Tag: live performance

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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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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!

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30 Years of ARTC: An Atlanta Christmas 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 Stage Door Players for An Atlanta Christmas 2007. Check out all the pictures on our Flickr album.

An Atlanta Christmas is in its 15th year of production. The show is unique in that it tends to be easy to perform, but difficult to produce. It’s easy because the plays are like the yearly carols – tried and true, memorable, and familiar. It’s difficult to produce because the first step is deciding what to perform each year out of over three hours of available material and the second step is finding children to play the younger roles.

The cast of 'The Santa Claus Blues'
Pictured: children

We’ve had tons of amazingly talented young people in our performances over the years, but they all have one significant and unavoidable flaw: they eventually grow up and are no longer suitable for the roles.

Trudy Leonard and Daniel Taylor in An Atlanta Christmas
Pictured: grown-ups

The show also sneaks up on you. We have a notice posted in our rehearsal area: dates on calendar may be closer than they appear.

Clair W. Kiernan, Jeff Montgomery, and Dawn Marie
The cast of ‘Civil War Triptych’ with Producer David Benedict moving as fast as Christmas in the background.

But for all the trials and tribulations, we wouldn’t dream of missing this show. It’s magical. It’s heartwarming. It’s a chance to get away from it all and come back home for the holidays as you remember them.

David Benedict and J. E. Hurlburt flag down an audience.
Pictured: heartwarming

It’s a time for the whole ARTC family to come together each year, and that includes you! Be sure to see the 2014 edition of An Atlanta Christmas on December 13 and 14 at the Academy Theatre in Stockbridge!

The cast of 'An Atlanta Christmas' 2007
The cast of ‘An Atlanta Christmas’ 2007
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Dash Cardigan part 3 of 4

Size: 11M Duration: 19:19

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In the “better late than never” category, this month we present Dash Cardigan part 3 of 4, by Thomas E. Fuller.

We’d like to offer some standard advice to our fine listeners – take care of yourselves! Being sick is no picnic, and it’s what caused this episode to be delayed a bit. So take it from the fine folks at ARTC: get plenty of rest, wash your hands frequently, take your vitamins, and stay healthy!

If you’re enjoying the podcast, why not head on over to Patreon.com/artc. and lend us your support? You can also see other ways of ensuring the podcast keeps coming with a few other donation options. Thanks!

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30 Years of ARTC: Dragon Con 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 Dragon Con 2007. Check out all the pictures on our Flickr album.

In 2007 we had only one performance at Dragon Con for a change, and so we knew we had to bring a new episode of Rory Rammer. That episode was Madhouse in the Sky.

Clair W. Kiernan
We’re all mad here.

But more than that, we knew we needed to bring something we knew our audience would enjoy. So we brought The Challenges of Brave Ragnar.

Phil Carter
Just look at all that majesty.

As with many ARTC serials, we have two versions of Brave Ragnar. The version we performed in 2007 was the “short” 1-hour version, but we’ll be bringing it into ARTC Studio in its full 13 episode glory very soon!

Jonathan Strickland, Alton Leonard, and Phil Carter.
Glorious

Want to know more about Brave Ragnar and other serials from ARTC? Check this page out!

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30 Years of ARTC: All You Zombies… 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 Stage Door Players in 2007. Check out all the pictures on our Flickr album.

In 2007 we made our second performance at Stage Door Players in Dunwoody with All You Zombies… by Robert A. Heinlein.

Stage setup at Stage Door Players
Stage setup at Stage Door Players

Sadly for many of our fans, there are no actual zombies in All You Zombies… Instead, it is the classic time travel paradox story of a man who probably knows himself a little too well.

Stage setup with actors
Stage setup with actors

The show is a ton of fun and we hope to get it into the studio someday!

Stage setup with tech
Stage setup with tech

In the meantime, we still need to write some stories with actual zombies before the zombie craze is behind us.

Backstage setup
Backstage setup. Note the highly nutritious snacks.
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30 Years of ARTC: Pirate Day 2006

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 Talk Like a Pirate Day 2006. Check out all the pictures on our Flickr album.

