Radio Drama Revival

We welcome back our friends at the Chatterbox Audio Theater, one of the gems of modern independent audio drama who shine on us from Memphis, Tennessee. In addition to retelling classics such as Master Zacharius, Argonautica, and other Greek Myths, Chatterbox has also re-imagined classics (Pinnochio and Dead and Gone) and bold originals such as The Dead Girl and Surfacing. Today's work shows off again the virtuosity of this incredibly company, with something radically different - something where sound design is present, but subdued in service to the power of voice. It is also - gasp! - truth, not fiction, and damn, it's powerful. The show: Prison Stories. A collaboration of Chatterbox and Voices of the South, Prison Stories is drawn from the writings of women incarcerated in the Shelby County Correctional Center. Their true stories provide a glimpse into the circumstances, actions, and emotions that make up their lives. A bit from coordinator Elaine Blanchard (who is interviewed by Chatterboxer Bob Arnold later in the program): I sit in a circle with twelve women. We meet twice a week for four months. We have conversations. We just talk to each other about the ordinary stuff of life. Guest artists visit the class: writers, singers, musicians, actors, directors, photographers, dancers, visual artists, and yoga instructors. We consider what it means to be creative and how exercising our own creative potential can open doors for others as well as ourselves. We imagine a better future. Everybody has a story and we all want to tell our stories. We long to be noticed and heard. Being listened to is much like being loved. Once I recognize that I am loved then I can find a way to love myself. And if I am capable of loving myself then I can find the way to loving others. Our stories connect us and build bridges for healing and hope. This week, we're telling it real. Enjoy Prison Stories

Six years later, we revisit the radio drama that started it all for us - the retelling of Orpheus and Eurydice set in New Orleans, Day of the Dead. We've touched up our first radio drama with some new sounds of New Orleans and what we could to polish the performances. Set in the Crescent City in the time before Hurricane Katrina struck, Day of the Dead follows a young man who heads to the city looking for his missing lover, and finds himself instead. Coming in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy there's also bit of a rant by Fred. We eulogize the late Mark Krasnoff. If you find the story behind the story interesting, I encourage you to look into the film My Louisiana Love. This episode also marks another crossroads - the completion of Season 1 of The Cleansed. There is denouement as parts move into place, setting the stage for the great battles to come. Day of the Dead 2012 remix features authentic recordings of a New Orleans Day of the Dead Vodou Ceremony courtesy of La Source Ancienne Ounfo.

Horror, horror, horror! More scary stories to haunt you this Halloween season, this week with a rendition of If You Take My Hand, My Son by Scott Hickey's The Grist Mill series, followed by a Grist Mill double-feature, The Dark Ride (by Jeff Adams). In "If You Take My Hand, My Son" a man sits at the brink of existence - not quite dead, not quite alive - and is haunted in this in-between place by the voice of his father. And let's just say, things weren't all rosy between them. But can a father and son reconcile from beyond the grave? Followed by "The Dark Ride," where a run-down carnival gets a brand new ride. The ride of a lifetime. But is the magician that runs said ride worth trusting? And what does it really cost to take it for a spin? Preceded by Episode 8, Part 4 of The Cleansed, the big finale. Fire rains down from the sky, and there is only one chance to change the course of events for our heroes. Is Maria up to the challenge? Don't miss Mort Castle's latest collection, "Shadow Show," a collection of stories inspired by Ray Bradbury, edited by Mort Castle and Sam Weller.

The recently revamped HORRORSCOPES collection is a series of ten of horror's darkest little tales, ranging from classics by Poe and Bradbury to originals by Anthony Marino and Clay Graybeal. In today's episode, we feature the inspired adaptation of HP Lovecraft's The Statement of Randolph Carter, wherein an unsuspecting grave robber opens a door that really should have stayed closed. The collection was produced by William Dufris, award-winning audiobooks narrator and co-creator of AudioComics (whose Honey West, Murder on Mars, Starstruck, and Titanium Rain we have previously featured on this show). The revamped edition includes Kristina Balbo as the "Lady in Black."

