Quite a Year

The older you get the faster the years fly by. I never thought that was true until I got - older. This was a busy year at CRT. A quick recap

JANUARY
Signed with our new publisher, Blackstone.
Was asked to do DANDELION WINE for Ray Bradbury
Began writing the script for CAPTAIN BLOOD

FEBRUARY
Recorded A VISIT WITH AESOP on the 6th, with JT Turner. The show then waits several months for the music score as we start the produce ...
CAPTAIN BLOOD - which starts recording on the 22nd.
Editing begins on CAPTAIN BLOOD

MARCH
CAPTAIN BLOOD recording is finished on the 26th, after a total of 8 sessions.
Editing continues; the show is being edited in two different formats - as a complete 7 hour continuous story, and in 17 half hour episodes for broadcast on our XM show.

APRIL
In a post production marathon for the entire month, working 15 to 20 hour days, and 125 music tracks, CAPTAIN BLOOD is complete at the end of the month and is sent off to Blackstone for a summer release. Total running time is 7 hours!
Also, worked on the DANDELION WINE script. The script was written by Ray for the stage, so sound effects and music cues and some minor alterations needed to be done to make the show work in audio. Ray approves the alterations and the show is cast.

MAY
DANDELION WINE records May 9th and May 11th, with retakes on the 15th and 16th.
Jeff begins the scrore. The month is spent in post production for this show.

JUNE
DANDELION WINE is completed towards the end of the month. 54 music cuts are created in record time for the production, and very long editing days once again. The first copy we burn is sent off to Ray.
POWDER RIVER Season 3 resumes on June 5th (Production was delayed in December 05 for CAPTAIN BLOOD) with and episode entitled TILL DEATH DO US PART. Sam Donato flies back from Florida to take part in the episodes. Sam was in the original season of POWDER RIVER as Sheriff Wilkins. He was killed off when he told us he was moving to Florida! POWDER RIVER continues recording season 3 for the month.
CHRIS SNYDER joins CRT as a post production Producer! He takes over production of POWDER RIVER.

JULY
Ray Bradbury writes and says he loves DANDELION WINE! Very kind words. He offers us SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES, and we immediately say YES! WHEN! he sends the script an hour later via email - THAT'S when! Awesome script!
POWDER RIVER continues recording.
on the 17th, REX TRAILER comes to Studio G and records two episodes of POWDER RIVER play Britt's father. Rex is a Boston TV Icon, and was on the air for 25 years on the show BOOMTOWN! What a night!
THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW wins the Ogle Award for Best Fantasy Production of 2005!
28th - CAPTAIN BLOOD is released!

AUGUST
POWDER RIVER season 3 completes production on the 7th with the episodes THE WAGON BOY, THE NEW OWNER, and MOMENT OF TRUTH.
SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES records on the 28th.

SEPTEMBER
TREASURE ISLAND is re-made! I was never happy with the original production we did in 2001 - so we did the whole thing over! Pretty much a new cast with Joe Zamparelli and Tom Berry returning to their original roles. Chris Snyder edits the show in 3-D sound.PHIL BYRNES, a detective mini-series by Sable Jak starts recording on the 25th
Jeff starts music for A VISIT WITH AESOP

OCTOBER
1st - THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW is released on CD world wide! Barnes and Noble carries it in their stores as a Halloween Special!
9th - the first episode of our new series FATHER BROWN is recorded. M.J. Elliott is writing the scripts.
13th - Guesting on THE JORDAN RICH SHOW on WBZ to plug the upcoming DANDELION WINE release, and SLEEPY HOLLOW.
16th - POWDER RIVER begins recording season 4. Production continues thru October.


NOVEMBER
1st - Blackstone releases A CHRARLES DICKENS CHRISTMAS SET on CD.
Recording continues on POWDER RIVER. PHIL BYRNES continues in Post Production, the final episode is recorded on the 27th.
21st - A VISIT WITH AESOP is completed!
CRT signs a TV Development agreement for one of our series! Can't say any more at this time - but it's COOL

DECEMBER
2nd - New Production is recorded - title cannot yet be revealed!
9th - DIBBLE DOES CHRISTMAS IN NEW YORK starts previews at the Michael Weller Theatre in NYC for a holiday run.
13th - DIBBLE opens Off-Broadway, produced by the Broken Watch Theatre Company.
19th - POWDER RIVER season 4 is completed with 10 episodes. The episodes were cut from 20 to 10, as we needed more time on SOMETHING WICKED.
30th- DIBBLE closes in NYC
30th - Happy Birthyday, Mom 1920-2001. :(

SOME NEW XM SHOWTIMES!

Well here's some cool news! For any of you out there who listen to us on XM Radio, we have been added to the Saturday schedule! In addition to the Mon-Fri. show, we are now on Saturdays, starting at 12 noon (EST) until 2:30pm - where all five episodes played that week will be repeated back to back. These are followed at 2:30pm with THE NEW DIBBLE SHOW in addition to it's normal times, Sat. at 7:30am and Sun. 2:30pm EST).
So, here's how it looks now

THE COLONIAL RADIO THEATRE program
MON-FRI: 2:30am, 10:30am, 6:30pm (EST)
SAT: 12:00pm to 2:30pm (EST)

THE NEW DIBBLE SHOW
Sat. 7:30am, 2:30pm (EST)
Sun. 2:30pm (EST)

XM has been very good to us, and these newly added showtimes are fantastic!

NEW SERIES

For our XM listeners, CRT will be releasing a new series come January! It's called THE DEAD LINE and deals with mystery and suspense! 15 great episodes produced and written by Jack Ward of Sonic Cinema in Halifax. We don't normally release works by other producers (have only done so once before), but I loved Jack's stories and wanted to give them a larger audience.

Also on XM in January, look for our new production of Robert Louis Stevenson's TREASURE ISLAND. Starts next week I think.

While those are playing on the air, we start production on FATHER BROWN MYSTERIES, which star J.T. Turner! Awesome scripts by M.J. Elliot. We have one in the can and 15 total are planned.

DIBBLE closes in NYC this Saturday night. I had hoped to attend the last performance, but I am behind schedule with SOMETHING WICKED and need to keep working on that (its already late - but its gonna be a good one!)

thats all for now!

Summer is Coming!

Summer? On Christmas Eve? Maybe not, BUT the release of our 1st collaboration with Ray Bradbury is only days away - and THAT is exciting!! For months now I've been talking about our production of DANDELION WINE that we were lucky enough to have produced for Ray, and on Jan. 5th, the wait is finally over! We recorded the show in May, and the original plan was for a Dec. 1st release, but it got bumped to January. Ray wrote a sequel to DANDELION WINE (50 years after writing the original)called FAREWELL SUMMER, and I hear it's quite good and people who liked the original are really enjoying it. Exciting times here at CRT!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

I hope everyone has a VERY Merry Christmas, and an even BETTER New Year!

So - here's the deal ... on radio I am pretty much MR. CHRISTMAS; with our Dickens Christmas CD set on sale in stores and online, Cricket on the Hearth, Seven Poor Travellers, The Chimes playing all next week on XM, Dibble Christmas shows coast to coast and stations here and there ... the OZ show that has Santa in it, THE ROAD TO OZ plays on Christmas Eve, a Christmas show playing Off-Broadway ...

and I dont even have a tree, nor have I done ANY shopping. Not a window candle to be found.

Never used to be like that. So, I gotta sit here and ask myself why. Well, I know there are a few reasons, but still - I need to stop this. It's been five years since I put a tree up!

The family next door left a Christmas card / photo in the mailbox, which was very nice of them. Great kids! The nine year old wants to write a book about mini-bikes. Last I heard he had nine pages! Now, for a nine year old, I think that's pretty good!

OTHER NEWS

Dibble got a rather nasty review from a failed playwrite - turned - critic. I mean, this review wasn't even a review - it was more like "I hate this script, Jerry Robbins can't write, the jokes suck, and it's nothing but a bomb" kinda review. He even gave away the entire plot / gag. What a guy!

Turns out David Finkle (thats his name, rymes with wrinkle) is a flopola who penned a play that closed after only (ahem) TWO PERFORMANCES in 1968, and then he tried again in 1972 and - yep, you guessed it - EL FLOP-O in seven performances. So, what we have is a bitter "if I bomb, you bomb" playwrite turned critic who seems to go after the script writing in all his "reviews." So I consider it an honor to join the ranks of shows like MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS who have been slapped by his bitterness. But, it must be horrible to be a failed playwrite who only saw a total of 9 performances before REAL critics told him to get a day job (I wont tell David that Dibble has already breezed past his performance record).

