Tag: live performance

Posted on by

31 Years of ARTC: The Island of Dr. Moreau 2010

Continuing our look back at ARTC’s 31 years (thusfar!) with photos from our live performances. You can get a look at our whole history of combining adventures in sound with the thrill of live performance in our Chronology!

In this installment we bring you our appearance at the Academy Theatre in October 2010 where we performed The Island of Dr. Moreau, featuring music by The Ghosts Project, along with Inhuman Rights, Rory Rammer, Space Marshal: Set Loose the Dogs of Time, and Bumpers Crossroads: The Stray Dog. This performance was a benefit for the Atlanta Humane Society and also included special musical guest Julie Gribble! Check out all the pictures on our Flickr album.

Ok, first up, we know that using The Island of Dr. Moreau as a benefit for the Atlanta Humane Society sounds like a sick joke.

Fiona K. Leonard and Daniel Taylor.
Really sick.

But the truth was that we thought it was a perfect choice to highlight the plight of animals. While it’s true that nobody is trying to turn animals into humans surgically…

Hal Wiedeman, Rachel Wansker, Clair W. Kiernan, Daniel W. Kiernan
THAT WE KNOW OF…

…animals still face serious challenges every day due to neglect, maltreatment, habitat loss, and various other challenges. We wanted to help, and we felt that one of H. G. Wells’s more shocking stories might assist with that.

Ron N. Butler, Brian Troxell, Hal Wiedeman, J. E. Hurlburt
And goodness knows we can use all the help we can get.

This was also a musically packed performance. In addition to the usual brilliance of Alton Leonard, we were thrilled to be graced with The Ghosts Project!

Daniel Taylor, Clair W. Kiernan, Paul Mercer, Davis Petterson
There they are, lurking in the background. Try not to frighten them.

Not to mention our very special musical guest, Julie Gribble!

Julie Gribble
With suitably dramatic lighting

This performance also featured our Beast Men Chorus, led by Beastmistress Trudy Leonard.

The Beast Chorus
Try not to let THEM frighten YOU. (click this image for a larger version)

Not to mention one of the more violent Foley performances in ARTC’s history, involving a rubber mallet and a rather unfortunate butternut squash, used to simulate the cracking of the pantherwoman’s skull.

Butternut squash
Before (front)
butternut squash
Before (back) (it saw what happened to its predecessors…)
Sonya, Mary Ward, David Benedict
The dastardly deed
butternut squash...squashed
The evidence of the crime

Be sure to come see more crimes against produce as we mangle a grapefruit in our upcoming performances of The Passion of Frankenstein!

Posted on by

31 Years of ARTC: Dragon Con 2010 part 2

Continuing our look back at ARTC’s 31 years (thusfar!) with photos from our live performances. You can get a look at our whole history of combining adventures in sound with the thrill of live performance in our Chronology!

In this installment we bring you our appearance at Dragon Con 2010 (Sunday night edition) where we presented Time and Time Again by H. Beam Piper, adapted by Ron N. Butler and At the Mountains of Madness by H. P. Lovecraft, adapted by Thomas E. Fuller, and featuring music by The Ghosts Project. Check out all the pictures on our Flickr album.

It’s a short update this week, folks, as I am flying out to Kansas City, MO, later today to attend the HEAR Now Festival. But this was a momentous show because it marked the beginning of our long-standing relationship with The Ghosts Project, who have since gone on to play with us on several other productions, including The Shadow Over Innsmouth, The Dunwich Horror, The Island of Dr. Moreau, and The Rats in the Walls!

Fiona K. Leonard
It’s completely mind-blowing
Paul Mercer and Davis Petterson
The Ghosts Project, Paul Mercer and Davis Petterson
Brian Troxell
“Don’t forget, you can own this recording of this historic performance.”
Posted on by

31 Years of ARTC: Dragon Con 2010 part 1

Continuing our look back at ARTC’s 31 years (thusfar!) with photos from our live performances. You can get a look at our whole history of combining adventures in sound with the thrill of live performance in our Chronology!