Our second week of our 5th festival of audio drama horror is the thrilling tale of murder in the city - The Strange Case of Springheel'd Jack by Wireless Theatre Company. Wireless, who started the same year as RDR, has grown to one of the world's premiere independent audio drama producers.  Springheel'd Jack is a new intermittent series (3 episodes are out and I hear 6 more are in production) and joins other, truly dark work they've produced as well as 'completely different' fare such as the comedy We are the BBC. I should also mention this work took the Silver Ogle Award this year, and I got to meet with writer Robert Valentine and Wireless producer Jack Bowman at CONvergence out in Minneapolis. First up: The Cleansed, Episode 8 Part 2, where scotch, Wagner, and tales of the old times have their way.

Kicking off our fifth-annual month-long fright fright fest is a Seeing Ear Theatre original, The Damned are Playing at Godzilla's Tonight. This fresh, sizzling little haunter finds us at a run-down club in Los Angeles, where a repo-man comes to get the story out of the disheveled owner.  The harrowed man tells his story - and it is a story of racism in the music business, the haunting of living and dead, and a damn frightening tale of rock and roll. Written by J. Michael Straczynski, it is said: “For our first story, I wanted something with teeth, something that took one of the more common supernatural tropes and used it in a way that dealt with contemporary themes. It has kind of a Lovecraftian feel, starting at the end, then finding out how we got here, and why. Where else can you get all that *and* a commentary on the state of the music industry?” -JMS (Source: SFF Audio) Crew: Produced and Directed by Brian Smith Original Music Composed and Performed by Jeff Nostrand Sound Design by John Colucci Executive Producers Brian Smith and J. Michael Straczynski Cast: Steve Buscemi as Mr. Beresford Mackey Christopher Burns as Jimmy Kevin Daniels as Derek B. Beth Glover as Women J.R. Horne as Franklin Chase Ezra Knight as Quint Kevin Conway as the Narrator Original Music Composed and Performed by Jeff Nostrand By J. Michael Straczynski; Performed by a full cast Also Featuring: Christopher Burns as Jimmy Kevin Daniels as Derek B. Beth Glover as Women J.R. Horne as Franklin Chase Ezra Knight as Quint Kevin Conway as the Narrator Original Music Composed and Performed by Jeff Nostrand Sound Design by John Colucci Executive Producers Brian Smith and J. Michael Straczynski Preceded by the kick-off to Episode 8 of The Cleansed, our finale of Season 1.  In the field of the Dwellers, Luke and Marc look at the stars, but something not of the heavens is coming towards them...

This week we wrap up our feature of John Dryden's radio drama adaptation of Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale," produced for BBC Radio 4. In a world not so far in the future, the land of "Gilead" is ruled by the law of the Good Book and women's rights are dramatically scaled back. One woman is torn from family and re-educated to be a Handmaid... a reproductive surrogate for a married couple. In the final chilling installment, we find the Handmaid trying to find a way out from her strange situation, a friend from the past, and the obstinate present. First up, Dialed In's final installment, the zing-ingly hilarious "Straw into Gold" satire of the literary universe, then Episode 7 Part 4 of The Cleansed, wherein the stage is set for a battle of biblical proportions.

This week we feature the second installment of John Dryden's radio drama adaptation of Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale," produced for BBC Radio 4. In a world not so far in the future, the land of "Gilead" is ruled by the law of the Good Book and women's rights are dramatically scaled back. One woman is torn from family and re-educated to be a Handmaid... a reproductive surrogate for a married couple. Forced into this strange and frightening new life, the Handmaid arrives this week on her assignment, an awkward new role in the household. A haunting and mature themed drama with incredible power. First up, Dialed In part 6, with "Customer Relations" by Matthew Boudreau. Also featuring Episode 7 Part 3 of The Cleansed, wherein John Prophet tells his story about how "Corinth" was built from the ashes of New York City... and then summarily destroyed.

In a rare return to a previously played episode, this week on RDR we re-play the masterful Goldhawk adaptation of Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, a story about a woman caught in a totalitarian society where fertile woman are used as surrogates to keep society going... Regardless of how they may feel about the deal. RDR is not a political show but we do like exploring ideas and having stories act as the 'lies that tell the truth.' And with some of the recent rhetoric in the USA, well... Preceded by Episode 7 Part 2 of The Cleansed, wherein John Prophet is lined up to tell his story.