I feel sorry for people like him. A once "promising" playwrite who got a chance, bombed like the Hindenburg, and spends the rest of life trying to do the same to others. Now, I can take a bad review, but this wasn't a review; it was a rant from a failed man.
You cant touch ME, David, but nice try!

Back from a great time in NYC and the opening of DIBBLE OFF BROADWAY! What a night! Drew DeCorleto has done a magnificent job bringing our radio series THE NEW DIBBLE SHOW to life on the stage. First of all, the show looks great! The cast sits in directors chairs with their names on them (Rita, Penelope, Etc),and they are on a rise that looks like snow! Then there is a PERFECT looking Christmas Tree, and a sound effects table to die for!

In the house on opening night were playwrite/screenplay writer Michael Weller (Ragtime, Hair, Moonchildren, Zhivago), Christopher Kyle (Alexander, K-19 - The Widowmaker), Jito Lee (Set designer), and J.T. Turner (CRT).

Drew took three of the holiday radio scripts and edited them into one, and then I did some bridge work and punch ups, and then took Jeff's music cues and worked them into the show. Then he needed to cast the show - and he found the perfect cast! I really love this production, and I only wish I could see it again. I have to thank EVERYONE involved and I hope that anyone who reads my blog and lives in the NYC area will see the show and support the Broken Watch Theatre Company!!

Last night we recorded another POWDER RIVER episode! We have three more to do on Monday (which I now need to write) and then I think I'm going to give the show a rest for a while. That will give us 60 episodes, and I need to focus on our Bradbury productions and also a VERY EXCITING project I will mention here soon.

So, back to the old drawing board. Hope you can get to NYC and pay Dibble a visit!

OUTTA HERE

Off to NYC for the opening night of DIBBLE Off Broadway! Late night finishing up another POWDER RIVER script that we tape on Wednesday. busy, busy!

DIBBLE STEPS OUT

Previews start today in NYC for DIBBLE DOES CHRISTMAS IN NEW YORK! at the Michael Weller Theater. Drew DeCorleto is directing a fantastic cast, and I wish them all a ton of success! The plays official opening is Monday night, the 11th!

More writing today.

DANDELION WINE - JAN.5TH

Our production of RAY BRADBURY'S DANDELION WINE is released on Jan.5th from Blackstone Audio! Here is the official cover art! It's already available for pre-sales in the usual places (Amazon, Borders, ect) and I have a good feeling about this one! Not only is it a magnificent script (by Mr. Bradbury himself), but the cast just nailed it - and lets not even start to talk about Jeff's music score! Anyway, it's going to be exciting to get this one out the door!

HOW ABOUT A PIRATE FOR A CHRISTMAS GIFT? I was at Barnes and Noble over the weekend and saw three copies of our CAPTAIN BLOOD on the shelf! Next month I get the numbers and see how it did in release. Talk about nerve wracking!! Still, I think it continues to sell judging by the sales ranking on Amazon and B&N.com, but you can't really tell as those systems ARE rocket science!

Now I need to play "catch up" on Powder River, as I have missed two planned recording sessions. I got a little bug that caused me to lose my voice completely, and I had to finish a script for the next Bradbury production, AND get new programming ready for our XM show - so Powder River writing suffered and the scripts didnt happen.

DIBBLE IN NEW YORK starts previews this week and opens Dec. 11th!

We have recorded all the PHIL BYRNES scripts we had, and now the final 4 episodes are in post production! Sable Jack did a great job with this series, and I hope she likes the final product! This will be on our XM show in January, and we will offer it for download soon, and eventually a CD release!

Looks like our stage production of William Luce's magnificent play BARRYMORE will rise from the packing trunks for an engagement in Gloucester, MA at the WEST END THEATER. We haven't locked in a date yet, but I think it will be late March or April. Joe Zamparelli will direct again, and we are auditioning the other role in the show. This is very exciting, because it's my favorite play to do, and the last time we performed it was at the Derry Opera House in Derry NH. The GOOD news is, that I need to get in fighting shape for the stage, which means ATKINS DIET again!! So if you're in the Gloucester MA area, I hope you come see the show and say hi afterwards!

Thats all for now.

DICKENS ALL THE WAY

How cool is that artwork!? I'm really glad that our four Dickens holiday shows are FINALLY out on CD! THE CRICKET ON THE HEARTH, THE CHIMES, THE SEVEN POOR TRAVELLERS and A CHRISTMAS CAROL are available in the 4-CD set! Out of the four, only SEVEN POOR TRAVELLERS, is the original version! TRAVELLERS was actually the last story to be recorded, but the very first CRT show to be digitally recorded! The others had already been done, and edited. So, we release them on cassette tape, but that happens three years later. In the meantime, once I heard we were going to be released as a boxed set by our then publisher, I decided to do the other three shows over all over again, in digital stereo. So, in the Grand Thalburg style, CRICKET, CHIMES and CAROL were ditched, totally re-recorded (only a couple of the original actors remaining) and released. Those are the versions you hear in this set. Turn the lights down low, with a Christmas Tree in the room, and listen to our CHRISTMAS CAROL. It's magic :)

CRT does AESOP / and I HATE computers

So there I am on Saturday after clocking in a 17 hour writing spree (for a script I needed to finish on Sunday - the new Ray Bradbury project), SAVING after every page .... then I shut down the document to work on the New York Dibble show, and la la la, go about my merry way. IMAGINE MY SURPRISE when, the following morning I open the Bradbury script, to discover that NONE OF THE SAVES WORKED! That's right. Everything I did on Saturday was g-g-g-GONE! GONE WITH THE WIND! After I had a melt down with some 25 year scotch, I then had a nervous breakdown. Mainly because the dramatization was not easy, and this was the toughest part of the book.

That was Saturday.

SUNDAY was a waste. I tried to recall the lost document - didn't work.

MONDAY I had recording sessions from the afternoon on, for the POWDER RIVER session the previous Monday. SO - at 8pm Monday night I sat down and started on the script, re-writing what I did on Saturday. It's never as good the second time around. Determined to finish the script - I sat here at the writing desk through the night, morning, early afternoon (pots and pots of coffee), finishing at 2:30pm. Emailed the script off to Mr. Bradbury, and hopefully he will approve of it.

That night, the cyber head ache kicked in. Always happens after 20 or more hours at the computer.

BUT - the script is done, and with luck the show will be in stores in 2007. Well, we have to record it first, but you get the general idea.

We finished a new show this week ... A VISIT WITH AESOP. Now, this is really cool. I know parents are going to say "Aesops Fables? Well, maybe for the kids ... but not me." I'm telling ya, this is one fantastic show! J.T. Turner adapted it, and performed it; and it's so FUNNY! It's also unlike anything CRT has produced before. Basically a one man show, J.T. has a staggering array of voices, and add another classic Jeffrey Gage score with the incredible post production wok of Chris Snyder - and you got a real gem. Kids are going to love it, and any parent within earshot is going to have some great laughs and smiles. Not sure when Blackstone will release this one - probably in the spring - but I really have no idea.

Busy Days, busy days. I got new XM progamming finished through the end of December; went out yesterday so that's all set for a couple of weeks. Today I'm going to be working on (and trying to finish) a script for Ray Bradbury that we are producing soon. worked an average of 20 hours a day this week - so I'm taking it slow this weekend.

Tickets for DIBBLE DOES CHRISTMAS IN NEW YORK! went on sale yesterday, so if you live in NYC or plan on being there in December - check out the show!

Our 1999 production of THE PLIMOTH ADVENTURE airs on XM Radio on Thanksgiving Day! This is the first national broadcast for this show that is now - yikes - seven years old! I can remember the AGONY in writing this script. I worked on and off for two years (mostly "off") and working from Gov. Bradfords 300 year old book "Of Plimoth Plantation." The final show is one of our shortest (for a feature), but went on to be a top seller for CRT. Jeff did a GREAT score for this one, incorporating actual songs from the period.

RANDOM THOUGHTS

1) Does anyone really care about Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes getting married? It's everywhere. Seriously - do you care?? The guy cant even act! He just tilts his upper lip so we can see his teeth in every shot. TOM - you are no longer 17. Close the mouth and act your age!

Cruise fans - dont yell at me - you're right, I never thought much of him to begin with.

2)I think the new James Bond movie looks great! I stopped going to see them when they got silly. I miss Sean Connery's Bond - and this one looks promising.

3) I love the re-vamped STAR TREK - Original Series - with new effects! Outstanding! Too bad Scotty and Bones aren't around to see how cool it looks.