In this installment we bring you our appearance at Dragon Con 2010 (Friday night edition) where we presented The Proper Thing To Do by William Alan Ritch and The House Across the Way by Kelley S. Ceccato. Check out all the pictures on our Flickr album.

Dragon Con. Its name is legendary in the southeast region, and ARTC has been at every single one. It’s a ton of work, but also a ton of fun. We get our biggest audiences at this convention…which isn’t surprising, since it’s the biggest convention we do. We often roll out brand new plays at Dragon Con.

Andrew Chiang
Sometimes we fly them in, too.

We also love to challenge ourselves. As if performing in a hotel ballroom with high ceilings and minimal setup time isn’t challenging enough, we really like to bring our A-game to these fans, and sometimes that means bringing in guest musicians.

Alton Leonard on keyboards and Paul Mercer on violin.
We bring in the regular musicians, too, because they’re awesome.

In 2010 we brought Kelley S. Ceccato’s The House Across the Way, which has a violin as an integral part of the plot. So we called up Paul Mercer and asked if he was available.

Paul Mercer
Spoiler Alert: He was.

Here’s a few more pictures to round it out, but be sure to see the whole album on Flickr!

Lili Bilbao and Mary Ward
The Foley team! Or Team Foley. Or whatever they want to call themselves.
Megan Tindale
Don’t let the glowing red eyes fool you. She’s very nice.
Mary Ward
She’s with ARTC…but what does she do with ARTC?
Mary Ward
Well. I guess that answers that question.
Posted on by

31 Years of ARTC: LibertyCon 2010

Continuing our look back at ARTC’s 31 years (thusfar!) with photos from our live performances. You can get a look at our whole history of combining adventures in sound with the thrill of live performance in our Chronology!

In this installment we bring you our appearance at LibertyCon where we presented Time and Time Again by H. Beam Piper, adapted by Ron N. Butler, The Competitor (first live performance!) by Brad Linaweaver and William Alan Ritch, and Bryce and Bigmouth: A Boy and His Griffin by Henry Lee Forrest. Check out all the pictures on our Flickr album.

LibertyCon 2015 is almost full! If you’re coming up to Chattanooga and haven’t gotten your membership yet, we recommend that you move with alacrity!

The cast and Foley team for LibertyCon 2010!
The cast and Foley team for LibertyCon 2010!
Brian Troxell and Bryce Lucyshyn
Brian Troxell and Bryce Lucyshyn cope with the sudden appearance of a griffin (not pictured)!
Bryce Lucyshyn and Clair W. Kiernan
Clair W. Kiernan imitates the griffin (still not pictured).
William Alan Ritch
William Alan Ritch presents the cast to the audience. As if this group of hams couldn’t have taken care of presenting themselves.
Ron N. Butler, Alton Leonard, and Clair W. Kiernan
Ron N. Butler, Alton Leonard, and Clair W. Kiernan in “Time and Time Again”.
Lili Bilbao and Mary C. Ward at the Foley table.
The Foley team. Makin’ noise. Like you do.
Posted on by

31 Years of ARTC: Chattacon 2010

Continuing our look back at ARTC’s 31 years (thusfar!) with photos from our live performances. You can get a look at our whole history of combining adventures in sound with the thrill of live performance in our Chronology!

In this installment we bring you our appearance at Chattacon where we presented A Ship Named Francis, Rory Rammer, Space Marshal: The Angel of Destruction, NOSINET, and SWATting the Books. Check out all the pictures on our Flickr album.

Ariel Kasten, David Benedict, Bill Kronick
The cast bows their heads as the Chaplain from “A Ship Named Francis” calls upon the great Tester to keep the ship’s engines from exploding.
Bill Ritch, Bob Zimmerman, Brad Weage
The tech crew keeps the ship afloat.
The cast from Chattacon 2010.
The cast from Chattacon 2010!

Short update this week, but there’s plenty to see on the Flickr page!

