Author: David Benedict

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Podcast glitch

It’s come to our attention that the podcast for January and February had some kind of digital glitch that was causing a beep every few seconds. We want to apologize for that and let you all know that we’ve fixed it, but also want to assure everyone that we would never stoop to such tricks to “watermark” our content that way.

If you ever have any trouble with the podcast, or any other part of the website or our offerings, please let us know!

Unauthorized posting of our content is a problem, no question, and if you see anything posted that doesn’t look like it came from us on an official channel, we’d appreciate your letting us know (especially our studio work), but it would never be our intention to make for a bad listening experience.

There are exciting things in store for the podcast later this year. Right now we’re going to keep it nice and vague, but we think you’ll like what we have in mind. Thanks for listening!

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Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea part 2 of 4

Size: 10.5M Duration: 18:04

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When writing the script for Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, David Benedict and Brad Strickland had two major problems to overcome. The first was compressing a novel-length work of genius by Jules Verne into an hour time slot. That was solved through vicious editing.

The second problem? There are no women in Verne’s tale of the sea and ARTC has been blessed with a number of extremely talented actresses. It would have been a crime to leave them out entirely. So, artistic liberty was applied. First, it was decided that Conseil, Professor Arronax’s faithful companion, would be a woman. Second, a new female member of the crew would be introduced.

Clair Kiernan as Conseil and Kelley S. Ceccato as Navigator Aznar
Clair Kiernan as Conseil and Kelley S. Ceccato as Navigator Aznar

Captain Nemo’s crew is not mentioned heavily by name in the original work. They are clearly vital to Nemo’s voyage under the sea, and he values them greatly. No, he reveres them. But precious few individuals are named. This gave Strickland and Benedict an opportunity to introduce audiences to one, who just happened to be a woman, and also to allow the audience an opportunity to track the progress of the Nautilus as Navigator Aznar announces the submarine’s position at the beginning of many scenes.

One thing that was very important, however, was that Aznar not be relegated to the “love interest” of the play. The only love interest that is present in the script, as well as the original novel, is Nemo’s love of the sea – of its beauty and what it can provide if it is respected.

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31 Years of ARTC: The Man Who Traveled in Elephants 2008

We spent a good part of last year documenting our last 30 years through photographs of our live performances. But wouldn’t you know it, we ran out of year before we ran out of pictures! So we’re going to continue on! And don’t forget our Chronology for a look at our 30 (and counting!) years of live performance!

This week we bring you our appearance at Stage Door Players in 2008, which featured The Man Who Traveled in Elephants by Robert A. Heinlein. Check out all the pictures on our Flickr album.

We’re pressed for time this week, so we’re going to let the pictures speak for themselves this time! This was an amazing show, though, and we wanted to share it with all of you rather than let a week go by with no pictures.

The Man Who Traveled in Elephants is out of print at the moment, but we hope to bring it back later this year, with any luck!

Alton Leonard warms up before the dress rehearsal.
Alton Leonard warms up before the dress rehearsal.
The Foley team, Hal Wiedeman and Deanna Ameri, hard at work!
The Foley team, Hal Wiedeman and Deanna Ameri, hard at work!
The cast during dress rehearsal
Dress rehearsals are a bit more informal with us!
Our musical guest for this show, Juliana Finch!
Our musical guest for this show, Juliana Finch!
Nancy Skidmore at the ARTC sales table.
Nancy Skidmore staffs the sales table. Can we sell you a CD?
The other Foley team, Daniel Taylor, Deanna Ameri, and Jeff Baskin, along with actor Daniel Kiernan.
The other Foley team, Daniel Taylor, Deanna Ameri, and Jeff Baskin, along with actor Daniel Kiernan.

See you all again next week with more pictures!

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31 Years of ARTC: Dragon Con 2008 part 2 – Not a Typo

We spent a good part of last year documenting our last 30 years through photographs of our live performances. But wouldn’t you know it, we ran out of year before we ran out of pictures! So we’re going to continue on! And don’t forget our Chronology for a look at our 30 (and counting!) years of live performance!

This week we bring you our second appearance at Dragon Con in 2008, which featured a number of short subjects that we dubbed Not a Typo. Check out all the pictures on our Flickr album.

David Benedict examines his script.
David Benedict looks for typos. Finding none, the show proceeds.

Scheduling difficulties had prevented us from having a second show at Dragon Con for a couple of years, but when we came back we knew we had to bring some great shows.

