This week we’re featuring Parts 2 and 3 of Will of the Woods byAudio Epics – the Belgium-based audio drama troupe headed by Domien De Groot and Eline Hoskens (and featuring the splendid musical talents Peter Van Riet).

Adapted from the Dutch language De Wezens Van Het Woud, this five-part series tells the story of elves (not quite the Tolkien variety) who live happily and untroubled in the mushroom houses that grow on an enormous tree in the middle of the Infinite Woods. They are led by the wizard Saffredon, the eldest and wisest living among them. All inhabitants of the tree trust his wisdom and counsel, especially his young pupil Nuzwick.

Despite Saffredon’s attempts to teach Nuzwick about the Will penetrating the very fabric of the Woods, Nuzwick’s mind dwells on Myrilia, a girl he’s [not so] secretly very much in love with.

One day, as Nuzwick and Myrilia go out to search for some anemones, they discover a mysterious gate, which, despite looking many centuries old, they could swear was never there before… And, as is the thing with mysterious gates, they are sometimes better left unopened…

From the creators of The Witch Hunter Chronicles, here is a new, lushly imagined audio drama fantasy for you based on the Flemish Audio Drama “De Wezens Van Het Woud”, published by Audio Epics in 2007.

The post Episode 331 – Walking Deeper in the Will of the Woods appeared first on Radio Drama Revival.

Here are the details:

First Place: $250 award
Runner-up: $100 award
Entry Deadline: June 21, 2013 (postmarked)

Dedicated to a great lady who passionately loved great stories, the MTB Audio Drama Scriptwriting Competition celebrates good old-fashioned storytelling. All genres considered, and authors retain all script rights.

We simply ask the following:

Submit only original scripts (no adaptations of another author’s works)
Please keep the script “family friendly” (no swearing or sexual context)
Make sure your script is action/plot driven
Your script should run between 25-30 minutes

To submit your script, please send one paper copy to:
MTB Audio Drama Scriptwriting Competition
P.O. Box 1191
Mt. Pleasant, MI 48804

Please include your name, address, phone number, and email address.

Results announced by August 5, 2013

Details at: http://www.mtbscriptcompetition.com/

Happy writing!

The post Marion Thauer Brown Audio Drama Scriptwriting Competition Offers Cash Prizes for Original Scripts appeared first on Radio Drama Revival.

This five-part series is Will of the Woods, the story of elves (not quite the Tolkien variety) who live happily and untroubled in the mushroom houses that grow on an enormous tree in the middle of the Infinite Woods. They are led by the wizard Saffredon, the eldest and wisest living among them. All inhabitants of the tree trust his wisdom and counsel, especially his young pupil Nuzwick.

Despite Saffredon’s attempts to teach Nuzwick about the Will penetrating the very fabric of the Woods, Nuzwick’s mind dwells on Myrilia, a girl he’s [not so] secretly very much in love with.

One day, as Nuzwick and Myrilia go out to search for some anemones, they discover a mysterious gate, which, despite looking many centuries old, they could swear was never there before… And, as is the thing with mysterious gates, they are sometimes better left unopened…

From the creators of The Witch Hunter Chronicles, here is a new, lushly imagined audio drama fantasy for you based on the Flemish Audio Drama “De Wezens Van Het Woud”, published by Audio Epics in 2007.

The post Episode 330 – Entranced by the Will of the Woods appeared first on Radio Drama Revival.

Derived from his short-run theatre experience “The Bee Loud Glade Cabaret,” the studio album takes original lyrics as well as classic poems and dramatizes them in a way you have never heard poetry expressed before.  There is music – oh yeah – but way beyond music, we have sound effects, smashing, crashing, pop grinding tunes soaring overtures and effects that re-imagine poetry for the 21st century.  You’ve never heard anything quite like this, and I hope you enjoy our visit to the Bee Loud Glade, featuring originals by Roger as well as adaptations of Emily Dickinson, James Joyce, and W.B. Yeats.

We follow this first-ever music set with an original audio drama (whew!) the Howl of the Mac Tire from Crazy Dog Audio Theatre‘s “Beyond the Back of Beyond” mini-series.

The post Episode 329 – Bitten by the Serpent in the Bee-Loud Glade appeared first on Radio Drama Revival.

Take a surly trip to a gritty, dystopian neighborhood of Los Angeles called the ‘Hothouse’ in this thrilling new serial by TV writer Joel Metzger.

All of downtown LA is enclosed by a massive glass wall — making a hyper-capitalist, Orwellian, city-within-a-city called “The Hothouse.”

Jason “Bruiser” Brusman used to be a cop — but after getting trapped in the Hothouse, he’s become an enforcer for the powerful corporation that controls the Quarantine. Part detective, part hit-man, Bruiser slugs it out with grimy Hothouse underground — with one twisted plot leading to the next.

Bruiser’s heart is outside the walls — with his wife and daughter — and every day he’s separated from them… he becomes more and more like the grimy underworld he battles.

In episodes three and four of Hothouse Bruiser, we’re introduced to a sinister voice who will play games with Bruiser, all the while showing us the darkness that lies below the city and below the walls of the Box.  We also get a chance to chat with Joel, who talks about life as a TV writer and how the desire to have complete creative freedom with a production led him to take a 60-minute TV script and turn it into the 4.5 hr audio serial.

Get ready for a ride… to the Hothouse.

This show has quite the cast…

Paul Nobrega ……………… Bruiser
Traci Lords ……………………… Vera Grayle
Jim Storm ………………………. Mr. Saeger
John Terry ……………………………… Chlorine Buddha
Claudia Christian …………………. Chief Plagman
Armin Shimerman ……………….. Dr. Wolverton
John Billingsley ……………………….  The Man Upstairs
Michael Welch …………………… Ash Hamilton
Denise Crosby ………………… Ginny Mills
Cliff Simon ……………………… The Hothouse Sniper
Gideon Emery ……………… The Pipe
Vanessa Angel ………………………… Miss Power Tools
Sonita Henry ………………… Jill Strauss
Kirsten Roeters …………………. Risa Brusman
Fanny Veliz ………………………… Riley Brusman
James Leary ………………………… Graveyard Mike
Tom Beyer ………………. Spider
Robin Gwynne …………………… Tuesday Last
Ira Katz ……………………. Janitor
Alexander Von Roon ……………………… Professor Tough Guy
Lyle Skosey ……………………….. No Hand Stan
Brantley Kearns …………………….. Seager’s Lawyer
Vito LaMorte ………………………. Muzzy Palermo
Billy Scott …………………………. Private Huiza

The post Episode 328: Getting Steamy in the Hothouse, Interview with Joel Metzger appeared first on Radio Drama Revival.

