Hello!
I’m still riding a little bit of a performance high since witnessing the audio drama recording of my short story, “The Groomsman” the other day. The short story, an entry from my “Mass Transit” collection, was adapted to a radio drama recently by Methodical Productions, the same folks behind “Supporters.” You know, the one starring yours truly.
“The Groomsman” is a story about a cabbie who gets his life turned upside down just a few short days before his impending nuptials. Feeling his life is threatened, he enlists the help of a bodyguard.
Unlike my last foray in the radio drama realm, I only offered a couple of lines for bit parts while other more trained actors handled the heavy lifting. It was my first experience of having someone else direct what I wrote, so I kept a hands off approach. While some of the actors were recording, I chatted with the others who were in the Green Room waiting for their turn. I ended up making a game of it. With my legs crossed and a copy of the script in my lap while sitting in a lawn chair, I felt like I was on a late night talk show, where I talked up the nearest co-star. Sometimes I would ask if they brought a clip, but almost no one got the reference/joke.
As for the production, I can’t wait to experience the final product. As I mentioned before, when you write something the idea is have the final work performed on some level. Whether it’s “read by the author” or down to the theater of the mind, words are meant to lift off the page.
For example If poetry is your bag, try to find a why to visit a local open mic night. Though it may sound cliche, it’s really a good opportunity to see what works and what doesn’t in front of a live audience. On the other hand, if you are novelist, you can always try having a scene or two of your work performed by members of local theater company or even acting classes. It’s a natural extension of the “workshop” tool .
Hey who knows? Maybe you might unintentionally make a fan…
Flobo Boyce 