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ARTC returns to the Academy Theatre in Hapeville with classic science fiction! Solution Unsatisfactory by Robert A. Heinlein, adapted for audio by Daniel Taylor, and Rory Rammer, Space Marshal: The Angel of Destruction written for audio by Ron N. Butler.
Tag: daniel taylor
2026 Libertycon
ARTC makes its triumphant return to Libertycon with all new programming, including Solution Unsatisfactory by Robert A. Heinlein, adapted for audio by Daniel Taylor, and Rory Rammer, Space Marshal: The Angel of Destruction written for audio by Ron N. Butler
30 Years of ARTC: An Atlanta Christmas 2005
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! It’s not as detailed, but it really shows the growth of ARTC over the years. You can see all of the photos in their full size on our Flickr album!
We’re back with another round of pictures from An Atlanta Christmas!
The holidays are a serious time. A time for reflection. A time for self-assessment.
It’s a time for somber contemplation of…aw, who are we kidding? The holidays are a ton of fun! In this installment, we feature some of the goofier moments in An Atlanta Christmas.
The play being a series of short subjects has the advantage of being able to swing through a wide range of emotions. There are very serious pieces, such as O Tannenbaum and Civil War Triptych, but the overall feel tends to convey the lightheartedness of the season. It’s a time of hope.
A time of giving.
A time of anticipation.
Sorry for the blurriness on that last picture. We just couldn’t resist that expression.
It’s also a time for family and gatherings.
And through it all we somehow manage to have a good time. Every year for the last 15 years! Be sure to come see us this December! We’d love to have you be a part of our family. Details coming soon.
30 Years of ARTC – An Atlanta Christmas 2003
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! It’s not as detailed, but it really shows the growth of ARTC over the years. You can see all of the photos in their full size on our Flickr album!
Welcome to the first installment of photos from our performances of An Atlanta Christmas. 2014’s performance will mark the 15th consecutive year of this heartwarming show about Christmas in the south. Originally conceived by Thomas E. Fuller as a series of vignettes that focused specifically on Atlanta and the history of the holidays, the ARTC writers have expanded it to include many of our serials, including Rory Rammer, Space Marshal, Unresolved Mysteries: Solved While U Wait, and Bumpers Crossroads. We’ve got Thomas’s original vision on CD for you (or through our digital distributors) and the expanded edition will be coming out of ARTC Studio in due time.
More photos of these performances will be coming in this series as we go along. You can watch the kids grow up, just as we did!
Music is a huge part of the Christmas holiday tradition, and we work hard to integrate it into our performance each year. Alton Leonard composed the theme song for the set, Old Atlanta Christmas, and provides carols whenever he can. Brad Weage also brought the classics along with him every year. Combine that with our talented vocalists and it creates that warm holiday atmosphere that’s a trademark of this performance.
The original version of An Atlanta Christmas was framed by a family gathered around in the living room reminiscing about holidays long past. Finding talented children to play those roles, as well as the roles of the children in the individual stories, isn’t necessarily difficult. The hard part is keeping them from growing up and out of the roles! Each year the producers have to look at the kids from the previous years and determine if it’s time to replace them with the next crop of budding audio dramatists!
Dressing up for the holidays is always a festive part of the performance. We’ve tried several different things to make the visual part of our medium more interesting for our live performances, but for Christmas it’s never really that difficult. Everyone breaks out the reds and greens and we throw a great big holiday audio party on the stage!
Plush animals, Santa Claus hats, coonskin caps, and jingle bells traditionally adorn the Foley table. Our usual fare of horror and science fiction often has a mix of recorded and practical Foley sound effects. After all, how do you cast a space ship from the skies of Earth to the orbit of the moon with a table full of sound effects? Sure we could do it, but it adds to the immersive depth of our performance to mix in a recorded effect from time to time. But at Christmas there aren’t as many Martians, there are fewer Elder Gods, and that thing clattering on the roof isn’t a faceless monster, and so we’re able to put the focus on what traditionally sets audio drama apart from other art forms.
And what holiday would be complete without the poinsettia. Not sure why the poinsettia is significant? Come see this year’s performance of An Atlanta Christmas and we’ll be glad to tell you all about it. More details coming soon!
In the meantime, be sure to check out the rest of the photos from our Stone Mountain appearance of An Atlanta Christmas on Flickr. We’ll have another set of holiday photos in a few weeks!
