"The thing that you were able to achieve in radio was involvement. Participation. Because you didn't have all the pieces to the puzzle. The person coming to the radio set had to bring some of the pieces and fill in. Even if there were forty people working in the studio, they were all concentrating on one ear."
-- Robert E. Lee (The Great American Broadcast, Leonard Maltin, P. 27-28)

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Training for Radio Drama

• The Best of MRTW Educational Tape Series
  Produced by Brian Price. Taken from workshop sessions at ten Midwest Radio Theater Workshops. Topics include Writing for Radio, Director as Producer: Getting Organized, Directing - Working With Actors, Acting for Radio, Voices and Accents, and Musical Integration. An excellent resource for anyone wanting to learn more about the crafts of audio drama. Available from The LodesTone Catalog (http://www.lodestone-media.com/).
  
• Radio College: Radio Theater - http://216.92.216.224/rc/theater.html
  A web site about the production of public radio of all kinds. From Western Public Radio, in San Francisco. This is their links to on-line resources for production of audio theater.
  
• Radio Plays: An Overview, by Yuri Rasovsky - http://216.92.216.224/rc/welltemperedoverview.html
  A lengthy article about the production of Audio Drama. This article was written as part of an unpublished book of instructional essays and includes an overview of the recording and mixing process, dealing with the various personnel involved, and being professional. Yuri Rasovsky calls himself "the nation's most distinguished unknown audio dramatist."
  
• Radio Drama - The Production Process, by Independent Radio Drama Productions, UK - http://www.irdp.co.uk/production.htm
  A very brief overview of what takes place in producing a radio drama, and in what order. At least, this is the way it is done in the United Kingdom.
  
• Audio Dramatists' Lexicon by Yuri Rasovsky - http://216.92.216.224/rc/welltemperedlexicon.html
  A glossary of terms used in the production of audio theater. Compiled by one of most decorated producers in the field, Yuri Rasovsky.
  
• Radio Theater Info/Training links - http://www.audiotheater.com/Atedlink.htm
  Links to other on-line resources for learning about the production of radio/audio theater. Some of it leads back to the page you are reading, and some of it goes to the same places that are links on this page. But there are also other useful and informative links.
  
• The Director's Role in Studio Production of Audio Theater - http://www.natf.org/potterdirector.html
  Charles Potter, one of the best and most sought after directors of audio books and audio theater, writes of what the director does in the studio during an audio production. An article for NATF, the National Audio Theatre Festivals.
  
• Radio Drama Resources - http://home.sprynet.com/~palermo/mtr_radi.htm
  Tony Palermo's very thorough page with links to articles about radio theater writing, sound effects, music scoring, directing and all sorts of other useful info. Also other places to get information about educational opportunities and books. Includes a short list of stations in Los Angeles area where you can hear radio drama.
  
• Balance Publishing: Teaching Materials for Radio Drama - http://www.balancepublishing.com/
  Scripts, books, instruction and teaching materials for teaching the crafts of audio theater in the classroom.
  
• Radio Drama Teaching and Learning Site - http://www.ukc.ac.uk/sdfva/rd/
  By Alan Beck at the Drama Dept., University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent, UK. Aimed at students in a particular course at the Univ. of Kent.

Writing Radio Theater

"There was another pitfall good writers tried to avoid, which George Wells called the 'look-see' system,' a form of allegedly dramatic conversation in which a character carefully describes all visual incidents to a companion, or stooge. This treatment is supposed to make everything clear to the radio audience and usually does, including a vivid impression that the character regards his companion as four years old or totally blind. 'Look!' says the character. 'That car at the curb! A blue sedan with white sidewalls!'"
--The Great American Broadcast, Leonard Maltin, P. 31.

• Hints on writing radio drama - http://www.irdp.co.uk/page7.htm
  by Tim Crook of Independent Radio Drama Productions, in the United Kingdom.
  A brief tongue-in-cheek introduction to playwriting for the radio, it has some good ideas of what to think about while writing for this medium.
  
• Principles of writing radio drama - http://www.irdp.co.uk/scripts.htm
  by Tim Crook of IRDP.
  A longer version of the "Hints" article above. Some excellent advice and concerns about writing for radio, from people (Britons) who have been doing it ever since there was drama on the air.
  