In 2006 we returned for what is so far our final appearance at Barnes and Noble for Pirate Day. We had a blast at these, but time marches on and we’ve just been so busy since then! If you’d like to see more piratey shenanigans, let us know and we’ll get right on it!

Clair Kiernan, Jonathan Strickland, and Hal Wiedeman perform.
This isn’t really what scurvy looks like.

Bookstore performances are a ton of fun, but make for some interesting experiences. For example, you may notice the coffee shop behind us in that above picture. Imagine trying to do a performance with an espresso machine behind you. There’s also the audience factor – they’re not lined up in neat little rows listening with rapt attention. They’re browsing books, meeting friends, drinking coffee. We were audible all over the store, so people just listened where they were.

The audience for Talk Like a Pirate Day
We love the fact that one couple brought lawn chairs.

But there were a small group of people who camped out on the floor and had a great time!

Brad Weage performs an illusion.
Piracy is magical.

We would be remiss if we didn’t talk about Brad Weage at this performance, also. In addition to being a wizard on the keyboards, Brad was also an accomplished magician. We didn’t often find a way to incorporate this skill into our shows, but when we did it was a real blast.

Clair Kiernan, Terry Sanders, Daniel Kiernan, and Hal Wiedeman perform.
More pirates than you can shake a stick at.
Clair Kiernan, Kelley S. Ceccato, and Caran Wilbanks perform.
Lady pirates!

A fitting conclusion to the Pirate Hunter trilogy!

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30 Years of ARTC: Sci Fi Summer 2006

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 Sci Fi Summer 2006. Check out all the pictures on our Flickr album.

Sci Fi Summer 2006 saw an action-packed performance featuring The Brotherhood of Damn Sassy Mutants, Mildly Exciting Tales of Astonishment, Rory Rammer, Space Marshal, our genre-bending sampler Time for Station Identification, and all of that wrapped up in a unique package we called Three Bad Writers!

Sci Fi Summer cast
Not pictured: Three bad writers

We also tried a little experiment at this show. In the below picture, find the red dot that indicates the red microphone on the right, just to the right of Bob Zimmerman’s head. That’s David Benedict sitting and performing the recorded SFX as well as playing his part in the show.

Sci Fi Summer cast and crew
Pictured: Experimentation

Please note that we haven’t done this much. It worked, it was just inconvenient.

Sorry for the short update this week, folks. We’ll be back next time!

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30 Years of ARTC: Libertycon 2006

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 Libertycon 2006. Check out all the pictures on our Flickr album.

Ah, Libertycon. What can we say that hasn’t already been said? Some of our most appreciative audiences attend Libertycon, but it isn’t the madhouse that Dragon Con is (not that we don’t love Dragon Con, too…it’s just that one madhouse per year is sufficient!)

Jonathan Strickland, Trudy Leonard, and Ariel Kasten at Libertycon
Jonathan Strickland approves of Libertycon

In 2006 we brought William Alan Ritch’s powerhouse, The Doom of the Mummy to Libertycon for its debut performance.

Doom of the Mummy cast
Doom of the Mummy cast

It seems like all of our monster-related performances are difficult to produce. The Passion of Frankenstein has about a billion recorded sound effects (in addition to the Foley), The Brides of Dracula requires our best singers to be the brides, and The Doom of the Mummy is no exception, as it requires a cello – not part of our usual musical accompaniment.

Daniel Taylor at the Foley table
It can be somewhat startling

But, as always, we rose to the occasion with Sheila Ameri on cello, Brad Weage on the keyboards, and a stellar cast (many of whom were, unfortunately, unable to reprise their roles for the 2008 Dragon Con performance – luckily we can assemble several stellar casts when necessary).

Cast of Doom of the Mummy
More cast

But enough about the cast. Here are our amazing musicians!

Brad Weage on keyboards
Brad Weage on keyboards (plural!)
Sheila Ameri on cello
Sheila Ameri on cello