Radio Play Revival in Madison?

While I don't have an iPod, I do own a Sansa Clip and it's 2GB of storage is bursting at the seams with MP3s. However, I must admit that I have no music on my Clip. There are a couple radio documentaries on there but most of the space is occupied by radio dramas. To be had are a couple Doctor Who episodes, a Cadfael mystery, season 3 of Wormwood, and my current listen, Slipstream by Simon Bovey, who has written some great stories for radio.



While audio drama is not exactly the hippest trend, it does seem to be making a comeback of sorts here in Madison. Last fall, L.A. Theatre Works was here just before Halloween to perform H.G. Wells' "War of the Worlds" and "The Lost World" by Arthur Conan Doyle as radio plays. Last month Middleton High School's drama club put on "'Live Broadcast,' a 1940s-style live radio drama". Also last month, the shiny new Forward Theater Company took to the stage for the first time with a radio play – "All About Eve". And just this past weekend, "It's A Wonderful Life" was done as a radio play in Middleton.

If you follow the links above to the stories, you'll notice that the performers are often decked out in 1940s costumes which is fine but there are tons of radio plays being produced now which are thoroughly contemporary. The medium is most definitely not stuck in the pre-WW2 era.

During a Q&A with Paul McGann (a.k.a. – the 8th Doctor) at Chicago TARDIS, I learned that unlike in English acting schools, American actors don't get any formal training for radio plays. They learn how to do voiceovers for commercials, but not voice acting. In England, however, aspiring thespians receive formal training for radio plays as it is expected that they'll work their way up through BBC Radio which broadcasts a constant stream of radio theatre.

Despite this, great audio drama is to be had on both sides of the ocean and the Internet has made it easier than ever to obtain. So get listening!