The Mark Time Broadcast Center is an audio-driven party room where we will be hosting (among other things) Mark Time’s Five Minutes of Fame. Pick an audio Script, Get in the Booth and record a 5-minute audio-drama with your friends! Bang on pots and break celery at the SFX table! Chat with Current and former Mark Time and Ogle Winners and enjoy frosty brew on the 4th floor of the convention center*.

The experience is designed so that people who have never tried out voice acting or podcasting before can get a hands-on, fun learning experience with seasoned audio pros. Learn how microphones work, what goes into a good audio script, how to act for audio and how we mix together recorded audio to make a podcast. Or don’t learn anything and just shout ‘These aren’t the droids you’re looking for!’ completely out of context.

Sample scripts will include sci-fi tropes, mystery, noir, action/adventure, westerns, fantasy, comedy, and other well-known genres (and total outballs) so that the completely uninitiated can find a terrifically awesome script to read along with their friends.  Go home with a finished piece of audio you can share on social networks and a free publicity photo in a sharp fedora.

The Broadcast Center will open throughout the weekend of the CON and the “Five Minutes of Fame” will be offered at various time slots throughout the weekend, dependent on other audio panels and events held during the CON (Full schedule TBD – look for details here later!). But someone will be at the room throughout the weekend hanging out and letting you check out audio schwag, listen to samples of award-winning audio drama podcasts and generally bask in the audio geekery.

Audio Panels at #CVG2013

Thursday

• 3:30 ‘The Audio Adventures of Dr Who”
• 6pm (??) The Mark Time Radio Show
• 9pm Mark Time winner circle meet/greet at Mark Time Broadcast Center

Friday

• 11am – Plays by Ear, writing for audio
• 2pm – War of the Worlds 75th
• 5pm – Faking it: Psychoacoustics, Sound Design

Saturday

• 9:30am – Acting without Pants
• 12:30pm – So you Want to make an Audio Drama
• 2pm – War of the Worlds Contest winers
• 3pm – Our Fair City LIVE!
• 5pm – Until it Hertz, styles of recording

Sunday

• 9:30am – BBC Radio Programs

* Bring your own frosty brew.

The post Mark Time Broadcast Center at CONvergence 2013 #CVG2013 appeared first on Radio Drama Revival.

All of downtown LA is enclosed by a massive glass wall — making a hyper-capitalist, Orwellian, city-within-a-city called “The Hothouse.”

Jason “Bruiser” Brusman used to be a cop — but after getting trapped in the Hothouse, he’s become an enforcer for the powerful corporation that controls the Quarantine. Part detective, part hit-man, Bruiser slugs it out with grimy Hothouse underground — with one twisted plot leading to the next.

Bruiser’s heart is outside the walls — with his wife and daughter — and every day he’s separated from them… he becomes more and more like the grimy underworld he battles.

In the first two episodes of Hothouse Bruiser, we’re introduced to the rough and tumble streets of the Hothouse, as we meet Bruiser in his quest to escape the walls. But it’s not just glass that’s in his way – soon we have snipers, the corrupt corporation, sexy and dangerous dames, and darker figures trying to do him in.

Get ready for a ride… to the Hothouse.

The post Episode 327: Entering the Hothouse and Cruising with the Bruiser appeared first on Radio Drama Revival.

MacAllan Orsel enters the shattered world of Leviathan as perhaps the only chance the community has of enduring an attack on their leader. But will the immortals trust her? Does she have what it takes to lead them? We get a sneak preview of Chapter 27, and then follow up with an interview with Leviathan Chronicles creator Christof Laputka and Sound Designer Robin Shore of Silver Sound.

Leviathan Chronicles Season 2 is being released with a pretty unique strategy, the entire first half is available for paid download now - so you can purchase the first half and power through it now, or be patient and listen to it free of charge via the podcast.

We’re pretty sure that once you hear this, you are not going to want to put it down. Dig in and enjoy the adventure.

The post Episode 326: Leviathan in Crisis, A Chat with Christof Laputka and Robin Shore appeared first on Radio Drama Revival.

The action-packed, richly imagined sci-fi epic throws the unsuspecting MacAllan Orsel into a world of intrigue, immortals, high-tech prowess and US Government special Ops. We won’t spoil the riveting First Season, but suffice to say Season 2 starts off with an adrenaline-packed foray (I mean, how many audio dramas have GPS-tracking rocket launchers in their first episode?) and gets crazier from there.

Leviathan Chronicles Season 2 is being released with a pretty unique strategy, the entire first half is available for paid download now – so you can purchase the first half and power through it now, or be patient and listen to it free of charge via the podcast.

We’re pretty sure that once you hear this, you are not going to want to put it down. Dig in and enjoy the adventure.

The post Episode 325: The Leviathan Chronicles Revive appeared first on Radio Drama Revival.

In celebration of fresh new audio drama, we revisit the adrenaline-cranking Top Gun of the 21st century war epic Titanium Rain by Josh Finney and Kat Rocha. We hear the first act of the jet fueled drama, which is available for a download of only $8 through AudioComics’ website.

Followed by Honey West Murder on Mars, a sexy sassy detective thriller set at a deadly movie set on Mars.

Oh, and speaking of new audio, get your act(ors) together and polish up your explosive sound effects collection and send in something for our War of the Worlds 75th Anniversary contest. If Fred can record a podcast while holding an infant, you can sure produce a 15 minute drama for our contest!

The post Episode 324 – Basking in Titanium Rain and Sweet, Sweet Honey West appeared first on Radio Drama Revival.

The king of Thebes investigates an act of violence that has angered the gods — but the truth he uncovers threatens to destroy him. The shocking (and inevitable) conclusion of the classic tragedy as the truth is uncovered and must be faced… and [de]faced.

Chatterbox Audio Theater bravely takens on Sophocles’ seminal tragedy in a contemporary translation by Ian Johnston.

This rare take of Oedipus approaches the Greek tragic epic with an austere theater, where the light focuses on the characters at hand as they reveal truths about the universe that may destroy kings, kingdoms, and draw down the anger of the Gods. This accessible modern translation brings the classic tragedy refreshed to a modern era.

Fred remarks again about the spectacular dramatization of Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere released this week on BBC Radio 4. The whole series is now available! We feature a clip from Ep1 which is also BBC’s Radio Drama of the Week.

