Audio Drama Day, October 30th, Continues Historic Legacy of Halloween Horror, Imaginative Storytelling

HOUSTON, Oct. 8, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Almost 80 years after the infamous "War of the Worlds" broadcast on October 30^th, 1938, new generations of listeners and producers celebrate October 30^th as "Audio Drama Day". The holiday honors "old time radio" of the past and modern audio drama produced today.

In 1938, 'The Mercury Theatre on the Air' shared an adaptation of H.G. Wells' novel as a fearsome and innovative Halloween treat.  Listeners heard a fictionalized newscast of aliens invading the little town of Grover's Mill, New Jersey.  A debate continues: did Mercury's team (prodigy Orson Welles, producer John Houseman, and writer Howard Koch) expect panic? Did listeners really fear Martians, or a more down-to-earth threat, like a Nazi invasion force?

Halloween continues to be the best time to enjoy scary audio dramas, explains Fred Greenhalgh, one of the producers on "Locke and Key," released by Audible.com on October 5^th. 'It's a time of year when people are open to experiencing the macabre," Greenhalgh says. "No medium scares better than audio. There's something primal about it."  

"War of the Worlds" is remembered on Halloween, but only one part of the unfolding audio drama story. Modern audio drama began to evolve in the 1970s. While CBS' traditional Radio Mystery Theater remained popular, new work resonated with a counterculture audience: zany Firesign Theatre and ZBS's experimental 'Ruby' series aired on progressive rock radio. Later, a 'Star Wars' adaptation won new fans to National Public Radio (NPR), along with the terrifying 'Nightfall', created by CBC Radio.  

NPR's beloved 'Prairie Home Companion' features audio drama.  A dedicated audience has also followed Jim French Productions' syndicated detective hero, Harry Niles, and the 'Imagination Theatre' anthology, over three decades.

Sibby Wieland of Sound Stages Radio (http://www.soundstagesradio.com), a web-based network playing audio drama, notes that many younger listeners appreciate both "old time radio" and modern audio drama.

"Modern audio drama is a diverse movement," Wieland explains. "You've got shows that recreate the style of network radio in the 1940s, like 'The Red Panda' and 'The Thrilling Adventure Hour', but also cutting edge humor and science fiction like 'Hadron Gospel Hour'. Entire fictional worlds exist in the zombie adventure 'We're Alive', and 'Our Fair City'."

Long after audio drama's first "golden age," anthologies like the Canadian broadcast "The Sonic Society" and podcast "Radio Drama Revival", and shows on BBC's Radio 4 still reach millions of listeners. The Boston-based Post-Meridian Radio Players, London's Wireless Theatre, Atlanta Radio Theatre, and Oregon's Willamette Radio Workshop sell out live performances of horror audio drama. Why?

"Audio presents a unique and inexpensive medium, designed for a world on the go," explains Monique Boudreau, of Buffalo's nonprofit Aural Stage Studios, which, like the Memphis-based Chatterbox Theatre, produces audio drama to both entertain and build their local communities.

For more audio drama news, events and releases featured this Halloween, visit http://www.audiodramaday.com.

Contact: 
Sibby Wieland
Sound Stages Radio 
Email 
281.236.2924

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20151007/274977
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SOURCE Sound Stages Radio