For our seventh presentation Rachel Pulliam returns with three women stand vigil, awaiting the death of a loved one in this tense tale of…Suspense! in “Waiting”!
Tag: Tanja Milojevic (Page 1 of 3)
As Jack J. Ward basks in one of his finest moments- that being in the very chair that Robert E. Howard wrote not only Conan- The Barbarian, but all his great works… He was asked recently to provide a list of all the scripts he has written for all his various incarnations and basic times. As we’re coming close to the 20th anniversary of The Sonic Society (Put it on your calendar folks- it’s September 1st, 2024, Jack has provided the list so far with some tantalizing suggestions of what you can expect now that he’s completed his masters’ degree:
The Sonic Society Collection:
The Sonic Society- The World’s Largest and Longest-Running showcase of modern audio drama
Pre-Mutual Audio Network Feed (The Radio Memories Network 2005-2019): https://sonic.libsyn.com/sonicsociety/2008/06
The Mutual Audio Network Feeds (2019 and Onwards):
The Broadcast Feed (on Sundays and Mondays) https://feeds.megaphone.fm/mani
Monday Matinee weekly (2015 onwards replays) https://feeds.megaphone.fm/MUTUAL5370851038
Sunday Showcase weekly (Current releases from 2019 onwards) https://feeds.megaphone.fm/MUTUAL9188504915
Sonic Echo– Conversations with Lothar Tuppan and Jeffrey Billard – The Amigos! with guests looking at the very best of old time radio.
Sonic Speaks– Jack interviews the makers and shapers of the audio drama world
Sonic Summerstock Playhouse– The summer season of the Sonic Society where producers from the modern audio drama community recreate old time radio scripts for fun with their contemporary acting troops!
Sonic Retrospectives– Our tribute summer series for those who have left the modern audio drama community too soon (SADLY ONGOING)
Bill Hollweg
Mark Bruzee
JACK WARD’S PRODUCTIONS AND SCRIPTS:
All produced scripts can be found at the Sonic Cinema Podcast or through Sonic Cinema website
The Sonic Cinema Production Classic Series: 2003-2005
The Shadowlands– Shadowlands Theatre was the premiere original anthology series from Jack J. Ward. Combining Suspense and Dark Fantasy, this exciting series became the basis for the Deadly Sins Series and other compelling tales of mystery, and horror.
- The Seven Deadly Sins- A seven-part series of original tales from dark comedy to darker horror, plays of the past to terror of the future exploring the turning parts of the soul. Six parts completed: (Pride: And Low, Thou I Walk, Envy: Completion, Greed: Ghosts of the Present, Gluttony: Soul Survivor (Ogile Award Honorable Mention), Lust: Spin, Spin, Spin, Wrath: The Hitchhiker)
- Graves’ Shift Starring Phillipa Graves– “Open for Business” The pilot first audio drama script written by Jack Ward from his time in university exploring the noir tales of his female detective
- Biff Straker and the Spaceways (Old World)– The one-shot pilot episode of Jack’s parody of Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon with his own pulp hero, Biff!
- Remotely Possible– A single Shadowlands episode exploring remote viewing and the depths of fear
- Hill Manors- “More Action than a Burma Railroad” A live tribute to the great “Fawlty Towers” series by John Cleese & Connie Booth
- Firefly- Old Wounds– The Internet’s first fan fiction of the science-fiction classic “Firefly”.
- The Dead Line Anthology- Tales of crime drama inspired by Alfred Hitchcock Presents (Initial run included: Goth Girl, Jeremiah Crandal- Funeral Detective, Messages, Right Number Wrong Party, The Replacement Show, Rule of Three)
- The Dead Line Shorts Anthology- less than a half hour presentations of this series (Initial run included: Anniversary, Choice, Deathbed Confessions, Duel, Fiend to the Old, John, Lighter, Night Driving and Sherry)
Electric Vicuna Productions: 2006-2021
- Firefly- Old Wounds “Wedding Day” – The much demanded follow up to the Internet’s first fan fiction of the science-fiction classic “Firefly”.
- The Wave Front Anthology- a science fiction collection that explores futuristic societies, distopic nightmares, technological travesties and bleak tomorrows. (Initial run includes: Borrowed Time, Black Knight, Alone in the Night (Mark Time Silver award winner), Voting is Anonymous
- The Wave Front Shorts Anthology- less than a half hour presentation of this series (Initial run includes: Acquisitions, Alien Invasion Cancelled, Distant Voice, Galaxy Master versus the Varn, Name Please, Nanites, Pets, Reservations, Spring, Trans-Humanity, Voices)
- The Dead Line Anthology- (Continued run includes: “Faith” also as the final Deadly Sins Script for “Sloth”, Daybreak, Coach #6, Clay Pigeon Shooting)
- The Dead Line Shorts Anthology- (Continued run includes: I’m Home)
- Darker Musings Anthology Series- an anthology series of fantastical mystery and terror.
