It was October 30, 1938 and families across the U.S. kept their radios tuned as they cooked dinner, read the newspaper, or cleaned the floors. Suddenly, a terrifying announcement struck the radio waves: an alien attack on Planet Earth was imminent!
While the event was, of course, Orson Wells’s fictional concoction, “The War of the Worlds,” radio’s impact upon the American population was undeniable. Visceral imagery, enchanting voices, and, of course, an amalgam of shocking sound effects absorbed listeners in the fictional other-worldly happening.
Radio today may not have the same kind of immediate impact upon a large portion of the American population as it did in the 1930’s, but that does not mean that the radio play is extinct. Just look to L.A. Theatre Works, a theatre company founded in 1974 by producing director Susan Lowenberg, that produces a new radio play each week for broadcast on NPR stations across the nation.
Initially a small theatre group founded by Lowenberg and other LA actors, including Richard Dreyfus and Edward Asner, the goal of L.A. Theatre Works simple: to share classic and contemporary theater over radio airwaves and archive audio collections of their productions.
Top-name actors have appeared in past L.A. Theatre Works productions including founders Dreyfus and Asner as well as Nathan Lane and Adam Arkin and it shows, especially in L.A. Theatre Works’ latest production of Stephen Karam’s contemporary play “Speech and Debate.”
Recording sessions take place at the Skirball Cultural Center to a fairly sizable audience of about 100. However, one should not be fooled by the airs of the recording session as a full theatrical performance. While the actors gesticulate and seem to embody the characters they vocalize, they are not in costume nor are there any sets to accompany them. Their only props are their microphones and vocal chords and, with the aid of a sound technician, actions become captured.
“Speech and Debate” followed the story of three misfit high school students brought together by a sex scandal involving their school’s drama teacher. Featuring “Desperate Housewives’” Andrea Bowen, Gideon Glick of Broadway’s Tony-Award winning play “Spring Awakening,” and Drama Desk Award winner Bobby Steggert, the three actors conveyed an infectious and absorbing vitality. Despite the fact that the actors faced the stage for the entirety of the production, the chemistry between their characters seemed undeniable and it was easy to visualize their high school and the scenario.
The lack of costumes and settings did not limit the production, but merely shifted the focus to the vocals of the actors themselves. However, this emphasis conjured an intrinsic attachment to traditional story-telling; I felt as though I was back in elementary school sitting on a carpet square listening to a story unfolding and imagining the details for myself.
Seeing the sound effects separated from the dialogue, too, created an intriguing effect. The sounds of crumpling paper, clanging dishes, and dinging bells provided the essential realistic touches to the scenario. Most impressively, the sound technician managed to imitate the sound of, well, vomiting, by pouring a can of beans into a pot. I never would have expected the kind of resources the technician relied upon and enjoyed witnessing the ingenuity for myself.
Checking out upcoming L.A. Theatre Works productions is a must for anyone with a passing interest in theater or radio. The company’s next show, Tennessee William’s “Summer and Smoke” directed by UCLA directing professor Michael Hackett, will decidedly create a different effect from the very contemporary “Speech and Debate,” but the quality of the acting and the absorptive experience should provide a similarly enjoyable experience.
While our entertainment possibilities may have evolved since the days of “The War of the Worlds” scare, the power of an engaging script will never cease to change.
Subscribe to our RSS Feed And checkout our coffee competition to win a $30 gift voucher to your favourite coffee shop : click here
(No Ratings Yet)
Loading ...
0 responses so far ↓
Subscribe to our RSS Feed and leave a comment to enter the commentator of the week competition and win a $20 Amazon.com gift voucher.
Leave a Comment