The post Episode 323 – Oedipus the King Learns the Bloody Truth appeared first on Radio Drama Revival.

The king of Thebes investigates an act of violence that has angered the gods — but the truth he uncovers threatens to destroy him.

Chatterbox Audio Theater bravely takens on Sophocles’ seminal tragedy in a contemporary translation by Ian Johnston.

This rare take of Oedipus approaches the Greek tragic epic with an austere theater, where the light focuses on the characters at hand as they reveal truths about the universe that may destroy kings, kingdoms, and draw down the anger of the Gods. This accessible modern translation brings the classic tragedy refreshed to a modern era.

Also, a giddy Fred shouts out about the upcoming dramatization of Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere coming to BBC Radio 4. This ep includes clips of Benedict Cumberbatch singing as the angel ‘Islington.’

The post Episode 322 – Oedipus the King Takes a Swipe appeared first on Radio Drama Revival.

The king of Thebes investigates an act of violence that has angered the gods — but the truth he uncovers threatens to destroy him.

Chatterbox Audio Theater bravely takens on Sophocles’ seminal tragedy in a contemporary translation by Ian Johnston.

As far as we know, the only dramatization of Oedipus (please correct us if wrong in the comments!) takes on the Greek tragic epic with an austere theater, where the light focuses on the characters at hand as they reveal truths about the universe that may destroy kings, kingdoms, and draw down the anger of the Gods.

Also, a giddy Fred shouts out about the upcoming dramatization of Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere coming to BBC Radio 4.

The post Episode 321 – Sophocles’ Oedipus the King: Radio Drama Goes Epic appeared first on Radio Drama Revival.

A portion of the radio drama cast of “Neverwhere” remotely says hi to Neil Gaiman

Color me among the crazed fans out there who are waiting with baited breath for Dirk Maggs’ production of Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere.  The only thing I could imagine enjoying more than hearing the gifted Gaiman read his own work (if you haven’t had a chance to hear Gaiman read his stories, I highly recommend you check out Fragile Things and The Graveyard Book to hear what you’re missing) would be to enjoy this lavish audio drama production by Maggs featuring an all star cast.

Not to be melodramatic, but Neverwhere is exactly the kind of radio drama that needs to exist for the medium to be relevant in the 21st century.  Why?  Because Neil Gaiman fans will follow Neil Gaiman’s work wherever it goes.  Hundreds of thousands – if not millions – of folks are going to experience radio drama for the first time, and what are they going to do?  They are going to look for more material.  They are going to stumble across series like We’re Alive, The Leviathan Chronicles, and (hopefully) The Cleansed.  People come out of the woodwork and say – how can I hear more of this?!

And this is all phenomenal.  My argument for a long time has been that radio drama needs to unite with the thousands of talented writers out there with story ideas that otherwise don’t get off the cutting room floor.  In Neverwhere‘s case, it seems that Gaiman was never quite content with the TV version, so radio drama offered an opportunity to really do the story right. For other stories, it may be that the show never made it past a pilot or never really gained traction with an audience as a television show and so was cut early. It may be a series of brilliant short stories, such the compilation Shadow Show edited by Mort Castle, which has a number of gems that could be audio adaptations. Or, it may be totally original ideas (like the series I listed above) which are being created for the first time as audio originals, as a way to get a story out there for a lot less money than a movie and to a lot wider audience than an ebook.

For less than 10% of the budget of a typical television episode, you can produce 4-5 hours of luxurious audio drama (a typical hour of BBC programming is ~$25,000, approximately 10x what the average American independent is working with).  If you can get the audience to understand that audio drama IS entertainment, that listening to something is just as compelling – perhaps more compelling – than watching something, then you have potentially enormous returns for the investment.  When you’re talking about listenership in the millions, it does not take a lot of paid downloads to repay twenty-fold the investments in a top-notch audio drama. When you do the math, it’s clear that excellent audio dramas have the potential to be excellent money-makers too.

So, this my hope for Neverwhere – that the delicious, absurd alternate reality of “London Underground” is realized so bloody brilliantly, memorably, and imaginatively in audio that everyone who hears it is hungry for more.  They then tell their friends, they start banging down BBC Radio 4 demanding more of the same.  Maybe this leads to more of Gaiman’s works turning into radio drama, maybe it leads to few more brilliantly original story ideas being commissioned by the BBC.  But please, may it lead to something!  Because once people managing entertainment dollars get a clue as to the potential worldwide audience of audio drama in the 21st century, it is going to be a whole new world for us.

Check it Out

Ahhh so you want to hear said drama, you say?  Here’s the scoop:

• Official BBC Radio 4 page for Neverwhere
• About the characters of Neverwhere
• Neverwhere the audio book
• Show starts airing March 16 and here is how to listen

The post Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere on BBC Radio 4: What Radio Drama Has Been Waiting For appeared first on Radio Drama Revival.

‘The Minister Of Chance‘ is an acclaimed ‘Doctor Who’ spin-off, introducing us to  a world where the Ambassador Durian of Sezuan (Paul McGann) is dispatched to the primitive island nation of Tanto.  However, his offers of friendship to the belligerent King (Mark Lewis) fall on deaf ears, and things take a turn for the very, very sinister.

In the first two episodes, we meet The Minister and Kitty who unite together and are soon traveling in the strange and murderous marshes of Paludin Fields in search of the Sage of the Waves.  Meanwhile, in Sezuan, Durian’s devious plans come to fruition.  In the forests of Tanto, Professor Cantha sees the full extent of the Sezian’s assault on science.

Episode 4 has just arrived!  Download it at: http://ministerofchance.com/The_Minister_of_Chance/Episode_4.html

The post Episode 320 – The Minister of Chance Visits Paludin Fields appeared first on Radio Drama Revival.

GRAMMY-nominated for Best Spoken Word production, digital sound design by Oscar-winner Randy Thom at George Lucas’ Skywalker Ranch, an international broadcast event, this contemporary NPR/CNN version of the Orson Welles classic stars Jason Robards with Hector Elizondo, Steve Allen, CBS newsman Douglas Edwards and public radio personalities Scott Simon and Terry Gross.

Why the excitement? Because of our crazy contest, of course! To celebrate the 75th anniversary of War of the Worlds, Radio Drama Revival is proud to be promoting a new WoW radio drama re-creation contest.