4) I love Pumpkin Ale. The pub ran out. Does that mean I drank too much? Every time I discover a new drink at this place, they run out a week later. Hmmmmmmm

5) I feel so bad for Paul McCartney. Heather was a bus accident waiting to happen - and I said this YEARS ago! paul - a word of advice - NEVER marry a woman who tells you she never heard of the Beatles. That is a HUGE Red Flag!!! I love Paul and I hope he rebounds from this mess without too much finanical loss (The picture on this blog is Macca leaving the stage in Boston)

6) I could listen to Beatles music forever (well, so far, I HAVE been!)

7) No more random thoughts. Time to start writing. Adios!

2)

A Picture Says a Thousand Words

Veterans Day. Never Forget.

POWDER RIVER Chronicles

You know, it's very odd. I actually hate writing. I only do it because I need the scripts and I love radio theatre. POWDER RIVER is a good show, and I know people like it - but MAN is it tough to come up with so many western stories! Right now I'm working on my ... ummm .... hold on a sec, I need to count them .... 55th POWDER RIVER episode! This season isn't writing as easy as season 3 did. I think it's because of all the personal stuff going on right now and also so many projects that we are involved with. BUT - I thought you PR fans would like a sneak peek at some up-coming episodes! Here are the first five titles for Season 4!T

IN CHICAGO
The action moves from Wyoming to Chicago in this episode, that picks up where season 3 left off.

REVELATIONS
Still in Chicago, and we meet a character who appeared in several episodes in season two!

AMBUSH AT POWDER RIVER
Back in Clearmont again, and the action heats up with an unfolding mystery.

THE SHOOTIN' ARM
The territory is accusing the peaceful Shoshone tribe of the ambush that left several settlers dead.

THE TOMAHAWK TRAIL
Britt takes a small posse up the forbidden Tomahawk Trail in search of the killers - risking all out war with the Shoshone.

~ And that's what I have so far! 15 episodes to go. Keep an eye out on our website, because we will be posting a trailer for season 4 very soon. I think these episodes will air on XM Radio in February, but I will begin posting 1 episode per week on Spoken Network starting in December!

I really love this series. I just wish all the scripts were done!

Well, spent most of the day re-editing two of our OZ programs for air, and now I'm going to recut our new production of TREASURE ISLAND for air. These will all run in December and January. OH - I'm going to be in NYC for the Dec.13th opening of DIBBLE LIVE ON STAGE , so I'm excited about that - Its odd thinking a script I wrote is being produced Off-Broadway right next door to the Phantom of the Opera(did I mention that before?). Too bad I never did a Dibble version of Phantom. Hmmm .... there's still time!

DANDELION WINE Coming Soon

We got our first official reciew for our upcoming release of Ray Bradbury's DANDELION WINE. The CD isn't out until January 1st, but Bradbury Media in the UK got an advance copy. I don't agree with some of the comments :) but for the most part its an awesome review and we're VERY happy with it! Of course, the BEST review we got was from Ray himself, who said it was beautiful, and it made him cry. Can't beat that in my book. Check out the review HERE

The session was OK last night;another 2 PHIL BYRNES mysteries in the can. Everything is on schedule with this one and should have no trouble airing in January. It's a fun cast and some cool stories. I think lovers of film noir will enjoy this series.

Tonight I'm writing for POWDER RIVER and trying to get myself out of another complex storyline I've gotten myself into. Why do I do this to myself!!??

Did a little yard work this afternoon (hoping to get the brain cells going again), and that was all well and good. I'm not really cut out for yard work though. I should do a dibble show about it. Oh wait ... I already did

OH - and the most important thing I did today - I VOTED! Now, I am not going to get political here on my CRT blog, however one of the local TV stations has just projected Dem.Liberal Duval "together we can" patrick as the winner in the Governors Race. So, now we have a dem. house and a dem. governor here in good ol MA - We'll finally find out what "together we can" - really means; i.e; GET READY TO BE TAXED BACK INTO THE STONE AGE! And dare I leave out fearless leaders like Ted Kennedy and that stand up comedian with the bad timing John Kerry representing us in DC. Pass the scotch. That's it - I'll shut up now. Don't debate me - I won't respond :) I'll bet a couple of former CRT players who had issues with my political leanings are dancing a jig tonight :) I doubt they'll be dancing in four years though - their wallets can't afford the music (yeah, I'm bitter, but these Bozo's were rather rude to me in the first place)

OK - Out of the political arena of BS; I am working hard to finish a script for Mr. B that we are going to be recording in December (if he approves it!). I'm looking forward to this one very much!

I kinda miss doing our Colonial Radio Christmas Show. We did it live on stage, playing some really nice Opera Houses in New Hampshire and Maine. I want to take that out again sometime. Maybe for a months run in the same location. Maybe next year.

That's it for now. Aloha!

Recording continues tonight with A PHIL BYRNES MYSTERY, and would you believe I am having trouble casting a major role? So, we'll see what happens. I have a ton of very willing and excited child actors on our CRT players list, and I wish I had more for them to do! I am thinking about writing a series where I can use them more.

I managed to send XM Radio enough DIBBLE episodes to carry them into late April, so that's all set for a few months! This week I need to get them new episodes for December (for our Mon-Fri show), and also I am writing more POWDER RIVERS for next Mondays recording session.

DIBBLE in NYC has been cast! I am planning on going Opening night, and this is going to be something to see! How weird will it be seeing a totally different cast do the roles we have been playing on radio for years and years? I'm looking forward to it, and I LOVE Christmastime in NYC anyway, and I hear there's an awesome party afterwards. :)

IT'S DIBBLE OFF BROADWAY!

Yep, he's an XM Radio Staaa, and now The Dibble Show is heading for the Michael Weller Theatre for an Off-Broadway Christmas run in DIBBLE DOES CHRISTMAS IN NEW YORK! My good friends Drew DeCorleto and Teresa Goding at Broken Watch Theatre Co. will be producing this comedy extravaganza that opens Dec. 11th and runs to Dec.30th! This will be a New York Cast, not the cast from the radio show ~ I had hoped to play Dibble for this run, but my Dads illness makes it impossible this time around. Dibble is going to be played by Mark Setlock. Mark was on Broadway in the original company of RENT, and also co-wrote and starred in Fully Commited in which he played off broadway and won the Outer Critics Circle Award, as well as a Drama Desk nomination, and touring the show in Boston, London and all over the place. On TV has been seen in LAW AND ORDER and does some great character voices - so I am sure that Dibble will be in good hands! I'll post more information here when I get it - but all you Dibble fans who live in NYC - I hope you get to the Michael Weller Theatre at 311 West 43rd Street!


I'm very curious to know how our LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW is doing in stores - especially now that the Halloween season is right upon us! XM Radio will be repeating the show on Sunday, so that's exciting!

This has been a very rough week, and I will admit to having trouble writing the scripts needed for Monday nights session. I put the cast on notice that the scripts are on their way, but they will be last minute. I really need to get a jump start on this and get a few episodes ahead.

A DIBBLE HALLOWEEN

We managed to get our brand new DIBBLE'S HALLOWEEN SHOW on XM this weekend! I had sent our 2003 Dibble Halloween special, but it got lost in the shuffle over there (I bet Oprah is taking up all the load in time!)- so we sent the show via a sound file and - presto - its going to run in our DIBBLE time slots this weekend. I think this is a fun episode, and Chris Snyder did a great job editing it together.

We also start running NIGHT TERRORS tonight from Darker projects!

Thats all for now - VERY long day here today. I gotta come up with a couple of POWDER RIVER scripts this week, too! The race is on!

I want to officially welcome our two new editors at CRT - Chris Snyder and Matthew McLaren. Chris resides in Arizona, and has edited season 3 of POWDER RIVER, and is now working on our PHIL BYRNES MYSTERY series. He also edited our re-make production of TREASURE ISLAND. I know I have mentioned Chris before on the blog, but I dont think I have OFFICIALLY introduced him to you. If I did, all the more reason why I need help with the workload - I'm losing my mind!

Matthew lives in Denman, Australia, and is a fantastic editor (we are airing his horror turn THE HOUSE IN THE CLOCK on our XM show in another week). Matt is also working on the PHIL BYRNES show.

We are very lucky to have these two master editors with us right when everything is getting busy busy! I feel like the cavalry has just come over the hill!

Also, please welcome Brandon Cole - a voice actor from Ohio who has joined the CRT players! Brandon played an outlaw in POWDER RIVER - THE NITRO GANG, and just recorded for PHIL BYRNES.