Bill Kronick expresses himself at the microphone.
Did someone say great shows??

So we trotted out A Ship Named Francis, Haunter Hunters, Rory Rammer, Space Marshal: The Atomic Graveyard, Wikihistory, and The National Endowment for Space Art.

Jayne Lockhart addresses the microphone.
Jayne Lockhart swoons over the quality selection of scripts.

And, if we do say so ourselves, we totally blew the audience away!

Daniel Taylor addresses the microphone.
“You probably shouldn’t say that in today’s geopolitical world. Things like that aren’t always funny.” — No One Ever.

And we’ve been doing two shows at that fine convention ever since! Stay tuned to see what’s in store for this year’s convention. In fact, you could even sign up for the newsletter to keep current!

Jonathan Strickland addresses the microphone
We want YOU to sign up for “Breaking Radio Silence,” the ARTC newsletter.
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Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea part 1 of 4

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In 2013 ARTC took our adaptation of Jules Verne’s Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea to the Academy Theatre in Avondale Estates for its debut, and thusfar only, performance.

As part of the performance, we commissioned a cake from our good friend Heather Schroeder with Sweets to the Sweet (edit: we just got word that Sweets to the Sweet is taking a bit of a hiatus. Sad face! Hopefully they’ll be back baking soon!). Check out how awesome this is!

Cake from Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea
Cake from Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea
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31 Years of ARTC: Dragon Con 2008 part 1 – The Doom of the Mummy

We spent a good part of last year documenting our last 30 years through photographs of our live performances. But wouldn’t you know it, we ran out of year before we ran out of pictures! So we’re going to continue on! And don’t forget our Chronology for a look at our 30 (and counting!) years of live performance!

This week we bring you our appearance at Dragon Con for The Doom of the Mummy in 2008. Check out all the pictures on our Flickr album.

In 2008 ARTC returned to the Dragon Con stage with our customary two shows. One of them was Bill Ritch’s The Doom of the Mummy. The Doom of the Mummy was written to be a compliment to Thomas E. Fuller’s Universal Monsters series of retellings that includes The Passion of Frankenstein and The Brides of Dracula.

William Alan Ritch
Who is the real monster here?

The story tells of an ancient evil that returns through sorcery to menace mondern times. You know, your standard mummy story. But Ritch included his own nuances and personality into it, including an ambitious score that pushed our master composers Brad Weage and Alton Leonard to their limits.

Brad Weage at the keyboard.
Brad Weage, clearly succumbing to the pressure.

The score called for not just our usual synthesizer, but also ancient instruments such as the ugab and lyre and also incorporated a modern instrument in the cello, masterfully played by special guest Regina Maniqus.

Regina Maniquis at the cello.
Regina Maniquis at the cello.

The cast had a wonderful time, and we’re really looking forward to getting this piece into the studio for proper treatment!

Cast of
Cast of “Doom of the Mummy”
Ariel Kasten in
Ariel Kasten in “The Doom of the Mummy”
Clair W. Kiernan in
Clair W. Kiernan in “The Doom of the Mummy”
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31 Years of ARTC: Academy Theatre 2008

We spent a good part of last year documenting our last 30 years through photographs of our live performances. But wouldn’t you know it, we ran out of year before we ran out of pictures! So we’re going to continue on! And don’t forget our Chronology for a look at our 30 (and counting!) years of live performance!

This week we bring you our appearance at the Academy Theatre for The Colour Out of Space in 2008. Check out all the pictures on our Flickr album.

This performance was our first at the Academy Theatre’s Avondale Estates location. We walked in not really knowing what to expect, and to a certain degree not really knowing exactly where it was (if you ever visited the Avondale location, you probably know what I mean).

Stage setup at Academy Theatre
If we’d expected the setup to be done for us, we were sorely disappointed.

But the cast settled in nicely to their new home away from home.

The cast prior to the performance.
If I talk about them like they’re pets…well, there’s a reason for that.

During a show, communication is key. You might think that with all that talking going on on stage that getting anything else said would be difficult, and you’d be right. But we still need to communicate between backstage, onstage, and the techs in the back to ensure that timing is maintained and that when things go haywire the actors know what to do.

The cast onstage at the Academy Theatre.
One of those things we do is to hold our hands over our mics so they can be muted before we adjust them.

We also wear a lot of different hats. It’s tempting to think that we all have well-defined roles, but the truth is that everybody pitches in for a good show.