Basically, produce a play that is:

• Original
• Up to 15 minutes in length
• Uses meteorites to crash on earth, tripods to get around, ultimate destruction (because destruction is awesome), and a biological solution to thwart the bad-guys
• Makes us laugh, cry, or crap our pants, or all of the above

That’s a summary, but full contest rules (and news on the awesome prizes!) is available at: http://www.waroftheworlds75.com/.  You’ve got till May 5, 2013 to produce your show.

We also mention that time is running short to get your shows into the Mark Time Awards!  Go to: http://www.greatnorthernaudio.com/MarkTime/MarkTime.html and submit your fantastic sci-fi and fantasy audio dramas from 2012.

The post Episode 319 – War of the Worlds Returns with a BANG! appeared first on Radio Drama Revival.

Sci Fi February continues with another double-header of live sci fi comedy radio shows produced by Crazy Dog Audio Theatre for Ireland’s RTE Radio 1. This week we have “The Zombies of Dr. Krell”

Captain Sane and her crew seek shelter from a space storm at a mysterious Space Tower on the edge of a Super Massive Black Hole. Inside they meet the discredited mad scientist Dr. Rotwang Krell and his viraginous wife Gubnait. Obliging as ever, our heroes assist Dr. Krell in pullin a new Quark life form out of the fractal edge of the Black Hole. Unfortunately the creation of this new teenage life form also triggers a chain reaction which begins to unravel the fabric of the universe.

The post Episode 318 – Are you Afraid of Rotwang Krell? appeared first on Radio Drama Revival.

Sci Fi February continues with another double-header of live sci fi comedy radio shows produced by Crazy Dog Audio Theatre for Ireland’s RTE Radio 1. This week we have “The Cabaret of Forbidden Celestial Delights.”

Captain Sane and her crew are set to relax at Marlene Exotica’s risque Cabaret of Forbidden Celestial Delights when the Smirk Viper the Head Accountant of the Cyborg Network, breaks up the party with a battalion of Accountant stormtroopers. Resisting the tedious audit our heroes are taken prisoner and begin to be subjected to such tortures as only accountants can devise.

This bizarre and hilarious romp was recorded live – live cast, live music, live effects, and live audience – and harkens back to the Golden Age of radio comedy. Just… don’t get too comfortable.

The post Episode 317 – Have a Round at the Cabaret of Forbidden Celestial Delights appeared first on Radio Drama Revival.

Kicking off our annual “Sci Fi February” special feature is a series of live sci fi comedy radio shows produced by Crazy Dog Audio Theatre for Ireland’s RTE Radio 1. The collection, “Big Big Space,” kicks off with a double feature “Big Jim Chancer and the Space Pirates.”

Captain Roslyn Sane and the loyal bridge crew of the starship Amadan confront the picketing members of the ship’s Expendable Characters Union. Tired of cleaning the ship’s teeming corridors and having no speaking parts other than screaming just before meeting horrible deaths, the Expendable characters are led to mutiny by the peg-legged trolley-man ‘Big Jim Chancer’ and his Maoist red parrot Polynomial. Their aim? To launch their own spin-off show.

This bizarre and hilarious romp was recorded live – live cast, live music, live effects, and live audience – and harkens back to the Golden Age of radio comedy. Just… don’t get too comfortable.

The post Episode 316 – Crazy Dog Audio Goes Big Big Spacey appeared first on Radio Drama Revival.

Part 2 of 2

The Constant is a radio play about five friends and a new city. Two years earlier, life was easy in their rural town – everyone was who they were and life was simpler. At the nexus of life’s great turning points, people either grow together or grow apart. No one could have expected that their move to the big city would affect their lifelong relationships so much, or end one of their lives.

This original show by Kenley Kristofferson is a heartfelt, grown-up coming-of-age tale with a fresh youthful sound with an expansive soundtrack featuring bands, singers and songwriters located in the region of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

Does the city change people, or do people become who they really are when they leave their small town? Does the anonymity of the city allow you to discover yourself away from the prying eyes of your hometown culture? Or does it corrupt you when you go outside the bounds of what you’ve known? We explore these issues in… “The Constant.”

The post Episode 315 – Nothing in Life is Really “The Constant” (Part 2 of 2) appeared first on Radio Drama Revival.

This original show by Kenley Kristofferson is a heartfelt, grown-up coming-of-age tale with a fresh youthful sound with an expansive soundtrack featuring bands, singers and songwriters located in the region of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

Does the city change people, or do people become who they really are when they leave their small town? Does the anonymity of the city allow you to discover yourself away from the prying eyes of your hometown culture? Or does it corrupt you when you go outside the bounds of what you’ve known? We explore these issues in… “The Constant.”

The post Episode 314 – Kristofferson’s Friends are “The Constant” (Part 1 of 2) appeared first on Radio Drama Revival.

In it, the miserly old recluse Martin Chuzzlewit adopts an orphan girl, Mary, to be his caregiver. As she will inherit nothing upon his death, he believes she will do her utmost to keep him in good health. But when Chuzzlewit’s grandson Mickey falls in love with Mary, Martin’s plans are thrown into disarray. Disinheriting him, Martin triggers a complex web of deceit, betrayal and manipulation as the extended family and hangers-on close in, in pursuit of his fortune.

This fast-paced drama full of intrigue, romance, suspense and murder is told in three hour-long parts, and you, dear Radio Drama Revival listener, will be able to hear the story in its full, unedited glory, for the first time it’s been heard outside of the BBC.

Today we’ll hear Part 3 of 3 of The Mumbai Chuzzlewits, a shortlist play BBC Audio Drama Awards 2013. John Dryden’s latest “The Reluctant Spy” is available through the BBC Radio 4 iPlayer.

Check out Goldhawk’s site, where you can find behind the scenes videos of various scenes in the drama – fights, murders, gatherings – you can get a flavor for John’s recording style and again don’t forget we’ve interviewed him in the past and talked about radio drama, field recording, and contemporary art. Producer Fred Greenhalgh worked on U.S. sound for “Severed Threads.”

The post Episode 313 – Mumbai Chuzzlewits, Part 3: Closing in to Martin appeared first on Radio Drama Revival.

In it, the miserly old recluse Martin Chuzzlewit adopts an orphan girl, Mary, to be his caregiver. As she will inherit nothing upon his death, he believes she will do her utmost to keep him in good health. But when Chuzzlewit’s grandson Mickey falls in love with Mary, Martin’s plans are thrown into disarray. Disinheriting him, Martin triggers a complex web of deceit, betrayal and manipulation as the extended family and hangers-on close in, in pursuit of his fortune.

