Category: Media (Page 9 of 45)

Back to the Past

February 8, 2018 / Jack / 0 Comments

With thanks to Theresa Martin who discovered this old gem while researching. Time to reminisce. Twelve years ago, I released my first book of scripts The Shadowlands. Here’s the article from Muskoka Region News:

Former Parry Sound High School teacher Jack Ward recently released this book of plays written for radio.

HALIFAX – Jack Ward loves radio drama. A previous teacher of English, drama and computers at Parry Sound High School, he’s been writing his story ideas. Although he now lives in Nova Scotia, Parry Sound continues to be a source for his inspiration. “It’s the people and the bay,” said Mr. Ward. “This dichotomy of living in a small community that is filled in the summer with big city folks. Parry Sound is the kind of place you would want to raise your kids, as seen by so many of my old students who still speak fondly of growing up there.” Mr. Ward teaches occasionally and has been working as his own consultant for computer software. While in school he headed the computer club, guitar group, and helped out with drama and the student newspapers. Now add author and playwright to his credentials. Shadowlands Theatre was a concept Mr. Ward came up with while finishing his English degree and attending Guelph University. He was hosting different literary radio shows for the campus radio station, and knew that a “twilight zone” like radio series would be a lot of fun. “After all, radio is the ultimate medium for story telling,” he said. “It requires no sets, no makeup, and much more imagination than television or movies. And with people constantly on the go, books on tape are at a premium for commuters and those who love to listen to drama.” Ten years later, and the dream has taken flight. With his friend Andrew Dorfman, Mr. Ward has gathered dozens of interested actors together and written an impressive series. More than 26 radio plays, all approximately 45 minutes long and all varying in subject matter from comedy, mystery, horror, suspense, fantasy, and science fiction. Collectively called The Shadowlands, Mr. Ward delves into moral questions and political quandaries of the day. His two-part episode Great Day for a War, explores a fictional event in a global news broadcast when the United States declares war on an African nation, because of recent terrorist attacks. Sound familiar? He has more mini-series in his toolbox. From a hard-boiled detective by the name of Phillip Graves in his four-part Graves Shift series or a hilarious parody of Buck Rogers with Biff Straker and the Spaceways! Mr. Ward is looking to catch both young and old audiences alike. Already his talent has caught the eyes of the publishing world. His book, Shadowlands Theatre: The Deadly Sins Scripts has been released by Crystal Dreams publishing in the U.S., and he recently released his first radio play, in the classic thriller style called Right Number, Wrong Party over CKDU-97.5-FM in Halifax. More information about Mr. Ward, his book and compact disc recordings of his plays can be found on his website: ~~www.shadowlandstheatre.com.~~ (now of course www.sonicsociety.org or www.evicuna.com– J.W.)

Wolvie Goes Audio!

February 6, 2018 / Jack / 0 Comments

You know it had to happen! The Nerdist presents the latest in an audio drama adventure series with Wolverine.

Marvel and Stitcher announced in late 2017 that they’d teamed up for a new audio drama podcast, Marvel’s first scripted podcast endeavor, featuring Wolverine. Ahead of March’s debut episode of Wolverine: The Long Night, Marvel has released the first audio trailer for the ten-episode series, which finds Wolverine far removed from the world of the X-Men. The Hobbit star Richard Armitage is providing Wolverine’s voice for this story, and the trailer indicates that even Logan isn’t sure about what kind of man he really is.

Wolverine/Logan will be the star of his own story, but he will also share the spotlight with FBI agents Sally Pierce and Tad Marshall. The Long Night is set in Burns, Alaska, where a savage serial killer has left of a trail of terror in their wake. An amnesiac Logan is the town’s prime suspect, and the trailer indicates that his claws and his kinship with wolves have created a local mythology about his powers. Pierce and Marshall lead the hunt for Logan, but they may find that they have common ground with him when the town’s dark secrets come to the surface.

Green Arrow writer Ben Percy scripted Wolverine: The Long Night for director Brendan Baker. In addition to Armitage, the cast is headlined by Celia Keenan-Bolger as Agent Pierce and Ato Essandoh as Agent Marshall, with Andrew Keenan-Bolger, Scott Adsit, Bob Balaban, Brian Stokes Mitchell, and more in supporting roles.

Wolverine: The Long Night will premiere on Stitcher Premium on March 12 before getting a wider release on all podcast platforms this fall.

Jim French Passed Away

December 21, 2017 / Jack / 0 Comments

From Sibby Wieland and World Audio Drama Day:

We are sorry to announce the death of Jim French, of Jim French Productions, yesterday, December 20th, 2017 at the age of 89. French was a legend in the Puget Sound region, working as a disk jockey and producer, but he was best known worldwide for keeping the flame of radio drama alive on American network radio through the 1970s, ’80s, and ’90s, continuing well into the podcast age. At its height Jim French Productions were syndicated on hundreds of stations, including “Harry Nile” and “Imagination Theatre” and were also available as audio cassettes, CDs, and most recently as podcasts. He was known for his kindness and generosity, and he treated writers, producers, crew and actors well. JFP even let next generation streaming stations – Sound Stages Radio and others – to distribute his shows. He was also a guest with REPS (Radio Enthusiasts of Puget Sound). Thank you for everything, Jim.

