National Audio Theatre Workshop

For over 10 years, I worked as a member of the teaching and production staff at the National Audio Theatre’s annual Audio Theatre Workshop.  Participants from all over the country gathered to learn, create, perform and produce radio theatre in one week’s time with the expertise of audio theatre directors, audio book readers, sound effects artists, and recording engineers.  

Each summer, I taught digital editing workshops and produced live radio theatre that was simultaneously broadcast.  I produced an audio postcard of the workshop week: recording the sounds and the stories from the artists, directors, participants, engineers and sound effects crew as we worked toward creating the final performance.

Many of the sound effects written into the script for each radio play were either performed live on stage or recorded during the week and mixed into the show.  We were asked to record a variety of sounds.  Once someone ran down the hall and said, “Quick, there’s a medevac helicopter about to do fly-bys!”  And out we went in full recording gear.  Who could ever afford to have a helicopter land and maneuver on cue?  

A Cowboy's Bedroll

At the 2008 Audio Theatre Workshop, many of us had the pleasure of meeting cowboy poet “Buckshot Dot.”  Buckshot Dot, aka Dee Strickland Johnson, shared her cowboy poetry and song through performance and teaching.

Vibrant and endearing, she was easy to know and love.  When we sat down for an interview, I asked about her background and the origins of her cowboy poetry.  At one point, she mentioned the word "sougan" -- a word I did not know.  So I asked: What is a sougan?  And how do you spell it?  

What follows is her colorful answer. 
And, some of the sounds and audio postcards I produced throughout the years.