With thanks to Jack Jaffee from the long missed 12 Volt Theater podcast and his novel Down the Road we get this story from NPR about the incredible work of Tom Lopez and ZBS. I’ve really enjoyed the zany and rich works of Tom from Jack Flanders but there are so many more tales that Lopez has told through the decades. Go have a look at John Kalish’s tale of a hero of the medium!
Page 107 of 186
Audio Drama provides so many benefits to communities, from social awareness and activism, to education and helping the autistic community. Craig Robotham from Weird World Studios has been very public about the use of radio drama in his own household and opens his scripts up to any families with autistic members but now we see Will Anderson a professor at Central Michigan University creating audio drama to help kids learn social skills. The full story can be found at CMU Public Radio News website.
There are so many reasons for making audio drama one of your tools to bring stories to the world. What are yours?
The incredible team at Chatterbox Audio Theater presents their latest release, Part 1 of the powerful drama The Warriors. As explained the work was:
Written by Evan Linder and conceived by Mary Hollis Inboden, it’s the story of a school shooting survivor who reconnects with her classmates a decade later. Together they explore the resonance that terrible day has had in their lives. Some have done their best to put the event behind them; others live with reminders of it every day.
It’s a thoughtful, poignant, deeply humane show about resilience and togetherness, and it features beautiful writing and performances as well as stunning artwork by Cody Barnhill. Part 1 of The Warriors is now available for free streaming and download through iTunes and our website.
Chatterbox continues to prove the vibrancy of live production and innovative theater. Have a listen and subscribe if you haven’t already!
Meanwhile… back in the Department of Nerdly Affairs, episode fifteen… Jack drops in to talk about his favourite subject with Agents Rob and Agent Don. None other than AUDIO DRAMA. Subscribe and listen!
a tiger in the arena of radio drama and radio personalities passed. Wisconsinites remember Karl’s decades long commitment to WPR’s Chapter a Day. Inducted in the Wisconsin Broadcaster’s Hall of Fame in 2013, they consider his long career spanning back to The University of Wisconsin station WHA-AM in 1941 while he was still a student at the school.
Read the article from the Current about his life, and consider how many great individuals have carried the torch to this modern age.
Pete Lutz from Narada Radio Company and Pulp-Pourri Theatregives us another episode of pulp with “Time Cutter” this week. It’s time for Audio Drama!
Manga and Anime seem to be burning up the extras by throwing on radio dramas on both DVD’s and CD’s. Add Long Riders! to the list. An original audio drama, written by Longriders, and illustrated by Taishi Miyaki, is being released in the special edition of the 7th volume. Check out more details about the drama and the upcoming TV anime in October from Crunchyroll!
Visiting Vancouver for a couple of days? Just two left to catch the #2 on this Vancouver Courier article:
2. Billed as a “live graphic novel,” The Intergalactic Nemesis: Target Earth combines sci-fi, comic books and old radio drama. Three actors provide the voices, a Foley artist creates the sound effects and a pianist plays the soundtrack in front of a movie screen showing 1,250 comic book panels to tell a sci-fi adventure story set in the 1930s. The ambitious theatrical event takes off April 30 to May 1 at the York Theatre. Details at thecultch.com.
How cool is this? A live spacefaring graphic novel that would make Biff Straker proud!
Some folks are quite concerned with the latest budget considerations for the famous British Broadcasting Corporation. Public radio has a long history of audio drama in England, and if the mother country wants to avoid the terrible state that conservatism has placed the CBC in Canada, they might do well to listen to the words of Sir David Attenborough from this Guardian article:
“There is plenty that viewers can do. Politicians don’t wish to be the people who are branded as getting rid of the BBC. They know that the BBC holds a very precious place in a large proportion of voters’ minds and they can’t play fast and loose with it as they would wish.
“When I saw what the [funding] deal was I thought, that’s terrible, that’s a distortion. What the BBC will say, and I daresay they are right, is the alternative was something worse.”
He added: “The basic principle of public service broadcasting is profoundly important. If we lose that we really lose a very valuable thing, you are throwing away one of the most precious things that we have.”
Let’s hope that cooler heads prevail and the people speak up before the BBC gets gutted.
Like a nervous groundhog peering into the early morning light from the darkness, Hindustan Times ask the perennial question: “Could podcasting possibly be the next big thing?”
When they ask that question, the early adopters of the new age of modern audio drama just sort of wave like they have been waving for the last ten years. OF COURSE, podcasting has infinite opportunities and appeal. But those who think radio has been dead for a long time forget that there are still plenty of radio stations out there. The difference is that with the breakdown of corporate structures in the new media, there’s a whole lot more choices. Someone asked me what podcasting was, the other day.
My new answer is, “As satellite channels are to the bunny-eared antenna of television reception, podcasting is to terrestrial radio.”
Welcome to the new age of entertainment. We’ve been here a while. 🙂