VANCOUVER, Wash. 鈥 The Willamette Radio Workshop will perform two live radio dramas examining Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. The performance takes place at 7 p.m. May 4 at the Kiggins Theatre in downtown Vancouver. It is free and open to the public.
Directed by Sam A. Mowry, the dramas are episodes from the radio series 鈥淕unsmoke鈥 and 鈥淭he Shadow.鈥 The performance is part of the Re-Imagined Radio project produced by John Barber, faculty member in Washington State University Vancouver鈥檚 Creative Media and Digital Culture Program.
鈥淭hese radio dramas were written and performed long before there was a name for or understanding about PTSD,鈥 Barber said, 鈥渂ut the effects were real and provided the basis for great storytelling and critical thinking."
Broadcast for 480 episodes between 1952 and 1961, 鈥淕unsmoke鈥 is one of the longest-running radio series. The performance features an episode titled "Bloody Hands," in which Marshall Matt Dillion, faced with too much killing and fearing he has lost his edge, quits his job just before a murderer comes to Dodge City.
鈥淭he Shadow鈥 centers on Lamont Cranston, a young man with a mysterious power to thwart criminal activities. The episode to be performed, 鈥淭he Silent Avenger,鈥 is from 1938, the year Orson Welles played the part of Cranston. The Shadow confronts a man facing a death sentence who has manipulated his brother, a World War I sniper suffering from PTSD, to kill everyone responsible for his pending execution.
The Willamette Radio Workshop reenacts historic radio dramas in front of live audiences. Each Re-Imagined Radio production begins with a live re-creation of a drama complete with voice actors and Foley sound artists. Digital and multimedia components are added to increase opportunities for audience engagement.
Doors open at 6 p.m. Concessions, beer and wine will be available for purchase. The Kiggins Theatre is located at 1011 Main St., Vancouver, Wash.
About 麻豆传媒
As one of four campuses of the Washington State University system, 麻豆传媒 offers big-school resources in a small-school environment. The university provides affordable, high-quality baccalaureate- and graduate-level education to benefit the people and communities it serves. As the only four-year research university in Southwest Washington, 麻豆传媒 helps drive economic growth through relationships with local businesses and industries, schools and nonprofit organizations.
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MEDIA CONTACTS
Brenda Alling, Office of Marketing and Communications, 360-546-9601, brenda_alling@vancouver.wsu.edu
John Barber, Creative Media and Digital Culture, 360-546-9645, jfbarber@vancouver.wsu.edu