Atlanta Radio Theatre Company


The Atlanta Radio Theatre Company. is a 501 non-profit organization dedicated to preserving, promoting, performing, and educating people about the art of audio theatre.

Activities

ARTC performs live audio drama at a wide variety of events, often with a very specific focus on Science Fiction, Horror or Fantasy. They have been performing roughly 24 years, and have performed at such notable venues as DragonCon, Mythic Journeys, Stone Mountain, and the World Fantasy Convention.
Some of their more noteworthy adaptations include several works by H. P. Lovecraft including The Call of Cthulhu, The Dunwich Horror, and At the Mountains of Madness. They have also performed adaptations of works by H. G. Wells including The Invisible Man, The Island of Dr. Moreau, and The Time Machine. However, several authors who do not have work in the public domain have also given permission either personally or through their estate, including Robert A. Heinlein for adaptations of All You Zombies, The Man Who Traveled in Elephants and The Menace From Earth; Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman for an adaptation of Lord Durndrun's Party; Henry Lee Forest's Special Order and James P. Hogan's Zap Thy Neighbor.
Over the years, various members of ARTC have participated in or taught classes for various workshops, including the MidWest Radio Theatre Workshop and its successor organization National Audio Theatre Festival, The Himan Brown Workshop at the University of Georgia, and in Macon and Cartersville, Georgia. Their writers continue to teach radio drama writing at science fiction conventions around the country.

History

A brief overview of the history of the Atlanta Radio Theatre Company.

Founding (1984-1992)

ARTC was founded in 1984 by radio personality William L. Brown and actor/director Patrick Stansbury. They procured underwriting from a local bank to sponsor a weekly, one-hour program on WGST-AM. The first shows were produced in Brown's home studio. Atlanta playwright Thomas E. Fuller was enlisted as principal writer, and numerous actors from the local theatrical community were cast in the productions. Soon Henry Howard, owner of Audio Craft, made his facility available to ARTC and came on board as a producer. ARTC produced a full 13-week schedule for WGST in summer of 1984. That fall ARTC moved to WABE-FM, the local Public Radio station, and ran a full season of thirteen shows. Then the next year they produced the SouthernAire Workshop for Peach State Public Radio (now Georgia Public Broadcasting. Most of the shows were performed "live" or "live-on-tape" in-studio.
In the summer of 1987 ARTC began performing live at science fiction conventions. Their first live performance was at the first DragonCon. The play was H. P. Lovecraft's "The Call of Cthulhu" as adapted by Gerald W. Page.
Also in 1987 ARTC introduced the Centauri Express Audio Magazine—the first audio magazine. It ran for five issues and contained plays, reviews of other audio products, and news of interest to the SF audience. Centauri Express was funded with a grant from the 1986 World Science Fiction Convention, ConFederation, held in Atlanta.

Explosion (1992-2002)

Under Fuller's leadership, ARTC established a troupe of professional and semi-professional actors, writers, directors, and technicians, to create live and in-studio productions of audio drama.
In 1993 and 1994, they began performing monthly at a coffee house in the Little Five Points district in Atlanta. This theater experience allowed for the development of new writers, gave the actors more radio experience, and allowed for experimentation with new formats and styles. These coffee house shows created many new stand-alone plays as well as radio series in the style of the programs from the golden age of radio.
After the coffee house closed, the live performance troupe continued to find venues for live audio theatre. They performed at a few live music venues, the Decatur Arts Festival, Callanwolde, and several libraries and bookstores. They also expanded the number of science fiction conventions at which they performed.
Even during this period ARTC continued to create in-studio audio drama on cassette tape and eventually CDs. Their 1996 production of H.G. Wells' The Island of Doctor Moreau won a silver Mark Time award for excellence in science fiction audio drama. It was the first of several awards from the Mark-Time award committee to the Atlanta Radio Theatre Company.
In 1995, ARTC's first web page was posted.
For several years during this period ARTC performed live every Halloween night on Peach State Public Radio - performing and broadcasting from one of the Georgia Public Television studios.
Starting in 1996 with permission from Mrs. Virginia Heinlein to adapt her husband's The Menace from Earth into an audio play, the company has continued to negotiate with contemporary writers for permission to create adaptations of their work. Among the writers whose work has been adapted by ARTC are:
Robert A. Heinlein,
James P. Hogan,
Brad Linaweaver,
Gerald W. Page,
John Ringo,
Brad Strickland, and
Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman.

Post-Fuller (2002-present)

In November 2002 Fuller died from a heart attack. The Atlanta Radio Theatre Company had lost its leader, its head writer, and its voice. ARTC attracted new writers, new actors, and new leaders. It continued to expand the number of places where it performed and new productions.
ARTC continued to perform at many science fiction conventions. Additionally it began searching for a permanent stage home for regular performances. From 2002 through 2003 it mounted several productions at Stone Mountain Park. Then in 2006 it began a full theatrical season at Stage Door Players in Dunwoody, Georgia. In 2009 it moved its theatrical home to the Academy Theatre in Avondale Estates, Georgia.
In August 2006, ARTC began to podcast programming gathered from previous live performances. The podcasts include new material, old fan favorites, and rare performances.

Studio Recordings

The Dean's List

Stories by Robert A. Heinlein. Adapted with permission of Mrs. Virginia Heinlein.
Classic 19th century literature brought to life.
Original horror and dark fantasy
Stories by H. P. Lovecraft.
The first audio magazine.
Christmas stories and other seasonal celebrations.
Romance.

Conventions

Writers

A list of writers whose work has been adapted for audio by ARTC.
Celebrities who have acted on stage or in the studio with ARTC.
Awards are given by the American Society For Science Fiction Audio for the best science fiction, fantasy, and horror audio dramas of the year. There are two awards: the Mark Time Awards for the best science fiction and the Ogle Awards for the best fantasy/horror.