There have been many places that have attempted though the years to keep a running total of podcasts.
Try out Podcatr.com, they have quite the collection of your favourite shows!
Category: Media (Page 4 of 45)
If you’ve been around the Audio Drama/Radio Drama community for any length of time you should really join SPERDVAC!
As Martin Gram’s Blog explains, “The Society to Preserve and Encourage Radio Drama, Variet and Comedy traces its beginnings back to May of 1974.” This fantastic group makes a point of scanning and collecting radio plays that they offer their members to read and explore for a very small fee.
This Saturday, October 16th, at 4 PM Eastern Standard Time, our Jack Ward will be the guest at this month’s SPERDVAC’s live conference. Join Jack as he talks about the Modern Audio Drama movement and how this offspring of the Golden Age of Radio Drama has started to really bring back interest in the medium!
Entrance is free! Just click on the following link on the time stated! See you there!
The Ages of Radio/Audio Drama
There have been three waves of Radio Drama and now three waves of Audio Drama as well.
As technology and time advance new ideas and audio stories have taken the forefront.
What are the Ages of Radio Drama?
- Golden Age of Radio
The Golden Age of Radio lasted from the 1920’s to the 1950’s:
- Was the first mass-market entertainment as people listened on their radios at their homes
- Had no real competition until television arose in the 50’s
- Began with many Hollywood stars, actors, producers, writers, who moved through movies, radio and sometimes into television
- Identified that audio drama could be adapted from stage plays, movies, literary fiction, or original story concepts
- Was the first time many comedians made their way into the homes of the nation
- Created new opportunities for story and formats including sponsorships, and commercial breaks
- Silver Age of Radio
Often thought as roughly running between as early as the 1960’s to the mid-90’s but most examples are in the seventies and eighties:
- Mostly broadcast through public radio.
- The most popular were The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (BBC) and The Star Wars Radio Drama Saga (NPR)
- Other examples were CBS Mystery Theatre (CBS), Nightfall and Vanishing Point (CBC), The Zero Hour (Rod Serling, Mutual Broadcasting System)
- Full-Range sound effects, music, and “movie-like” quality
- Modern Age of Audio Drama
The Modern Age of Audio Drama arrived as early as the Internet but was slow in taking shape from late 1990’s to the present day.
- Beginning with the ability to download from a website, user groups, or stream from an online radio, to Youtube, and most popular podcast streams as the main means of distribution
- Shows are edited digitally as opposed to previous with reel-to-reel tape which makes for faster production times
- Groups of fans of old time radio and who grew up inspired by the best of the Silver Age began producing mostly fan audio fiction (Star Trek, Star Wars, Doctor Who etc…) and then created original audio drama and their own fan base
- Remote or Satellite actors would send in lines and an audio drama could be truly a global enterprise between like-minded writers, actors, and producers (Audio Drama Talk, Audio Drama/Radio Drama Lovers groups)
- Websites began creating sharing original music and sound effects to aid in production (The Free Sound Project)
- The Three Ages of Modern Audio Drama
As radio drama has had three ages, the rapid pace of change in technology has seen three very distinct ages of the modern audio drama movement:
- The Golden Age of Audio Drama- Beginning in the early 2000’s. A small group of fans dedicated to the audio drama medium produced and shared from a variety of user groups and websites. Word of mouth provided the most distribution and groups blossomed and grew creating fan-fiction audio and some original works with sound quality of voices varying as digital editing technology was in its infancy
- The Silver Age of Audio Drama- Began around 2008 and continued to around 2013. This era represented a group of fans who also appreciated old time radio but were mostly inspired by the Golden Age of Modern Audio Dramatists and created works that reflected extensions to the kind of shows that they had experienced.
- The Bronze (Current) Age of Audio Drama- Beginning in 2011-2012 with shows like The No Sleep Podcast, Welcome to Night Vale, or 2014’s Serial, the creators of these audio dramas by and large are unaware of the old time radio of the past or even the Gold and Silver audio dramas of the Modern Age. Instead they gain their inspiration from three different sources including Youtube confessionals, NPR style radio shows, and the rapid popularity of podcasts. Bronze Age audio dramas have also been given the misnomer “audio fiction” by some creators. Due to the most popular format that includes a “host” who talks through a story of some sort and engages “guests” either in studio or at some location. The host acts as a central narrator in these Bronze Age features. The Bronze Age does not usually draw inspiration from theatrical framing such as movies, television, radio drama, or the stage.
