Old Time Radio Theater

Christmas Cheer

2010-02-19T11:26:00.000-08:00

Our holiday show of a Christmas Carol was well received by a smallish audience. Was it the weather? Regardless, we had a good show with a fun classic. Scrooge was evil, then kind. Mrs. Cratchit made us all choked up as she whispered her hopes for her small son. Tiny Tim squeaked out his well worn lines. It was warm and cozy on a blustery cold night, just as it should be. The donations of food and toys for charity was amazing, and it can only be hoped that we added to more than a few peoples better enjoyment of a cheering time of year.

Moose and Squirrel sighted in the mountains- laughter not far behind!

2009-09-16T20:17:00.000-07:00

Never ones to sit back and enjoy the commonplace, Old Time Radio Theater adapted everyone's favorite cartoons to the live radio stage on the first weekend in August! Did it work? Did it work! We had a plethora of raucous laughter echoing across the mountainsides for a good hour and a half! What fun. And the greatest part was finding out that those near and dear to us in this theater group hold a gargantuan amount of never used talent. Never used until now. Meaning, who knew David Mack has real kinship to Moose? He's obviously Bullwinkle's long lost half brother. Has to be. Or how is it that David Stenstrom can voice Boris Badenov and Nell's lightweight father in Dudley Do-right? Where did these talents emerge from? Upon quizzing the actors it seems that they spent a good deal of their youth mimicking the inexhaustible talents of those cartoon voices paraded before us all on Saturday mornings. Lucky us! Maybe parents shouldn't get to upset with how much TV kids watch. Bill Fair had a bumbling Dudley down to the perfectly cut cleft chin and evading comments. Wednesday Hobson gave prim and proper Nell the required rounded-vowel pronunciations while unabashedly batting her eyes at Dudley's horse. Her Leaping Beauty was delightfully daffy and fit well with Jim Hacket's lazy Prince Charming. Why can't we see him more than once a year? Pam McGee had Natasha in voice and tone and kept the laughter moving along at a brisk pace. A new vampier (?) dress was seen --it wored magic on getting her into character in seconds flat. Janine had Rocky's pip- squeaked lines rolling off her tongue, and Lee and Stacey filled in with charm as the Pigg sisters. By the way, Stacey can now be officially hired as a craggy witch henceforth. She cackles quite marvelously. Tom Donovan parlayed the drama to the audience and did a great job pushing the cliffhanger lines. Beans Morocco pitched great old timer voices and multiple characters that were "plum good". Kat Fair and yours truly did the honors adding in funny sounds and Indigo pitched a great intermission with the snacks. The donations were wonderful, and greatly appreciated! Hope to see you all in the fall indoors. Until then stay tuned!
-Mary

A show so grand we needed a 100 foot derrick as a backdrop!

2009-06-21T21:04:00.000-07:00

Well, the show we put on at the West Kern Oil Museum was our splashiest one yet, how appropriate huh? Our invitation from the Friends of the Taft College Library was a great opportunity to see what happens when we go on the road. And what happened? A great deal of fun, a sweltering good time and a very fine show.
First up, naturally enough was "Who's On First?" with David Stenstrom and his partner in laughs, Bill Fair. I've seen them do this bit four or so times and this one was tops. The timing was spot on, and they had the faces to match the hilarious banter that makes this piece funny-bone funny. Next up we strolled into our favorite "Boston Blackie" with Bill as Blackie-who else has the noir flat-foot already built-in? Wednesday Hobson stepped into his girl Mary's shoes and strutted her Betty Boop accent with sassy aplomb. Pam delivered a great Janet, I think my favorite one yet and we've had 3! It's got to be her talent and the dress. That dress is amazing and it's got to do something to the person wrapped up in it. Great job off mic too Pam! She kept the off-mic on-stage drama moving along too with winks, cold stares, and shoulder shrugs. Peter had a new twist on Harry the bad guy. Very funny. And Stenstrom had Farrady bumbling after all the action in true slow-witted copper style. Great job by everyone.
After that it was on to Flash Gordon with crazy mad scientists, evil war lords, scheming princesses, and Flash and Dale hopping from dire situation to even more dire situations. It was fun and everyone brought their own kind of fun to their roles and that, added to the sound effects, makes for a silly show that the audience can really laugh at.
The commercials were good and plentiful, and had some very charming theatrics thrown in which brought the audience twittering and chortling the whole way through. Good job Janine, Pam, and Lee. I heard the sponsors loved them!
So, if you missed the Taft show you did miss something special. We all felt the excitement, even with the 100 degree heat, and that excitment came out on stage. It was a great show with a fun new set, I think the set needs to be a tad bit bigger, but it hit the mark, and actually so did we. It felt good. Great show folks!
See you next time.
- Mary

Do you want that with potatoes?

