Front Page | National Audio Theatre Festivals

The National Audio Theatre Festivals’ Audio Theatre Workshop presents…ROAD ANGELS

As we get closer to the posting of our Audio Theatre Workshop curriculum and registration forms, the National Audio Theatre Festivals, Inc. is pleased to announce the second piece of our live show: Road Angels, written by NATF President Steve Donofrio and directed by Don and Val Priest.

Road Angels revolves around a gang and their return to the land in a tale of transformation, transmigration, and transcendence. Only, this is no ordinary gang: they’re turkey vultures. Turkey vultures ”who cruise a section of the super slab in rural-urb, a fast food lane of road kill at the turn of the century.” The roles available are:

Snip-it…..the gang leader, he is an “entril-peneur” (one who tears and rips and breaks it down, desires entropy at all levels), a dominant bird with no brain. He craves danger.

Val…..Snip-it’s gal, a over indulgent romantic who has a food fetish for fresh road kill heart. Believes herself to be a valkyrie, who can only transport the soul by eating the heart.

Carry-on…..a subordinate male in the gang: never happy, never satisfied, and hates the fact that he has been reincarnated as a vulture. He is a chronic complainer disliked by all gang members.

Over-taker…..a young future dominant male turk-vulture, Taker has the advantage of youth and intelligence.

Trans…..a teenage female who loves the transient life; immature, and very independent. The future of the gang.

Note: the role of “Bones” (the repository of the old rituals; a storyteller and sage) has been pre-cast. Who is the special guest artist coming…? Coming soon!

NATF Members in the News

Maine-based Fred Greenhalgh has been a longtime friend of the National Audio Theatre Festivals; he is one of the most vocal supporters of its mission, and of audio theatre itself. You can hear his WMPG-supported radio series and podcast Radio Drama Revival at www.radiodramarevival.com each week, which showcases the best in modern audio drama from both the masters and the new generation.

Well, Fred has his own company, FinalRune Productions. Recently Fred undertook an exciting new project with FinalRune: the audio adaptation of Archer Mayer’s detective novel Open Season. Fred has recorded the piece a la Roger Gregg and Crazy Dog Audio: on location (in Vermont)! When the script called for snow, his actors (including our very own Bill Dufris) walked on honest-to-goodness snow. And wouldn’t you know it, his adventures in on-site recording have reached the pages of The Wall Street Journal. Here’s the article, which also features Sue Zizza: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704240004575085313479028540.html

NATF Board member Marideth Sisco of West Plains, MO, is finding that the “15 minutes of fame” foretold by Andy Warhol can take on a life of its own if you’re attached to a project that’s getting international recognition.

Sisco is the featured singer and music consultant on the Debra Granik indie hit Winter’s Bone, which recently took top honors at the Sundance Film Festival (Best Dramatic Cinema, Best Dramatic Screenplay) and went on to gather more applause (and prizes: Taggespiegel Readers’ Choice award and Best Forum Film from the International Confederation of Art House Cinemas) at the Berlinale (Berlin International Film Festival).

The film is an adaptation of Daniel Woodrell’s splendidly gritty novel of the same name. Sisco’s vocals are all over the film, from the opening scenes to the outro under the credits, including a picking session about a third of the way through, and have come to be strongly identified with the film. You can catch a glimpse at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-xangQaLTg.

Marideth said she had no idea the music or the film were going to get such recognition, and is now trying to respond to the increasing demand for more of her music. She’s currently hard at work producing song clips for iTunes as well as a CD with her band, the Davis Creek Rounders. The film soundtrack will be released in June, when the film is scheduled for general release.

The National Audio Theatre Festivals’ Audio Theatre Workshop presents…LEAP FOR FREEDOM

The National Audio Theatre Festivals, Inc. is proud to announce the first piece in the 2010 Audio Theatre Workshop live performance, in association with The State Historical Society of Missouri’s MoHiP (Missouri History in Performance): the world-premiere audio adaptation of William Wells Brown’s Leap for Freedom, based on the writings of William Wells Brown.

Originally adapted for MoHiP by playwright and Missouri University Theatre professor Cheryl Black, Leap explores the life of abolitionist Brown, an escaped slave who later worked with the Underground Railroad before becoming a writer and lecturer, combined with portions of his play The Escape, the first play from an African American published in America. Ms. Black will adapt the piece to audio with NATF director Renee Pringle.

NATF and MoHiP: a good combination!

We are very proud to announce that the National Audio Theatre Festival will be collaborating with Missouri History in Performance, a division of the State Historical Society of Missouri, as part of our planned 2010 Audio Theatre Workshop Performance highlighing the African American experience. MoHiP develops historical plays from letters, articles, and 19th century literary works. For more information on MoHiP, check out their website at http://shs.umsystem.edu/outreach/mohip/index.shtml.