• Writing Radio Plays, by Yuri Rasovsky - http://216.92.216.224/rc/welltemperedscripting.html
  An article from Rasovski's "The Well-tempered Audio Dramatist book.
  
• Radio Drama Writers Kit - http://home.sprynet.com/~palermo/radiokit.htm
  Tony Palermo, of the Museum of Television and Radio in L.A., CA, presents an edited version of a lesson in writing for radio, including script formatting. He also links to three other very useful related articles:
  
  • Adapting Shakespeare for Radio Drama - http://www.sprynet.com/~palermo/mtr_rad2.htm
    An essay about adapting for radio, but the info relates to radio writing in general.
    

• Old Time Radio Script Collection - http://www.genericradio.com/
  Produceable scripts available on-line. Some wonderful stuff here. No copyright promises, though.
  
• Jack Mann's OTR Script Page - http://users.aol.com/jhaendiges/scriptpage.html
  Several Old Time Radio scripts in HTML format, so you can read them right off the screen. Good information about format and writing for radio.
  
• Radio Script Format - http://www.greatnorthernaudio.com/audio_theater/format.txt
  One of several similar layouts for a Radio Theater script, including how to handle dialogue, music and sound effects. Others may use variations.
  
• Radio script format - http://www.teleport.com/~cdeemer/radio-format.html
  Another version of the script format, from Bert Coules, who writes regularly for the BBC.
  
  
• Some places to submit scripts that you have written.

  NATF Script Contest National Audio Theater Festivals Deadline is November 15, 2001. Prize is $800 split between winners. For more see http://www.natf.org/.

  Stage Shadows Productions Looking for scripts from 10 to 50 or so minutes. Been producing since 1995. Their productions air on WFUV-FM in New York city. See writing submission guidelines at http://www.stageshadows.com/scripts.html

  Blue Ridge Radio Players, a division of the National Audio Theater. Guidelines for submission of scripts for plays to be distributed to libraries and organizations helping the disabled. The Imagination Workshop, the award-winning NPR sketch comedy series from the University of Kansas station, KANU. Looking for material! Their writers guide can be found at: http://www.ukans.edu/~kanu-fm/IW/writers/iw-writers.htm The guide contains information about the series, script format, fee schedule and sound samples from past shows.

  Central Michigan University's College of Communication and Fine Arts An audio play competition for students in a 2 or 4-year college in the U.S. and Canada. Length: 28 minutes. Submit 4 copies of a full cast original play, no adaptations. Winner will be produced. Deadline: February 1, 2003. Winners announced mid-May, 2003. Prizes: First place- $1500, 2nd place - $500. Send to: Radio Theatre Script Competition c/o Dr. Jerry Henderson Dept. of Broadcast and Cinematic Arts Central Michigan University Mount Pleasant, MI 48859 Questions: Dr. Jerry Henderson - hende1jd@mail.cmich.edu Mind's Ear Audio + Theatre Script Competition Deadline: December 31, 2002. They are located in Bloomington, Indiana. They have all kinds of entry forms, release forms, and other information on their website at http://www.minds-ear.org/.

Sound Effects & Sound Design

"There's no set designer like your own self; you furnish the mise-en-scéne, the wardrobe, the physical proportions of the actor, and the setting. Then radio is doing something that television very rarely achieves."
--Norman Corwin (The Great American Broadcast, Leonard Maltin, P. 17)

• Sound Effects for Radio - http://www.greatnorthernaudio.com/audio_theater/Sound_Effects.html
  An outline of vocabulary and philosophy of sound effects and designing events and settings for audio drama. Gleaned from many places, particularly the Midwest Radio Theater Workshop (see above). Reprinted in the MRTW Journal, spring 1998, and in the June 1998 issue of Radio World.
  A version of this article in Western Public Radio's Radio College at http://216.92.216.224/rc/rt5.html.
  
• Radio Sound Effects - Theory, Catalog and "How To" Guide - http://home.sprynet.com/~palermo/mtr_rad4.htm
  An extremely useful guide to sound effects, including theory and how to make some sounds and build devices that make sounds. By the ubiquitous Tony Palermo.
  
• Radio Sound Effects - http://www.old-time.com/sfx.html
  Jack French wrote this history of radio sound effects, which includes some tips on making them, too.
  