CRT presents NIGHT TERRORS

Next week on our XM Radio Show, we are going to do something we've never done before - present someone else's work! Chris Snyder is our new producer here at CRT (he now produces our POWDER RIVER and PHIL BYRNES series), and when not editing at CRT, he is one of the producers over at DARKER PROJECTS (www.darkerprojects.com). Since CRT is very light in the horror department, I asked Chris if we could run some of the NIGHT TERRORS on our show, and he said yes!
Did you ever think you would hear titles like this on the CRT show; "The Bug Doctor," "Last Call," "Voices of the Soul," "The House in the Clock..." and a bunch more. Lots of Halloween fun coming up!

I have heard quite a few productions from DARKER PROJECTS, and they are very good (Check out THE FALCON BANNER). Let me know what you think of NIGHT TERRORS if you catch them!

Our THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW will also have an encore broadcast on XM Radio, and the first airing is on Sunday the 29th at 7am West, 10am East, and 7pm West, and 10pm East. It may run Mon. or Tues. as well, but the schedule isn't out for that week yet. It seems to being well online and in stores (It's up to #3 on Blackstones top 10 bestsellers list).

This weekend, I am trying to finish up a script (our next Ray Bradbury project, and yes - Ray said I could write the script!) and once again I have three POWDER RIVER scripts to do this week, for an Oct. 30th recording session. I hope I get some story ideas soon - my mind sounds like a wind tunnel lately.

Not much else to talk about - OH, had lunch with J.T. today at my favorite Chinese Restaurant. I'm telling you, folks - the best place to get Chinese and Japanese food is the CHINA CUISINE 235 Main Street, North Reading MA (Corner of Main St & North St - Rt. 28) - Bonnie, Victor, or May will greet you at the door, and tell them Jerry sent you! I'm there at LEAST twice a week - and they make WITHOUT QUESTION the best Mai Tai's I've ever had ... and the drinks ain't bad, either! Check it out if you live in the area - its the best!!

Well, we recorded POWDER RIVER episodes 04-01 and 04-02 last night in a rather crazy off-beat session! I especially remember J.T.'s cell phone playing the INDIANA JONES theme at a moment of dramatic tension (I think this will go down as one of the all-time great CRT bloops)! How actual drama comes out of these sessions I will never know! Three cheers for Derek Aalerud as he is now DRIVING! That's right - I no longer am needed to give him a lift to and from the session! Derek started recording with us when he was 13 I think, so it was very odd seeing him drive off after the session was over ... man, I feel old.

Chris Snyder will continue on as the producer of the series, and I think he did an outstanding job with Season 3 (I haven't edited a PR episode since last year!). Blind since birth, Chris is a testament that a disability should not be an issue in someones ability to do a job, and do it well. In talking extensively with him, you would be surprised how he has been treated in the past - getting accepted to do a job, and then they discover he is blind, and they come up with some excuse why he is no longer needed. That, my friends, is "in your face discrimination" and it infuriates me beyond measure. I know who these folks are that showed him the door - I have heard their work - and to those people I say this ... you would have been much better off with Mr. Snyder as your editor, because he runs circles around what you are churning out now.

I have been introduced to a whole community of very, VERY talented people who are blind, and who work in the audio media as voice talent and editors, and they have all told me stories that hearken to Chris' experiences. I don't get it. I just don't get it. They have the same ability as sighted people - their editing is sharp and skilled and their acting just as good as anyone else who records! I'll be speaking more to this in the blogs ahead. The Colonial Radio Theatre on the Air is very privileged and very proud to have these extraordinary talents join our team.

JORDAN RICH

Well, I managed to get two POWDER RIVER scripts finished this week - not the three I had hoped for; but with my dad undergoing two surgeries this week, the stress factor was on max. I hope they're good - they were not easy to write.

On Friday, myself, Jeff Gage and J.T. Turner were guests on Bostons #1 weekend late night talk radio program, THE JORDAN RICH SHOW. We went on to plug DANDELION WINE, CAPTAIN BLOOD and SLEEPY HOLLOW and talk about modern radio theatre. Jordan does a great interview, and we had a blast. J.T. had just come off stage from his 1776, so he came over to join in the late night fun. I did Jordans show for the first time when we were doing CHRISTMAS CAROL at the Gloucester Stage. It was a memorable night because there was a blizzard going on outside. I remember leaving the studio at 2AM and getting home at 5:30am - a trip that should have taken a half hour. This time was a little easier! Thanks again Jordan, for all your support! In the picture we have Jordan at the far left, then me, Jeff and J.T.

A great night in Bawstun at 1776 at the Lyric! J.T. is a GREAT Ben Franklin, and Peter Carey was fantastic as John Adams!! The entire cast (with one exception - I had trouble with a certain Delegate from Pennsylvania with a Frank Sinatra swagger - which happens to be a role I have played twice -) was incredible (and to that actor - three words of advice - LEARN YOUR LINES!!) and I REALLY enjoyed this production - and that isn't easy since I've done it about 5 or 6 times over the past (yikes) 20 years - AND it happens to be one of my all-time favs .... so I am not throwing these compliments out lightly.
Topped the night off with drinks at the Hard Rock Cafe and now here I am, writing a blog and trying to get an idea for POWDER RIVER 04-02.

1776

Going into Bawstun tonight (I hate the term Beantown, which is what everyone else calls it - I prefer to use the Bawstun accent myself) to see J.T. Turner as Benny Franklin in 1776! IT BETTER BE A GOOD ONE, J.T!! I hardly ever go to plays anymore, so this should be a fun night out, AND I get to have a drink or three first! Going in with CRT players Cynthia Pape and Lincoln Clark.

I have finished the first POWDER RIVER script for Season 4 which starts taping on Monday - so now I hope I can finish two more by Sunday.

Now that I appear to be finished with my rantings, I am back at work writing. Started POWDER RIVER SEASON 4 today - a bit behind schedule what with personal issues and also getting new XM product out the door, BUT - here I am writing Episode 04-01, titled IN CHICAGO (I may change the title, but most likely not). We start taping a week from tomorrow, so I need to bang out three scripts this week (I think I can, I think I can, I think I can ....). Going to see J.T. in 1776 this Thursday night at the Lyric in Baawstun, and then Friday night guesting on THE JORDAN RICH SHOW on WBZ with Jeff Gage, AND, tomorrow night we tape Episode 1 of our new series, FATHER BROWN MYSTERIES; and in-between that, its writing, writing, writing. I must say that, at the moment, the POWDER RIVER script is not coming along as easy as I would like. I really backed myself into a corner at the end of season 3. But, that's what makes it interesting!

You know, when I heard Barbra was touring again (Like Sinatra, MANY farewell concerts over the decades) - I was ALMOST tempted to see her on her Boston Stop. I mean, there is no doubt she is the last of the true "legends" of Show Biz. Can you imagine J-Lo or Ms. Spears still selling out concert halls 40 years from now? It's impossible - because show business doesn't have the foundation anymore to build REAL and LASTING stars. It's all "celebrities" these days. Streisand sang with Judy Garland, Ethel Merman - she was directed by Gene Kelly and Vincente Minnelli ... and she has that voice! But I had a hunch that this would be a political gathering, not just a concert. Lately it's almost impossible to go to a concert without hearing the performer throw out their political views from the stage. K.D. Lang at the South Shore Music Circus slam dunks the administration and blasts the President from the stage ... then Tony Bennett came out for the second half and sang his hits, gave a classy performance,brought the house down, stuck to his legend and not his political views (whatever they may be) and showed everyone what a REAL star is.

That's what I'm talking about here. Now, I don't happen to fall in with Babs'or K.D.'s views, but I wish that these performers would just PERFORM. If you want to go into politics - then go into politics! But I do not want to spend $75.00 to hear K.D. tell me what she thinks of the way the US is being run ... or in Bab's case, $750.00 (thats the top ticket in Boston)!
I have no problem with people speaking their views. If she wants to talk about them on a talk show, or interview - I got ZERO problem with that. But in a concert - I just dont think that's the place. Maybe I'm too old fashioned. And folks - I say this about ANYONE, from ANY party - even the party I belong to! When I go to see a star, I want to hear their songs, not their views on politics. I can go to a rally or a debate for that.
So, when I heard Babs was going to tour, I thought "Hmmmm .... she IS a legend ..." but then I figured I'd have to listen to her political views, so I decided not to shell out the $$$.$$ I'm glad I did, for it seems she has a Bush impersonator as her opening act. I ain't got not problem with that - but not at a concert where I spend $750.00 She is taking the money and turning it over to her charities, which I think is a very noble thing she is doing - but maybe she should have just toured with "A forum with Barbra Steisand." See, she could have filled these arena's with people wanting to hear her political views - and that would be fine. There is a place for everything.
I don't want to use my blog as any kind of political debate forum, and I'm not picking on Babs per-sey, but I just wish these stars would keep their views off the concert stage where we pay to hear it, and that goes for stars of ALL political parties!


