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The Who’s of Ten(Eleven)

tenwhoNostalgia is a strange sensation. It can take form through the decades or just in a few years. As we’re enjoying the new adventures of Doctor Who, Big Finish has a grand announcement sure to add cheer to those who miss David Tennant in the role of the Time Lord. Both Tennant and Catherine Tate are set to reprise their roles of the Doctor and Donna Noble in an upcoming audio series as this Sydney article details. Expect the three stories: “Technophobia”, “Time Reaver” and “Death and the Queen” to be released as The Tenth Doctor Adventures in May!

 

Tiger Bones

tigersbonesOften we see plays transformed into radio drama, but it’s rare to see original radio drama turned into stage plays. But that’s the case with Ted Hughes‘ work “Tiger Bones and Other Stores”. The Guardian has an article that explains how Hughes original morality tales were broadcast live into schools in the sixties, and have now been given new life thanks to the staging of Jack McNamara and a cast of four. Read the original article and marvel as to the many ways audio plays keep coming back to us, generation after generation!

The Sonic Pioneer Ora Nichols

marchoftime2From kuow.org:

Being the first sound effects woman came with its challenges. Actors and directors were still learning to value her trade as a much they valued their own. Ora Nichols worked with Orson Welles frequently, but there was an ongoing tension between the two over how sounds were created.

Ora Nichols thought that the best sound effects could sometimes come from sources other than the object itself. For example, an egg beater on the radio sounds more like a lawn mower than an actual lawn mower.

Congratulations Ora! Thanks so much for your work in foley and sound effects and Happy Woman’s Day!

Alice May Be Unwell

aliceisntdeadThe folks who brought you Welcome to Nightvale are at it again with Alice Isn’t Dead, available for downloads tomorrow. Podficts or “podcast fiction” seems to be the latest rage with so many previous shows becoming wildly popular. Similar to mockumentaries, these serialized stories are meant to appear to be factual events but are told in a fictionalized scripted form. I’ve seen many audio dramaphiles frustrated with this latest turn of the podcast screw, but we at the Sonic Society think it can only bode well for audio drama’s rise.

The more people listen to audio fiction, it’s only a matter of time before their ears turn towards audio dramatic entertainment.

In the meantime, enjoy the ride and tune in! After all, ink in the New York Times isn’t going to hurt their exposure.

Another Faded Voice

JAB-AduJAB Adu (1932-2016) was an incredibly gifted actor, scriptwriter and producer and even at over eighty was pursuing his dream of completing his masterpiece. His thespian gifts go as far back into the sixties when he was wowing television audiences with his long running series The Village Headmaster. A consummate professional and perfect gentleman JAB’s long career took him into the many-faceted world of radio drama as a script writer on the platform of the African Radio Drama Association (ARDA). He also contributed to the radio series, Rainbow City, which addressed issues related to good governance, reproductive health and HIV/AIDS. His work caught the eye of the BBC World Service and he featured on the award-winning radio drama series, Story StoryVoices from the Market.

A great loss to the voices of radio drama, and to his native home of Africa. May his stories continue on…

Read more of his incredible life from this article in The Nation.

Sound Preservations

preserveThere have always been warning cries of the loss of old footage from the days of early film. Here is one of the first comprehensive “calls to action” to protect old time radio. Interviews, news, music and of course radio drama!

This Task Force includes librarians, academics, and radio enthusiasts and they are calling for people who have recorded tapes of these time periods.  Read more of Amy Scott’s article in Marketplace.

If you have anything in your basement, join in the fight to save the past for the future!

The Sound of Bugles

AlStevensStudents and co-workers from Lewis and Clark Community College remember their teacher, colleague and friend, Al Stevens. Al taught radio drama and radio news at LCCC since 1998. He retired in 2015 to spend time with his family and take care of his illness. After a lengthy battle with cancer, Al Stevens passed on February 19th. As a radio veteran students thought of his radio drama class as “fun” and an opportunity to try different voices and improvisational comedy. His skills in visually picking out the edit spots without even listening to the recordings stunned his students. His eulogy was uplifting and a time to share stories and pizza. Zac Coffman, a former student said:

“He loved life and enjoyed every minute,” Coffman said on social media. “When I found out he had passed, I spent some time talking about him with friends from WLCA, and I could not remember a time when there wasn’t a smile on his face. He was a great man, and the world is that much dimmer without his light in it.”

More details of Al’s story can be found in this article of The Telegraph. Radio Drama brings all of us together. Our heartfelt apologies to the family.

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