Scene 4 Crossroads

For my final scene of my radio drama, I can say that I am at a crossroads. The last scene depends on getting a female part.  A friend of mine recommended someone to me that could read the part of June, but I am still unsure if I could make her available for recording.

If I find a good replacement for the role of June,  this last scene will have my character confront June about her involvement in the recent murders.  She will at first deny her involvement until my character tells he has evidence proving her guilt.  After seeing the evidence, June will confess to everything, but show no remorse for her actions.  If a get another actress to do the part of June, I will have to redo the first scene to make her voice the same.

If I can't find someone to read the part,  I will make her flee the scene. My character will find her gone when he goes to confront her.  She is smart enough to know when people are on to her. June leaves a confession letter for her brother to find and tells him not to find her because it would be a waste of time.  After reading it, Ralph decides to search for her.  If I take this route, I dont have to redo my original scene 1 with Ana.

The story will end with an epilogue.  Epilogue are used to explain what happens to each of the characters.  June will likely be sentenced to a lengthy prison term for her crimes and Ralph will have to struggle with the reality of the situation while trying to move on with his life.

Scene 3

Scene 3 of My Sister June builds the climax, which will take place in the next scene.  My character has learned that June was engaged to the deceased lawyer, Aiden Fisher.  He also learned that she is a suspect in another unsolved case.  Ralph feels like he doesn't have enough evidence to confront his sister and have her arrested.  In order to get the evidence he needs, Ralph goes to visit someone that June trusts.

During Scene 3, my character goes to his sister's friend, Connie Marx, for further investigation.  Detectives often talk to friends and family of the suspect in order to see if they can help break the case open.  Ralph knows that June tells Connie everything that happens in her life and Connie does the same.  He tells her about the dirt that Detective Carter dug up on June.  Connie does know the truth behind June's involement in the muders, but she is afraid to tell authorities. Ralph has to convince her to share what she knows by promising to protect her.  I won't reveal what Connie says in this blog, but her story will shock my character to the core.

My first choice to play Connie is my friend, Sydney Clark.  She and I were in a play together back in high school.  I also know that she has been in a number of plays at Shepherd University.  Her latest role is one of the women in Little Women.  If she is unable to read the parts, I can easily have a backup plan ready.

WHAG Internship

For my college internship, I was hired to intern at the WHAG news station in Hagerstown, Maryland.  I met with Greg Suchanek, one of the directors at WHAG, for an interview on Tuesday January 20th.  He gave me a tour of the studio and introduced me to the staff.  I told Greg that I am going through my senior year at Shepherd, my major was in communications, and that I do my radio show at the Shepherd radio station.  After the interview, Greg gave me a key to the building and my first shift started two days later on Thursday January 22nd.  For that day, I watched one of the cameramen do all the required shots for the 5:00pm, 6:00pm, 7:00pm, and 11:00pm broadcasts.  I had to learn how give the cues to the people in front of the camera.  It's to let them know when to start speaking, which camera to turn to, and how much time they have before going into a commercial break.  Memorizing the cues is not too hard, it's knowing when to cue them is the tricky part. You have to always pay attention to what the production crew is telling you through the headphones So far, I enjoy my internship at WHAG and if they are looking to hire full time, I would be happy to accept the job.

Scene 2

For my radio drama of My Sister June, I have just completed writing the second scene.  My drama will be in four parts.  The third scene will the breaking point in the story and the last scene will be the climax that will bring the story to an end.  For Scene 2, I am picking up from the cliffhanger of the first scene.

Scene 2 of my radio drama is about my character meeting with the leading investigator of the Aiden Fisher homicide.  The leading investigator is Detective Henry Carter, a veteran in the New Mexico Police Force.  He tells my character, Ralph, that June was engaged to the deceased and is the prime suspect in his murder as well as the girlfriend that was found alongside him. I named the deceased girlfriend Sarah Locklin.  Carter also digs up some other dirt on June Wexford.   He reveals that June is a suspect in a different unsolved case, but she wasn't arrested due to lack of evidence. Learning this information makes my character more suspicious of her.

My first choice as someone to play Detective Carter would be my friend, Jim Morris.  I picked him because he has had experience in radio broadcasting and acted in several independent films.  His latest acting role was the deputy sheriff in The Evil Twins episode "Honor Roll Killers" on the Investigation Discovery Channel. I know Mr. Morris from karaoke nights at the Turf Restaurant in Charles Town, WV.  He has agreed to help men with my project. In case if he is unavailable, I have a backup person ready to read the part.

Starting Over

After listening to my original recording of My Sister June, I decided that I need to redo my first scene again with a new actress to play June. My director has pointed out to me that there were some sounds that were not supposed to be there in the first place.  There was a strange clicking noise at the beginning before the music plays. That could easily be taken out of the recording.  My director also advised me to have the narration done in a different voice style than my character.  I could try talking in a deeper voice for the narrations.  The main reason why I should redo the scene is the music. I used the copyrighted music of Dark Shadows in the original recording.  I heard that using the music would be illegal so I need new music that fits in the suspense genre. My director recommended using Garageband for the music I need for this project.  That program is full of music that is not copyrighted.  The main idea is a remake of my project with new music. 

I have had a difficult time making contact with my original leading lady, Ana Lopez.  She played the part of June when I did project for my Radio Practicum class.  I have talked to another friend of mine, Melissa, to read her part.  She agreed to help me with the recordings.  I cannot keep waiting to hear from Ana and I need to keep production going.  The show must go on with or without my original leading lady.

Developing The Title Character

My production of My Sister June is a repeat of one of my projects from the Radio Production I took at Shepherd University.

The creation of the title character is based on femme fatales of the suspense genre and a scorned woman.  The scorned woman I am basing this character on is Jodi Arias.  Femme fatales are women that lure men to their ruin.  Femme fatales is the definition of fatal woman.  During the 1940s and 1950s, the concept of the femme fatales was popular in suspense films. These women were narcissistic wives that manipulated men into killing their husbands.  Barbera Stanwyck's role of Phyllis Diedrichson in Double Indemnity and Lizabeth Scott's Role of Jane Palmer in Too Late For Tears are two of the most noted femme fatales in film. Both characters had men and women killed for their own selfish purposes.  My character of Ralph Wexford knows that June cannot be trusted.  I am making June so mysterious that people can't help but suspect her of a horrible crime.

There is an old saying that says "hell hath no fury like a woman scorned". Some women would take revenge against the man that wronged them. Jodi Arias is a real life woman who is currently awaiting sentencing in a murder trial.  She was found guilty of the first-degree mouder of her ex-boyfriend, Travis Alexander, in 2008.  Jodi became obsessed with Travis during their time together as a couple. Arias was extremely jealous of anyone that could steal Travis from her.  Jodi never took rejection very well and her past relationships before Travis ended because of infidelity.  When Travis broke up with Jodi, his fate was sealed.  She had stalked Travis for many months before killing him.  She is a good example of a woman scorned, which is the trait I am putting into this character. June Wexford is likely to have killed her fiance for cheating on her with another woman, but I won't reveal the ending.