Streisand Mocks Bush on Opening Night
Barbra Streisand peppered the opening night of her comeback tour in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with a series of digs aimed at President George W. Bush. The 64-year-old is a staunch Democrat and is still appalled that Bush was elected to the most powerful position in the world despite doubts over the crucial result in Florida in 2000. The concert at the Wachovia Center featured a political satire sketch where an actor playing the Republican president reeled off lines including, "I'm concerned about the national debt, so I'm selling Canada," and, "If I cared about the polls I would have run for president of Poland." Streisand has come out of retirement for a series of shows to raise money for a charitable foundation which supports a number of environmental and educational causes.

THE HEADLESS HORSEMAN RIDES AGAIN! Yeah, I know I blogged this the other day,but SLEEPY HOLLOW is getting some great attention in stores and we're excited about it! You can order it from AMAZON, or BORDERS, or BARNES AND NOBLE - and it's also on shelf at B&N and Borders (so they say). Oh! And if you live in JAPAN - we got you covered! Anyway, that's that.

It's odd how many of these online sites take forever to get the cover art posted! Everything takes so much time in this biz. Craig Slaff in NJ painted the fantastic Headless Horseman painting for us, and then Blackstone's art dept. did the incredible cover design! It's one hot lookin' CD!!

We recorded two more PHIL BYRNES mystery episodes last night. Before the session I met up with J.T. (currently a smash hit as Ben Franklin in the Boston turn of 1776 at the Lyric), his some James, and Diane Capen, at the China Cuisine in here in North Reading (An AWESOME restaurant), the we recorded. Next Monday we record the first FATHER BYRNES episode!!

OCTOBER!

My favorite month of the year, without question! Something about the chill in the air (not cold, not freezing - a chill), and the leaves turning bright yellow, orange, purple ... pumpkins in fields .... October in New England! Busy month of recording ahead, AND today is the release date for our Award Winning THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW! It seems like just a few weeks ago I went to Tarrytown New York with Nick Aalerud (that's us in the photo at the Sleepy Hollow cemetery - Nick is on the left. Thank God we don't look like Jake and Dibble in real life) to do some research on the then up-coming production. It was a trip worth taking, as I got truly inspired for the show.
For instance, our play opens with ghostly voices chanting names and dates from gravestones ... and all those names and dates were taken from the stones in Sleepy Hollow cemetery, next to the Old Dutch Church (which is featured in Washington Irvings story). Also, one evening, we listened to an actor read the entire book - in the Old Dutch Church - and that was something! Lit by candlelight - and looking out the window over the famous graveyard where the Headless Horseman dwells - and the full moon shining outside the large glass windows ... well ... let me tell you that by the time I got home I was ready to write the script for our radio play.

So, two years later, the show is being released nation wide in a double CD set and you should be able to find it at Borders and Barnes and Noble, and online everywhere. I think it's one of our very best productions, and I hope people like it!

Two of CRT's most popular actors have ventured out into other programs! DEREK AALERUD leaves the Powder River behind inbetween seasons and can be heard in the chilling horrorturn THE HOUSE IN THE CLOCK, while DIANE CAPEN is zooming around the galaxy in the spectacular space epic THE SWORD OF WINDSOR

Both shows were produced by DARKER PROJECTS, and I know you will enjoy them. In fact, THE HOUSE IN THE CLOCK will air on the Colonial Radio Theatre XM program Halloween night!
Congrats to both Derek and Diane - you both turned in great performances in these episodes.

We just released a brand-new Dibble episode, his second HALLOWEEN SHOW It even has a musical number in it (well, as much as Dibble can do a musical number). It's a fun little treat for Halloween so check it out!

Getting ready to record two more episodes of A PHIL BYRNES MYSTERY on Monday night, and still working on the new shows for XM (shipping on Monday). Speaking of XM, POWDER RIVER season 3 finished up it's first run yesterday, and I can't believe the response we got from this series. XM started running them back in July I think, with a repeat of seasons 1 and two, and went right into three. So, P-R was on the air for 10 weeks! Lots of great emails from our fans - and thank you again for taking the time to write to us!

One PHIL BYRNES episode in the can, five to go! Awesome cast of regulars (Diane Capen, James Turner, J.T. Turner, Hugh Metzler, Natasha Lathrop, Mike Dent), lots of guest stars (Cynthia Pape, Donna Corbett, Amy Strack, Tom large, Brandon Cole, the list goes on)- an incredible producer (Chris Snyder) Jeff's music is dead-on, and last but not least - the fantastic scripts of Sable Jak! Sable swears she's only writing six of these. I said the same thing, Sable, about another series ...

POWDER RIVER. I only wanted to do a 15 episode serial, and here we are 50 shows later, and starting Season 4 on October 16th. And speaking of October 16th, the third episode of POWDER RIVER we record that night, will be CRT's 200th Commercial Production!! We HAVE to go out for a pint or two after this session!

rantings

So some movie called JACKASS is the #1 box office movie this weekend? That really speaks a lot for our culture and the entertainment industry. I am so sick and tired of these stupid moronic reality shows and filthy flicks with (ahem) "movie stars" whos only talent is the way they look and pose .... gawd. What ever happened to the Richard Burtons and Peter O'Toole's.

Entertainment is all about the numba's, baby. Some suits at the studios dont like the numba's - AXE! They dont give a damn about the quality of the show. A program like Bonanza would NEVER make it in today's society. Today you have to eat worms and spiders to stay on the air, or do some stupid sit-com where every episode revolves around sex and cheating (can you direct me to one that doesn't?)

I sound bitter. I'm really not - I just miss good old fashioned entertainment.

The new thing is hanging up the phone at the end of a conversation without saying goodbye. Classy.

Editing one of our older shows today for broadcast on XM. Some of these old shows can really drudge up old memories that I would rather forget; speaking of which, RED BADGE OF COURAGE airs in November.

That's todays entry. Tomorrow is a day at the hospital with my dad, and surgery the following morning, and we also start taping the PHIL BYRNES episodes tomorrow night.

Next summer I am going away for a month - no matter WHAT.

cheers

Dave in TN hates our production of GETTYSBURG! I just read his review on i-tunes. He gave it ONE STAR! His sterling review is as follows

This is TERRIBLE! I can't believe I bought it! It was on during our road trip for all of 5 minutes before I shut of off. I thought I would give it another try but this is just WAY TOO SILLY

David, David, David. I normally dont respond to reviews (espcially armchair reviews, or carseat reviews whatever fits you best), but this one was something! I can't believe you bought this either!! I was shocked!!

I mean - didn't you listen to the 10 minute preview before you plopped down $11.95?? Surely you would have realized 5 minutes into the 10 minute preview that this show was TERRIBLE! My, my! WHAT were you THINKING???

You see David from TN - some programs take a little time to unwind. A show that runs three and half hours needs more than five minutes in a car with lousy speakers (they must be lousy if the show sounded good enough to download for $11.95 after you listened to the 10 minute preview)- to gain speed. But, I suppose you live in a fast world and want everything zapped into high gear without any structure.

If you didn't listen to the 10 minute preview before you plopped down $11.95 for this TERRIBLE I SHUT IT OFF IN FIVE MINUTES production, you have no one to blame but yourself. But - I think you did listen to it. Maybe it was the traffic. Maybe it was the company. maybe it was the ride. Maybe it was the lousy speakers; maybe its a very short attention span; but I am VERY SORRY for producing such an unworthy production! Please forgive me David from TN! I'll try better next time - and I'll see if I can get i-tunes to shorten the samples to five minutes so you can decided within the space of your attention span if the show sucks or not. Thanks for the review!! I appreciate it! (ps - the guys in blue won)

Starting to write Season 4 of POWDER RIVER - which begins taping new episodes October 16th! Yep, we're going to do 20 more of them, which will bring our episode count to 70! These episodes will go on the air starting in February I think.
I wonder if anyone in Clearmont Wyoming listens in? I'm looking forward to it, and so far, most of the cast is coming back for more!

Our new production of TREASURE ISLAND is just about finished - thanks to our new editor Chris Snyder! I think this is a much better production than our first version from 2001. Joe Z, Tom Berry are back in their original roles as Long John and Captain Smollet, and everyone else is new! It will also be our first feature production presented in COLONIAL 3-D!! How cool is that?? If you havent heard the original version we did - it's on Spoken Network for a few more days - but next week it will be pulled from release and replaced with the "new and improved" version!!

