Enter Jackie Mansky writing for Smithsonian magazine. Per the article, actual secret societies are often centered around good causes (certainly as far as the members are concerned). Not only that, but these days, they’re aren’t not too secret. Indeed, their existence is often in plain sight even if their purposes might seem mysterious.
Yeah, a traditional secret society in Quorum would totally be a front organization designed to throw people off track.
Or is that what the actual secret societies are doing? </dramatic-chord>
Jabberwocky Audio Theater has been one my main creative outlets in the past few years, which has been simultaneously challenging and fortuitous during the pandemic.
It’s challenging, because one of things we like to do is bring everyone together to record at the same time, an old school method that served many a vintage radio show well for decades. Now we needed to account for various different home recording set-ups, where even equally good home studios can have different sound qualities.
However, it was fortuitous because, unlike filmmaking, we could go ahead and make a whole show, which we did. And not only that, it was one of my absolute favorite fairy tales from childhood: Prince Prigio, a send-up of fairy tales that pre-saged works like The Princess Bride and Shrek.
While doing the adaptation and serving as narrator was rewarding in and of itself, I’d be lying if I didn’t appreciate recognition, as I think the whole cast and crew did a bang-up job — and as a judge from previous years of TIVA Peer Awards, it’s a tough process (they will happily not award anyone in a given category if they feel the submissions were not good enough).
Time for a little shameless self-promotion. Most of my writing these days is for Jabberwocky Audio Theater, so when a sci-fi writer was looking to interview other sci-fi writers about their writing, well, that’s what I talked about.
I also muse about Star Trek vs. Star Wars, sci-fi authors I like, and other fun topics.
Last year, JAT did an adaptation of H.G. Wells’ classic War of the Worlds since it was the 80th anniversary of Orson Welles’ 1938 radio broadcast. It was great fun to update a radio adaptation to the present day and set it in and around Washington, DC. Several members of the troupe said they’d like to do something far less serious… which also might be well received by the convention crowd.
This year, we were asked to once again pick a known work (as opposed to something original like Rogue Tyger or Quorum). However, the organizers also said that parody was an option and it’s the 40th anniversary of both the original Alien and the TV show Buck Rogers in the 25th Century…
Ladies and gentlemen –and assorted aliens– get ready for Nostromo 2: Electric Alien Boogaloo (featuring Chuck Codgers).
I have all sorts of tropes that I look forward to sending up as well as numerous references to classic works I want to work in. Of course, the trick is to make jokes that are funny in and of themselves, yet have the references add another layer of humor. I can’t guarantee everyone listening will have watched Stargate, Monty Python, and the classic Day the Earth Stood Still, after all. As veteran comedy writers have taught me, one must take ‘silly’ very seriously.
So, I’m still working on the script and last week someone posted a link to the full runthrough to Space Ace, the sci-fi themed sequel to the interactive animated video game Dragon’s Lair.
Beats having to cough up a whole lotta quarters to try and get through it all, right? (Actually, I’ve only done that with one game, and it’s because some brilliant entrepreneur had put a video game arcade in an airport terminal, so people waiting and waiting and waiting for their flight would have something to do).
Anyway, it’s been a fun, silly inspiration as I continue to work on the script. I know we’ll have room for a slide whistle and I’m hoping the O.G. sci-fi instrument, the theremin can make an audio appearance. More details to come as we get closer to May!
We had a chance to do a live performance of War of the Worlds last year which was well received (and a lot of fun to do as well).
We don’t know the exact date and time of our performance –it’ll be sometime that Memorial Day Weekend– but the whole convention is a lot of fun.
In addition to the live performance, I’ll be joining one of the Museum’s production counsels in going over the legal and practical aspects of making a movie.
If you’re going to be in the Washington, DC area that weekend, please come by National Harbor. We know that tickets are now on sale.
A lot of my efforts these past few months have been working on building the audience for Jabberwocky Audio Theater. Frankly, a great way to do that is with a giveaway.
This time, we’re focusing on Firefly, which more than a few listeners have compared my space opera, Rogue Tyger to. What can I say? Tarnished knight characters make great spaceship captains.
