Pelican Players to present its monthly Readers Theater on Sun Radio this summer
By LOIS KINDLE
Back in the day, before television, the family would gather around a radio to listen to live performances of classics like War of the Worlds and The Shadow. These shows would keep both parents and children engaged and entertained, as they listened to actors standing around two microphones reading a script. Nearby was a tableful of all kinds of Foley sound effects.
The Pelican Players, a community theater group based in Kings Point, carries on a similar tradition through its free, monthly Readers Theater.
“We try to use as many sound effects from the original radio broadcast as possible and supplement them with others from our vast library,” said Ken Winter, who co-directs Reader’s Theater with Rick Swenson. “This adds realism by recreating moments for our listeners who heard original broadcasts on the radio when they were young.
“When we did War of the Worlds in 2015, for example, 13 of 19 sound effects came from the original radio show,” he said.
Before COVID-19, from May through October, the public was invited to attend Readers Theater shows at Veterans Theater to hear members of the Pelican Players read short plays, many of which were actual radio scripts and others original works submitted by the public. Since meeting like this isn’t practical or even possible now, the Players have arranged to have their readings broadcast on a trial basis this summer on Sun Radio 96.3 FM.
Arsenic and Old Lace, a 1939 dark comedy written by American playwright Joseph Kesselring, will be its first offering of the summer. The play about a seemingly normal family with a twisted secret life opened on Broadway in January 1941.
Presently being recorded, the roughly one-hour show will be aired on Sun Radio’s Old Time Radio Classics show at 7 p.m. Friday sometime in late June or early July. The station will announce the date, once it’s set, said programming manager Vern Hendricks.
In addition to providing quality entertainment for the public, Readers Theater is a “testing ground” for folks aspiring to act on stage.
“The whole idea is to give an opportunity to people interested in the Pelican Players to put their toes in the water, sit with a script in front of them and take on the persona of a character,” said longtime member Mary Winter, the group’s immediate past president.
“Some folks think they want to try acting but are afraid to get on stage, where they have to memorize lines (and make a greater commitment of time),” Swenson added. “In Readers Theater, they’re acting with their voices at a microphone, either seated or standing.”
It’s a process that works.
Kings Point resident Barbara Boyle got her acting chops this way.
She began as a reader in 2016, after she went to watch a Readers Theater show and stayed afterward for an informational talk by Winter.
“He asked me to read for Maltese Falcon, and I did five others before playing the role of Myrtle May Simmons on stage in Harvey in 2017.
Since then, she’s acted in seven main-stage presentations and done a stint as assistant director for another.
“Acting has always been a dream of mine, and now I’m living my dream,” she said. “And it all started with Reader’s Theater.”
For more information on Reader’s Theater or the Pelican Players, visit www.pelicanplayersscc.org.