interview with Schlock Audio’s Bruce Humphries, and end this meeting with a little… Wasted Tape.

Prologue: MONA our Mutual Oral Network Assistant waxes on the Sonic Society’s history!
One of the great elements of the Schlock Audio re-mastered masterpieces, is that so many of the “goofs” from the movies can be discarded from distraction or added by the narrator as schlocky flavour. Of all the favoured filmmakers in Schlock audio drama, its hard to find a Director more hallowed than Ed Wood. Ed’s amazing “one shot” direction. His economical sets and scripts, and his ineffable humour permeates all his works. It’s hard to imagine that Bride of the Monster is considered one of the top 100 worst movies. Compared to Plan 9 it’s nearly a masterpiece on celluloid. We’ll talk more about Schlock Audio with one of its founders and producers Bruce Humphries. After, we end this meeting with the 6th and final installment of Biff Straker and Spaceways!