2009-03-24T20:21:00.000-07:00

On March 14th we had one of the most enjoyable shows we have ever done. Our St. Pat's show was memorable in that we had our first, well really our second - quiz show. It was our first quiz show that featured facts about potatoes though! We started with a funny Fibber and Molly segment, that included a quick change -thank goodness Stacey is a whiz kid with quick changes. Next up, we had the Potato quiz. Janine, Beans, and Gullerud know how to play things like that to the hilt. Lastly, we had our version of Father Knows Best "Da Knows Best". Okay, some of us need to work on our Irish accents a wee bit more, but for the most part what an impressive display of lilting and broguishness. You'd think we a had all come over on the last boat from the Emerald Isle.
The jingles were a hit, and some quick change artistry there too. Pam, Lee, and Janine are great! Wendy from Chatterpillar won the 10 lbs of potatoes! And a new face won the donated shamrock balloon bouquet. We ended the night with some very dear-to-the-heart toasts courtesy of David that raised the spirits of all. And a reminder public service announcement from the CHP about drinking and driving. It was a really fun night. I laughed like mad- I sure hope you were there too. See you soon!
-Mary

2009-02-22T12:37:00.000-08:00

Valentines For You
The Valentines show featured a variety of scenes having to do with love. The concept was nice, but we had a little trouble getting it to show. But we did do it, we had fun, and the audience did too. What were the hold-ups? Poor Barbara got sick twenty minutes before show and went home, with Pam pinch hitting as Mrs. Henderson. David M. didn't feel well either and asked to have the line up changed so he could go home early. The storm that was supposed to roll in waited until we were done with the show-- that was helpful. Daniel and Wednesday provided a good upbeat tempo to start out the show and then we were going full steam. We had visits with the Thin Man, Burns and Allen, The Bickersons, and Candy Matson.
We had delicious chocolates, good coffee, free candy valentines and the flowers? Well, Linda had closed up shop by the time we had gotten there so--- no raffle flowers. But we got a lovely rendition of the Anniversary song out to a couple who had stopped by and had a good night.
We learned that the ten minute snippets aren't as fun as a whole script. We learned that having extra back-up people is a good thing. And we learned that fun and love and goodwill can smooth out a show with a few bumps in it.
See ya on St. Pat's!
Mary

2009-01-06T21:03:00.000-08:00

New Years Show
Well old radio shows (two years and counting), just like old dogs, CAN learn new tricks! For our New Years show we tried a new venue and added two new works to the nights line-up. The Work of Heart Art Gallery was our locale for the weekends offering and it was very intimate and cozy. Artwork gracing the walls and a fire burning in the center fireplace made the chilly night feel downright toasty. The sound was so good in the small space that we really didn't need microphones, especially Bill and Bob in their struggle scene, but they look so good that we kept them! We filled the small house (only 35 seats) with some new faces, had a last minute addition of Cameron at the keyboards (thanks!!), and were blessed with a generous amount of donations.
We opened with the Magnificent Montague, Boo Boo Foo Foo. A great script that was well written, the jokes just rolled out with the lively pacing that the group maintained. Then we heard Janine's new script, yes our Janine, of the Olympic Eye rolling event. She and Bill really played up the necessary hammy delivery. It gushed, and it was funny. Then Lee, our and PMC's Lee, brought out her Cloud 9 script that showed a little devilment could be the highlight of hanging around in heaven. Who knew that kind of fun could be had up above? The crowd enjoyed the night, and we got to rub elbows with friends including some old friends- we miss you Geri!
A fun night indeed. Oh and thanks Don Eubank for the new door buzzer/ phone ring rig. What a clever man to construct that thingamajig in one afternoon. The Old Time Radio Theater Foley Department sends it's deepest regards.
Valentines might be our next show date and maybe even St. Paddy's. We'll see you then.
-Mary

2008-12-07T21:03:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving and Christmas Shows almost seemlessly delivered
The Old Time Radio Theater had a truly wonderful set of shows for the two winter Holidays. The Thanksgiving show was the Great Gildersleeve and Burns & Allen. Two turkeys and a duck graced the stage along with the players to offer up some good laughs and some sweet ahh moments. It was a nice show, even with the stubborness of an uncooperative gramophone.
The Christmas show we just wrapped up was our rendition of "It's A Wonderful Life." We had a full cast, 13 or more, and a nice sized audience. It went very well, and with a surprise visit from Harry Potter too. The show was our gift to the community. We are also giving half of our donations from the last two shows to the Frazier Park Boy's and Girl's Club. It will be a princely amount thanks to the generosity of our good citizens. And those same generous folks were not only generous with their money, they were generous with their laughs and heartfelt sighs throughout the show. At every shout, yippee, rock crashing through glass, chorus of Auld Lang Syne they were really listening and enjoying what was offered. We are very grateful. It will be no hardship after New Years Day to unload our equipment and offer up some more fun to those who get a kick out of this unique form of entertainment. Yippee!

