Audio drama means any kind of drama created for a listener, rather than a spectator. This module will explore how playwrights, actors and technicians make audio drama - examining the medium from its origins in early radio drama to new possibilities offered by the digital age. We will explore everything from radio plays broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and 4, to headphone theatre to podcast platforms. We will listen to a wide range of audio drama and discuss the possibilities that it offers - from the artistic to the practical.
Students will be introduced to the basics of writing audio drama and short stories. Topics will include how the dramatist creates location, characterization, atmosphere and special effects, dialogue and plotting purely through sound. We will cover how to format an audio script, and we will conduct some sessions in the recording studio, working with microphones and learning how actors and technicians bring a script fully to life.
Our practical exploration of recording techniques will include how to act for a microphone; basic editing skills; and different recording methods such as binaural recording using the binaural 'head' microphone (a technique used in radio but also used by theatre-makers such as Punchdrunk and Complicite when making headphone theatre.)
Much of what we discuss will focus on techniques of writing drama that can be applied to other media such as theatre, television or film. However, throughout the module we will be thinking about the particular possibilities and the constraints of audio: how does the listener know where they are? How many characters can we have in one scene without confusing the audience? How do sound effects work and when should the writer organise and select them?
We will also explore the possibilities offered by what Angela Carter calls 'The Amazing Picture Palace': the freedom to travel to exotic or impossible locations; the opportunities for the poetic or interior; the creation of intimacy. We will look at key figures in the history of radio drama who have expanded its potential, from Dylan Thomas to Samuel Beckett to Angela Carter and contemporary writers , whilst also looking closely at the state of audio drama and story-telling today - thinking about opportunities for new writers and looking at the practicalities of how to explain and pitch ideas. Teaching is by weekly sessions that will involve listening to and reading radio plays, tutor talks, discussion, individual writing exercises and group work.