Posts Tagged Aaron Fiskradatz

Upcoming Radio Shows Announced!

MYSTERIOUS OLD RADIO LISTENING SOCIETY ANNOUNCES UPCOMING SHOWS FOR MONTHLY PARK SQUARE THEATRE RESIDENCY 

Four Zoom squares with actors taking bows. They are in their homes surrounded by sound effects tools and twinkling lights.

Clockwise from upper left: Eric Webster, Tim Uren, Joshua English Scrimshaw, Shanan Custer

Saint Paul, Minn., Dec 3, 2020 – Theatre people of all stripes may miss the buzz of a full house, but the dedicated MYSTERIOUS OLD RADIO LISTENING SOCIETY continues finding new ways to entertain. Coming up, they have five new radio shows, continuing their monthly Monday night residency with Park Square Theatre. Themes will include evenings dedicated to cold weather, H.P. Lovecraft, and to dreamsPerformances are on Zoom on Jan 25, Feb 22, Mar 15, Apr 19 and May 24 at 7:30 p.m. 

The group originally pivoted to the pandemic by producing audio-only radio plays, but after applause for a zoom-recorded recreation of Orson Welles’s A Christmas Carol, all upcoming shows will be videos of the actors performing both their lines and creating the sound effects. “This is us in our homes performing on zoom,” says company member Eric Webster, “we do all the characters and all the foley and then edit it together. One audience member commented on how fun it was “seeing Tim literally change his hats to play different characters.”  

“Creating video, not just audio, gets us closer to the on-stage experience we were creating pre-pandemic,” says company member Joshua English Scrimshaw. “More than just remaking our favorites, we create something fresh from the golden-age shows that we all love so much, like Escape and Suspense.” The upcoming shows will be a combination of recreations of classic works, like a 1949 episode of Quiet Please in which scientists discover a gateway to a strange frozen dimension, and homages written by the company themselves, such as their ongoing series, Dead Men’s Tales. Full descriptions of the upcoming shows are available on the Park Square website. 

Another unforeseen benefit from the groupmove to virtual programming has been the ability to reach a national audience of mystery and radio fans. The December show reached audiences in 16 states including many delighted first-time attendees. “We knew we had some followers out there from our podcast, but it is amazing to have folks tuning in from D.C. to California,” says Webster. While some audience members are deep devotees of radio excited to have the opportunity to watch the show, otherhave shared their appreciation of being able to connect to remote friends and family through watching the shows together.  

Each evening includes live trivia-worthy introductions by the company and two prerecorded half hour radio dramas, followed by a live chat Q & A. “The Q & A’s are the best part,” says Webster. “We could just let the audience go sometimes, they are so smart and funny. We laugh and have a great time together.”  

 Members of The Mysterious Old Radio Listening Society include local theatrical favorites: Eric Webster (Shade’s Brigade), Shanan Custer (2 Sugars, Room for Cream), Joshua English Scrimshaw (Comedy Suitcase) and Tim Uren (Ghoulish Delights). Online technical support and video editing by Aaron Fiskradatz.

TICKET PRICES: 
All Tickets $18. Intended for a single-household.
3-show packages also available for $36.
Tickets are on sale at parksquaretheatre.org 

The ticket office is temporarily closed due to corona virus. 
Please email tickets@parksquaretheatre.org with questions. 

CALENDAR INFORMATION: 
January 25, February 22, March 15, April 19, May 24. 
All performances at 7:30 pm. 
Streaming access to the pre-recorded portions of each show are available to ticket holders for one month following the initial release. 