That's all, folks!
- at least for now!

Productive day! Got some more editing finished for our XM show. We delivered 7 weeks worth for season 2 so far, so I have lots more to get ready. Cutting some of our feature programs into half hour episodes. Today I was working on KIDNAPPED. So .. the process goes something like this

1) put a copy of the entire program on the screen - so you see the show on the grid.

2)Cut out all the opening / closing credits, end of act / start of act tags.

3)Figure out how much you need to cut to fit the show into five 24 to 25 minute episodes. (In the case of KIDNAPPED, I needed to eliminate 12 minutes). I start with editing out long pauses, and after that I trim parts of sentences, scenes; so its not a hack job and makes sense!

4) Split it into 5 segments, add the opening and closing CRT theme to each episode, for the broadcast.

5) Split each segment into 2 acts

6) Add bumper music from the original KIDNAPPED score at the end / start of acts.

7) Write the host narration for each episode (Including the credits for what actor is in which episode)

8) Record the host narration

9) Edit the narration, then

10) insert it into each episode, and over the closing theme.

11) Send it off to XM!

Kidnapped took pretty much most of the day today, and most of yesterday. Next up is THE RED BADGE OF COURAGE. We recorded this one five years ago, so it will be difficult to trim because I havent heard it in years and I wont remember where certain scenes are.
Anyway, thought you might like a peek at the process.

A friend said he saw CAPTAIN BLOOD on the shelf at three different Barnes and Nobles! I hope it is selling!!

Still not 100% after my illness, so I think I'm actually going to crash early tonight (which means I'll wake up at 4am. I cant seem to sleep more than 4 hours. Odd)

Keep listening!

Well, I am somewhat back in action again after a week off due to ILLNESS! Hey, at least thats one way to stop working! I rarely get sick, but when I do, it's like the Lusitania going down. Started with some gall bladder issues just before we recorded SOMETHING WICKED, which I didnt want to believe at first, but then I came around to reason. My lower back was a in lot of pain, and then, lets top it all off with the flu! That was my week! I haven't done anything with CRT (except write a bible for a possible tv project) all week. BUT - now that I am living on salads (oh gawd help me) and the only thing left of the flu is a cough, I am back to work editing down "Kidnapped" for an XM Broadcast this season.

Thank's to the The Audio Addict people can now post comments on my blog (I always thought they were turned on but I guess they weren't. I dont know how to do this stuff)! So thanks, AA! Once again you have solved a problem for me! (Now she has to show me how to use these links things because I just wasted a half hour trying to link her site using these stupid link "letters and slashes and dashes" things! AAARRGHHH!

Other news - Next Monday we record a re-make of our 2001 production TREASURE ISLAND. So that should be fun! I love that story - it is one of my all-time favorites, and I know we can do a more polished, trim and snappy version for the CD release! Same script as before, just a new cast and steppin' on the gas peddle.

Recording A PHIL BYNRES MYSTERY starts 2 weeks later - and then I need to start thinking about writing my next 20 POWDER RIVER scripts for Season 4 that I want to get on XM in February.
Speaking of which, POWDER RIVER started its new season (and our second season) on XM yesterday! I am really starting to like this series, and the mail we get from listeners is amazing! Out of all the shows we have made, the ones that people write to us about are DIBBLE and POWDER RIVER! It's great to think that someone likes it enough to spend time writing a letter or an email. That is a wonderful compliment.

OK, time to get back to it.
Aloha!

Two very long days - and we have SOMETHING WICKED in the can! Well, the vocals anyway. We'll be in post for about 3 months. Today - working on the new Bradbury script! Ray gave me permission to adapt this book into a radio play, so I am hoping to have it finished later this week so I can send it off to him for his comments.

Why do I still call them "Radio Plays." Some people call them Audio Drama, Audio Theatre (which to me sounds like a home entertainment set-up, which is what you get when you google the phrase) some call it Audio Cinema. They're all good. I just prefer to stay with Radio Play. It has equity in the name - and everyone knows instantly what you mean. When I have used the term "Audio Theater," or "Audio Drama," the response is usually "Huh? What's that?" then I tell them, and then I hear back "Oh, like an old time radio play!"

Radio Play. As soon as you say the word, everyone instantly knows you mean. To some, they may think of a mono, scratchy recording. However, when one says "Movies," one doesnt think of square screen black and white flickers from the Golden Age. They think modern film. If someone hears one of our shows, they won't think it was recorded 60 years ago (at least I hope not). Maybe if everyone called them radio plays people would be thinking of them in terms of modern programs, as we do now with movies.
Then you get into the debate of podcasting and such; "an i-pod is not a radio, so why do you still use the term radio play" I have been asked. I reply with "a television set is not a motion picture theatre, and a DVD or VHS is not a 35mm reel of film, yet we still call them movies." Personally, I dont care what they are called. I'll stick with Radio Play or Radio Theatre though. It has a very rich history, and I love history; it's something to build on.

Had a good, productive day. Met with Jeff at Victor and Mae's CHINA CUISINE (My favorite restaurant - Main Street, North Reading folks) - and we talked about upcoming projects. He is in the middle of composing tracks for our new series A PHIL BYRNES MYSTERY, and then he moves onto SOMETHING WICKED. You know, Ray wrote an incredible script. Where the Disney film took some liberties, the script he sent us is "by the book." I can only imagine what Jeff will do with the Carousel scenes (and Ray reminded us "it must be the funeral march') - and Jeff has the Calliope down pat from our TOBY TYLER a couple of years back. I can't wait to get into the middle of this one!

Now, it's time to crash and put the Beatles on!
JR

POWDER RIVER may start a run on a station in Illinois, which is very cool! They carry us when they re-broadast Dean Spratt's "Thursday Night Potpourri," on the W0KIE Satellite Network, but in the re-bradcast we dont air until 2AM, so this way we would be Sunday afternoons. We'll see if it pans out! Dean is now running Season Three of PR, and you can hear it on the internet feed - at 11pm EST. Tonight is episode 2, so check it out! Dean does a great job and we have been with him since last October. You can find the link on the Colonial website www.colonialradio.com and it is listed on the homepage under "Colonial on the Air"

Chris Snyder is editing our production A VISIT WITH AESOP (our 193rd production) which is pretty cool! J.T. Turner performs this (and created it) as one of his several several traveling school shows, and I asked him if we could record it as a radio play - and he said yes! We actually taped it last February, but then everything went crazy two weeks later when we started recording CAPTAIN BLOOD, and then we went right into DANDELION WINE and then the final 10 episodes of POWDER RIVER, so poor Aesop was sitting on the the shelf waiting ... waiting .... waiting. BUT, the wait is over and the show is now in post!

Today - lets see - assigning the voice casting for the upcoming TREASURE ISLAND ON THE FAST TRACK, well, I added the "on the fast track" part myself .... then meeting Jeff Gage to give him some CAPTAIN BLOOD copies before he jets off to Chicago to see WICKED for the 50th time, then more writing.

~JR

Getting ready for recording SOMETHING WICKED, which begins next week. We are also going to be re-recording our TREASURE ISLAND a couple of weekes after, followed by A PHIL BYRNES MYSERY in late September. We have a BRAND NEW series in the works too! I'll announce that one very soon - it is being penned by a wonderful writer from the UK, M.J. Elliot!
Me? Working on dramatizing a book from Ray Bradbury that we are planning to record in the fall, and starting to kick around some ideas for POWDER RIVER - SEASON 4. So that is my Wednesday.

CAPTAIN BLOOD

I was at my local Barnes and Noble store tonight, and low and behold, there was our CAPTAIN BLOOD on the shelf in the audio section! I had not yet seen the finished product, and it was VERY cool to see it there on shelf! So naturally i bought it! Our cast copies are on the way, but hey, it was in my hand and ..........
It looks great, very slick packaging and the CD's look great!
Off to record some Dibble into's for the XM show. Yes, it's 1:00 am, but I like recording in the middle of the night.
Later!
JR

Thanks!

I never really understood the Jack Benny turning 39 every year gag until now (now that 39 is in my long ago distant past)!

Thanks to everyone who sent me e-cards, card cards and emails on this, the darkest of days. Seriously, they were very much appreciated!

CAPTAIN BLOOD continues to sail - and thanks to all of you who have written to me about it (It's always great to hear that someone is listening!!).