A Memory Made

2008-11-02T08:44:00.000-08:00

An unforgettable moment was shared at the Old Bear Bed and Breakfast on this last rainy Halloween night. I was lucky enough to be there and will remember the frisson of excitement that passed around the room at 11:00 p.m. for the rest of my life. We assembled into the cozy confines of the living room, just five of us at that late hour, to hear a live broadcast of the Old Time Radio Theater's first venture into the world of real radio. We sat around the room dressed in our Halloween togs, some of us tired after a long night of trick-or-treating and some of us exhausted after hosting a haunting. We slumped in soft chairs and sofas with candies in our laps and steaming cider cupped in our hands, to await the moment when David would dial in PineKONE radio. He bent over the radio and found the station after a few minutes, it came in fairly clearly and we heard the tail end of "The Chicken Heart" told by Bill Cosby. That threw the older ones of us gathered way down a dusty memory lane, most of us not having heard it since we were children. A terrific priming for the next story. And then it came. The words of the baritone announcer beginning our version of H.G.Well's classic. We all looked around the room at each other, quietly sharing our excitement through our widened eyes, not making a sound but speaking volumes about how much the arrival of this broadcast meant. It was a great moment, and it felt good. Let's do it again.
-Mary

Egads! The War of the Worlds is Here!!

2008-11-01T09:02:00.001-07:00

After some minor technical issues, we now have War of the Worlds posted below! (Just scroll down the page to find the audio player and hit the play button). Also, this recording is available at archive.com . Just search under "War of the Worlds" to find the Old Time Radio Theater's recording of it. Enjoy!
-Wednesday

2008-10-30T13:08:00.000-07:00

War Of The Worlds
Old Time Radio Theater spent a chilling full week of recording and editing our haunting version of the original War of The Worlds radio play, under the Direction of David Stenstrom and the electronical wizardry of Peter Gullerud. It has all the elements of spookiness you desire; slimy mythical martians terrorizing the east coast, while ordinary and expert citizens, react to the chaos all around. So, leave the real scares of the day behind you, as you cozy up to the radio and listen to a great Halloween tale.
To listen, starting Oct 31st, press the link below

War of the Worlds airs on Halloween

2008-10-23T10:34:00.000-07:00

Yes, faithful listener, you may ready yourself to be thoroughly spooked on Halloween. The Old Time Radio Theater is recording H.G.Wells, "War of the Worlds", and will be airing it three times over the Halloween weekend in our mountain communities. We have changed a bit of the original radio script by H. Koch, but essentially you will be hearing the spookiest broadcast known to mankind. So, get some steaming cider, a caramel apple or popcorn ball, and snuggle up to the radio, public access TV, or the computer, for a chilling tale of celestial invasion. Details soon.

2008-10-09T20:58:00.000-07:00

Fall is here and we meet again!
A small group of us got together to discuss the Radio Show. How did the summer go? Very, very well. Do we have any money? Yes, we are sitting pretty. Are there ideas afoot to stage more Radio hijinks? Indeed! Plans are in the works and an announcement should be out soon for a few projects. Stay tuned.
-Mary

Radio Show sails thru summer

2008-08-17T18:55:00.000-07:00

What a Summer!
Between Music on Fridays, and Radio Shows on Saturday, and then almost a month of Shakespeare in between, you would think people up here in the mountains would have had enough entertainment. But NOOO! They still came in droves for the end of the summer Radio Show up in Pine Mountain Club! I mean a fully packed house--with bellies full of laughter. You'd think they hadn't seen any comedy all summer. But we know differently. They had been coming to shows since the second weekend in June-- and still had room for more hale and hearty guffaws! The beauty of live- full of crazy last minute changes- radio is awfully compelling to those who see edited entertainment at every corner. Refreshing, just like cool mountain air.

We must be blessed with some of the finest audiences because they appreciate funny stuff when they hear it. And just maybe we are figuring out how to deliver a better radio show. Could be. Hope so, because there is no stopping this train. We all love doing the Radio Show. It's quick, neat, incredibly filling, and you don't need a spoon. There is talk of taking the Radio Show down to the warm climes of Valencia as the frigid weather makes it's way back to the Mountains. This could be lots of fun. We also have the offer of recording some shows for local airplay. That would be swell too. What do you all think? What would you enjoy?
posted by mary