Posted on by

The Passion of Frankenstein part 1 of 5

Size: 9M Duration: 15:12

[esplayer url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/artc/ARTC153-Frankenstein01.mp3″ height = “20” length = “80” title = “The Passion of Frankenstein part 1 of 5”]

The Passion of Frankenstein is legendary amongst longtime ARTC members. First performed at Dragon Con in 1998 it has been repeated only four times in our long 31 year history. It is powerful. A freight train of an audio drama, crafted by Thomas E. Fuller to assault the audience with raw power and emotion. And it is a technical nightmare.

Bill Ritch, Christina Fuller, and Matt Gwaltney - the tech crew
Pictured: a technical nightmare

The creation scenes involve layer after layer of switches, electrical sounds, dynamos, chains, rain, thunder, lightning, and the frantic shouting of Victor and his assistant Henry, along with the mournful recitation of the Monster’s borrowed poetry. Fuller made extensive use of Percy Shelley’s poetry in the script.

Daniel Taylor and David Benedict
“Poetry”

Over 80 individual sound cues go into this hour-long production, not to mention the live Foley sound effects. In 1998 this involved multiple CD players and tape decks, some of which were arranged to play certain sounds on a loop and could be faded in and out to prevent having to cue up those sounds again later. In 2015 we brought it to World Horror Convention, safe in the assumption that modern technology would make the production easier. While it is true that the laptop we ran the SFX from took up less space, it did not help as much as we’d hoped in terms of making the SFX easier to cue.

Tony Fuller and Bob Brown on Foley
Just some of the live Foley, performed by Tony Fuller and Bob Brown, mixed by Ashley Harp

When you have a piece this complex, you can’t just perform it once, so we will be repeating it in 2015 at LibertyCon and Dragon Con. For the next cycle of podcasts we will be bringing you each of the 5 parts from a different one of those productions, as well as the studio production.

We hope you enjoy it.

Posted on by

31 Years of ARTC: LibertyCon 2009

Continuing our look back at ARTC’s 31 years (thusfar!) with photos from our live performances. You can get a look at our whole history of combining adventures in sound with the thrill of live performance in our Chronology!

In this installment we bring you our appearance at LibertyCon where we presented Our Fair City by Robert A. Heinlein, Omnilingual by H. Beam Piper, and Rory Rammer, Space Marshal: Enemies Within! by Ron N. Butler. Check out all the pictures on our Flickr album.

We’re prepping for our next performance at LibertyCon right now, and the setup there is a LOT different than what is depicted in these pictures. Come on over to Chattanooga, check out a great convention, and be a part of one of our best audiences of the year!

The famous Rory Rammer
The famous Rory Rammer “Yay!” sign!
David Benedict
David Benedict comes in peace. We hope.
Clair W. Kiernan and Ron N. Butler at the microphones.
Clair W. Kiernan and Ron N. Butler at the microphones.
Brad Weage playing two keyboards.
Brad Weage plays two keyboards and still turns his own pages!
Rachel Bowman runs recorded SFX.
Rachel Bowman on recorded SFX.
Clair W. Kiernan and Brian Phillips on the mics. Alton Leonard and Ron N. Butler wait their turn.
Clair W. Kiernan and Brian Phillips on the mics. Alton Leonard and Ron N. Butler wait their turn.
The Tech Crew - Bob Zimmerman, Bill Ritch, and Rachel Bowman.
The Tech Crew – Bob Zimmerman, Bill Ritch, and Rachel Bowman.
The Foley Team - Lili and Fiona K. Leonard.
The Foley Team – Lili and Fiona K. Leonard.
Posted on by

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea part 4 of 4

Size: 7.81M Duration 17:03

[esplayer url = “http://traffic.libsyn.com/artc/ARTC152-20KLeagues04.mp3” height = “20” width = “80” title = “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea part 4 of 4”]

You know who tends to get all the glory in theatrical productions? Actors. You know who really does all the work? Technicians.

Tony Fuller on Foley sound effects
Tony Fuller is upset about not getting more glory.