An interview with CORE Performance Company and an episode of Bumpers Crossroads: The Stray Dog!
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This month we bring you an episode of Bumpers Crossroads entitled The Stray Dog by Linda Young, series created by Daniel Taylor. It was performed live in October 2010 at the Academy Theatre. Before we get to the main event, however, we are proud to bring you our first ever interview to the ARTC Podcast, this time with Claire Horne of CORE Performance Company.
CORE Performance Company is our Partner in Imagination for our upcoming performance of The Dancer in the Dark. Partners in Imagination is ARTC’s initiative to spread awareness of what is possible in a collaborative community. By channeling the energies of non-profits into common goals, ARTC hopes to raise awareness of various causes through the magic of radio.
The Gargoyle’s Shadow
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This month we bring you The Gargoyle’s Shadow by Katherine Kurtz, adapted for audio by Daniel Taylor.
Bumpers Crossroads: ‘The Traffic Light’ and ‘The Developer’
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This month we go all the way back to 1993 and the Little Five Points community coffeehouse where our listeners enjoyed monthly performances from ARTC. Many of our most memorable series were born here as the writers frantically tried to keep up with this breakneck pace in live performance, including the Adventures of the Crimson Hawk, Rory Rammer Space Marshal, and Bumpers Crossroads. We bring you now two episodes of daniel taylor’s gripping serial of the little town that time forgot, beginning with The Traffic Light and concluding with The Developer.
Country of the Blind part 2 of 2
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The second installment of “The Country of the Blind” by HG Wells, adapted for audio by Daniel Taylor.
Country of the Blind part 1 of 2
Duration 18m 18s File Size: 12.5 M
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This is the first installment of The Country of the Blind, by H.G. Wells, adapted for audio by Daniel Taylor.
Musings on Bumpers Crossroads
by Daniel Taylor
I’ve been thinking lately about what exactly BUMPERS CROSSROADS is, and how I do it. This is dangerous. You may remember the story about the centipede who was asked, however did he manage to keep all those feet coordinated. The centipede stopped and thought about it — and couldn’t take another step.
I think BUMPERS CROSSROADS is the most pure expression of my sense of humor that I have ever been able to achieve — part LUM & ABNER, part GARRISON KEILLOR, part NORTHERN EXPOSURE, but not really “like” any of these. I astound myself that I am able to be alternately surreal and silly; to put pathos and pratfalls in the same script and make them work together. I’m very proud of it, and more pleased than I can say that people seem to like it.
When it comes right down to it, I feel pretty good about my writing — almost good enough to explain the favorable reaction BC evokes.
I THINK its appeal comes from the fact that it DOES reflect a distinct perspective, a human voice, not a committee consensus. The fact that it is mine is secondary. Given all the margarine on broadcast television, the relentless pop music on the radio, the determined obsequiousness of the daily newspapers — I think people are STARVED for a discernable viewpoint and personality.
(Especially when it is clearly different from what can be called the Dominant Media Culture’s generally leftist lean. I think that’s why Rush Limbaugh is so popular, even among those who disagree vehemently. He remains an individual person, expressing a point of view uniquely his own.)
Although I hesitate to make the comparison, BUMPERS is essentially me on paper. Woody is the forceful, decisive presence I’ve always wanted to be; Grandpa is the genial, blithe potato I suspect is the best I can hope for; Luke is the distracted state of mind I probably spend most of my time in. And I put these three parts of me in the place I’d most like to live; a small town where you can safely ignore whatever’s going on, secure in the knowledge that empires will not crumble no matter which way the coin falls.
Certain aspects of life will never find their way into BUMPERS, because I don’t find them entertaining. I’ve mentioned the concept of gayness; I haven’t ruled out the possibility of a gay character, though I refuse to write one for the sake of social responsibility. But AIDS will never be mentioned, because it is not nohow funny.
There are also no black characters, and there will likely never be. Communities tend to be homogenous, ROOM 222 and its decendants to the contrary, and I can’t credibly introduce a black character, or explain how he came to be there, in a manner that rings true to me.
Anyway, I intend to stick with what I know. Social responsibility has no place in BUMPERS CROSSROADS. This may limit its appeal in certain markets, but so be it: We (as a culture) are drowning in things that try to be all things to all people. Which was my original point, come to think of it.
All I really wanted to do was amuse myself — but, just the same, I’m glad I’m not making the trip alone.