FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Contact: Rhett Monitor
28 May 2018 PH: (707) 971-9419
THE 'HEAR Now' FESTIVAL TAPS THE PETALUMA RADIO PLAYERS FOR
'PLATINUM' AND 'SILVER DIVISION' STATUS FOR TWO PRP RADIO PLAYS
-- PRP enters its Fourth Year with Hi-Profile Recognition of Their Scary Tale of Grimm-like Proportions –
-- PRP's Britcom, 'The Misadventure of the Disobliging Cadaver,' to be featured at the HEAR Now's NATF Playhouse --
(PETALUMA, CA) May 28th – If you thought that the Petaluma Radio Players were bold the first time around when they took to the stage at the Petaluma Trolley Barn theatre in October, 2015 with two episodes of 'The Shadow,' which last aired in 1944; then packed the Goldman Ballroom two years in a row at Hotel Petaluma December, 2016 and 2017 with their standing room only performances of 'Slay Bells Ring' and 'Holmes for the Holidays'; and then launched a series of new and vintage half-hour radio dramas on Sonoma County's KPCA-LPFM (103.3) (simulcast on www.kpca.fm), airing Sundays at 6pm (PST), with 48 radio dramas scheduled between now and year's end, after vetting more than 160 plays from playwrights throughout the English-speaking world, your ears have only glimpsed a hint of what emboldens this North Bay theatrical company's drive to success.
But now there's no more hiding PRP's trajectory toward becoming one of the most creatively prolific radio theatre troupes in the U.S. The 'HEAR Now' Festival, presented by the National Audio Theatre Festivals, considered the preeminent body for excellence in national radio theatre, has selected the Petaluma Radio Players production, 'BE BOLD! BE BOLD!' by Houston playwright, Donna Latham, for participation in the SILVER Division of the NATF Playhouse's 2018 PODCAST PALOOZA. And the NATF has subsequently announced the inclusion of PRP's Sherlock Holmes comedy, 'The Misadventure of the Disobliging Cadaver,' by U.K. playwright Vince Stadon, for the Festival's PLATINUM Division recorded listening sessions at the NATF Playhouse which features this year's best audio fiction. The sixth annual 'HEAR Now' Festival in Kansas City, Missouri (June 7-10, 2018), is the audio equivalent of a film festival for fans, performers, and producers of contemporary audio story-telling in all its forms. The four-day Festival, featuring radio vets like Phil Proctor, highlights audio fiction programs that exemplify traditions of craftsmanship, as well as aesthetic and technological innovation.
'BE BOLD! BE BOLD!, the story of a dapper suitor who has an odd habit of collecting fiancées, and stacking their bodies up around his residence in the forest one engagement at a time, is performed in an interpretive, choral style, with Grandmama as the central narrator and the other characters sharing lines of narration. Says playwright Donna Latham, "I have loosely based this retelling on Joseph Jacobs’ variation of Mr. Fox. Jacobs collected Mr. Fox in 1890. However, the tale certainly predates his collection. In fact, in (Shakespeare's) Much Ado About Nothing, Benedick quotes: “Like the old tale, lord: 'it is not so, nor 'twas not so, but, indeed, God forbid it should be so.’” The echo of that line makes frequent appearance in PRP's production of Latham's radio play, 'BE BOLD! BE BOLD!Making her directorial debut as part of PRP's 'Director-in-the-Round' program, the Troupe's Associate Producer, Kendra Murray, decided to capture the lyrical quality embedded in the play's dialogue. Says Murray, "In a nod to the traditional 'Round,' we decided to have the actors mimic the choral lines and some of the dialogue lines to underscore the mythic, mysterious, and oh so wicked storyline." To hear both high-production value plays ('Be Bold! Be Bold!' and 'The Misadventure of the Disobliging Cadaver') which use real Foley Artist sound effects mixed with post-production effects, visit: petalumaradioplayers.com ('PODCAST' tab). For more information, contact: Rhett Monitor (707) 971 9419 or info@petalumaradioplayers.com
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