With a flourish and a parade we’re happy to announce the initial release of bookcraft.org! Make a free account, and a free ad or start hunting for ways to help bring your book project to life!
Tonight’s Sonic Summerstock Playhouse is a doozy. It’s the incredible Narada Radio Company’s presentation of Lux Radio Company’s “The Third Man” by Orson Welles! Brought to loving fruition from Pete Lutz!
It’s 1993 and I’m getting ready to perform the lead role- Cliff Bradshaw- at Western University’s Cabaret. As I’m getting ready in makeup one of the actresses says to another, “Do you know who he looks like?”
The other actress shakes her head confused at the question.
The first sighs and says, “It’s going to sound like I’m buttering him up, but yeah… Orson Welles.”
The other actresses eyes widen for a moment, “You know, you’re right.”
I was beaming inside. Newly married, and someone who had spent a love and hate affair with the stage, I was going back out to a full house to sing and dance and sweat my way through the show. But I never forgot the comment, and it’s carried me along. Through the Shadowlands, my first radio drama showcase, and into the Sonic Society, Mr. Welles has always been on my shoulder. The studio computer is called Orson, and I always listen to his work in awe.
There will never be another man like him. Just being compared in the most superficial of ways made a grand difference in my life. He was, in short, a genius.
The British Film Institute agrees. On his 100th, they have put out a great documentary supporting his genius- and a man who we shall never see the like again. As much as I wish it, I was just a shadowy likeness of the man.
 |
In our last look at October Orson Month, we present the show that made Orson Welles a superstar and infamous. This Halloween Eve we present Mercury Theatre on the Air’s adaptation of the H.G. Wells’ classic science fiction terror “War of the Worlds” |
|
| Tonight’s performance of Sonic Echo in our “October Orson” month is the role Orson made a legend The Shadow with “Circle of Death” and “The League of Terror”! |
In honour of the amazing Orson Welles terror-filled broadcast of War of the Worlds, several folks have put together a Facebook page celebrating WORLD AUDIO DRAMA DAY! If you’re on the book of faces, make certain your go to the link and hit LIKE! Pass it on to your own friends on your own page, and keep the momentum going. Just 10 days till the World goes Audio Dramatic!
|
 |
Orson Welles’ Mercury Theatre on the Air produced a staggering number of adaptations of classic fiction and drama. One of the least quoted but one of Jack’s favourites is the immortal tale of the desert “Beau Geste”, our feature for tonight’s October Orson month! |
Sonic Echo returns with “The Immortal Sherlock Holmes” played by that radio thespian of thespians- Orson Welles in our October Orson month!
Hello Sonic Society members.. Jack here…
I just wanted to send a little note out over the RSS Feeds. Some folks have noticed that last week’s Sonic Society hasn’t hit the podverse yet, and I apologize. I’ve been voiceless and sick with a lousy cold (is there a great cold?) for the last week and a half. I actually had one before and as soon as I got rid of it, I picked up another.
At any rate, I’m happy to report, that I have my voice back and you can expect the Tuesday show up on the feed soon.
As well as today’s Sonic Speaks, and of course last Friday’s Sonic Echo.
David and I hope that you’re enjoying the packed feed this tenth season of the Sonic Society. We’re getting all kinds of positive responses from people, and we’re just happy to share our love of Audio Drama with you and all the people who love making this stuff too.
They’re awesome aren’t they? If you haven’t hugged A radio drama producer or voice actor today, go out and find one.
A couple of other quick announcements- we’re now on Stitcher! And if you go on to the Sonic Society webpage at sonicsociety.org (of course) you’ll see a little link to your Sonic Society show on Stitcher.
This is real important. Please, please please… right now… before you forget (because I always forget when podcasts ask me this) go to that link. Go on to the Sonic Society on Stitcher and on the bottom of the page write a review.
We normally don’t ask this, but we need a few reviews on Stitcher to push the Sonic Society out on their main page. This is one of our chances to get the Sonic Society known in other places than through the podcast.
So PLEASE do that right now… I’ll wait… until you get there….
……
still waiting…..
Yes, there’s the page…. right… bottom of the page…. right there…
Yes, fill out that review….
Please be honest… and generous… or generously honest… 🙂
Okay… speaking of getting the word out there… Thanks to our webmistress Ginny, we’ve been updating the Sonic Society webpage and moved it to another server. Some folks said they couldn’t see the webpage because the URL hadn’t transferred over to the new server where they are. If you’re having that problem and the sonic society is coming back broken, please let us know at sonicsociety AT gmail DOT com
Other news… other news… Yes! We have Sonic Society Youtube channel working. If you know people that have trouble using an RSS Feed or itunes Podcasting, but know how to use Youtube… then please get them to subscribe. I’ve been posting a ton of shows from our back catalogue and we’re already well into the second season… maybe the third season on Youtube.
Thanks again to Ginny who has been steadfastly making these into playable movies (even if they don’t have any visuals) and I go ahead and put the feed information into the description and away we go!
So I think that’s it.. subscribe to the Youtube, reviews on Stitcher…. and I hope you really enjoy the next couple of months. Sonic Echo has Orson Month this October, and we have a bunch of really fun interviews with the makers and shakers of Audio Drama today in Sonic Speaks- and of course brand new, companies and favourite companies with new shows in our regular Tuesday night shows on the Sonic Society all wrapped around the adventures of David, our friends and myself in the TORTIS.
Special thanks to M. Sierio Garcia who has returned again as our Promo Girl and to all the people who’ve guest starred and will in our upcoming shows. Especially John Bell who can help out on a dime.
Lastly, EVP has some great stuff in the works. Michael Stokes is remastering Gate- AT LAST! You’ll get Gate mastered the way the show deserves… and I just finished recording a special new Wavefront episode for our 400th release of the regular season of the Sonic Society for the end of October.
As you can tell, lots buzzing in the Sonic Society this year. No wonder I’ve been ill!
Hope you are in better health and taking care of each other.
We’ll see you later- in the society…
Goodnight.
October month is “Orson” month in Sonic Echo as we explore the many faces of the King of Radio, George Orson Welles beginning tonight with “The Black Museum” and “Queen of Spades” from Royale Theatre.
It’s been 75 years today that radio took America by storm. That King of Radio Theatre, Orson Welles had convinced those who were glued to their sets that the Martians had invaded, and the rest was history.
No one questioned the power of the audio story again, nor the way it could rivet a listener and paint pictures in the mind that left an indelible mark.
And to mark the three quarter of a century mark, who else, but the modern day equivalent of Mercury Theatre on the Air, the award winning, ever freshly sounding Colonial Radio Theatre takes on a shiny new story of this timeless tale of H.G. Wells’ invasion from the Red Planet.
Veteran writer M.J. Elliott brings back the feel of 19th century England, and with the dulcet tones of our own enormously talented David Ault in the main role along with the expert and clear direction of Jerry Robbins at the helm this story is instantly a classic.
I had thought all versions of the Martian attack had been seen almost endlessly, but instead of reprising Orson Welles’ inventive modern day style, the CRT gang goes back to the roots.
This is why Colonial Radio has been so popular through the years, in my opinion. They are one of the very few companies that captivate the joy of radio plays from the past with the skills of modern storytelling.
If you’re a fan of history, a fan of science fiction, or aching to pull out your steampunk attire, don’t hesitate. Get yourself a copy of “War of the Worlds” from either Amazon or Audible today! At $6.95 it’s a steal!
© 2025 The Sonic Society
Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑
