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Thank you for being a part of the Independent Audio Theater Producers Conference held in Minneapolis  MN October 1-3, 2004.  We think it went very well and we promised you a follow-up report, so here it is.

Thirty-four audio-theater writers, producers, engineers, actors and programmers from all over the land participated in the weekend conference.  Eight organizations, large and small, lent their support.  The discussion and playback sessions were entertaining, impassioned and informative.

As we said at the beginning of the weekend--we simply wanted to gather this group of audio theater people together in the same room and see what happens.  Here are a few general observations about what went on: 

• 1. Many of us come out of public and community radio traditions and continue to see broadcasting as a vibrant and effective way to express ourselves and find audiences. 
  
• 2.  With that said, many producers are circumventing broadcast all together and are concentrating their efforts in the worlds of publishing, recording, and the internet.  
  
• 3.  With the availability of digital recording, we are all improving in the craft.  Some of the pieces played in the listening sessions were remarkable. 
  
• 4.  And, like any art form, the niche of audio theater can expect to see big changes and opportunities on the horizon.

We were fortunately to have a few of audio theater's most influential practitioners in our midst.  We're sending all registrants two CDs provided to us by Digital Excellence of St. Paul, one of our sponsors.  The first CD contains an edited version of David Ossman and Judith Walcutt's State of the Niche Address--a very personal and fond look back at their careers producing work for the public airwaves.   Walcutt ended the remarks calling for a renewed commitment to the power of community radio--thinking globally and acting locally.

The second CD contains a testament to audio theater's ability to be inexpensive, fast and fun in our recording of Tony Palermo's "The Hawk of the West", in which almost everyone participated.   Also included is a special bonus track of a 1997 interview with Tom Lopez by David Ossman that neatly complements the State of the Niche, and a message from one of our sponsors, Spoken-Network.com read, in character, by Lindsay Ellison. The proceedings were recorded by Bill Ritch and Henry Howard, of the Atlanta Radio Theater Company.

On Sunday morning of the conference, Tom Lopez, of ZBS, took most of us out into the hallway and recorded us doing "Harr, harr"'s for a pirate piece he was working on. That piece is in his new catalog, and is called "A Streetcard Named 'La Petite Lafitte'," and features Lindsay Ellison, who directed the new pirates in the hallway. So take a look at the online catalog at www.zbs.org. We're all part of history now.

Finally, one  can't put on a nationally-focused conference without local help.  We want to give a special thanks to KFAI-FM Community radio and all the volunteers who lent their time and energy to this conference.  It wouldn't have been possible without you.

We encourage you all to keep in contact and keep collaborating.  Audio Theater is an important and exciting art form and we're proud to be part it.

Thanks again for your participation and your support.

Yours,

Jerry Stearns, Brian Price, Kris Markman

Audio Theater Producers Conference
KFAI, Box 150
1808 Riverside Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55454

Our Sponsors

Association of Independents in Radio		National Audio Theatre Festivals
Spoken Network.com	Institute of Production and Recording Professional Schools