The Narrator in Audio Theater

The following post is derived from a lively discussion on the Radio Drama Listserv. If you're an enthusiast of audio theater and aren't on the list, make sure to join up so you can keep up with the discussion!

...I'd like to bring up something I've been pondering for some time -- what is the role of narrator in audio theater? ...And it is staid to use the narrator in modern stories? The question arises on the basis of comments of the narrator's obsolescence as well as an observation that neither of the plays produced for this year's NATF used a narrator.

Now, I'd be the first to agree that the objective, birds-eye, "It was a dark and stormy night" narrator is a little heavy-handed, but I wonder if we're being a little hard on a perfectly good literary device. Having more a literary than a broadcast background, I personally use narration in the same way that an author uses summary prose in lieu of scenes. Sometimes, you just need to speed the narrative along, give the audience some key information, and keep moving without making everything happen moment-by-moment.

For example, "Raymond Chandler's 'Goldfish,'" is an absolutely splendid audio drama piece as well as an excellent example of how a narrator can be used to good effect (another good one is a surprisingly great rendition of "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" I heard recently). The imminent, first-person narrator guides us through the story and heaps so much of Marlowe's character upon us that we might not get through just dialogue alone (at least, not with so much nuance). Likewise, the Hunter Thompson dialogue is about the only thread of sense through a completely crazed narrative. Both are enhancements rather than distractions from some pretty compelling stories.

Obviously if you're looking for "audio art" rather than "audio theater," you might prefer stuff that strays further from established traditions, in the same ways that some prefer the avant-garde and experimental fiction. However, I think that since this form already limits us to so few tools, we shouldn't shuck this one out unless there are some rather solid reasons to do so.

Thoughts?

Our stories are the fictional counterpart of the non-fiction documentary, essays, and features you'll hear on National Public Radio. Just like in the publishing world you'll find memoir and biographies as distinct categories from novels and short story writing, audio fiction uses similar conventions but very different subject matter for its exploration of humanity and its issues. The basic litmus test: stories told through the medium of sound.

Why not radio drama? (Especially considering we have links to "radio drama" articles, and use the phrase elsewhere in the site?) Now here's where things good tricky. Radio drama is a historic term with a rich history which we like to represent, but is not entirely emblematic of the modern art form -- after all, 99% of you will hear this over the internet, and not on the radio.

The other alternative phrase, audio theater, is pretty good, but tends to only be used by audio insiders. Furthermore, it continues to perpetuate the perception that the stories are like plays, when they're really more like short stories, novellas, and novels (well, we're working on the latter two). While the stories are dramatized, they aren't really "theater."

While "audio fiction" still might have some weaknesses, the point is our work is more like what you'll read in a literary rag than what you'll hear on the radio. It's the stories that get us out of bed in the morning, not the transmitters.

Is there a way to make radio drama economically successful in the modern day? If so, what form will the messenger take?

By Frederick Greenhalgh

What do Britain, Canada, and Ireland have in common? No, it's not universal health coverage -- it's public radio companies that commission original radio drama for broadcast. They actually think it's valuable to have written stories recorded and played on the radio for people. What's crazier, is that they PAY people to do it! What gives?

America has never had public media anything like that commonly found in other countries -- there are a variety of economic and political reasons for this, but for the moment let's take it at face value that public radio is not and will not ever really have the money or incentive to produce original plays. That leaves us with the private markets, such as the major networks, who were responsible for the whole rise of the radio drama in the first place. The gears were going well back in the 40s and 50s -- everyone got to hear a push for Goodyear Tires or Blue Coal and got to hear plenty of stories. While not every story was a winner (and with some million words being broadcast a day, we can give CBS and NBC a little slack), there was an active economy to support that original drama. In fact, radio drama was one of the better paying writing careers in its day.

Of course, TV ended all of that, though it was more of a planned assassination of radio drama than a lack of people being interested in it (chicken and egg, or...?). Whether it was people who sold TVs with a vested interest in making everyone watch it, or curiosity that turned to addiction, television took over all of the major serial-type programming that had made radio a viable and sustainable medium in its day. The Golden Era ended, and radio drama trudged through its existence to the modern day (minus a few mini-revivals here and there, local troupes who kept producing... there's a lot I'm glossing over here to reach a point).

Today's modern radio drama scene can be characterized as an orphaned medium with a lot of guts but not a lot of polish. There is a hard-core niche audience that keeps producers faithful of a resurgence, and dropping costs of equipment and the interconnectivity of the Internet certainly has allowed for more communication and community-building of this niche than ever before. Podcasting is almost a revolution, and there are blogs aplenty talking about exciting new works being produced all throughout the country. The question is how to get radio drama out of the niche and into the mainstream.

