Cheshire: The Art of Radio Drama

Actors Kenneth Branagh and David Tennant are big fans of radio dramas. In a , the two British film stars explain how radio acting allows for more imagination and variety than a stage play.

"You get to be anyone that your vocal chords allow," Tennant says in the video. "You get to play a variety of characters."

"It invites you to enter a realm of imagination," Branagh states. "So (the audience) is a very active participant. Everything comes down to that voice." 

to be produced by Cheshire Youth Theater, will allow high school students to modernize and make current a classic radio play, said Kristy Chambrelli, the performing arts coordinator. 

"It's 'effects' theater. It takes away the visual aspects of theater. You can get across the idea of a lavish dance without seeing it," Chambrelli said. Radio drama is a more advanced than live theater, she added. "It's where sound effects and voices come in." 

Director Kirstin Kennedy wrote in an email that students will get to choose the style of the radio drama. "I do plan on having the students create their off-air personas through improvisation and character building activities," she wrote.

"I think a lot of the fun of doing a radio play is being able to see the 'backstage drama' unfolding while the play is being “broadcast” live on air," Kennedy wrote.

The radio drama is a departure from the youth theater's traditional summer production with has had a cast of as many as 60. The change was made because Thorp Auditorium won't be open this summer for performances, said Sandy Petela, deputy director of the Parks and Recreation Department. 

"We were notified in November that (Thorpe) wouldn't be available. We didn't want to not do any (performance) so we're excited" about the radio drama, Petela said.

Two other theater productions will be offered for younger actors this summer as well, Chambrelli said:

• for second through sixth graders will produce musical reviews from such shows as Annie and the Wizard of Oz.
• summer camp for students is seventh through ninth grade will provide training for a more in-depth technique.

Students who want to register for the radio drama should do so this week, Petela said. Classes begin on May 17.

More information can be found on the Parks and Recreation website.