A bit of a departure this week as we anticipate the ghost stories of summer with Evil Kitten Productions‘ Midnight Horror by Rachel Craig double feature of “The Rash” and “A Spark Ignored”.
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Tonight on a monstrous-sized Sonic Society we have the triumphant return of Alba Salex, Royal Physician with “The Axe and Crown” parts one to three but begin with the grand new audio drama from Edward Champion The Gray Area. It’s Audio Drama Time!
This week and finally Jack and David get to share the incredible Star Plot episodes one, two and three from Jeff Musick! It’s Audio Drama Time!.
The Internet is buzzing with the news that Audible.com has decided to launch a five million dollar fund to find and play audio drama writers. The Digital-Reader has all the details:
Audible, the digital audiobook giant, announced Tuesday that it would create a $5 million fund to commission new works from emerging playwrights — not for the stage, but for people’s headphones and speakers.
As audio fiction seems to be having a moment, in the realm of podcasts, Audible plans to draw from the vast pool of young writers to create one- or two-person plays. They will be available beginning late this year, the company said.
Playwrights can apply for grants to cover both “industry standards” for new commissions and the cost of production, said Donald R. Katz, Audible’s chief executive and a former journalist and author.
“I’m hoping that people just come out of the woodwork,” Mr. Katz said.
Audible is hoping to fund dozens of playwrights. This will certainly help put proof in the pudding that we’re entering a new age of Audio Drama listeners and production!
So many great actors work in the medium of audio drama/radio drama these days, every little bit of wisdom and experience can help. Consider the article in Spotlight by Katie Redford who gives great advice on how to break into radio:
When I was little, my parents always told me I could be anything I wanted to be. I don’t think they thought I’d take it quite as literally as I did when in one of my first ever jobs in radio, I played a t-shirt. Yes, I was the voice of a t-shirt. I was a bit thrown by the Director’s notes too:
“Yeah, we’re not feeling it. Can you sound a bit more… like a t-shirt?”
Radio is a fascinating genre and I feel extremely fortunate to currently be a part of it. It’s a medium that so many established, highly respectable actors such as Sheila Hancock, Amelia Bullmore, Daniel Mays, amongst many more, work in time and time again. When Bill Nighy was recently awarded an award for his services to radio drama, he said: “I am as proud of my involvement in radio as of anything in my professional life. Long may it provide its unparalleled service and entertainment.”
The thing is though, how on earth do you crack a career in it? It’s tricky enough to break through this industry anyway, but radio almost seems to be in its own bracket. Here a few suggestions that hopefully will help get the ball rolling for you.
Read more of the article and get your ode to audio working for you today!
Tonight Jack and David have two VIP tickets to give out thanks to Steven Jay Cohen for the HEAR NOW Festival! Our double feature includes Point Mystic from Christopher Reynaga and Midnight Radio Theater‘s “The Long Weekend” by Billy Sinese. It’s AUDIO DRAMA TIME!
Tonight we complete “The Case of the Poisoned Parakeet” from Rex Rivetter: Private Eye brought to you by Downstairs Entertainment and DaveyBoy Productions and “The Appointment Book” from The Grist Mill. It’s Audio Drama Time!
Tonight we take a trip down noir lane with Downstairs Entertainment and DaveyBoy Production’s Rex Rivetter: Private Eye and the Case of the Poisoned Parakeet. David and Jack reminisce about some of their favourite English detective tales. What are yours?
Students in the Lighting Design class work to hang lights for the upcoming production of “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari” in the Salisbury Theatre.
This great OnStage article was shared on Facebook by our amigo, Jeff Billard a grand thaumaturge in both the audio and stage dramatic varieties. It suggests that all actors should spend some time behind the scenes understanding what goes on from the purposes of stage managing.
As usual, we ask the question. Should all audio actors take a turn audio editing as well? Would there be some great value for actors to understand the challenges in isolating the clearest sound?
Similarly, how valuable would it be for all audio editors to take some time behind the microphone and see the challenges in clean delivery?
What do you think? Would that kind of experience make both roles in an audio drama production better?
Recently there’s been a lot of hay made about the #audiodramasunday hashtag weekly on Twitter. We think it’s a fantastic way to get the word out for those who haven’t yet got on the Audio Drama Trolley (we’ve got multiple cars give us a try!) But for those of us who already listen to audio drama the rest of the week, how can we help out?
Perhaps you can make Sunday your review day. Most shows RSS Feeds can be found through i-tunes and lately we at the Sonic Society have made Sundays our day to attempt to systematically write i-tune reviews for all our favourite shows. Because that would take an inordinate amount of time, we’re keeping our list to three shows a week. How about you?
Try the three reviews a week Sunday challenge!
Honestly, it’s not easy to go write reviews in the first place, but here’s a couple of methods:
- First, if you’re like us old schoolers, Hubspot has an article to show you how to write a review in itunes on Windows or Mac computers.
- Secondly, if you prefer to operate with the podcast app on your phone, iMore has a great article on how to write a review using your iphone or ipad.
Lastly, if you’re a producer, you can sign up and check your reviews from all around the world monthly with a free account at MyPodcastReviews.com
So what are you waiting for? Go out there and get more folks on i-tunes checking out how hot radio drama is….
And hey, what better way to start than writing one for the Sonic Society? You hit EVERYONE then! Happy Reviewing!