Monday, October 13, 2008

Theatre of the Mind

A direction I would like to "unleash" in is audio theatre (the artform formally known as "radio drama.") There are many reasons:
  1. It makes Theatre Unleashed output available to anyone, anywhere and at anytime.
  2. It satisfies our mandate to explore multimedia.
  3. It can contribute to the synergy we already enjoy between our video output and live stage shows.
  4. It's got to be a heck of a lot cheaper than mounting stage productions.
I know that I listen to podcasts. Do you? Is it possible that with the advent of podcastingm we'll see a renewed interest in audio dramas?

I have much more research to do on this topic!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Andrew and Pamela:

Our experience at controlling costs (read: flourishing, not merely surviving) for going on ten years at Hunterdon Radio Theatre, a tax exempt nonprofit audio theatre corporation in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, has been that "audio" theatre is a cost-effective means of mounting productions. Our big capital investment was a quality sound system mobile enough to allow us to perform beyond our studio space.

Also, aural storytelling requires less space which is well-suited to the intimacy of audio theatre.

Further, Web-streaming is a practical consideration which enables the performance to be heard by patrons not able to be in the space.

Other considerations aside - writing/directing/performing for the ear v. the eye, encouraging audiences to try audio theatre, etc. - aural storytelling ratchets down costs without sacrificing quality.

Best,

William E. Spear
Founder and President
Hunterdon Radio Theatre
www.hrtonline.org

Publisher and Producer
Lit Between the Ears - Celebrating the Power and People of Dramatic Audio
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