Fan of old-time radio and clever reviewer Mark Dreisonstok has once again arrived at the Sonic Summerstock Playhouse doors! This time he sets his sights on the amazing Shh! PRoductions Vintage Radio Hour submission for the Playhouse! Read more at MD TheatreGuide and enjoy the ride at the Playhouse this summer!
With MAD-CON 2021 in our rearview mirror, we now have the entire 18 sessions from Friday, July 23rd to Sunday, July 25th up on the Mutual Audio Youtube Playlist.
The time was well-spent with friends new and old. All looking forward to MADCON 2022 when we get to do this AND MORE face-to-face. Get your tickets today at www.mad-con.com
Dear Friend of Audio Drama/Audio Fiction:
It’s A GO! And it’s FREE! That’s right. Free. The Modern Audio Drama Convention 2021 is virtual and doesn’t cost a dime. Don’t believe me? Check out the half dozen daily Zoom calls here: https://www.mad-con.com/schedule
You will note the following:
Friday, July 23rd– is all focused on ideas and writing
Saturday, July 24th– is all about acting, recording and building a team
Sunday, July 25th– is focused on post-production and releases!
It’s a Masters in Audio Drama in one weekend. And ALL FREE.
And there’s more…
EXCLUSIVE to MAD-CON this year is a special workshop entitled “Improv your Writing” from Neil Jones and Peter Reynolds.
This unique mini-workshop is offered FREE to MAD-CON participants both Friday and Saturday from 4:30-6:30 PM (Eastern). Just sign up here! https://improvyourwriting.com/register
Numbers limited to 12!
Thank you for all you’ve done through the years. Remember EVERY Zoom session is FREE and the last half hour of each panel event is dedicated to Questions and Answers. So come armed to ask our experts ANYTHING.
I’ll be there all through the weekend, and keep a seat warm for you.
All the best, Jack
Nominees for 3rd Annual Audio Theatre Central Seneca Awards™ Announced
Final Nominees in 11 Categories Have Been Released Today
PHOENIX, June 26, 2020 — The committee for the Audio Theatre Central Seneca Awards™ has announced the complete list of nominees in all 11 categories for the 3rd annual awards. Presented by Porchlight Family Media, the Audio Theatre Central Seneca Awards™ is an awards program to recognize excellence in the world of family-friendly audio drama. The awards nominees have been selected from all eligible productions released in the 2019 calendar year.
Categories include Best Script, Best Long Form Audio Drama, Best Short Form Audio Drama, as well as categories to recognize excellence in acting. The complete list of nominees is available at thesenecas.org.
The award winners will be announced next month, July 24, 2020, via a live-streamed audio broadcast on the awards website. The broadcast will also be recorded and archived on the site.
For more information about the Audio Theatre Central Seneca Awards™, you can visit thesenecas.org. Inquiries may be directed to info@thesenecas.org. You may also contact the awards committee chair, J.D. Sutter, at jd@porchlightfamilymedia.com or 623-252-5779.
The incredible partner of the Mutual Audio Network and creative heart and mind behind The Rise of King Asilias, JV Torres, got some grand ink from the MD Theatre Guide from Mark Dreisonstok on May 21st. Check out the review!
“The Rise of King Asilas” is a fascinating, thought-provoking, audio series currently in its third season. The brainchild of JV Torres, who writes and stars as King Asilas, the show received a Latin Podcast Award in the category of “Performing Arts” and is nominated again in the “Drama” category for 2020.
“…a unique, reflective series worthy of attention . . . ”
Mr. Torres got interested in creating his own full-cast audio series replete with extended music and sound design via an unusual source – linguistics.
“I studied linguistics at Notre Dame of Maryland University. Linguistics is how I got into podcasting in the first place.” Mr. Torres was comparing the dialogue and accents used in old-time radio detective shows and comparing these to features he heard in modern audio drama. He then decided to produce his own modern audio drama series, and the rest is history. Or, perhaps more appropriately to his “King Asilas” series, alternate history!