PHOTOS: download at https://www.parksquaretheatre.org/media/photos/ 

PARK SQUARE THEATRE. 20 W. Seventh Place, Saint Paul. www.parksquaretheatre.org 

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“Plotting” out Theatre

PLOTTING OUT THEATRE DURING THE CORONAVIRUS INTERMISSION
PARK SQUARE ANNOUNCES NEW INTERACTIVE ONLINE MYSTERY

Media Contact – Connie Shaver shaver@parksquaretheatre.org

Saint Paul, Minn., June 23, 2020 – As theatres in Minnesota and around the country face an ongoing “intermission,” Park Square Theatre continues to create projects that keep audiences and artists connected. The latest is RIDDLE PUZZLE PLOT, an online interactive mystery written by acclaimed playwright Jeffrey Hatcher (SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE SUICIDE CLUB; SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE ICE PALACE MURDERS), and directed by Warren C. Bowles (A RAISIN IN THE SUN; MY CHILDREN, MY AFRICA). The theatre would have been producing Hatcher’s play HOLMES AND WATSON on stage this summer, but rather than adapt an existing play that relies on stage tricks for a distanced production, this show is written expressly for the video chat medium. The story begins with an all-too-familiar premise: when a pandemic puts the kibosh on their annual summer scavenger hunt (as well as their acting gigs) a close-knit band of thespians take their game online.  But that is where the familiar ends. When someone winds up dead, the actors – and the audience – have to rush find the killer before the next life gets “disconnected.”  Full of secrets, clues and twisting plotlines the play will be a thrill for mystery lovers and theatre fans alike.

In a nod to classic mystery novels which were often serialized in magazines or newspapers, RIDDLE PUZZLE PLOT will be revealed in four episodes released weekly from July 24 –August 14. Audiences have the choice of streaming the episodes on their own schedule, or zooming in on Friday or Saturday nights for live introductions and post-play discussions (including hints to whodunit) with the cast and playwright, the episodes themselves being pre-recorded. One ticket will invite the ticketholder to all four episodes.

“Taking the summer mystery online in just a few weeks is a fun challenge,” notes Park Square’s executive director Michael-jon Pease. “We couldn’t have better partners than Jeffrey and Warren. Our core audience and new patrons around the country have been so engaged with our online productions – they keep pushing us to serve the mission in every way possible as we all endure the current health crisis.”

In May, Park Square released a Zoom-created production of THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK – acclaimed by the Wall Street Journal – as well as a virtual festival of scenes from plays that will eventually be on stage. A monthly online residency with THE MYSTERIOUS OLD RADIO LISTENING SOCIETY easily transitioned from on stage to online.

The cast for RIDDLE PUZZLE PLOT includes local theatrical favorites: Aimee K. Bryant (A RAISIN IN THE SUN; NINA SIMONE: FOUR WOMEN); Alessandra Bongiardina (ROMEO AND JULIET); Sun Mee Chomet (AUBERGINE); Pearce Bunting* (HOLMES AND WATSON); Shanan Custer (2 Sugars, Room for Cream, SOMETIMES THERE’S WINE); Rodolfo Nieto; and E.J. Subkoviak* (THE RED BOX, MIGHT AS WELL BE DEAD, OF MICE AND MEN).

The production team includes Aaron Fiskradatz (Zoom Technician) and Lizzie Streif* (Stage Manager) *member, actors’ equity association

MORE ABOUT JEFFREY HATCHER:
Jeffrey Hatcher is a local playwright and screenwriter, beloved for home-grown work like the musical GLENSHEEN, with music by Chan Pohling. He wrote the stage play Compleat Female Stage Beauty, which he later adapted into a screenplay. He also co-wrote the stage adaptation of Tuesdays with Morrie with author Mitch Albom, and Three Viewings, a comedy consisting of three monologues – each of which takes place in a funeral home. He wrote the screenplay Casanova for director Lasse Hallström, as well as screenplays for The Duchess (2008); MR HOLMES (2015); and THE GOOD LIAR (2019). 

TICKET PRICES: All tickets $30.

Tickets are on sale at the www.parksquaretheatre.org.  
The ticket office is temporarily closed due to coronavirus. Please email tickets@parkquaretheatre.org with questions.

CALENDAR INFORMATION

Performances:

Friday Night Series: July 24, 31, Aug 7, 14 at 7:30 pm

Saturday Night Series: July 25, Aug 1, 8, 15 at 7:30 pm

Or streaming online through August 16.

Tickets: $30

Ticket office:  www.parksquaretheatre.org

PHOTOS available at https://www.parksquaretheatre.org/media/photos/

PARK SQUARE THEATRE. 20 W. Seventh Place, Saint Paul. Ticket Office: 651.291.7005. www.parksquaretheatre.org

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Tickets

The box office is currently closed. Please email tickets@parksquaretheatre.org with any questions.

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