Producing Audio Theater


This is not intended to be a comprehensive listing of all the resources a producer might need to learn about producing audio theater. It is a list of some of the resources we have found useful, by people whose work we appreciate. Also take a look at our pages on specific topics of Writing for Radio, and Sound Effects.

  • Yuri Rasovsky's book, The Well-Tempered Audio Dramatist, is available as a free PDF download from the National Audio Theatre Festivals website at www.natf.org/wtad.html. The book covers pretty much everything from writing, directing actors, logistics of using the studio, music and sound effects. Comprehensive and based on Yuri's years of experience in the field.

  • Tony Palermo's website includes links to plenty of other resources, but he also has pages on the How To of audio theater, including writing, making and using OTR sound effects devices, musical integration, and special essays on his ideas of "quick and good" productions. He works as a sound effects artist in Los Angeles, and does a lot of classroom programs. There is a lot of his views on his RuyaSonic site. He has a lot of downloads of scripts, sound effects, audio clips and PDF documents.

  • Henry Howard is a leader in the Atlanta Radio Theater Company. He maintains the AudioTheater.com website, which is probably the most comprehensive and overarching site around. It includes not only links to producers, scripts, and all the things that we include here, but he also covers audiobooks, and links to the makers of audio hardware and software that a producer might find useful. It is mostly a link directory on the subject of audio drama.

  • Before there was NATF, there was MRTW, the Midwest Radio Theatre Workshop, a project of KOPN, in Columbia, MO. It was a community radio station offering an opportunity to work with the best people in radio drama in learning how to make it themselves. It went on for nearly 20 years, through the 1980s and 90s. After their Tenth Anniversary show, Brian Price was hired to take tapes made from their dozens of workshop sessions and edit them into an educational tape series. Here we offer them as MP3 files for you to listen to. Each side is approximately 1/2 hour.
  • Writing for Radio - (Side 1) (Side 2). Featuring Marjorie Van Halteren, Tom Lopez, David Ossman, Norman Jayo, Dan Coffey, and others.
  • Directing: Working with Actors - (Side 1) (Side 2). Thanks to Marjorie Van Halteren, Vanessa Whitburn, Skip Pizzi, Tom Lopez, Shelly Carlson, David Ossman, Michael Dalby, Norman Jayo, Mark Decker and Roger Stude.
  • The Director as Producer - (Side 1) (Side 2). With advice from David Ossman, Norman Jayo, Vanessa Whitburn, Marjorie Van Halteren, Jane Pipik, Steve Donofrio, and Davd Pruitt.
  • Acting for Radio - (Side 1) (Side 2). With thanks to Peter Bergman, Richard Fish, Shelly Carlson, Judith Walcutt, David Ossman, Norman Jayo, Marjorie Van Halteren, Michael Dalby and Lindsay Ellison.
  • Voices and Accents - (Side 1) (Side 2). Thanks to Peter Bergman, Richard Fish, Shelly Carlson, Dan Coffey, David Ossman, Vanessa Whitburn, Tom Lopez, Michael Miller, Lindsay Ellison.
  • Musical Integration - (Side 1) (Side 2). Moderated by Rev. Dwight Frizzell, who was the musical director of MRTW for most of its existence, and still teaches in Kansas City, MO.