Inspired by Rod Serling’s Twilight Zone, Darker Musings always includes an air of another world that may be an alternate universe, or a terrifying nightmare, one in which the characters can not wake up.(Initial run includes: Breathing Space (one-man show), Muse of Madness, One by One, and Phil Morris~ Celestial Lawyer - The Darker Musings Shorts Anthology- less than a half hour presentation of this series (Initial run includes original and original adaptations of: Barney, Bravery. Plague Studies, The Chaser, The Monkey’s Paw, and Tulpa)
- Gate, a coming of age fantasy series in 10 parts; Gate McNeil, a young girl, discovers she is the one person in the world who can challenge the darkness and demons threatening to take over the world
- The Jack and Shannon Show- in an homage to great sit-coms of old, two hosts of the Sonic Society fictionalize their life and friends (3 Seasons)
- Spaceways Starring Biff Straker (New World)– imaginary pulp hero Stephen “Biff” Straker takes part in a secret experiment to prove Albert Einstein’s Theory of Relative Time. The experiment goes wrong and Straker is thrown from the 1990s into the 31st Century! – STILL IN PRODUCTION
The reboot fun action series, no longer a straight parody. (Initial 5 episode run: Year Zero: The Future is Now, The Haunted World, The Fallen Angel, The Pool of Death, The Man Called Methuselah – STILL IN PRODUCTION - Consortium Comics Anthology- is a collective series of superhero shorts by Jack J. Ward (Initial run includes: Blue Defender, Any Man) – STILL IN PRODUCTION
- Action Adventure Audio Theatre, pulp-pounding adventures inspired by the OldTime Radio series Escape (Initial episode: The Most Dangerous Game) – STILL IN PRODUCTION
The Sonic Cinema Production Returns Series: 2022-
- Retro Rockets Anthology- From the far-flung silver age of science fiction, comes a new anthology. (Initial episode: Spirit Drive) – STILL IN PRODUCTION
- The Wave Front Anthology- (Series continues with: Market Crash) – STILL IN PRODUCTION
- The Christmas Wreath- Seasonal stories to touch the heart and delight the ear (Initial release: The Gift of the Magi) – STILL IN PRODUCTION
Jack Ward adaptation Scripts Produced for Colonial Radio Theatre:
- Dead Ahead– On a restless ocean, a group of weary survivors contemplate their grim fortune: What had started out as a fun little fishing trip soon turns into a nightmare of damnation, trapped on a floating prison.
- Vincent Price Presents Volume 3– “The Best in the Universe” Dramatized by Jack J. Ward, from a story by Paul J. Salamoff. Assignments on frontier planets always irritate intergalactic mob hitman Randall Stiles and his partner Jake Mackey, and this mission would soon prove why.
New Series Currently in Production (Unreleased):
- Prairie Fire- an audio drama Weird Western 10 part series
- Flight of the Airmen- At the turn of the 20th century who are the protectors of the skies for this strange modern age? Canada’s The Airmen!
- Wingman– Ripped from the archives of the fictional radio theatre of the 1930’s. Wingman and Fly Boy save the world from Nazis infiltrators and evil criminals in America!
- Adventures by North!- In the early 20’s in Canada, a group of adventurers found their way exploring every mystery this vast country concealed!
- The Fates of Mace Windu- By mass request this audio Star Wars fan fiction six-part series explores what happened to Mace Windu at the end of George Lucas’ prequel
- John Carter- A Princess of Mars- The original Science Romance of the first of the pulp space heroes is explored through the first full-audio drama adaptation of the best-selling novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs!
- Proximity– A Third Age (First Person) account of humanity’s attempt to reach the Proxima star system.
Other things to look for. Script collection books on many of these series, and upcoming work through The Mutual Audio Network.
Special Thanks to Lothar Tuppan (The Ninth Tower Productions) and Jeffrey Billard (Audio Groove Cats Productions)- THE AMIGOS!, David Ault co-host and the “Kevin Bacon” of 6-Degrees of separation in Audio Drama (David Ault Actor, Narrator, and Science Communicator), and the rest of the United Artists of Audio from Mutual- Pete Lutz (Narada Radio Company), John Bell (Bell’s in the Batfry), JV Torres (The Rise of King Asilas), Scott Mosher (CNY Table Reads). Joshua Price and the Queen of Audio Drama herself Tanja Milojevic (LightningBolt Theater of the Mind), Richard Frohlich (Texas Radio Theatre), Richard Summers (aka Captain Radio!) and Austin Beach (Broken Bard Studios) who constantly and eternally inspire, collaborate, and support his work!
Dr. Mark Dreisonstok is back reviewing Sonic Society’s Christmas submissions with Sonic Cinema’s adaptation of “Gift of the Magi” and Markiewitz Audioworks production of “Three Christmas Trees”!
“Post Christmas” is how the Mutual Audio Network describes its January offering of a dramatized version of O. Henry’s classic Christmas tale, “The Gift of the Magi.” This story is a very familiar staple of American literature. A young couple of very modest means in circa 1905 New York City, Della and James Dillingham Young, aspire to give significant Christmas presents to each other. What sacrifices are they willing to make to accomplish this?
