Internet Blog Essay:
(Updated: 2/03/08)



I am currently doing a course on ‘Modern Live Audio Drama’ which appears to be a very interesting and new art form coming to the fore. We have been asked by our tutor to maintain a continual blog ‘diary’ as such during this course to be finally weaved into one essay to be handed in for a grade.

So as a student attempting this exercise I shall look at the existing variables and attempt to begin this ongoing blog essay.

Firstly I thought a clear definition of a blog would be necessary so I looked at the free internet encyclopedia, “wikipaedia” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog, 2/03/08) for a clear and simple definition. It appears that a blog “is a website where entries are commonly displayed in reverse chronological order [and the word] "Blog" can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog”

The website also describes blogs as a web space where people supply commentary or news on certain subjects or it could be used more as an online-personal diary. Other web users are able to view your blog and post comments in response to your blog.

Therefore so far this essay is not a blog as it is not online yet hopefully soon will be. 

To continue my investigation I look to the new art-form of modern audio drama. For this information I search again on ‘wikipedia’ for more clues. What it reveals is story-telling via radio. It relies solely on dialogue music and sound effects with no visual element. These components enable the listener to envisage the story (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_drama, 02/03/08) .

I have had my parents speak fondly on radio drama as they, during a period of no television, would only have this medium as entertainment. These fond memories tended to be repeated during electricity cuts with my brother and I lost without any television (needless to say thanks to Eskom we’ve heard those stories quite enough)

So, when I explored further into the history of radio drama it appears it was in the 1940’s that it was the leading international popular entertainment (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_drama, 2/03/08) which falls in line with my experiences of audio drama. Unfortunately with the rise of television, this medium has lost that huge popularity in many nations. However, in Britain, the BBC is creating new radio dramas and has a firm following (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_drama, 02/03/08).

I also discovered that radio drama, audio dram and audio theatre can me used synonymously, the only difference being is that radio is limited to radio broadcastings yet audio also refers to CDs and cassettes(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_drama, 02/03/08).



So I have, in a brief investigation of radio drama and blogs, increased my knowledge of both and gained greater awareness of the components of this blog essay.  



(Updated: 5/3/08)


So, I now write from the experience of having a second Radio drama seminar, where not only did the task finally get explained to us in a clear fashion but we also began writing our collective audio drama script. 

I am realising that although this blog essay involves academic researching about the history, functioning and aims of Audio drama it also acts as a kind of ethnographic essay where one is observant and participant at the same time and is learning about the subject while actually doing it. So as this blog essay will refer to books, journals and internet explanations, it will also account for my understanding of it through my physically creating audio drama scripts and recordings. 

I think this is actually quite an interesting way of doing an essay as it includes theory and practise to end up with a well-rounded understanding of audio drama. 

Our seminar this Monday past, showed the how to create an audio drama script. It is very similar to a film script with I am familiar writing except uses colour coding for the sound effects that will need to be included. This makes sense as audio drama is all about the audio, so sound effects are crucial and very important into creating the story believable. 

Another similarity I noticed was how one doesn’t need to describe how the character would say their respective line, as it ends up being something that the actor and director will discover. One therefore needs to have talented actors to bring the dialogue to life and make the tone of the responses believable and relevant. 

It is becoming more clear to me that audio drama is like a short film without the visual, and makes up for its lack of the visual by coming up with a different language of representation for the audio. 



(Updated:  9:3/08)


The main pioneers of audio drama are Orson Welles, Norman Corwin, and Arch Oboler (www.finalrune.com/index.php, 9/03/08). Orsen welles appears to have put audio drama on the map with his famous audio story “War of the worlds”.

I did some further inquiry to this story and founf some interesting pieces of information about it that also discuss the theory behind radio. The story is an adaption of H G Wells's 'The War of the Worlds' and was  transformed into a representation of an American entertainment programme interrupted by urgent news bulletins (www.irdp.co.uk/hoax.htm, 9/03/09). It created great panic when people heard this broadcast as it reported that there was a real war of the worlds and people genuinely believed this piece of audio drama and started panicing about what to do and hwere to seek safety (www.irdp.co.uk/hoax.htm, 9/03/08). It is astonishing to accept how people automatically believed this broadcast and it shows how powerful a medium radio truly is. It is people’s willing desire to suspend disbelief that’s makes audio drama so powerful (www.irdp.co.uk/hoax.htm, 9/03/08).


I received an email from Anthony with various attachments. One attachment is a final blog weave from a Rhodes university audio drama class. Having read it, I think I have a better understanding of audio drama. I though it was live stories told on radio or recorded, I had no idea it was performing live to an audience and speaking the story into microphones. Thus, its is necessary for stage design and costumes etc. If they go through such trouble to create costumes and stage design which relies on the visual, why they don’t do it simply as a play is beyond me but something tells me I will find out after having gone through the process in our group. 

One of the students from Rhodes explains that audio drama is in essencse a type of theatre and isn’t restricted to radio or recordings. Perhaps the visual element adds a further dynamic but if it is audio drama should it not simply just be about the audio?



