Culture Event #1

My first culture event was a junior recital performance at the Frank Center on campus.  A mezzo-soprano singer named Hannah Wardell was the featured act during the show. Junior Recitals are required for students that are pursuing a degree in Performance or Piano Pedagogy.  The event was held on February 11th at 1:00pm

Hannah performed seven songs for the entire music department.Those songs were La Regata Veneziana, Che faro senza Euridice, Va! Laisse couler mes larmes, Apres un reve, Verborgenheit, Ich atmet' einen linden Duft, and by Strauss.  I enjoyed her performance of Euridice the most because that was the one piece that I was most familiar with.  The music is a Greek Mythology story about a man named Orpheus who goes to the underworld to reclaim his Euridice.  I enjoyed hearing her sing that song.  She did a great job with her performances on each of her songs.

The event did not allow flash photography because teachers were recording the event.  I was able to get some pictures without the flash, but the screen on my camera cracked.  That caused my camera to break. All the pictures I had taken at the event including one of me there is all gone due to my camera breaking.   I only have a signed program to show that I was at the event.

Poster Board Ideas

In order to get ready for the poster board project, I made a power point presentation of all the work that I put into my radio drama. I took some time last Friday to look over some of last year's posters to get an idea of how to approach this part of the project.  The PowerPoint consists of 6 sections that will go on the poster board.

The first section is the story itself.  I will tell the audience what the story is all about without giving away any of the major details.  The next section will be a short biography of myself, The third section will be my cast of actors.  I will give short descriptions of the characters in my story and have pictures of the cast next to them.  The fourth section will be influences.  I will list the sources I used to make my radio drama.  The fifth section will talk about the production.  This is where I will talk about what programs and steps I used to make the project.  The last section will talk about why I chose to do the project.  I am planning on a career in broadcasting and I enjoy watching old movies.  Those are two of the reasons why I chose to do this project and they will be listed in that section.

Comments on Presentation and Changes

For my presentation, I played the second scene of my radio drama for the Comm Department.  I received some good comments on my story, but I also received some ideas of what I can do to make my story better.  My director, Kevin Williams, suggested that I should try adding some room sounds or music as a way to give the listeners an idea of where the meeting of each character takes place.  I already have the transition music for the moments that get interesting.  I was also told to try adding more silence in between certain lines.  The Comm department took notice that there was always something to say after each line.  Examples would be Carter asking Ralph if he could come in or when Carter tells him about his suspicions of June.

Between room noise and background music, I would pick background music.  However, finding the right music would  be difficult.  From the websites I went to for free sounds and music, I did not like any of the music they offered.  The strange transitions from Free Sounds was the only suspenseful music I liked enough to put into my project..  The pauses for certain lines might work for some parts of my story, but I still unsure if I will go with that idea. I know that I am going with the music and I'm hoping things will all come together.

Scene 4 and Final Touches

After a lot of thought, I was able to write the last scene of My Sister June. In Scene 4, my character goes to June's apartment building to confront her about the murders. Her ex boyfriend, Richard Marx, tells Ralph that she made a full confession to him. When Ralph goes to see her,  the landlord tells him she moved away to parts unknown. The landlord is played by my friend, Wayne Snow. He gives Ralph a letter from June confessing everything and also warning him not to pursue the case any further or else. Without a second thought, Ralph decides to give the letter to the police.  On the way to his car, Richard confronts him with a gun. He declared that he will protect June even if it means losing his life. The story will end with a gunshot showing either Ralph's death or Richard's.

I have all the parts recorded on a flash drive. I also have the sound effects too.  All I need to do at this point is too put them all together.  I am also going to put the best lines together as a trailer for my presentation with the communications department. Movies use trailers for getting the attention from the audience. I plan to use the same technique with my radio drama. It will be on YouTube. I am very nervous about presentations and I hope that everything will go smoothly.

A Different Scene 3

For my radio drama of My Sister June, I decided to redo my third scene.  My character still goes to one of June's friends for answers regarding the murders, and I decided to create a new male character instead of using another female part.  He will be played by my friend, Angus Russell

My new character is named Richard Marx.  He is the ex-boyfriend of June Wexford.  Even though they are no longer dating, they are still close.  Ralph tells him about the recent murders and that June is the prime suspect.  He goes to Richard because June confides in him about everything.  Richard does have some critical information regarding June and what he tells Ralph can break the case.  After Ralph leaves him, Richard calls June to tell her that he is on to her and that he will be taken care  of.

Richard Marx is an example of a chump. Most femme fatales in suspense stories have at least one man in their lives that can rely on for help.  That man is infatuated with her and she can manipulate him into doing anything.  This becomes a wicked attraction.  The man wants love from the woman and the woman wants a man she can control.  The man loses his sense of right and wrong due to the spell of the woman.  I am creating that mood between Richard and June.  Richard carries a torch for June and will do anything to help the woman he loves.  The next scene will show how far he will go to protect June.

Recording Plan

I have just begun the recording process of my radio drama. So far, I had my friends Angus Russell and Jim Morris read their parts by themselves. I used audacity to record their voices with some space in between. Angus was kind enough to let me borrow a microphone from him, which helps pick up the voices of the cast. The space between lines is for my part that I record later on. I will also put the necessary sound effects to make the story sound real to the audience. Radio dramas heavily rely on sound effects to give the audience a visual picture of the story in their minds.  I believe that progress is coming along nicely.