If you enjoy audio dramas (especially well-made ones) and have not yet checked out the Audio Theatre Central podcast, you need to do so ASAP. These guys have the latest news concerning all things audio drama. Not only that, they are very knowledgeable about their subject matter and have insider information. What I particularly appreciate is their continual clarion call to excellent standards within the industry. And we’re talking FAMILY FRIENDLY stuff here, folks (what a relief)! No gore, no filth– just good quality auditory imagination. Yes, it exits. *Make sure to check out Episode 124 in particular, where yours truly gets a shout out! 😉
Category Archives: Audio/Radio Dramas
Audio Theatre Central, please and thank-you!
Sonic-Con 2020 on My Radar!
When I first heard of Sonic-Con 2020, I didn’t know what ‘sonic’ meant. I had to look it up. The exploration led to this result: “of or relating to sound”. I’d heard of Comic-Con, but what was Sonic-Con? I was intrigued to follow the link to the website and was excited to see names such as Katie Leigh and Phil Lollar (if you grew up with Adventures in Odyssey, you’ll know why). Later, I got the chance to listen to Audio Theatre Central’s podcast featuring an interview with Sonic-Con’s initiator, Chris Nelson, and was able to learn more exciting details. It’ll be a three day convention of all things audio drama with very reasonable prices, depending on how soon you book in advance. (Please listen to ATC’s episode 123 as they ask practical questions and provide all the necessary information.) I’ve pretty much set my heart on going to this first-ever audio drama forgathering in Lynchburg, VA in March 2020! And the best part is it will be all family friendly!
2018 Audio Theatre Central Seneca Awards Night
The Audio Theatre Central Seneca Awards were held last night, and by my good fortune I just happened to stumble across it and stayed up late listening to it live. (You can view my post about the nominations here.) Although I missed more quality productions from Focus on the Family Radio Theatre in recent years, and am missing Aaron Fuller’s influence on the G.A. Henty Heirloom Audio Production, the new show The Adventum (which won Best Long Form Audio Drama) sounds very interesting. I also loved the emphasis put on the connection between old-time radio dramas and today’s auditory adventures. You can click here to listen to the awards, and to find out more about family-friendly God-honoring drama!
2018 ATC Seneca Awards
Like audio dramas? Audio Theatre Central has announced the nominees for the 2018 Seneca Awards, which recognizes the best in the audio drama production industry. Winners will be announced in July. As a plus, these are all family friendly stories, so they can be enjoyed on those long summer vacation road trips! There are so many exciting things happening in the audio world. I’m really looking forward to The Adventum! Posts to as many trailers as I can find are below:
Operation Mosul (The Brinkman Adventures)
The Treasure of the Secret Cove (Lamplighter Theatre)
Black Rock (The Shadow Remake)
Escape from the Eagle’s Nest (Lamplighter Theatre)
Heirloom Audio Productions have also come out with St. Bartholomew’s Eve and For the Temple, but unfortunately I could not find trailers for those. And Lamplighter Theatre’s quality seems to be improving every year!
More Audio Dramas- Last of the Mohicans!
There’s more free audio drama immersion to be had right now on BBC Radio 4 with James Fenimoore Cooper’s “The Last of the Mohicans”! I’m looking forward to hitting play on this one. Reading the book can be a struggle, and the movie is very much changed from the book. But the story is such an evocative tale set in the early days of American history and an exciting one to boot!. Plan to enjoy listening soon because this is only available for a limited time.
Father Brown stories – BBC Audio Drama
In the mood for some cozy mysteries? I discovered Father Brown is playing on BBC Radio 4 and wanted to post a notice. I haven’t listened to them yet, but I am hoping they are much more intellectually stimulating and truer to the books than the recent BBC tv series (I was disappointed with those). These only play for a limited time, so make sure you act on it soon! Ta-ta!
2019 Audie Awards Finalists
The finalists for the 2019 Audie Awards have been announced and for the first time, I’ve gone through all 24 categories and made my choices IMHO. It’s rather like the Oscars; in fact the Audies are like the Academy Awards for audiobooks. Let it be known that I haven’t listened to any of these books in their entirety, only just the 3-4 min. excerpts available on AudioFile Magazine’s website. Let it also be known that just because I approve of a narrator’s capability in delivering the material doesn’t necessarily mean I approve of the material itself. Who do you think deserves to win?
Audio Drama: The Martian Invasion of Earth (hear trailer here)
Audiobook of the Year: Calypso
Autobiography/Memoir: Letter to Louis
Best Female Narrator: Girls & Boys
Best Male Narrator: Harry Clarke
Business/Personal Development: The Courage to Be Disliked
Faith-Based: not enough info.
Fantasy: Spinning Silver
Fiction: An Absolutely Remarkable Thing
History/Biography: Robin
Humor: Noir
Literary Fiction & Classics: Bleak House
Middle Grade: Louisiana’s Way Home
Multi-Voiced Performance: not enough info.
Mystery: The Mystery of Three-Quarters
Narrated by Author: My Pride
Non-Fiction: Eager
Original Work: Magus Elgar
Science Fiction: Artemis
Short Stories: You Think It, I’ll Say It
Suspense: The Outsider
Romance: skipped.
Young Adult: The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy
Young Listeners: Her Right Foot
BBC AudioDrama: “The Club of Queer Trades”
There isn’t much time left to listen to these; I only just discovered them on BBC Radio 4. The drama is G.K. Chesterton’s “The Club of Queer Trades” and stars Martin Freeman. I’ve found the two episodes I’ve listened to so far to be entertaining and very much like the book. My favorite story out of the bunch is the first one, “The Tremendous Adventures of Major Brown.” If you have some time, give them a try. I’ve been listening while working on making valentines.
Fairy Tales Retold
Listen on BBC Radio 4 for a limited time to free short story readings of various fairy tales! The retellings are slightly different, and the narrator Lia Williams is interesting to listen to. I recommend “The Gingerbread Business” (Hansel and Gretel), but there is also “Sleeping Beauty Wakes Up,” and more to be released within the next couple of weeks. Have a fun holiday season!
Radio Drama (BBC): Titus Groan
I recently published my book review of “Titus Groan,” by Mervyn Peake (read it here) and suddenly the BBC is airing it’s audio dramatized version of the story! I am preparing to start reading the second book in the series soon (“Gormenghast”), so I thought I’d better prepare by brushing up my memory on the details of the first.
I found this to be a very faithful and rather good adaptation. The best part about it is that it does not lose the flavor of the book’s descriptions and vocabulary. It seemed to be well cast, though the parts of Lady Gertrude and Irma Prunsquallor seemed be more ’emphasis’ rather than ‘acting.’ You can tell by the tedious melodramatic deliverances of lines instead of actually owning them.
You can click to listen to it for free for a limited time.
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