Updated: 11/03/08


The answer to my question above regarding the visual element of audio drama and how it defeats the point of keeping it about the audio, was answered by Anthony in class yesterday. He claims that if for example a character in an audio drama script is a police officer, wears something that makes him or her resemble that character more, say a Sheriff badge, then that actor is able to be far more authentic a police officer. I understand the principle, being an actress myself, I do understand what costume can do to one’s performance, yet at the same time, surely a talented enough actor can become a police officer without the added help of costume, props or a set. At the end of the day, it is only the voice that the audience are hearing. It comes down to the pitch, accent, pace, volume and rhythm. Those skills should do enough.

In yesterday’s class we also discussed the radio broadcast by Orsen Welles that I discussed last week on my blog. We are now asked to assimilate that kind of broadcast with the same kind of interruptions as the alien reporting. We are supposed to take our script with worked on last week, string it together and link in the interruptions. It may seem like quite a simple task but working in a group of 10 with 10 different opinions and creative stances, it may prove to be quite a difficult activity.

We have arranged to meet on Friday morning to continue the script and modify it to the task requirements. 

Updated: 14/03/08
We had our meeting today to try and string together the collective script and the interruptions. As predicted it was a lot more of a difficult task. There were differing understandings of the task itself, differing opinions of what we should include or not, people arriving at whichever time they wanted. Every group work activity is a task in itself so I think in spite of everything it went quite well.

We came up with an Eskom emergency idea in place of the ‘alien broadcasts’, which I think will work quite well. Its contemporary, relative and is credible as South Africa’s very own alien invasion. 

The task is not quite done but definitely getting there, I think with a little more focus from our group we have a potentially gripping storyline. 

I assume these are the problems professional audio scriptwriters have when working creatively in groups. I am interested in whether or not there is a formula especially with it being a medium such as radio with theory of listening etc. I will have to do some research on that and report back once I know more. 

I also listened to War of the Worlds and I must admit that it does really sound credible and authentic when listened to. I may laugh at the masses who panicked when they heard this broadcast and rushed to the nearest safe house, but I think I probably would’ve been one of them.

Updated: 01/04/08

Having done some more research on the topic, I found a quote which I think encapsulates the beauty of radio drama.
"As with all forms of story-telling that are composed in words,, not in visual images, radio always leaves that magical and enigmatic margin, that space of the invisible, which must be filled in by the imagination of the listeners"
Angela Carter.
Preface to the Collected Plays, 1985 (www.audiodrmablog.blogspot.com, 1/04/2008)

The above quote offers the uniqueness that lies in the form of radio drama. It explains how the invisible art forms ask for something from the audience in such a way that it produces an artform that is unique. I have been grappling with the concept of what makes audio drama unique and why it is actually a growing art form when the same thing can be done with a play or with a radio drama. I am struggling to see the point of all of it as it lives between existing artforms and I don’t think offers something further or unique. Yet to be fair, I haven’t seen a live audio drama so perhaps the uniqueness and that something magical lies only in its live aspect.
Mention Dogma films

http://www.crazydogaudiotheatre.com/writing.php

Updated: 05/04/08
I have discovered I website that allows great insight into audio drama as it shows one a step by step way of writing for audio drama. This exposes the various theories embedded in audio drama as one would need to bare all the factors of audio drama in mind when writing a script for it. Baring in mind one of our task si to create an individual audio drama script and perform it, I think this practical advice, which exposes the theory, will be appreciated.
Roger Gregg notes in his article An Introductory Essay that audio drama, as with any other writing, has various conventions that one can conform to, but there is no strict formula. This becomes difficult when one cannot always rely on sound effects and music to make a good piece great, the greatness lies in the writing and the performance (http://www.crazydogaudiotheatre.com/writing.php, 05/04/08).

For as Douglas Adams, author of The Hitch-hiker’s Guide To The Galaxy once stated:  ‘an over indulgence in sound effects easily creates an irritating mish-mash which detracts from a strong script and fails to disguise a weak one’ (http://www.crazydogaudiotheatre.com/writing.php).

Thus a good audio drama derives from a good substantial, well thought out script that s performed and executed professionally (http://www.crazydogaudiotheatre.com/writing.php). Gregg goes onto state that this cript will catch the audience’s attention and get them caught up in the action and characters of the fictional world(http://www.crazydogaudiotheatre.com/writing.php).

As mentioned above there is no strict formula when it comes to audio drama writing. One can deviate from suggested modes of writing but one thing that Gregg states is the ultimate crime is illiciting boredom in the listeners. One’s prime objective in audio drama is to engage the listener (http://www.crazydogaudiotheatre.com/writing.php). If one does not have the audience engaged, which Gregg defines as “the audience has listened, is listening and will keep listening”, there is no amount of radio special effects that will save the drama (http://www.crazydogaudiotheatre.com/writing.php). The question then remains, how does one maintain the audience’s attention?

Gregg claims that the first element needed for a good audio theatre script is clarity and focus. Gregg defines focus as ensuring the consciousness of the audience is focused on what the writer wants them to be focused on. A writer is aware that there are various cues that the audience will register in order to maintain clarity.

A writer also seeks to create vivid visual images in the audience’s minds. Obviously there is no element of the visual in radio or audio drama, yet Tom Lopez argues that an audio drama writer is like “ a film maker setting a scene in a visually interesting setting” http://www.crazydogaudiotheatre.com/writing.php, 05/04/08). Dirk Maggs goes onto argue that audio drama is far closer to film in medium that television because television is less visual. Radio is as big as one’s imaginations and television limits one (http://www.crazydogaudiotheatre.com/writing.php).