This week we're thrilled to report that the Galactic Gumshoe Ruby is back, with all the flaring sass and quick jabbing dialogue and absurd time we've come to revel in the retro-futuristic adventures penned by Tom Lopez, AKA Meatball Fulton of ZBS. Ruby is hired to find who or what has caused a plague in the city of Aberdeen Dundee on Victoria Moon. And/Or, T.J. Teru, and Rodant Kapoor, join Ruby as they explore this eccentric retro-Victorian society where everyone is pretending to be someone else. In Aberdeen Dundee, known as The City of Lost Illusions, the people have moved into the catacombs beneath the city. They all wear masks, and the masks are alive! We feature two chapters of the new show, "The City of Lost Illusions" and "The Hoochie Coochie Club" First up, another helping of The Cleansed - Maria and Luke make up, Marc tells a story about dogs that roam the earth and Prophet wakes from a dark place. SPOILER ALERT - a big secret has been revealed in a prior episode and affects future events...

This week we wrap up a month featuring the works of Irish dramatist Roger Gregg with a piece off his collection Diabolic Playhouse, "The Silver Tongued Devil." This saucy mockumentary tries to uncover a surprising Irish poetry sensation... while lampooning Irish culture, academia, mass hysteria, and maybe even a jab at poetry itself (aren't all poets rich and sexy?) Preceded by a dark installament of The Cleansed, and followed by the latest Dialed In: "Confessions of a Chat Room Romeo" by Stephen Baily

This week on the show we finish our summer sizzler - INFIDEL - the lush, medieval epic with a message for our times, penned by the great Roger Gregg of Crazy Dog Audio Theatre. In Part 4 of 4, we are moved to "Stalemate," where the Christian knight and Muslim "Infidel" cross enemy (or friendly?) lines, and confront the true nature of the conflict.  Is it the sacred or the profane that's causing this war? A few notes on the production of INFIDEL from Roger's site: INFIDEL was originally a stage play by Roger Gregg produced by Graffiti Theatre Company in 1991. The play in which a cast of 4 actors played all the roles, was commissioned by the Irish third world development organisation Trocaire. The play was a response to what we now call the ‘First Gulf War’ in recognition of the old adage that those who do not learn the follies of history are condemned to repeat them. In the summer of 2005, RTE Radio 1 commissioned Crazy Dog to adapt and expand the stage play into a 4 episode radio series. The script was re-designed specifically to exploit the epic scope possible in the audio medium. The combination of the realism of the location recordings, vivid sound design, original music score and performances by some of Ireland’s leading voice actors, has resulted in an exciting and compelling audio-epic of clashing beliefs, war and compassion. Portions of INFIDEL were recorded on location in the stables, cobblestone courtyard, in the fields and with the horses at the historic Raleigh House near MacCroom, County Cork, Ireland. Studio portions were recorded in RTE’s radio drama studios. The prix Italia award winning sound engineer Mark McGrath recorded both the studio and location recordings. Location recordings were carried out with a portable Hard Disc recorder with a stereo microphone configuration. See our photo gallery for pictures of our recording process. The sound track music was crafted by Roger Gregg using keyboards and Arabic percussion and voice samples. The series was post-produced and mixed by Roger on Pro Tools in the Crazy Dog studios. Special thanks to the Vaughan family for their generous hospitality during our time spent at Raleigh House. Kicking off with the latest installment of the The Cleansed, featuring the revelation of a big secret (spoiler alert!!!).

Hmm we didn't really intend this, but there is a section of The Cleansed that features a militant Christian force, this piece by Roger, and then a piece by our friends at Aural Stage Studios called "Jesus Gets Rejected." Call this our 'blasphemy' edition. Listeners of faith, please try to keep an open mind, or skip this one and tune in next week!

