Welcome!
BTV Radio Theatre is taped live monthly at Vermont Community Access Media Studio in Burlington, VT. It is a dramatic anthology series inspired by the classic pulps and radio serials of the 1930s. In a forum that is equal parts theatrical performance and behind-the-scenes promotional extra, our talented actors, singers, and Foley artists bring to life suspenseful adventure stories that evoke such old time radio broadcasts such as The Shadow and The Green Hornet. These programs will be free to view (on local public access) or download, and shall be available in both video and pure audio formats.
(Painting by Rob Towne. Photo by Lara Keenan.)
(Painting by Rob Towne. Photo by Lara Keenan.)
Why the interest in radio drama ?
"Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men," intoned Frank Readick Jr. as he introduced Lamont Cranston's creepy alter ego, The Shadow, at the opening of every episode of the radio series. I grew up long after radio's Golden Age, but as a child I had an audio cassette tape of "THE SHADOW: The Nursery Rhyme Murders" that I played over and over. The villain in that story was sublimely scary, a madman whose spooky, creaky voice lived up to the evil deeds he committed. The Shadow, performed notably by Orson Welles in many of the vigilante's early adventures, faced such villains with a taunting laugh and a taut monotone that managed to make him just as scary as they, if not more so. Armed with the power to "cloud men's minds," The Shadow could turn the tables on these terrorists, and gleefully terrorize them with impunity.
Horror and suspense tales may similarly terrorize a "blind" radio audience, whose members must rely on their imagination to illustrate the tale being told. It's an effective trick for these kinds of stories; what you imagine can be far worse than what any special effects team could create. That is one thing I especially love about the medium, a freedom that doesn't exist in film.
We at BTV Radio Theatre intend to produce plays "slanted towards spooky." There may be some adventurous or melodramatic element to them, but there's a creepy aesthetic we intend to employ whenever possible. Our first series features a pulp hero in the vein of The Shadow called The Gloved Fox, who fights crime in Midnight City. The first episode, "The Thespian's Revenge," will tape on December 28 and will be available to view online shortly thereafter, on the first of the New Year. One series to follow this summer, after The Gloved Fox's initial ten episode run, is Shade of Justice, which is about a sheriff in the Old West who has been resurrected to tame supernatural forces in the wild frontier. A serialized adaptation of Frankenstein will also be produced.
Horror and suspense tales may similarly terrorize a "blind" radio audience, whose members must rely on their imagination to illustrate the tale being told. It's an effective trick for these kinds of stories; what you imagine can be far worse than what any special effects team could create. That is one thing I especially love about the medium, a freedom that doesn't exist in film.
We at BTV Radio Theatre intend to produce plays "slanted towards spooky." There may be some adventurous or melodramatic element to them, but there's a creepy aesthetic we intend to employ whenever possible. Our first series features a pulp hero in the vein of The Shadow called The Gloved Fox, who fights crime in Midnight City. The first episode, "The Thespian's Revenge," will tape on December 28 and will be available to view online shortly thereafter, on the first of the New Year. One series to follow this summer, after The Gloved Fox's initial ten episode run, is Shade of Justice, which is about a sheriff in the Old West who has been resurrected to tame supernatural forces in the wild frontier. A serialized adaptation of Frankenstein will also be produced.
(And why BTV Radio "THEATRE"?)
The visual element that is a part of this endeavor may seem to be at odds with the audio component. We feel the video podcast/televised version can be enjoyed on another level, however, by those who love experiencing live theater as well as seeing sound effects performed onstage. BTV Radio Theatre is heavily influenced by and tremendously indebted to those who have helped popularize this style of theater, such as the creative geniuses behind The Intergalactic Nemesis, the hilarious wunderkinds of The Thrilling Adventure Hour, as well as Garrison Keillor's charming A Prairie Home Companion radio variety program.