Tricks to a successful road trip
One of the delights of summer has to be the 33rd Annual
Pigeon Droppings from the coops atop the XeroxBuilding
in downtown — WE INTERRUPT THIS BROADCAST FOR A SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT!
Ooooh, sends chills up and down your spine, doesn’t it? I know, I
know. You need to be in a very surreal and existential place for mere
typography to make you go all Noah. But what about the rest
of your family? For a little fun on those long road trips, wait until
everyone’s happily dozing and then slip in a tape of the Mercury Theatre’s War of the Worlds broadcast; you know,
the one that caused mass panic up and down the Eastern Seaboard about 70 years
ago. When your children wake, start the tape and watch the magic of radio drama
unfold (keeping your eyes on the road, of course).
And don’t limit yourself to frightening your lads and
lasses. A wide array of old-time radio is available from libraries, websites,
and retailers.
An extended car ride is also a great time to expose the
youth of today to some not-so-old-time radio. Many popular tales have been
dramatized by the BBC, including Star
Wars, Lord of the Rings, and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (which started on the radio). Modern domestic radio offers a few choice
selections, notably Garrison Keillor’sPrairie Home Companion programs. The
youngest of your clan will doubtless enjoy any of the radio stories produced
for the defunct Rabbit Ears Radio show (though recently re-released, according to Audiofile
magazine).
Finally, some folks even produce audio dramas without a
broadcast signal. Angels of this sub-genre, the Words Take Wing Repertory
Company, have produced wonderful adaptations of numerous youth titles.
This article appears in Aug 16-22, 2006.
