Salt Lake Community College students have the opportunity to experience 1930s-style radio dramas.
SLCC and Summer Bear Life Balance Education are giving listeners a new perspective on the average play. “Who Goes There?” is based on a classic science fiction novel from author John W. Campbell. The story involves a group of scientific researchers, isolated in Antarctica in the dead of winter, who discover an alien spaceship buried in the ice where it crashed nearly twenty million years earlier.
A radio drama is a dramatized broadcast that’s performed on the radio. With no visuals, the plays strictly depends on dialogue, sound effects and music to help tell the story.
“Who Goes There?” producer Kachina Choate refers to radio drama as a “movie for the ears.” She has produced other radio dramas in the past, including “The Hunger Games” and “Catching Fire.”
SLCC student Jamielee Eldridge says the radio drama is a fun way to gain experience for students interested in acting.
“I’ve been pretty active in the acting community and its good form to do voice acting so that you don’t get saturated in the industry,” Eldridge says.
Auditions were held Jan. 15 and 16. Those who were interested were asked to show up to the auditions and bring their best acting voice.
“For the auditions, I had actors do a cold read to see how well they read. I then had them do two roles as if they were two people. Then I picked my actors by listening to the recording and how their voice fit with the character. I’m really grateful so many people showed up, it made my job so hard to pick the right voices,” Choate says.
Eldridge encourages students to watch for postings around campus if they would like to participate in future radio dramas.
“Originally there was a signup, but if others want to get involved, they can look out for different signs around the school,” Eldridge says. “It also gives you other opportunities for work, so I just wanted to flex my muscles and do this radio drama.”
The “Who Goes There?” radio drama does not have a broadcast date as it is still in the editing process. The program will be aired on Radio SLCC and summerbear.org once complete.