Especially in audio drama, all actors have to do is show up and read their lines. We even get our scripts on stage!

Bob Zimmerman, audiomancer.
Bob Zimmerman is unimpressed by your reading skills.

Sure, acting requires diction and timing and the ability to convince an audience that you are a person other than the one you really are, but without the music and without the sound effects the giant squid just ain’t gonna attack The Nautilus.

Alton Leonard on music.
Alton Leonard can’t hear the actors complaining because he’s busy making music.

Plus, they’re the only ones who know which wires to plug into which other wires. Also, amplifiers are heavy. And ARTC brings a lot of stuff with us to our performances because you never know what you’re gonna need.

Giuliana Ward on recorded SFX
Giuliana Ward is too happy to be mad at actors for hogging the spotlight.
Giuliana Ward on recorded SFX.
Just kidding! She’ll cut you if she gets half a chance!

So the next time you’re at an ARTC performance, be sure to thank the technicians! (Also the floor manager, not pictured). It’s their show, too!

Bob Zimmerman and Alton Leonard with David Benedict
Making the magic happen. The magic of RADIO!
Posted on by

31 Years of ARTC: An Atlanta Christmas 2009

Continuing our look back at ARTC’s 31 years (thusfar!) with photos from our live performances. You can get a look at our whole history of combining adventures in sound with the thrill of live performance in our Chronology!

In this installment we bring you our appearance at the Academy Theatre in Avondale Estates, which featured our 2009 performance of Blues for Johnny Raven by Thomas E. Fuller. Check out all the pictures on our Flickr album.

Ok, so it’s April and some people probably aren’t over last Christmas yet, but hey, it’s almost Easter so let’s get back into the holiday spirit with pictures from An Atlanta Christmas 2009!

Brad Weage
Brad Weage hitting all the right notes.
Lili Bilbao and Tennille Clayton on Foley
Write your own caption. We dare you.
Bill Kronick
Christmas, yo!
The cast of An Atlanta Christmas
A decent portion of the cast. The indecent portion is still backstage.
Brian Troxell, Daniel Kiernan, and Brian Phillips
The original beanie babies. And a giant snore.
Brian Troxell and Brian Phillips
It’s INTENSE! OOOH, YEAH!
Hal Wiedeman, Brian Troxell, and Daniel Kiernan
Hooray! …or whatever they were saying at the time.
Posted on by

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea part 3 of 4

Size: 10M Duration 17:46

[esplayer url = “http://traffic.libsyn.com/artc/ARTC151-20KLeagues03.mp3” height = “20” width = “80” title = “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea part 3 of 4”]

Sometimes in the podcast we give credit to the lighting designer. This may seem strange to listeners who have never seen us perform live because it’s not like we’re showing a video of the performance. Why would we give a credit to the lighting designer when you can’t see their work?

Daniel Taylor, Clair W. Kiernan, and Daniel W. Kiernan
Here’s some of their work. Happy now?

Because at a live performance, the lighting can enhance even an audio experience in ways that are difficult to describe. In Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea the characters are often underwater, outside of the Nautilus. During those times they can’t easily speak to each other, which makes dialogue challenging.

When we adapt H. P. Lovecraft, there often isn’t any dialogue at all, and so we just make some up. But in this case the passages where the characters are underwater are filled with lush descriptions of undersea life and landscapes that many of us will never see. We couldn’t just leave them out completely, nor could we make up dialogue that the other characters could never hear.

So we decided to create a music bed and have the characters each share their own perspective on what they were seeing through a triptych of interwoven monologues. In those instances the lighting helped the live audience adjust better to the transition.

Robert Drake
Robert Drake: Lightmaster

That lighting design is nearly always done by our host at the Academy Theatre, Robert Drake. So the next time you come out to see ARTC perform live anywhere where we have control over the lights (we usually don’t at our convention performances), ask if Robert’s around! And thank him for all his work!

ARTC’s next live show is at the Academy Theatre in Hapeville on March 28-29, 2015!