News

New KBeach radio aims to bring back radio theatre

The golden age of radio was gone long before video officially killed the radio star. And chances are that most of the college-aged population today hasn’t listened to the radio beyond music and news, let alone experienced the art of radio theatre.

This may soon change at Cal State Long Beach, though, with the help of a small group of students who have decided to bring back the vintage style audio art combined with a modern twist of today’s technology to create the new KBeach Radio Theatre.

The idea to reboot radio theatre on campus began with freshman business management major Sam Braun.

“Basically, I wanted to get involved,” Braun said. “I’ve known about [radio theatre] but I hadn’t done anything with it per say.”

Braun said the story line for a play had already been in his head for a few years. Within a few days, Braun had already written a script.

“Well, one student came to me with an original play,” said Danny Lemos, KBeach Radio Station Adviser. “He wanted to do it and I thought it would be a blast.”

Braun’s play, “Freedom’s Call,” was the first radio theatre project to be launched on campus in the past 25 years, Lemos said.

“Freedom’s Call,” was recorded on the Beach Auditorium stage earlier this semester. The show was not meant to be live, but students walking by would occasionally peek in the auditorium out of curiosity.

“We did it together,” Lemos said. “There were about 14 people in the cast, and it turned out to be a really good experience.”

Junior communications major and KBeach volunteer Nick Locke was one of the cast members.

“I realized that there are a lot of talk shows,” Locke said. “I just wanted to do something kind of different, so I thought of doing radio theatre.”

Locke teamed up with Lemos and became executive producer of KBeach Radio Theatre. Although the radio show is still in its beginning stages, both Lemos and Locke have big plans.

“I’d like for it to be a weekly feature where we broadcast something whether it was originally produced here on campus, or from the archives, or radio from the 40s and 50s,” Lemos said.

Even though radio theatre is not a big part of modern entertainment, Lemos said, he believes that it can still be enjoyed today.

“It’s a throwback for sure,” Lemos said. “But when you think about people making content for the Internet, then this is perfect. I mean, it doesn’t have a camera on it but it has every other element for making content on the Internet.”

Locke said the sound effects and the imagination bring the story together. He said it also allows students with different interests, ranging from production and writing to voice acting, to get involved.

“I feel like radio theatre is definitely different than watching a play or a movie,” Locke said. “Just listening to them speak and the sound effects lets you create your own image.”

Lemos said he aims to collaborate with the Theatre Department in order to have a flow of different voices act on the show.

Currently the group is working on “The Maltese Falcon,” a novel and radio play about a secret detective that is more popularly known for its 1941 film version.

Lemos said that both “Freedom’s Call” and “The Maltese Falcon” are set to air sometime this month, although the date and time have not been determined yet.

One Comment

  1. Pingback: KBeach radio to bring back radio theater | Enedina Cisneros

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published.

Daily 49er newsletter

Instagram