Tag: bill ritch

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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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The Doom of the Mummy part 4 of 4

Size: 10.3M Duration: 17:37

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And now we arrive at the conclusion of our 2008 Dragon Con performance of The Doom of the Mummy. At this time we felt it would be appropriate to highlight William Alan Ritch, the writer, producer, and director of this performance.

William Alan Ritch at the tech table.
William Alan Ritch at the tech table.

Bill (as he is commonly known) has been with ARTC for as long as anyone can remember. He is a tireless force in the organization, contributing time and money when necessary to ensure that shows go off without a hitch. He is a skilled director and has helmed the vast majority of ARTC productions, especially in recent years, and is also a competent technician, working in less-than-ideal conditions to give us the best sound we can get out of venues that aren’t designed for what we do (and let’s face it, very few venues are designed for what we do).

Bill Ritch takes the stage to read the credits for his play.
Bill Ritch takes the stage to read the credits for his play.

He writes, he directs, he soundscapes, he runs the mixing board…you name it, Bill has probably done it at one time or another. But he is more than that. He is one of the foundations upon which ARTC rests. He is a driving force and helps keep us on our path. And The Doom of the Mummy is destined to make its way into ARTC Studio so that it can take its place alongside our other classic monster stories…just as soon as he’s finished with one last rewrite.

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The Competitor Part 2 of 2

Size: 9.4M, Duration: 20:30

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Welcome, again, to the ARTC podcast! This month we bring you part two of The Competitor by Brad Linaweaver, adapted for audio by William Alan Ritch. Performed live at LibertyCon 2010, this marked the very first live performance of this script. We hope you enjoy it!

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The Competitor Part 1 of 2

Size: 13M, Duration: 27:50

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Welcome, again, to the ARTC podcast!  This month we bring you part one of The Competitor by Brad Linaweaver, adapted for audio by William Alan Ritch.  Performed live at LibertyCon 2010, this marked the very first live performance of this script.  We hope you enjoy it.  Also included in this podcast, a special selection by our musical guest for our October show, The Old Way by Julie Gribble.