Foley for 'The Colour Out of Space'.
Here we see Clair Kiernan, normally a voice actor, at the Foley table. Clair, you sly devil.
Recorded sound effects for 'The Colour Out of Space'.
David Benedict running recorded sound effects. Complete with dramatic lighting!

We’re hard at work on the studio version of The Colour Out of Space right now, so look for that in the store soon! (If you’re reading this in 2020 and it’s still not there, send help).

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30 Years of ARTC: An Atlanta Christmas 2008

This being our 30th anniversary, we thought we’d dip back into the past and recap some of our previous performances, triumphs and tragedies, in a series of posts. And don’t forget our Chronology for a look at our 30 (and counting!) years of live performance!

This week we bring you our appearance at the Academy Theatre for An Atlanta Christmas 2008. Check out all the pictures on our Flickr album.

What else can we say about Christmas? We just finished up our 2014 edition of An Atlanta Christmas, its 15th consecutive year of production, and it’s always a fun time. It’s kind of interesting how we crave newness and novelty all year long, but around the holidays we get all nostalgic and don’t mind listening to the same songs (or audio dramas!) that we’ve heard a dozen times before.

Audience for 'An Atlanta Christmas' 2008
Case in point.

But it’s such a fun time! The reds! The greens! The getting to see people you haven’t seen in forever! The trying to cram in as much activity as possible while also shopping for people you suddenly realize you don’t know well enough and trying to live your normal life as well!

Jeff Montgomery, Laurice White, and Kelley S. Ceccato.
There’s a lot to do, is what we’re saying.

Plus, it’s different every year, while also staying the same. We shuffle the scripts around, we get new kids when the old ones get too big (everything gets exchanged just after Christmas, even actors).

Jonathan Strickland, Rachel Pendergrass, and Trudy Leonard.
Especially actors.

So we’ve put the wraps on Christmas for another year, but we’ll be back next year. And there’s still more Christmas pictures to post (we’re only up to 2008, after all). So, who knows? Maybe you’ll see Christmas in July.

Kris Kringle, Jayne Lockhart, Laurice White, and the Children's Ensemble.
But hopefully not wearing these outfits, unless you’re in the Southern hemisphere.

The 2008 production will live on in our hearts. We welcomed new performers. We made new memories. We refreshed ourselves. We did it again in 2009 all the way through 2014. And we’ll do it again in 2015.

The cast of
The cast of “An Atlanta Christmas 2008”
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Dash Cardigan part 4 of 4

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We now bring you the concluding chapter of the short version of Dash Cardigan!

It’s been a pleasure bringing you another year of free audio drama! Don’t forget us when it comes time for gift-giving and those tax-deductible charitable donations. You do know we’re a 501(c))(3), right? Lots of options on our donate page, so pick the method and the budget that’s right for YOU.

Thanks for listening! We’ll see you all again in 2015!

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30 Years of ARTC: Gaylaxicon 2007

This being our 30th anniversary, we thought we’d dip back into the past and recap some of our previous performances, triumphs and tragedies, in a series of posts. And don’t forget our Chronology for a look at our 30 (and counting!) years of live performance!

This week we bring you our appearance at Gaylaxicon 2007. Check out all the pictures on our Flickr album.

Here at ARTC we have a special place in our hearts for our convention audiences. They turn up in droves and always appreciate what we offer up to them. And while we have our favorite haunts that we visit every year (LibertyCon, Dragon Con), we’re also keen on checking out new conventions, especially ones that pick new cities every year.

David Benedict
On the lookout for new conventions.

In 2007 we had an amazing opportunity. First we were invited to Gaylaxicon 2007, a first for us, and second we learned that one of the guests of the convention would be Keith Hartman! Keith used to be a regular member of ARTC, but then moved to Los Angeles to pursue fame and fortune, and has had quite a bit of success!

Cast of Gaylaxicon 2007
Proof that Keith still loves us.

We performed some of our favorite pieces. Brotherhood of Damn Sassy Mutants, A Ship Named Francis, and The Shape of Things to Come.

Tech for Gaylaxicon 2007
We used a lot of tech to do it, too.

And everybody had a wonderful time!

Foley for Gaylaxicon 2007
Everybody.
David Benedict and Jonathan Strickland
Just look at those smiles.

We’ve got plenty of convention shows planned for 2015! Hope to see YOU there!