This fast-paced drama full of intrigue, romance, suspense and murder is told in three hour-long parts, and you, dear Radio Drama Revival listener, will be able to hear the story in its full, unedited glory, for the first time it’s been heard outside of the BBC.

Today we’ll hear Part 2 of 3 of The Mumbai Chuzzlewits.

Hot News: Don’t miss John Dryden’s new spy thriller set in modern-day Egypt out January 2-4 from the BBC: http://www.goldhawk.eu/the-reluctant-spy-2

Also – while you’re at Goldhawk’s site, check out behind the scenes videos of various scenes in the drama – fights, murders, gatherings – you can get a flavor for John’s recording style and again don’t forget we’ve interviewed him in the past and talked about radio drama, field recording, and contemporary art

The post Episode 312 – Mumbai Chuzzlewits, Part 2: Murder, Alliances and Greed appeared first on Radio Drama Revival.

In it, the miserly old recluse Martin Chuzzlewit adopts an orphan girl, Mary, to be his caregiver. As she will inherit nothing upon his death, he believes she will do her utmost to keep him in good health. But when Chuzzlewit’s grandson Mickey falls in love with Mary, Martin’s plans are thrown into disarray. Disinheriting him, Martin triggers a complex web of deceit, betrayal and manipulation as the extended family and hangers-on close in, in pursuit of his fortune.

This fast-paced drama full of intrigue, romance, suspense and murder is told in three hour-long parts, and you, dear Radio Drama Revival listener, will be able to hear the story in its full, unedited glory, for the first time it’s been heard outside of the BBC.

Today we’ll hear Part 1 of 3 of The Mumbai Chuzzlewits.

Hot News: Don’t miss John Dryden’s new spy thriller set in modern-day Egypt out January 2-4 from the BBC: http://www.goldhawk.eu/the-reluctant-spy-2

Also – while you’re at Goldhawk’s site, check out behind the scenes videos of various scenes in the drama – fights, murders, gatherings – you can get a flavor for John’s recording style and again don’t forget we’ve interviewed him in the past and talked about radio drama, field recording, and contemporary art

The post Episode 311 – Mumbai Chuzzlewits Sets Dickens in India appeared first on Radio Drama Revival.

Never before heard as a podcast, this mix has the legitimate feel of the apocalypse happening at a classic rock and roll radio station, as our intrepid DJ Comeau rolls up a big fatty, puts on a saucy tune, and cranks up the monitors in the celebration of the arrival of Kingdom Come. Meet John Prophet, Sam Miller, David Brenner, and Luke in the moment that occurs 15 years before the beginning of The Cleansed: Season 1.

The end of the world is ho, ho, here.

The post Mayan Apocalypse Special, Part 2 – A Fresh Look at The Cleansed appeared first on Radio Drama Revival.

First up on our roster, a taste of Jazz Book on Tape by Jason Samilski, a romping, erratic, jiving and growling exploration of the post-industrial age combining voice, effects, and music.

We then have Phil Proctor, founding member of The Firesign Theatre who eulogizes the late Peter Bergman and details Bergman’s explorations of Mayan ruins in Mexico on an episode of Joe Bev’s Comedy-O-Rama hour.

Next is the absurdist irreverent comedy Llamageddon, produced by Wireless Theatre Company and written by the aptly named No Cause for a Llama. The end of the ages is at hand and … seriously, you think THESE guys can stop it?

Wrapping it all up is Ancient Evil, a short piece by Monique Boudreau released by Aural Stages’ Dialed In series. When an ancient Aztec curse is released in the archaeology lab, who on campus is responsible for cleaning up the mess?

The post Episode 310 – Welcoming in the Mayan Llamageddon appeared first on Radio Drama Revival.

Graphic – FunGraphix.com
Theme music – Shane Lamb

Title: Captain Radio Explores AudioDrop Central
Production Company: Angry Viking Productions
Writer/Director/Producer: Eric Ericson
Type: Drama, Comedy
Genre:  Multiple — Sci-fi, Action, Suspense, Satire
Length: 10-15 minute-long episodes
Rating: AudioDrop™ Universe: AD-G thru AD-PG13; Velvet Curtain Series: AD-PG13 thru AD-R*
Availability: Download from  http://audiodropcentral.com for $.89 per episode.

Greetings, Audionauts! Captain Radio™ here with visit to AudioDrop  Central.

As modern independent audio theater production continues to flourish, one expects the art form and its distribution to begin turning a few corners.

Previously, we reviewed Jason Samilski’s ground-breaking content shift. Now comes AudioDrops Central, hoping to merging and extend successful content development and distribution approaches employed by other media, both past and present, for audio theater.

Angry Viking Productions populates AudioDropCentral.com with varying collections of 10-15 minute multi-genre audio episodes. These range in tone from risqué humor to intense drama and through settings from the Civil War aftermath to Capone’s mob-run Chicago to the outer edges of the universe and the imagination.

[AUDIO SOUND BYTE]

“Adam”, featuring the voice talent of John Tuttle and Andrew Staton, is the digital autobiography of a lost deep-space probe that gains sentience. It comes from AudioDrop’s Fantastic Worlds sci-fi series which fondly echoes old Golden-Age pulp and comic magazines while revitalizing plots with updated scenarios and circumstances.

This initial resemblance to pulp mags and comic books is no coincidence. The goal of Angry Viking Productions, principally led by Eric Erickson, is to blend immersive FX, original music, and professionally portrayed, engaging scripts into a new 3D audioscape not unlike modern adult comic books that also feature complex plots and characters and thrilling, near-3D artwork exploding from the slick pages. To emphasize the intended connection further, the AudioDropsCentral.com web site visually displays series logos as comic book covers arrayed on shelves and stresses that all AudioDrop Central episodes somehow conform to an over-arching “universe”, just as most action-adventure comic books do.

If the Audiodrops™ Universe series most resembles comic book store open shelves, The Velvet Curtain series of mature comedy, satire, and drama would definitely be veiled from prying young ears. In addition to WWI satire and Chicago mob drama, this series showcases audio adaptations of comic artist Nick Cuti’s “Moonie the Starbabe”. These ribald romps follow Lauren Matthews as Moonie, a curvy, buxomy Barbarella space adventurer with attitude and her two craven astral miner sidekicks, Andrew Staton and Scott Bailey:

[AUDIO SOUND BYTE]

Finally, like Fantastic Worlds, the Murder, Incorporatedseries inherits heart and soul from the venerable comic book’s visceral tales of suspense, intrigue, and tangible peril, often stretching the boundaries of sanity:

[AUDIO SOUND BYTE]

“The Soccer Mom”, featuring Elizabeth Moore as the anonymous title character with Jon Tuttle as her “detective” listening foil, is AudioDrops’ most popular piece. In this frightening tale of taught suspense and fatal impulse, the backdrop effects during Moore’s monologues spontaneously evoke flashback scenes which seem as real in the listener’s mind as video might to the listener’s eye.