More later - just wanted to say thanks to everyone!
cheers
Jerry

Vacation thoughts

How nice is this?? The first Monday in four weeks that we are NOT recording! After a POWDER RIVER marathon - recording 10 episodes in 4 weeks (and writing them all in the weeks between each session) - I am really enjoying the stress-free day. CAPTAIN BLOOD appears to be going well! I have yet to see the finished packaged product, but hopefully that will happen this week.

Today is one those incredible New England days - it feels like 78 or so, and there is a strong, cool breeze and the air is clear with no humidity. I'm still glued to the writing desk, but its nice with the window open. I decided that next summer I am taking a vacation! I haven't had one in years. I am thinking maybe a week on the Cape, or something quiet up north. Maybe two weeks. I love my work, I really do, and so far this year I've written 37 scripts, re-vamped two others, and still have a full length program to write, 20 more episodes of POWDER RIVER starting in October, and editing new programs, and our XM series, and recording on top of all that .... so yep, I could use a break! Waaa waaa waaa. No, I'm not complaining - I'm just looking forward to some time away. But you know what will happen? When I am away, I will come up with new ideas, and after a week I'll be dying to get back to work. Odd.

A FUN NIGHT

Well, last night we got most of the cast together and broke the champagne bottle over our production of DANDELION WINE! It was a great party with tons of food and deserts (including Marcia's 100 proof tart), and the show was played on the incredible BOSE system ... almost three months to the day that we recorded the vocals! Now we sit back and hope we have a hit on our hands. The program will be released December 1st, and will be available on shelf at Barnes and Nobel, Borders, and online everywhere, worldwide!

In other news, Chris Snyder is going a mile a minute on the POWDER RIVER series, and we are only five episodes away from total completion!!

I am also VERY happy to announce that we are going into production with a brand new series!! This September we roll on a new Detective, film-noir style drama called A PHIL BYRNES MYSTERY, written by Sable Jak. I love the scripts, and I am looking forward to producing this series!! I'm figuring out the casting now.

That's it from the writing desk,
cheers
JR

UPDATES

We held our final audition yesterday for our upcoming production of Ray Bradbury's SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES, and we cast the two lead roles, which are played by two 13 year old boys. I always get nervous when a role needs to be played by a youngster, because you run the risk of not being able to cast it. Well, we had FIVE incredibly talented kids read for these two roles. Each had their own unique personalities and charisma and I wanted to cast ALL of them (and I am not just saying that). Boy, these guys were good. I emailed Ray when I got home and asked him about another story of his that I would like to do - so we could have all these kids in it, and he said YES!! I need to adapt the book into a script, so I will do that soon and hopefully, if they are available, we'll capture all these incredible talents in that production.

J.T. Turner is great! He read with these kids so I could listen to the voices, and I really appreciate his opening his Church so we could have the auditions there. Thanks, J.T.

Nancy Curran Willis is going to direct this production, as I have mentioned before. She is always so prepared! Nancy did a fantastic job with DANDELION WINE, and I know she will go to town with the dark side of SOMETHING WICKED.

Speaking of DANDELION WINE, we are having a cast listening party this Thursday night!! This will be the first time the cast has heard the show, so it should be a fun time!

POWDER RIVER - Season Three is DONE!! We recorded the last three episodes last night. It was a great session, and it was awesome having Tom Berry and Mark Cafazzo back in Studio G playing two of our most hideous villains in the series to date. Season 3 starts airing this Thursday night on the W0kie Satellite Network (the link is on the CRT site under "Colonial on the Air" on the home page) and it will run every Thursday night at 11pm. ) It opens our second season on XM Radio Sept. 4th!!

That's all for now! Hope you're all having a good summer!
cheers
JR

WANT TO HEAR SOMETHING WICKED?

Auditions today at 2 for the new Bradbury project, and more on Monday, as we cast our 2 lead actors. We record at the end of the month, so time is short (as it always seems to be).
What IS the new Bradbury project you ask?
It's none other than SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES.

After he heard our production of DANDELION WINE, Mr. B asked us if we would be interested in producing this incredibly scary story - of course I said YES right away (its one of my favorite books), and an hour later he sent me the script via email. I cleared the schedule and put it into immediate production (once the agents and publishers worked out the details)!

I spoke with Mr. B on the phone the other day, and he is such a nice man. We discussed an idea that we had for the music in two of the key scenes (well, our Director Nancy Curran Willis had the idea), and he LOVED it! So, as soon as I am done with the POWDER RIVER episodes, I will modify the script he sent me for audio (sound and music cues - not the dialog) and we're on our way. As we were finishing our conversation, I thanked him again for the chance to do these shows, and I mentioned I was very happy he liked Dandelion Wine. He said "On to the future - SOMETHING WICKED!" THAT's Ray Bradbury.

Also new at CRT, we will be producing 15 episodes of a brand new detective series (a female detective no less!) that I am very excited about! I am hoping to get those underway in September.
Lot's going on - and never a dull moment.
ON TO THE FUTURE!
~JR

POWDER RIVER winds down

Had a GREAT recording session yesterday for POWDER RIVER, taping two more episodes (why do I still say tape when we record digital?). Next week are our last three episodes for Season 3, and I am looking forward to getting a break from writing western yarns. I love it, but it's time for a break. Here are the episode titles ~

01-03: WANTED
02-03: BANDIT'S PASS
03-03: JUST LIKE HOME
04-03: JUDGE PARKER
05-03: THE AWFUL TOOTH
06-03: MORGANS TOWN
07-03: MORGANS TOWN, Part 2
08-03: MORGANS TOWN, Part 3
09-03: TILL DEATH DO US PART
10-03: THE WINDS OF THE PRAIRIE
11-03: THE BRIDE FROM THE EAST
12-03: THE INSTANT OF UNEXPECTED
13-03: THE WAGON BOY
14-03: THE NEW OWNER
15-03: MOMENT OF TRUTH
16-03: RETURN OF THE LEGEND, Part 1
17-03: RETURN OF THE LEGEND, Part 2
18-03: THE NITRO GANG
19-03: JACK SHERMAN ESCAPES
20-03: TWILIGHT

I mean, that's a lot of POWDER RIVERS (and I still need to write and record episodes 13,14,15, which we tape next Monday).

I think we have some good episodes, and so far we haven't jumped the shark. Everyone has signed on for Season 4 (with luck, the shark will stay away), which I am hoping to record in Oct. and Nov.

WRITING NEVER SEEMS TO END

Four scripts in a week and a half. Three were recorded last Monday, the fourth will be recorded this coming Monday (July 31), and I have one more to finish for this Monday (umm, taping on the the 31st as well). You might say I am POWDER RIVER crazy. These scripts dive in to what makes certain characters tick, so they have been very difficult to write, especially since I have no idea what makes these characters tick.
I can't think of anything more scary than looking at a screen that says POWDER RIVER - ACT 1 - PAGE 1 on it, and knowing that 27 pages must follow.
ANYWAY, I'm not complaining - just wish they were all finished. Things are really taking off here, and I am THRILLED that we got Chris Snyder on the team to help with the editing. Season 2 episodes for XM are due - like NOW - as well as our weekend XM show with Dibble - then there is the new BRADBURY project to get into production (auditions for the kids roles this week)..... all I want to do is go to a cabin in New Hampshire and listen to the loons. OK, I know I'll go crazy after three days, but what the hell.

it's Sunday

What a week - Recorded 2 POWDER RIVER episodes on Monday, then went to Rex Trailers BOOMTOWN 50th Anniversary show at Jimmy Tingle's Off Broadway Theater in Somerville (You have GOT to check out his amazing theater, and Jimmy is the BEST), AND - I had to write three new POWDER RIVER episodes that tape tomorrow night.

I know that BOOMTOWN started my love of westerns.

Seeing Rex and Sgt. Billy onstage - WOW. that's all I can say. Time stood still. I was 10 again.

All of you who didn't live in Boston in the 60's and 70's - boy, did you miss out.

And you need to check out Michael Bavaro's amazing film on BOOMTOWN (the link is on our site at www.colonialradio.com ). Even if you didn't live here during those years, you will still be amazed. Thanks, Mike - and Jimmy, and Sgt. Billy, and Sam, and of course, Rex!

Adios for tonight, pardner,

~JR

THE HEAT GOES ON

Boston is in the middle of a heat wave. "It's 94 but it feels like 100" the weatherteleprompter readers say. Can one REALLY tell the diff between 94 and 100 degrees??

Anyway, in the middle of all this heat, we recorded two episodes of POWDER RIVER last night with Rex Trailer. What an incredible Gentleman. He had fun, laughed a lot, turned in a great performance, and signed everyone's script! Rex is a true Boston Legend, and what an honor to have had him appear on the show. Without question, the BEST night ever in old Studio G.