It all comes down to the American consumer. There are days when I'm full of hope and others when a friend of mine says "Who'd want to see a movie without the pictures?" What I think is absolutely necessary for original radio drama to be successful is a keener focus on the stories, and production methods that take advantage of radio drama's unique properties to really smash those stories into the audience's head. While we might not compete with the people who are going to spend 8 bucks to watch a bunch of teenagers get slaughtered at the movie house, we can appeal to those who pay for HBO and Showtime and want series' that push the cutting edge and keep them in wrapt suspense week after week. Radio drama needs to get there to make it in modern America. And somehow we need to get the economic and distribution model to support an industry that good

I think we can note with interest the birthing pains of the online music industry and attempts by Google to digitize the published world and dominate online video. The model proposed by Google and such seems to be a deconstruction of established business models and unprecedented access to material by consumers. The hope is that people will still choose to purchase what they care about, and not that people will turn to rampant levels of piracy. Do we offer our work for free or charge for every download? Is there a subscription or paid advertising method that will work?

At this stage in the game, I think it's more important to get radio drama into the ears of the unsuspecting audience rather than trying to make a profit on it (either that or get it featured on American Idol). Channels like XM's Sonic Theater I think are a start, though it'd be amazing if NPR or Pacifica started distributing syndicated radio drama across the nation (or better yet, member stations started producing it themselves). And maybe commercial radio will go down in flames like I suspect it will and we'll have new broadcasting stations run by robots that love radio drama playing on our commute to work rather than DJs who statistics say people love while everyone you know hates them.

And finally, I think an "all you can eat" subscription based radio drama/audio theater store is apt to be more successful than anything else. Say a dozen or so of us producers opt-in, upload all of our work to a centralized server that distributes the work to all subscribers (or have the ability to offer it to bronze, silver, or gold level memberships). As a subscriber, you can sign up for a variety of levels, which offer tiered levels of programming; say the $10/month subscriber gets 4 of your 30 minute episodes while the $30/month subscriber gets access to your 5-hour epic mini-series. You can offer extras, commentary, and whatnot, and offer some teasers for those with free memberships. Like Audible, you can also order everything on this site ala carte as well. The money gets split up on a democratic, server-controlled manner based on the number of downloads of each respective work. Call it the radio drama co-op store.

These are only ruminations from a kid who's new at the game, but I think sound enough to generate some discussion. With good marketing, good programming, and a bit of luck, I think original radio drama can generate a firestorm these next years.

Read more about the radio drama articles, hear some modern audio fiction stories, or leave some comments on where you think audio drama is going!

What can a seemingly archaic medium say to a modern audience?

Even for those who didn't grow up during radio's golden era, mention radio drama to most Americans and it culls up the image of a family huddled around the radio anxiously on a Saturday night waiting for a program to come on. Most are familiar with the furor over War of the Worlds, and can bring names like "The Shadow" and "The Green Hornet" to the tips of their tongues. These same people are astonished to learn that Orson Welles started (and may have produced his best work!) in radio, and that "The Lone Ranger" existed long before its television debut. With a new generation that has known radio only as a sad jukebox, occasional news source, and constant sales hawker, the legacy of the Golden Age of Radio would seem slipping from obscurity into oblivion. What can audio alone achieve that audio and video cannot?

For the growing number of Old-Time Radio enthusiasts and modern producers, that very question is an absurd one. Audio is accessible, cheap, and provocative. You can be on a Carribbean island or in the middle of Omaha Beach of D-Day with the use of a couple choice effects, and propel the listener through a story even if the actor looks nothing like the character his voice conjures. There is no story too small or large for radio, and if you think the interest in radio drama is just nostalgia for a bygone era, ask BBC4 what they think.

It's true, however, that the "Golden Age of Radio," the period between the 30s to 50s (more or less) that radio was America's premier form of entertainment, is over. The sources of entertainment today are infinitely more varied, sophisticated, and available. The business model of commercial radio, though certainly threatened by things like satellite radio and digital music stores, does not seem likely to return to the paradigm of old any time in the future. Nor does it look likely that ABC, NBC, or CBS will start funding radio dramas again. Yet with the growing availability of low-cost, professional quality equipment and the internet, the world is an oyster for those independent of spirit and mind who aspire to create their own work for a world stage.

While Britain and Canada have radio dramas commissioned by their publicly-funded broadcasting companies, in America the original audio drama produced is by small troupes and production houses scattered across the country (for a list of some of these, visit the Radio Drama Links page). A reflection of the great beauty of America's fragmented spirit, these groups produce programming as original as it is diverse.

What differentiates FinalRune Productions from other audio theatre groups is a commitment to producing works of writers of limited renown and exceptional caliber, with the ambition of spurring interest in radio drama in new audiences. In addition, FinalRune Productions is a for-profit business model with the intention of generating a sustainable revenue through a subscriber base, supplemented by sales through online audiobook stores, brick and mortar stores, and playback on terrestrial and satellite radio stations.

The bet I'm staking this whole vision on is that today's media consumers are looking for "the next big thing," and that thing could be audio. While big-budget, low-substance Hollywood movies are great and all, audio can only succeed with stories pared down to the bones. While sophistication is not always a word associated with American media consumers, I'm banking that there's at least some out there who want a compelling story that says something. That moves them. That terrifies them. That makes them feel like they've just been somewhere extraordinary.

And audio theater can provide this--and so much more.

Read more about the radio drama articles, or hear some modern audio fiction stories.