Primarily under Eric Erickson’s scripting and direction, most AudioDrops™ episodes achieve good continuity while offering generally an in-depth quality listening experience (headphone listening recommended) as well as entertaining dialog and respectable performances. While “The Soccer Mom” is clearly a performance stand-out, as with a good food court, it’s well worth sampling more than one item at AudioDropCentral.com

For 10-15 minute immersive modern comic book-style audio adventure, drama, comedy, and satire, …

[AUDIO SOUND BYTE - "Visit AudioDropsCentral.com ..."]

… to download a variety of productions Rated AD-G through AD-R for strong language and adult situations.

Captain Radio.Com Reviews originate on the Radio Drama Revival podcast. Subscribe to free weekly downloads of more top-notch, independently-produced modern audio drama from around the world at RadioDramaRevival.Com.

Until next time, Audionauts™, this is Captain Radio™, signing off!

* Rating based on the Audio Drama Directory Ratings System.

Producer’s Description:

Audiodrops™ are shorter audio productions- usually between 10 and 15 minutes- with full casts, immersive special effects, original music and engaging stories. Each episode is a full story in itself, as well as a piece in the larger mosaic of the AudioDrop™ Universe where our characters live. With each tale, listeners learn more about the rich tapestry filled with heroes such as Red Colt, Phineas Hawke, Samantha Bloodmoon and so many more. Velvet Curtain Series audios are tailored for mature audiences and present stories meant for adults with intricate storylines, mesmerizing characters and desperate situations. These stories are separate from the AudioDrop Universe, but keep an ear out for audio Easter eggs!

Productions Featured in This Review:

The post Captain Radio Explores AudioDrop Central appeared first on Radio Drama Revival.

It’s blazing hot on the North Pole, Blitzen is getting blitzed, Rudolph’s red-nosed and red faced and Santa Claus is slogging it out for the tourists trying to make ends meet. Is this all that is going to become of the ho-ho-holidays?

We lead with a teaser of the BBC classic dramatization of The Hobbit, available on the BBC Audiobooks website AudioGO.

The post Episode 309 – Dreaming of a Tropical Christmas in the Icebox appeared first on Radio Drama Revival.

Salk’s fresh take on the classic puts the ghosts back full force in the story of Scrooge, pressed on the full palette of your imagination.  Featuring Maurice LaMarche, Rob Paulson, Neil Flynn and other celebrated voice actors.

It is Christmas Eve, and the air outside is as cold as Scrooge’s heart. Come nightfall, Scrooge receives three visitors: the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future. Each spirit takes him on a hair-raising journey through time, yielding glimpses of Tiny Tim and Bob Cratchit—and even Scrooge’s painfully hopeful younger self. Will Scrooge’s heart be opened? Can he escape his cursed fate?

The post Episode 308 – Marley’s Ghost Rattles His Chains appeared first on Radio Drama Revival.

Graphic - FunGraphix.com
Theme music - Shane Lamb   

Title: Jazz Book on Tape

Writer/Director/Producer: Jason Samilski

Type: Drama-Comedy
Genre:  Social Satire

Length: 20-minutes

Rating: AD-PG13* (brief course language, possibly disturbing dystopian images)
Availability: Free to listen at http://www.prx.org/pieces/71219-jazz-book-on-tape#description

Producer’s Description:

Jazz Book on Tape is a lucid, hyper-visual radio play featuring 10 voices, approaching dialogue and monologue scenes through a poetic tapestry–essentially creating jazz expressions within the framework of the spoken word. Worlds spin into worlds, which spin into worlds. Soundscapes, sound effects and music go to create an original air of non-conventional audio storytelling. Feelings of apocalyptic frenzy, contrasted with utopia. At once a bleak reality check, sparkling prose, and social commentary.

 —————————————————–

Greetings, Audionauts! Captain Radio™ here with a review of Jazz Book on Tape, an apocalyptic social vision from writer/producer/musician, Jason Samilski.

On our modern independent audio theater landscape, where writers and producers most often acknowledge creative bonds to the Golden Age of Radio, Jason Samilski comes off as a savvy feral child rebel.

A multi-faceted musician as well as a poet/composer, Samilski keenly comprehends the highly portable emerging iSound environment. Boredom, he notes, “with the measly eighteen thousand hours of music on citizen listeners’ hard drives and portable players”, creates sustained hunger for fresh material. Given audio theater’s uber-flexibility and potentially low- to no-cost independent production price tag, Samilski naturally adopted that path to “let the dog out” on his abundant creative talents and fill the unsatiated gap.

Truly evocative audio montages resulted, such as Jazz Book on Tape, a steamy, withering dark-humored dramatic essay on post-industrialism, that opens with a litany of symptoms which prophetically resemble the current Hurricane Sandy ongoing urban nightmare:

[AUDIO CLIP]

Jazz Book, a self-proclaimed poetic tapestry of jazz expressions played out through the spoken word, is loosely held together by observational sound bites from a young, claustrophobic societal dropout. However, the rapidly changing aural landscape relies on cross-generational voices that segue back and forth, rapidly and intensely interstitching foreground perspectives with the background musical mood oscillations of Samilski’s mostly original soundtrack. Some of these exchanges become painfully insightful as does this view of a “normal” newscast, delivered by shallow talking heads, and replayed later from memory etched in a child’s mind:

[AUDIO CLIP]

Then follows a decisively fatalistic young woman (perhaps one of the “newscasters” who reaches adolescence?), expressing these deeply-stamped impressions through tedious minimalistic pop rock:

[AUDIO CLIP]

While Jazz Book seldom backs off the pedal during this darkly dystopian tale, it does offer minute clues to what may have gone wrong, suggesting slight hope that our post-industrial apocalyptic juggernaut may yet be re-routed:

[AUDIO CLIP]

Jazz Book condenses its visceral psychological rollercoaster ride through society’s ills into a mere 20 minutes, probably requiring at least a focused second listening. Its artistic approach recalls to me a Norman Corwin audio spectrum tour de force, while it’s substance poetically enjoins George Orwell’s 1984 with T. S. Elliott’s masterpiece, The Hollow Men, rendering a fresh, if also as bleak, assessment of a modern dystopia, one that may expire, not with a bang, but a whimper.