~JR

CAPTAIN BLOOD - JULY 28TH!

July 28th sees the release of CRT's first CD (after 11 years of Cassettes) with our 7 hour production of Rafael Sabatini's CAPTAIN BLOOD. Blackstone Audio, our new publisher, is releasing the CD set. It's already on the Blackstone Best Seller List, AND it's doing well with advance sales on Amazon, Barnes and Nobel, and Borders. How exciting is this?? We worked so hard on this one, and the whole thing was written, recorded, scored, and posted in 3 and 1/2 months (working an average of 20 hour days). I am very proud of this one, and the CRT players nailed it, and with luck, the recording will outlast us all.

Today its more writing for POWDER RIVER, and that as they say, is that. I am also starting to work on the new Bradbury script here and there (adding in music cues and sound FX cues). I'll turn full attention to that when we finish season 3 of PR later this month.

The new Bradbury production records the last week in August! Nancy Curran Willis has signed on to direct once again! Mr. Bradbury is actively involved with the progress of the production! The show is going to scare the HELL out people! This is gonna be GREAT!!!

More updates;

Chris is all caught up on his editing for POWDER RIVER, until next week that is. Oh, some more cool news (unless I mentioned this before, which i could have because my memory is basically shot), thank's to Chris Snyder, episodes 11-20 of POWDER RIVER Season 3 will be in SURROUND SOUND! The gunfights should sound better than ever!

What a week!

Well, Mr. Bradbury loved our production of DANDELION WINE! He liked it so much we are going to be doing another one of his books for him! I'll spill the title when the publishers are finished ironing out the details - but it's a good one (well, they're ALL good, actually)!

Boston TV Icon REX TRAILER http://www.rextrailer.tv/ will be Guest Starring in two episodes of POWDER RIVER. This is amazing. Rex had a weekend TV show called
"Boomtown" that ran on WBZ TV Boston from 1957 to 1974. I think that's where I developed my love for westerns. It's gotta be; I was watching Rex when I was three, and I didnt see my first John Wayne movie till I was 14! The episodes with Rex will air on XM sometime in November.

Meanwhile, Back in Boston

A family illness prevented me from traveling to Minneapolis for the Mark Time Awards; and I canceled my flight at the last minute. Our new producer, Chris Snyder, flew in from Arizonza for the ceremony, and accepted the award for Colonial.

Writing continues. I have a new idea for a brand new series! I'm going to keep it under wraps until I have scripts and dates ready, but I am VERY excited about it! With luck we'll get to it before the year is out.

I RAVE AT CRITICS

Sent off "Dandelion Wine" to Ray Bradbury. Knowing he is going to listen to the production is causing me some serious "opening night jitters!" I hope what we created comes close to the vision he had when he wrote the script. I celebrated with some Mai Tai's, and then wrote another Powder River script for the session on the 17th.

I need to get another script done, but I won't tackle that until tomorrow.

The Captain Blood cover art looks awesome!! Check it out at BlackstoneAudio.com under July releases. It can be ordered from any B&N or Borders come July 28th, and should be on the shelf at Christmas. It's also at B&N and Borders online sites - the $19.95 version.

Is this a blog or an advertising site? It's a blog. But I figure a blog is where you write what is happening in your life, and right now, my life is 100% CRT

Our "Legend of Sleepy Hollow" has won the Ogle Award for Best Fantasy Production of 2005! I am VERY excited and happy about that! This production was a bear to produce, and write, and it's nice to see it get some recognition. What would it have been like without Lincoln Clark? He was the BEST Ichabod Crane I've ever heard. I also think it's one of my favorite J. Gage scores.

I have a brand new series for CRT in the planning stages!! Film at 11


OK, some NON CRT blogging

Has anyone seen "Poseidon?" I want to see it. I loved the original, and can't imagine an upside down ship without dear old Shelly Winters screaming "MANNY! MANNY!" but I hear the effects are amazing.

Ty Burr of the Boston Globe slammed "Pirates of the Caribbean 2" This guy hates everything. Remember when critics were REALLY critics (Elliot Norton, anyone?) This guy comes from the "Kevin Kelly Poison Pen School of Critics." You see every other review on this movie gives it 3 1/2 or 3 stars, but old Mr. Burr gives it 1 and a half. AND, a friend of mine who was at the advance screening saw Mr. Burr leave the theatre twice during the film, and then he left before the credits rolled. And then he has the nerve to post his opinion to the Boston Globe???

I guess he reviewed the parts he actually watched. I have seen several Baaawstun Critics in action (names withheld), and every time, I wondered WHY in hell anyone PAYS them for their worthless, biased opinions.

Don't get me going on critics.

Show me a critic and I'll show you an actor who never made it.


~JR

Yea!

FINISHED "Dandelion Wine" tonight!! I celebrated with a few exotic drinks at the pub.

We got the job in January, got the script in March, adapted it with sound and music cues in April, recorded in May, and then from mid-May to June the music was composed and editing started the last week in May. I think we have a winner here. Mr. Bradbury wrote an incredible script, and WHAT an honor to be able to have recorded it for him! It gets released everywhere December 1st! NOW, I plan to take one day off, then I gotta start writing the final 10 Powder River scripts, which we record in July.

Now, I am going to watch Jimmy Stewart in "Spirit of St. Louis," one of my favorite movies!

Off to Minneapolis on Friday!

Cheers
J

Editing Editing Editing

Just a short entry today. Work continues on "Dandelion Wine," AND - we are releasing episode 1 of "Powder River - Season Three" this week! I'll be uploading it to Spoken Network on Thursday and it takes a day or two to go "Live," so look for it this weekend! All the episodes of "Captain Blood" are up on Spoken Network as well.

Back to work now.
cheers
JR

Progress Continues

After a few days of dealing with a new phone line being put in, which also caused my DSL to be turned off in the process, I am FINALLY back to work here! We have 8 completed episodes for "Powder River - season 3" in the can, all done and ready to air; two more in editing, and we begin recording again July 10th, which means I need to start writing the scripts! We have a VERY special guest star coming on the show for two episodes, which I'll announce as the date gets closer!

"Dandelion Wine" continues in post production and is sounding good.

I'm off to Minneapolis July 7-9 for the Mark Time Awards bash at the Sheraton, and looking forward to meeting people from the Audio Drama world whom I've known of for years. Also, I think I'll be meeting Dean Spratt who has played seasons one and two of "Powder River" on his weekly Satellite show on the WOKIE Network - so it should be a fun three days.

Long weekend ahead of serious editing, making up for lost time, and doing an interview with John Lovering in Portsmouth NH about our 1999 production "Little Big Horn" which he is running on his show next week. That should be fun. I'm not the worlds be subject for an interview, but I'm getting the hang of it.

The upcoming June 28th release of "Captain Blood" is VERY exciting. It's quite a feeling seeing pre-sale blurbs for it in Borders and Barnes and Nobel after a freezing cold winter of recording and editing. What a whirl wind production that was.
cheers
JR

COLONIAL IS ON THE BLOG

After leaving "My Space" because I couldn't deal with the nuts and spam, the AUDIO ADDICT suggested I try this little place! I thought it would nice to have a site to update our progress and productions with The Colonial Radio Theatre on the Air, which is now in it's 11th year!

Well, another day of recording. Did some line punch ins for "Powder River" Episode 03-09 and 03-10. Also, editing continues on "Dandelion Wine" for Ray Bradbury. We have 2 weeks to finish the project. So far, I'm not worried. All is going well with this one.

July will be the last BIG busy month of the year, and I can't wait till it's over. I am determined to have a calm and easy August. After "Dandelion Wine" finishes, I need to write and record 10 more episodes for "Powder River." We are recording EVERY Monday night in July (a first) and now's the time to take bets on whether or not I finish the scripts. We need them for XM, so they GOTTA get done soon. The Powder River series is our most popular show on XM. Sooo, 20 new episodes on the way, and I plan on 20 more starting in October.

What else - Oh! New CD Releases!!

"Captain Blood" will be released July 28th on Six CD's, and also on cassette tapes and mp3! I don't know all the outlets yet, but I've seen it at B&N online, as well as Wal-Mart online and even places in Germany and Japan!

"Legend of Sleepy Hollow" will be released on CD October 1st. It will be in Barnes and Nobel, Borders, Amazon, and a bunch of other places.

"Dandelion Wine" should be out for Christmas.

Chris Snyder is doing a FANTASTIC job as our new producer on "Powder River." He has already turned in 2 episodes and a third on the way!

Thats all for now,
cheers
JR