“The Rise of King Asilas” starts off from a recognizable vantage point – the current divide in American society between conservatives and progressives. According to the plot of this series, this division leads to extreme factionalism and a variety of localized independent movements. Enter the U.S. General Asilas Roman, who invites these leaders to a conference where he has them and many of their followers assassinated. The United States is then abolished, and “The New Kingdom of America” is begun, with Asilas as absolute monarch. The series proceeds as this everyman-dictator deals with personal relationships (his wife Queen Rebecca and a love interest), foreign policies (future negotiations with King George, whom we assume to be the son of the real-life Duke and Duchess of Cambridge), and “night terrors” (doubtless a human reaction to the draconian measures Asilas has enacted).
Set 40 or 50 years in the future, the series is a modern dystopia with suggestions of works in the genre such as “Brave New World,” Mr. Torres comments that a major reference point is the Book of Revelation, for he states that “nothing is more utopian or dystopian than the Bible.” Indeed, there are biblical markers throughout the series, such as an appearance to King Asilas by the Angel Gabriel, who presents Asilas with a sort of Rosetta Stone which the king orders to be translated.
Yet “The Rise of King Asilas” is not merely science fiction due to its dystopian features, but also because of such elements as conspiracies of monsters and meetings with extraterrestrials (alien “close encounters” is a motif especially in season 2). By season 3, King Asilas turns his focus to religion, as he becomes more devout, and the Catholic Church and the Pope become a serious focus of the series. “Because we have thought of God and have the idea of God,” King Asilas has already noted to his doubting protégé Abigail in the first season, “there is a God.” Rare indeed is the adventure audio series which postulates the ontological argument for the existence of God.
There is also a JV Torres novel which bears the same title as the podcast drama. The novel and the audio series complement each other, telling the same story but presenting some different scenes so that each format enriches the other. The “King Asilas” novel is by no means the only book penned by Mr. Torres, as he works in second-language acquisition and has published a textbook. He intrigued us with the comment that “a textbook I published for English learners connects with strategies I employ in the audio series.” Indeed, the book is referenced in the credits of each episode and funds the production of the series. In the series, Mr. Torres is joined by the vocal talents of both professional and first time actors. Standing out for special mention is Clarence Jackson, who is ardent and complex as President Jackson, the last elected American commander-in-chief whose fate it is to relinquish the United States to the reign of King Asilas. John Doby also turns in a highly effective, low-key performance portraying Quintin Capone, the ominously named confidant of Asilas who helps the King retain power with Capone-like methods.
For these podcasts, Mr. Torres has teamed up with the Mutual Audio Network. The moniker of this network takes us back to traditional radio broadcasting. Radio listeners may remember the now-defunct Mutual Radio Network, famous for “Mutual Radio Theatre” and the radio version of “The Larry King Show,” which featured Mr. King’s occasional skit contacting extra-terrestrial life on the fictional Planet Fringus. Listeners of audio drama, whether coming from the entry point of older radio theatre or modern podcast audio dramas, should certainly give this unique, reflective series their attention. As Mr. Torres comments, “ I believe we are on the cusp of a digital renaissance in the podcasting world — if we are not there already!”
Link to the series: kingasilas.buzzsprout.com
Link to Website: theriseofkingasilas.com
Listen to The Rise of King Asilas weekly on Mutual’s Monday Matinee now available at all your favourite listening nodes:
RSS Feed: http://feeds.megaphone.fm/MUTUAL2587748521
Apple Podcasts/Itunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/monday-matinee/id1459541042
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/monday-matinee
Google Podcasts/Play: https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cDovL2ZlZWRzLm1lZ2FwaG9uZS5mbS9NVVRVQUw1MzcwODUxMDM4
iHeart Radio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-monday-matinee-30795458/
The past year has been a series of blows to the audio drama community, and the loss of William Dufris feels very much like a gut punch. While I had never met him personally, his work with Fred Greenhalgh and on his own had made waves in the Modern Audio Drama community. In short order, anyone who is anyone in this world knows who Bill Dufris is to the medium. Mindseye Productions has a wonderful Memorium to the man and I highly recommend you take the time to read through, check out the video clips and remind yourself of what a true loss this is to all of us. Rest well, sir. You more than earned it. Sorrow and best wishes and prayers to your family and friends.