We are very happy to report that on May 1 and 2, the National Audio Theatre Festivals was ably represented in Los Angeles by Executive Director Andrew Davis, and Advisory Board Members Richard Fish and Helen Englehardt as Norman Corwin was honored on the occasion of his 100th birthday with tributes, book signings, performances, and the presentation of the first ever Norman Corwin Award for Excellence in Audio Theatre. Mr. Fish, would you please:
“On May 1, the program at the Writers Guild Theatre was extraordinary. Leonard Maltin hosted and Peggy Webber’s California Artists Radio Theatre performed excerpts from, or cut-down versions of, three of Norman’s plays: Mary and the Fairy, Soliloquy to Balance the Budget, and Our Lady of the Freedoms. Performers, and those who gave personal tributes, included Ian Abercrombie, Ed Asner, Shelley Berman, Samantha Eggar, John Harlan, Richard Herd, Hal Kanter, Paul Keith, Norman Lloyd, Shelley Long, Tony Palermo, Phil Proctor and Melinda Peterson, Carl Reiner, Ken Stange, Simon Templeman, Tom Willams, and Joanne Worley.
“Carl Reiner was funny and touching ad-lib; Norman Lloyd was deeply moving fully scripted, and Hal Kanter was rolling-on-the-floor hilarious! During their remarks, Phil & Melinda announced the National Audio Theatre Festivals’ creation of the Norman Corwin Award for Excellence in Audio Theatre, which will be given every year on Norman’s birthday. This received great applause from the hundreds of people in the audience.
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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.
On May 3, 2010, the first poet laureate of radio and National Audio Theatre Festivals, Inc. Advisory Board Member, Norman Corwin, the author, director, and producer of some of radio’s greatest dramas including We Hold These Truths and On a Note of Triumph, will turn 100 years old (www.normancorwin.com). In his honor the NATF is initiating a new award, presented each year to an audio dramatist in the United States who has contributed significant achievements to this art form. And the first recipient of the Norman Corwin Award for Excellence in Audio will be its namesake.
Audio theatre is not just for radio, explains NATF Board Chairman Steve Donofrio, “It started on cylinder recordings, and today flourishes vibrantly on the internet. For over 30 years, we have been finding, inspiring and training new young talent; fostering the development of audio theatre for modern audiences; and exploring the possibilities of new technologies. Norman Corwin has honored us by serving on our Advisory Board and actively helping our work, leading seminars during our annual Workshop. We are tremendously excited by this chance to honor him, and we believe the Corwin Award will make a major contribution to audio theatre in the 21st Century and beyond.”
Stay tuned, ladies and gentlemen, because we’re just getting started!
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