THE 39 STEPS RADIO HOUR
Book by: John Buchan
Play by: Neil Truglio
© Modest Arts
Director: Neil Truglio
Set Design: Neil Truglio
Light Design: Kurt Morgan
Costume Design: Chantelle Frazier
Photo Credits: Sean Dolan
The 39 Steps Radio Hour premiered in November of 2012.
"For The 39 Steps the goal was to take a piece of literature, preferably a mystery and create an old time radio program with a live band and complete foley performed by the ensemble cast. The ensemble researched classic stories and watched classic noir films before deciding on John Buchan's The 39 Steps. The original book was rewritten in the style of a radio drama and each member of the cast chose an historic radio voice from the 1930s and 40s. The show opened with a young boy in his pajamas turning on an original Philco radio, then the curtain parted and the audience could see the backstage of how sounds were created and how radio shows were once performed. Together we created a live presentation of what it would have looked like to watch an ensemble create an antique program from the hay-day of radio."
The set was comprised of deconstructed elements from other sets to create the types of stages the actors would need to create all of the sounds necessary for the script. Actors created foley for footsteps, trains, cars, gunshots, fist fights, thunder, rain, and much more, all live in front of an audience.