Our deepest regrets and best wishes to the friends and family of this innovator of modern audio theatre. Farewell Jim.

No Don’t Die Interview

December 18, 2017 / Jack / 0 Comments

Our Jack was interviewed by a gaming blog No Don’t Die- Surviving Video Games and he had a chance to chat up our favourite medium. Check it out!

Forbes Finds ADPP!

November 12, 2017 / Jack / 0 Comments

In a recent article by Sarah Rhea Werner Forbes had a great article on 7 Podcast Communities to Join. One of the communities (the bonus eight) was the awesome Audio Drama Production Podcast community. Congratulations, Sarah Golding and the Lads from Scotland! From the article:

I didn’t initially include the Audio Drama Production Facebook group because I wasn’t initially an audio drama creator. But as I fumbled and flailed my way through creating my very first audio drama, Girl In Space, the information I gleaned and the people I met within this group became invaluable. So if you’re interested in fictional podcasts (which are exploding, by the way), join this group and be amazed.

Sonic Yap with Jack and David

November 9, 2017 / Jack / 0 Comments

After seven years two hosts get back in the same time zone. Jack and David chat of all manner of things, No Sleep Podcast, The Audio Drama Convention of 2020, and what’s on their podcatchers for example! Please forgive the poor sound quality we are in noisy locations!

Vienna This Halloween Weekend!

October 23, 2017 / Jack / 0 Comments

Virginia’s, New Vienna Community Center will help light up their 2017-2018 season with an evening of live radio dramas “In Living Sound – Back Home” for the end of October.

Check out the Connection article on the upcoming performance:

In its first show of the 2017-2018 season in the newly renovated Vienna Community Center, the Vienna Theatre Company is presenting the live radio drama, “In Living Sound – Back Home,” this coming weekend, Oct. 27-28, at 8 p.m.

#Directed by Patricia Kallman, the ensemble of six actors is performing four scripts from the Golden Age of Radio during the 1930s and 1940s – one humor, one crime, one sweet tale from the Depression and one horror. The ensemble cast includes: Stuart Fischer, Terry Mason, Jay T. Stein, Jocelyn Steiner, John Totten and Kathy Young.

#The first show, “Popeye – Visiting the Zoo,” which is replete with live sound effects by Sherry Kaiser and Roy Kallman, was an episode that aired in the 1930s. In this play, Popeye, Olive Oyl, Wimpy and Matey, the newsboy, visit the zoo in search of adventure.

#Kallman said she paid particular attention to the voices to get them down just right. “They are so distinctive for Popeye and they were so popular. So I thought that would be the interesting vocal part for this,” said Kallman, 70, of the Greenbriar community who co-founded the Alliance Theater in Centreville with Elaine Wilson in 2000.

#HER CHALLENGE was to make the sound effects interesting, she said. “We debated animal sounds. We tried a lot of different things. We tried all kinds of things for the hyena. It would be fun if there were actual animal noises but we did the best we could with them. There weren’t any in the original radio play; we thought we would add something to it.”

#The second play, “Boston Blackie – Blackie and the Fur Trade,” which aired in 1945, was created by Jack Boyle, a newspaper reporter and reformed opium addict while serving a term in San Quentin for robbery. Blackie started out as a jewel thief and safecracker, but then became a detective. The radio series spawned 14 films for Columbia Pictures. In this play, Janet and Harry are fur thieves, and are apparently getting assistance from Boston Blackie. But the hare-brained Inspector Faraday is in hot pursuit and we learn that crime doesn’t pay.

#Kallman said she was trying to recreate a film noir kind of feel to it – “the mystery and the grit,” she said. “I was really amazed when I started researching it; I didn’t know there were 14 Boston Blackie movies,” she said.

#The third play, “The Fleischmann’s Yeast Hour – The Church Mouse” first aired on Dec. 19, 1935. Also known as the Rudy Vallee Show, it was a musical variety show on NBC from 1929 through 1936, and into 1939 when it was renamed The Royal Gelatin Hour. In its prime, it was second only to “Amos ‘n Andy” for popularity and showcased many stars of the future. In this play, a meek but scrappy unemployed secretary lobbies for a job in a bank in a creative and unconventional way.

#Kallman said she was trying for something a bit lighter. “It was three times made into a movie and it was on Broadway as a play first,” she said. “I guess it ends up being a love story. I forgot that people were desperately hungry in the middle of the depression. People were trying to get by, so it’s amusing to hear her talk about dividing up a sardine.”

#The final play, “Lights Out – Knock at the Door,” first aired on CBS in 1942. This tale begets the supernatural, when an overly protective mother is done away with by her new daughter-in-law. Arch Oboler took over Wyllis Cooper’s series in 1936 when it had 600 fan clubs. Rod Serling counted the duo as his inspiration for “Twilight Zone,” which was to TV what “Lights Out” was to radio.