Listen to Jazz Book on Tape, writer/producer Jason Samilski’s sobering and oft ironically humorous audio montage of a waning post-industrial society, by visiting PRX.org and Searching for the title. Rated PG-13 for brief course language.

The post Captain Radio Reviews Jazz Book on Tape from Jason Samilski appeared first on Radio Drama Revival.

For a girl living in a New York Brownstone with an absentee father, life can be tough.  Luckily, have virtually unlimited trust-funds and a poltergeist nanny and butler make life considerably easier.  But when mean-spirited strangers come to call, it’s going to take more than just her wits to keep her way of life intact….

“Ghost” was written by Julie Hoverson, contemporary audio drama’s most prolific diva, whose projects range from the genre-busting Dead-eye kid, to the ‘why even bother using words trying to explain it’ Bingo the Birthday Clown, plus straight up gorey, spooky, and mind-bending fare in her regular 19 Nocturne Boulevard anthology of unusual stories.  And while Julie does many classics (such as HP Lovecraft’s Rats in the Walls, just produced for this last Halloween), it’s her original work that shows off the true range of her talents.  Expect the unexpected this week.

Plus, news of a new radio drama adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere and the publication of The Cleansed by Blackstone Audiobooks.  And the return of Captain Radio!  It’s a pretty full 45 minutes.

The post Episode 307 – A Different Kind of Spook in “Ghost of a Chance” appeared first on Radio Drama Revival.

Graphic - FunGraphix.com
Theme music - Shane Lamb   

Title: The New York Crimes (Mini-Series)
Writer/Director/Producer: Kristen Felicetti
Type: Comedy
Genre:  Mystery
Length: 15- to 18-minute episodes
Rating: AD-PG13* (Bursts of course language unsuited for kiddies)
Availability: Free to listen from thenycrimes.com

WATCH NY CRIMES TRAILER @ Youtube

The post Captain Radio Reviews The New York Crimes appeared first on Radio Drama Revival.

The brainchild of producer, sound designer, and writer Jonathan Mitchell, The Truth is trying many different things, but what it’s best at is a wildly innovative approach to audio storytelling wherein a rough script is used to set up situations, and actors improvise dialogue to play out those situations.

This storytelling method, combined with location-recordings, results in an invigorating, surprising kind of drama that can surprise, delight, or – as is the case in today’s episode – terrify.

Both stories take ordinary people and push them out of the realm of normalcy and into the outskirts – the place where things get weird. In “In Good Hands,” two pranksters in New York City go beneath the surface of the city and discover another world in the tunnels. In “Do You Have a Minute for Equality?” a woman is put in a tight spot on a city street, and her efforts to support her cause will cost her dearly.

The post Episode 306 – The Truth Puts Us in “Good Hands” appeared first on Radio Drama Revival.

Featuring 19 Nocturne Boulevard (Seattle, Washington) with the HP Lovecraft classic “The Rats in the Walls”

19 Nocturne Boulevard, which began podcasting in October of 2008, is an anthology series with over 80 half hour episodes, two Mark Time Awards (“The Outpost” 2008, “The Rookie” 2009), and an Ogle Award (“Ghost of a Chance” 2011) under its belt. Written and produced by Julie Hoverson, 19 Nocturne Boulevard spans genres from comedy to horror, from science fiction to mystery, and from romance to dark social commentary. In addition to its flagship series, 19 Nocturne Boulevard, Wheeality Productions’ other shows include Bingo the Birthday Clown (gonzo fantasy), Fatal Girl (dark mature anime), and the Deadeye Kid (supernatural western).

As the resident diva of 19 Nocturne, Julie takes pride in playing fairy godmother for a number of beginning audio drama groups (helping them improve their techniques and find resources like music and actors), teaching production one-on-one, involving new actors (particularly students) in her shows, as well as producing a blog on audio drama production techniques. This fosters a feeling of community and enthusiasm that comes through in every Wheeality Production.

The post Transcontinental Terror 2012 – Part 6 / 6 – 19 Nocturne Boulevard appeared first on Radio Drama Revival.

Featuring Icebox Radio Theater (International Falls, Minnesota) with “All Hallow’s Eve”

The Icebox Radio Theater of International Falls, Minnesota, USA, has many faces and many voices. It is a community theater in a small town. It is a media arts organization with a global audience. It is dedicated to promoting and telling the stories of a very unique region. And it is dedicated to artistic growth. Most of all, the IBRT is dedicated to the idea that in the Internet Age, great art can be created anywhere and enjoyed by everyone.

The IBRT has produced both live radio theater before paying audiences, and recorded ‘in studio’ in its home at the Backus Community Center in International Falls. It is award winning, most recently bringing home a Silver Ogle Award for best Fantasy or Horror audio in 2009 for last Halloween’s offering: “The Thing on the Ice.” It is an eclectic theater featuring stories of comedy, mystery, horror, science fiction, drama, and adventure, all with some tie to the region the theater calls home.

The IBRT has a twice-monthly podcast, has been heard on radio stations from coast-to-coast, and this year is embarking on a membership campaign.

The post Transcontinental Terror 2012 – Part 5 / 6 – Icebox Radio Theater appeared first on Radio Drama Revival.

Featuring Chatterbox Audio Theater (Memphis, Tennessee) with “Master Zacharius” Part 1 and Part 2

Chatterbox Audio Theater is an audio production company based in Memphis, TN. Chatterbox favors simultaneous performances and manual sound effects, preferring to create their shows with as little post-production editing as possible.

Chatterbox shows include adaptations of classic literature (including James Joyce, Herman Melville, Greek myths, and others), original stories (such as the 2007 Silver Ogle Award winner “The Dead Girl”), sketch comedy, thrillers, dramas, children’s stories, and more.

Since launching in September of 2007, Chatterbox has posted some 60 shows to its website, www.chatterboxtheater.org. All of Chatterbox’s productions (including recordings of previous years’ Halloween broadcasts) are available through its website at no charge. You may also subscribe to the group’s podcast on iTunes.

The post Transcontinental Terror 2012 – Part 4 / 6 – Chatterbox Audio Theater appeared first on Radio Drama Revival.

