Radio Theater Mystery; One Play, 4 Authors

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Created on Thursday, 07 November 2024 14:55

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By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Staff Writer
    A maritime mystery and shipboard hijinx will come to life on the stage of the Performing Arts Center Friday in the Radio Adventure Hour story of intrigue taking place on an ocean liner at sea.
    The concept of Radio Adventure Hour is to show an audience what goes on in the studio in the live broadcast of a radio drama, as in the days before television.

Actors and sound effects crew members rehearse Wednesday night in the Performing Arts Center for the drama Radio Adventure Hour: ''Mystery on the High Seas.'' From left, they are Jessica Deviche, Mel Beadle, Christine Pate, Julia Smith and Rita Christianson. Beatrice Perez and Adam Lechowicz, behind, perform live sound effects. The show is set for 7 p.m. Friday at the PAC. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)

    In past years Radio Adventure Hour, a production of the Sitka Community Theater, has had individual segments, different stories linked by an overall theme. But this year four directors collaborated to write a single integrated story, “Mystery on the High Seas.” Nineteen actors are lined up for the production, with live sound effects created onstage by a crew of six.
    Longtime Radio Adventure Hour writer and director Sotera Perez said the event will evoke stories by British mystery writer Agatha Christie, author of such classics as “Murder on the Orient Express” and “And Then There Were None.”
    “As opposed to in years past, instead of having one theme that we write four separate stories for, we wrote one story, and each of us essentially took an act of the play, and we went into it, kind of thinking about it being a mystery, a la, sort of Agatha Christie, but also the great caper films of the ’30s and ’40s, sort of madcap hijinks, if you will. And I’m pretty excited about it,” Perez told the Sentinel.
    The period of the story is the inter-war era, and, as in many of Christie’s stories, there will be a pool of suspects in the criminal investigation. With the ship at sea, the guilty party can’t escape.
    Adam Lechowitz is the sound designer for the production, a job previously performed by Jeanne Stolberg, who will be behind the soundboard this year mixing and mastering the audio.
    The cast of characters will range from a wannabe private eye and sidekick to an heiress and a bodyguard, in a twisting story that will include crime, humor and misdirection.
    While there’s a single, overarching story, Perez said each director’s voice is identifiable in the characters.
    “Each of us were writing the same characters, but we each have such distinctive voices that I think that one of the things that’s really fun is to watch each of us have our different take on these characters,” she said. “So keep your eyes open for that.”
    The other writers are Rebecca Poulson, Zeke Blackwell and Jack Petersen. Drew Larson, Blatchley Middle School band teacher, will provide live ambiance with his trumpet.
    Radio Adventure Hour got off the ground in 2010, and Perez has been involved in the all-local show since 2011.
     While Perez is a Radio Adventure Hour veteran, this year marks Brandon Saiz’ first foray into the event. He has been on KCAW radio shows in the past, but said he hadn’t auditioned for an acting role since he was a child, and was drawn to “Mystery on the High Seas” because of the people and characters involved.
    “I like writing, and I often find that I’m stuck in what to write about. And I of course see Sotera all the time, and I comment on all the shows that I’ve been to and she mentioned that I might want to help with writing for one of their productions,” Saiz said. “And that’s when I actually first learned about the Radio Adventure Hour, and so when I saw it on social media, I signed up.”
    He will portray a man named Edwards, a petty tyrant aboard the ship.
    “He works on a boat, and he’s a jerk,” Saiz summarized.
    “When you live and work on a boat, everything is much more serious than it needs to be... They don’t even have to be a tyrant. They can just feel like a tyrant and are oppressive and intimidating, and I’ve really found a way to channel all those negative experiences I’ve had into a character that I’m really enjoying,” Saiz added. He’s a U.S. Coast Guard veteran, and has real-world maritime experience.
    “He strikes me as obtuse and panicky that things are going to go wrong, and, honestly, who can’t relate to that feeling?” he said. “I do find a little bit of empathy for him as well.”
    He’s pleased to see so many regular Sitkans put on a show.
    “My favorite part is seeing people whose faces and voices you know from town, transforming... They’re becoming someone that is just a treat to see in a stage performance. There are so many laughs - there’s laughs in our rehearsals, there’s bound to be laughs,” he said.
    Tickets for the one-hour show are $20 for general admission and $15 for students and seniors at Old Harbor Books, and fineartscamp.org. Sitka Community Theater, which hosts the production, is part of the Greater Sitka Arts Council.
    The show begins at 7 p.m. Friday at the Performing Arts Center.