#“We all said Halloween is coming and we ought to end up with something scary,” said Kallman. “We read a number of scripts and thought somebody coming back from the dead was interesting.”

#The Vienna Theater Company is presenting the live radio drama, “In Living Sound – Back Home,” Oct. 27-28 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $14. The venue is located at The Vienna Community Center, 120 Cherry St., SE, Vienna, VA. Visit the website at http://www.viennatheatrecompany.org.

A Great Light

October 10, 2017 / Jack / 0 Comments

It is no secret that I have always loved Orson Welles. One of the great compliments I had was back in Teacher’s college when someone saw me on the stage and remarked later that I would take this compliment too far but I had indeed resembled the great man in her mind.

I was humbled. Of course, there never was, and never will be a man like him. This interview was said to be his last, and perhaps even on the day of his death. What charm. What panache. What a man. Here on the anniversary of his death we remark his passing. 32 Years without Welles.

History in the Making

September 23, 2017 / Jack / 0 Comments

Someone wise once said, ‘If your life is worth living, it’s worth writing down.”

I think similarly if your audio has value to you, it’s worth preserving. That’s why when Gregg Taylor of Decoder Ring Theatre said in one of our interviews that he’s been uploading his shows to archive.org it made me consider that it’s probably time to do the same with the Sonic Society. It’s a large process to go back and even upload Season 12, but that’s been accomplished. We’ll go backwards and fill in the last couple years for sure.

There’s untold generations that should have a real understanding where and who started this amazing movement- the modern audio drama medium. And we’ve had front row seats in the past decade. Thank you everyone for your encouragement through the years!

Podphones

September 20, 2017 / Jack / 0 Comments

The Pulse considers What We Listen to on Our Phones:

Jenn Webster considers how podcasts have leaped from the fringes to the mainstream in this piece.

Chattanooga’s podcasting—and whether you like noir radio drama, current events or geeky fandom, there’s likely local-focused audio out there for you. If you want to keep up with urban development and education politics, check out The Camp House.

The church/coffeehouse/meeting place offers a weekly long-form deep dive into community events at thecamphouse.simplecast.fm. Last week, they scored an interview with new Hamilton County Schools superintendent Bryan Johnson, Ed.D.

Like sports? The Chattanooga Football Club podcasts about all things CFC during the season (looks like they’ve been on hiatus a few weeks now). Or if you’re god(s)-fearing, it seems like almost every church in town has a podcast, from professional productions to simple playbacks of services.

A podcast is simply a digital audio program available as a download file; some podcasts are conceived and produced specifically for download, while others have a dual purpose as live audio on radio or another medium. More and more, radio programs are drawing listeners who visit their websites to download and listen to shows on their own schedules.

This is especially true with long-form audio or shows that air in installments, such as stories with multiple segments.

Tales of the City

One such tale WUTC’s “Operation Song” series, covering the Nashville-based nonprofit of the same name, which is dedicated to supporting veterans through songwriting. Featured on Around and About Chattanooga, the stories were popular radio broadcasts, but, as a series of downloads, spin a larger saga.

Listening to a segment of the Memorial Day special, I hear a choir singing, a woman speaking about the death of her husband in the Chattanooga terrorist attack, and different takes, from rough to finished, of the commemorative song “Chattanooga Rain.” The listener is immersed in the music and raw emotion. Around and About’s news director and executive producer Michael Edward Miller’s voice appears late and infrequently.

“I was there during the [song-writing process], so I have different versions,” Michael says. “Like any writing process, you make a way-too-long first draft, and then you play it for people, get guidance on what to cut out and rearrange, and then get guidance from more people, and just slowly winnow it down into something that makes sense without narration, and that flows logically and can tell the entire story without having to have somebody there to literally tell the story.

“And that is by far the most difficult kind of audio thing to do. Even with TV or film or documentary, you can do a lot with images…trying to do something like that without any narration…if you didn’t get the right sound bite you just have to figure out what you can do.”

To make that happen—an audio story told largely without a narrator—Michael draws on exhaustive on-the-ground research. Once interviews and sound files are collected, he creates a story just like a writer would.

Michael notes that podcasting is a continuum from amateur to professional. Around and About is designed as a radio program that’s also a podcast, but there are many similarities with home podcasters, such as delivery method. On the other hand, WUTC’s podcasts stay broad in topic rather than appealing a niche market, as would be more common for a hobbyist.

In another difference from live broadcast, a podcast’s biggest audience is at the beginning of a file, Michael says. People leave if they’re bored.

“Radio is much less linear,” he says. “People are tuning in and out all the time. You can never know for sure at what point in a radio story the most people are going to be listening. So, particularly in a long-form interview, you have to be careful to constantly re-introduce the subject and, for a feature piece, to produce it in a way that it still makes sense if somebody only caught the last half of it.”

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