• FindSounds.com - http://www.FindSounds.com/
  A search engine that will help you find sound effects on the web. "More than searching text labels, FindSounds.com allows you to search for audio files based on how they sound. You can even create your own sounds and use them to find similar sounds on the Web." A very cool idea.
  
• Film Sound Theory - http://filmsound.org/
  A very thorough web site, includes theories of sound, philosophy of sound design for film, numerous links to other sites dealing with sound and film. Many articles helpful in sound design for radio, too. Some good ones by Oscar winner Randy Thom, who began in radio. Created by Sven Carlsson.
  
• Psychoacoustics and the Grammar of Audio (PDF) - http://www.natf.org/documents/psycoa.pdf
  Steve Donofrio's 5-pages on audio and the effect it has on the listener. It's really a dictionary of terms covering aspects of sound processing, sound design and audio waves.
  
• The Art of Foley - http://www.marblehead.net/foley/
  A history and a tutorial on the craft of movie sound effects. Foley is the same in radio drama. It is the incidental sounds of movement, action and event that give the scene depth, realism and character. Very nice web site.
  
• Foley Performance and Recording - http://media-arts.rmit.edu.au/Phil_Brophy/MMAlec/Foley.html
  Notes for a lecture by Phillip Brophy on the theory and performance of foley sound effects for film. Remember; it's Notes.
  
• Sound Effects Devices - http://www.audiotheater.com/foley.html
  Pictures of several small sound effects devices, to show you how to build your own.
  
• CBC Studio Sound Devices - http://www.radio.cbc.ca/facilities/drama.html
  A number of photographs of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's sound studios, including plenty of sound effects devices.
  
• Sound Effects in SF and Horror Films - http://www.filmsound.org/articles/horrorsound/horrorsound.htm
  By Fiona Kelleghan. A talk held at the International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts 21 March 1996.  
  
• Sound Ideas - http://www.sound-ideas.com
  "Sound Ideas is the worlds' leading resource for professional quality royalty free sound effects and production music for motion picture sound, game developers, multimedia, video, sound design, radio, television, and web developers."
  
  
• There are also a couple of fairly recent books available that talk about sound effects theory and practice. Check your library.
  • Radio Sound Effects - Robert L. Mott. McFarland, 1993. ISBN 0 89950 747 6
  • Sound Effects: Radio, TV, and Film - Robert L. Mott. Focal Press, 1989. ISBN 0 240 80029 X 

Listening to Radio Drama

"A good radio play must have two things&endash;an elemental dramatic situation and structural simplicity."
--C.L. Meuser, interviewed in Radio Digest

• Resources at
• Audiobooks or Aural Art, by Yuri Rasovsky - http://216.92.216.224/rc/audioart.html
  An article written for AudioFile magazine on listeners and the current state of audio drama in the U.S.
  
• The Psychological Power of Radio - http://www.irdp.co.uk/hoax.htm
  by Tim Crook, of IRDP. (See above.)
  
• A Short History of Contemporary American Audio Drama, by Sarah Montague - http://216.92.216.224/rc/inebriate.html
  Keynote speech at the 1999 Midwest Radio Theater Workshop.
  
• Genesis and Renaissance: A Brief History of Audio Theater (PDF) - http://www.natf.org/documents/genesis.pdf
  A paper by Richard Fish on the history of audio theater, from before radio to the present.
  
• Radio Drama on the Air in the Twin Cities. - http://www.greatnorthernaudio.com/audio_theater/TCdrama.html
  A list of stations that air Old Time Radio or contemporary radio theater in Minneapolis and St. Paul, MN.
  

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  Radio is "at once both public and private. ... Radio is much more direct [than television]; it's one to one, whereas [with] television you're talking not to an ear, you're talking to an eye - a mechanical eye. Also, the eye is a very literal organ, and the ear is a part of the senses. The ear is the organ through which we receive, after all, the music of Beethoven, Brahms, and all the great composers, who don't speak a word to us. It's all said in symbolism, in symbolic harmonies and symbolic melody; even symbolic cacophony does something which enlists our collaboration, to the extent that we are required to collaborate as we are when we read a book. Then we are giving something. We are not just taking. Television, too often, puts the reader in the position of a passive receptor, of a spectator. This is less likely to happen in radio.
  --Norman Corwin (The Great American Broadcast, Leonard Maltin, P. 17)