Today, August 20th, is National Radio Day, a day to celebrate radio, and recognize the importance of our medium. At one time, not too long ago, radio was the nation’s primary channel for news and entertainment. With the advent of newer media, namely TV and the internet, the Golden Age of Radio has come and gone.
However, we might very well be living through the Golden Age of live radio theater here in Portland. That’s thanks to troupes like Tesla City Stories, who, after a brief hiatus, are returning to the stage next month. At a Tesla City Stories show, you’ll experience an evening of live radio theater, with scripts from the archives of the little-known Tesla Broadcasting Company, a radio network that operated between 1943 and 1945. These scripts include a variety of shows from the Golden Age – sitcoms, mysteries, thrillers, westerns, and science fiction. And they’re performed live on stage, just as they were back in the old days, complete with music and sound effects.
Tesla City Stories’ new season premieres Friday, September 7th at 8pm at the Old Church Concert Hall in downtown Portland. Here to give us an inside look is the group’s co-founder and producer, Jerry Chrisman, and Tesla City’s newest resident, Sam Mowry.
- KBOO