…the warmth of Christmas festivities and traditions which the two productions evoke lovingly and convincingly.
This familiar tale is dramatized for audio with aplomb, with Jeffrey Billard and Tanja Milojevic who are very good in their roles as the financially-strapped but loving couple. Producer Jack Ward, founder of the Mutual Audio Network and of a series of Christmas tales called “Christmas Wreath Anthology,” desired to adapt this O. Henry story—filled with description in its original literary form—to work well as an audio drama. To do so, Mr. Ward has expanded the role of one character in the story, Madam Lucyna Sofronie, now owner of a wig shop, and added one character, Mr. Kent Wilkins, who repairs clocks. These two interesting individuals, presumably in middle age, are performed adroitly by David Ault and Erika Sanderson as they help us reflect on the nature of young love, family relationships, and, of course, how the young couple’s gift exchange might play out at Christmastime. O. Henry was a master of the surprise ending, and this version has the famous short story author’s dénouement. While this portion of the ending is retained from O. Henry, the audio drama concludes not with the master storyteller’s ruminations about the meaning of gifts and the original Magi from the nativity narrative in Scripture, but rather on the budding romance between Madam Safronie and Mr. Wilkens, a bold but interesting change of focus.
O. Henry’s “The Gift of the Magi” is an extremely well-known Christmas tale—there is even a Disney cartoon adaptation, with Mickey and Minnie Mouse standing in as the young couple. The same level of fame cannot be claimed for “Three Christmas Trees“ by Juliana Horatia Ewing, another tale newly premiering on the Mutual Audio Network. This one is produced and directed by Jason Markiewitz who decided on a very different approach than the Jack Ward “Magi.” Instead of adding scenes and characters to make this a radio-style audio drama, he embraces the narrative of the original 1800s English short story, using voice actors mainly to highlight key portions of the story. The performance combines elements of both audio book and audio drama, perhaps slightly favoring the former.
The story follows the perspective of a person reaching the end of his earthly life, reflecting on how three Christmas trees have shaped his experience of Christmas, both as a child and as an adult. This is an interesting and unusual production of a Christmas-tide story which, in the opinion of this reviewer, should be better known. Mr. Markiewitz, who also serves as the congenial narrator, uses sound choices—especially some magnificent Christmas carolers (Sharon Grunwald, Lessa Nosko, and Kyle Wright) to help render this story from the past more accessible to audiences of today. Such is the case with his choice of a Christmas carol which is sung in two of the three vignettes, “While Shepherds Watch Their Flocks By Night”—a hymn which is used in the production movingly to bind the Christmas of the protagonist’s youth to the Christmas of his old age.
Both “The Gift of the Magi” and “Three Christmas Trees” are well worth a listen, even in this “post-Christmas” season. They are reminders that we might return to the holiday spirit and once again bask in the warmth of Christmas festivities and traditions which the two productions evoke lovingly and convincingly.
Running time: Each production runs 30 minutes.
The Jack Ward “Christmas Wreath Anthology” series installment “The Gift of the Magi” can be found here. The Markiewitz Audioworks production of “Three Christmas Trees” may be heard here.
Captain Radio introduces our final new feature from Sonic Cinema Productions and the Wave Front Anthology- Market Crash In a near future, jobs are scarce and robotic cars are everywhere. As the world falls apart, Jerry and Brooklyn race against time to save the world. Written by Jack J. Ward. Produced by Richard Frohlich with rough editing by Austin Beach!
David returns to the Sonic Summerstock stage to present the final performance for 2022 with “Here Comes Mr. Jordan” a Lux Radio Theater recreation from Sonic Cinema Productions.
This week we go back to the beginning as David and Jack look at Electric Vicuna Productions (then Sonic Cinema Productions) first audio drama “Right Number Wrong Party”. It’s a 20th anniversary of the writing of the script. This time around the Amigos Collective partner with EVP to bring you the shiny new version!
At last! A new Electric Vicuna‘s The WaveFront Anthology series release! Jack Ward pens with tongue firmly in cheek a look at what happens when aliens arrive in the modern age. Produced by Austin Beach, this episode stars Tanja Milojevic Duane Noch and Jack Ward as Modhan.
Professor Peter P. Pickpepper and his manservant David Lea Roth have opened up a portal from a parallel dimension where the genders are flipped from what they are here! In this first listening to The Gilded Age of Radio, they tune into “My Friend Irving”, the Thanksgiving episode!
The Railroad Hobo sees the oncoming smoke for another terrifying run of Transcontinental Terror! The phantasmal plume brings us “Blip” by Krystal Camarco, “The Swamp” by LightningBolt Theatre of the Mind, and the end of the line with “Our Dead Boy” from Devin Morse and James Gregory. Grab your tickets please, the train is at the station!
It’s the final episode of the Sonic Summerstock Playhouse for season 11th and we finish with a double feature beginning with Third Soldier from JV Torres and completing with another X-Minus play from The Amigos, “Junkyard”.