This week on the show we feature our summer sizzler - INFIDEL - the lush, medieval epic with a message for our times, penned by the great Roger Gregg of Crazy Dog Audio Theatre. INFIDEL is the story of two brothers - Sir Hugh of Beauvais and Sir Philip of Beauvais - who are drawn into the chaos of the Fifth Crusade, where the Church's political role has distorted its religious role. It is a world where the other is the infidel, the forsaken, and sympathizing with the other side is seeing as being against God. Into this world comes Sir Hugh, a gentler knight than his brother, and his experiences will shape a drama all about the clash of cultures, church and state, and the nature of war. A few more notes on this production: INFIDEL was originally a stage play by Roger Gregg produced by Graffiti Theatre Company in 1991. The play in which a cast of 4 actors played all the roles, was commissioned by the Irish third world development organisation Trocaire. The play was a response to what we now call the ‘First Gulf War’ in recognition of the old adage that those who do not learn the follies of history are condemned to repeat them. In the summer of 2005, RTE Radio 1 commissioned Crazy Dog to adapt and expand the stage play into a 4 episode radio series. The script was re-designed specifically to exploit the epic scope possible in the audio medium. The combination of the realism of the location recordings, vivid sound design, original music score and performances by some of Ireland’s leading voice actors, has resulted in an exciting and compelling audio-epic of clashing beliefs, war and compassion. Portions of INFIDEL were recorded on location in the stables, cobblestone courtyard, in the fields and with the horses at the historic Raleigh House near MacCroom, County Cork, Ireland. Studio portions were recorded in RTE’s radio drama studios. The prix Italia award winning sound engineer Mark McGrath recorded both the studio and location recordings. Location recordings were carried out with a portable Hard Disc recorder with a stereo microphone configuration. See our photo gallery for pictures of our recording process. The sound track music was crafted by Roger Gregg using keyboards and Arabic percussion and voice samples. The series was post-produced and mixed by Roger on Pro Tools in the Crazy Dog studios. Special thanks to the Vaughan family for their generous hospitality during our time spent at Raleigh House. Preceded by Episode 6, Part 2 of The Cleansed, where Maria stands in the way of two warriors pleading for peace... and a second chance.

This week on the show we feature our summer sizzler - INFIDEL - the lush, medieval epic with a message for our times, penned by the great Roger Gregg of Crazy Dog Audio Theatre. INFIDEL is the story of two brothers - Sir Hugh of Beauvais and Sir Philip of Beauvais - who are drawn into the chaos of the Fifth Crusade, where the Church's political role has distorted its religious role. It is a world where the other is the infidel, the forsaken, and sympathizing with the other side is seeing as being against God. Into this world comes Sir Hugh, a gentler knight than his brother, and his experiences will shape a drama all about the clash of cultures, church and state, and the nature of war. A few more notes on this production: INFIDEL was originally a stage play by Roger Gregg produced by Graffiti Theatre Company in 1991. The play in which a cast of 4 actors played all the roles, was commissioned by the Irish third world development organisation Trocaire. The play was a response to what we now call the ‘First Gulf War’ in recognition of the old adage that those who do not learn the follies of history are condemned to repeat them. In the summer of 2005, RTE Radio 1 commissioned Crazy Dog to adapt and expand the stage play into a 4 episode radio series. The script was re-designed specifically to exploit the epic scope possible in the audio medium. The combination of the realism of the location recordings, vivid sound design, original music score and performances by some of Ireland’s leading voice actors, has resulted in an exciting and compelling audio-epic of clashing beliefs, war and compassion. Portions of INFIDEL were recorded on location in the stables, cobblestone courtyard, in the fields and with the horses at the historic Raleigh House near MacCroom, County Cork, Ireland. Studio portions were recorded in RTE’s radio drama studios. The prix Italia award winning sound engineer Mark McGrath recorded both the studio and location recordings. Location recordings were carried out with a portable Hard Disc recorder with a stereo microphone configuration. See our photo gallery for pictures of our recording process. The sound track music was crafted by Roger Gregg using keyboards and Arabic percussion and voice samples. The series was post-produced and mixed by Roger on Pro Tools in the Crazy Dog studios. Special thanks to the Vaughan family for their generous hospitality during our time spent at Raleigh House. Preceded by Episode 6, Part 1 of The Cleansed, where David and Chris careen towards the Dwellers, prepared to revenge the attacks on the Refuge. Followed by "Wish You Were Here" by Mike Murphy, a play for Aural Stage's Dialed In.