Featuring FinalRune Productions (Portland, Maine) and Aural Stage Studios (Buffalo, NY) with Dark Passenger and Intensive Care Passenger and Intensive Care

FinalRune Productions is dedicated to producing compelling original audio drama.  Since their creation in 2006, FinalRune has released over a dozen original works, including the Ogle-Award winning “Waiting for a Window,” the pilot episode of “Open Season” by Archer Mayor (featured in The Wall Street Journal), and the cautionary tale “The Troll of Stony Brook.” FinalRune’s work is recorded on-location, using techniques similar to independent filmmaking for an immersive and realistic aural experience. Downloads of plays, production photographs, and articles on the craft are available on FinalRune’s website, http://www.finalrune.com.

Aural Stage Studios is a team of audio designers, producers and engineers experienced in all aspects of audio, including theatre sound design, audio post-production, sound effect recording and design, voice recording, Foley and studio recording. Aural Stage Studios showcases writers and performing artists in an inexpensive and easily distributable medium with potential for world wide exposure.

Aural Stage Studios is responsible for the Ogle Award winning 2011 co-production of “Intensive Care” with FinalRune Productions, as well as their original series, Dialed In and 1918. Aural Stage Studio’s lead sound designer, Matthew Boudreau, is also principle sound designer behind FinalRune’s epic apocalyptic podcast series, The Cleansed.

The post Transcontinental Terror 2012 – Part 3 / 6 – FinalRune Productions and Aural Stage Studios appeared first on Radio Drama Revival.

Featuring Electric Vicuna (Halifax, Nova Scotia) with “Coach #6″ and “One by One”

Electric Vicuña was established in 2009 to meet the growing demand for high profile radio drama, audio cinema, voice acting, and books on tape. EV is the parent organization that provides the very best in modern audio drama from the weekly radio broadcast and popular podcast The Sonic Society.

Beginning with a strong base in the three pillars of creative and accessible content, high-quality recordings, sound effects and music, and an emphasis on solid business practices, Electric Vicuña Productions looks to partner with radio stations, podcasts, and audio companies to bring to market the very best of audio stories.

With many projects in development and mature broadcast partners built upon the experience of the founders, and years in the podcasting/broadcasting world through its early incarnations as Sonic Cinema and the Sonic Society, Electric Vicuña has become a hub to showcase quality, original audio and spoken word content.

The post Transcontinental Terror 2012 – Part 2 / 6 – Electric Vicuna appeared first on Radio Drama Revival.

Featuring Wireless Theatre Company (London, England) with “The Maiden without Hands” and “The Cask of Amontillado”

The award-winning Wireless Theatre Company launched in 2007 and quickly established itself as one of the most well-respected audio companies on the internet, producing allfree, original audio drama, comedy, stories, poems, sketches and more for download to iPods.

WTC have worked with hundreds of people in four years, including much-loved radio performers and writers such as Prunella Scales, Timothy West, Nicholas Parsons (Patron), Julian Glover, Richard O’Brien and Ray Galton. WTC realizes one new production a month, as well as several live audio recordings a year.

WTC also creates audio horror productions with www.3Dhorrorfi.com using binarual recording techniques for 3D sound. Visit www.wirelesstheatrecompany.co.uk for free audio productions.

The post Transcontinental Terror 2012 – Part 1 / 6 – Wireless Theatre Company appeared first on Radio Drama Revival.

Rob Sterling Davies is on the crest of a wave: a celebrated scriptwriter, actor, TV personality, the new doyen of Just a Minute, and apparently, Stephen Fry’s new best friend (and yes, this play does star Stephen Fry himself, as… Stephen Fry!). But all isn’t quite as it seems, and when Stephen discovers that Rob’s BAFTA-winning script was stolen, he undertakes to expose Rob for the fraud he is.

Written by Susan Casanove, who also stars as Bulah Clack. This is the second in a series of three comedy-dramas which document the rise to fame of a deeply immoral, narcissistic sociopath, played brilliantly by Adam Hall, who will stop at nothing to get what he wants.

Also featuring an interview with Washingtoon Audio Theater by the returned Captain Radio!

The post Episode 305 – Wireless Theatre Company is the BBC appeared first on Radio Drama Revival.

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

The post Episode 304 – Prison Stories from Chatterbox Audio Theater appeared first on Radio Drama Revival.

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.

The post Episode 303 – Day of the Dead Returns to New Orleans appeared first on Radio Drama Revival.

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 post Episode 302 – A Son’s Long Trip Home, and a Dark Ride appeared first on Radio Drama Revival.

It’s time again for that old-time Golden Age of Radio recreation that Somerville, Massachusetts has known and loved for over six years! From the Post-Meridian Radio Players, who brought you “The War of the Worlds: The Mob vs. The Martians”, “The Sirens of War” and “The Byfar Hour”, now bring you “Tomes of Terror: New Arrivals!” Three short, scary stories will be performed, so terrifying that not even Vincent Price nor Bela Legosi will be there to see them!

- “The Shivers on Highway 61″, part of the Parsec Award winning Mask of Inanna series, tells the tale of a 1950’s biker gang that has to deal with one of their own returned from the grave!
- “The Crasher” features a troubled writer who discovers that investigating the party at a nearby graveyard is, perhaps, not the wisest idea.
- In “The Red Line”, MBTA driver Charlie Evans gets a very unusual offer that might save the T from financial disaster, if Charlie can afford the fare.

The last few shows are this Thursday (Oct. 25th), Friday (Oct. 26th) and Saturday (Oct. 27th) at 8:00PM with a Saturday matinee at 2:00PM at the Unity Somerville Church. For details, check out: http://tomesna.pmrp.org

The post Live Radio Drama in Boston this Weekend – Check out “Tomes of Terror”! appeared first on Radio Drama Revival.

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.”

The post Episode 301 – The Statement of Randolph Carter by Horrorscopes appeared first on Radio Drama Revival.

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.

The post Episode 300 – The Strange Case of Springheel’d Jack appeared first on Radio Drama Revival.

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…

The post Episode 299 – The Damned Are Playing at Godzilla’s Tonight appeared first on Radio Drama Revival.

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.

The post Episode 298 – The Handmaid Makes a Break for It appeared first on Radio Drama Revival.

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.

The post Episode 297 – The Handmaid Takes Her Assignment appeared first on Radio Drama Revival.

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.

The post Episode 296 – The Handmaid Returns to Tell Her Tale appeared first on Radio Drama Revival.