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Moyamensing was one of several scripts Marty sent to our Department several years ago. We did some development work with Marty on Moyamensing including a rehearsed reading of the play. We then offered it as a proposal to one of the networks we produce work for but it didn't get commissioned. The Commissioning Editor didn't feel it was the right material for the particular slot. We encouraged Marty to work on other ideas and eventually he got a commission for another play. Over the past few years Marty has built up a strong track record and a lot of experience writing plays and series for radio. This year Radio Scotland asked if we could come up with ideas for a special drama for Halloween. Jeff Zycinski, Head of Radio, wondered if we had anything that we could record in front of an audience. I remembered Moyamensing from years back suggested it to Jeff and he liked the idea. Coincidentally Marty had also re-visited Moyamensing and was planning a solo performance of it at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Naturally he was surprised and delighted when I said we would like to produce a fully dramatised version.

A play about someone experiencing nightmares and hallucinations naturally can involve a series of chaotic and often unexplained events. While we want the audience to experience that world, the writer has to ensure that there is a coherent narrative that the listener can follow. Returning to his early version of the script, now with a great deal more radio writing experience, Marty was able to do a new draft of the script was stronger both technically and creatively.

The challenge was set by Jeff Zycinski to create an event and this play seemed like the kind of material that could work well with an audience. Back in the midst of time nearly all radio drama and television drama was broadcast live. In recent years both in television and radio there have been some live dramas usually produced to mark a special event or anniversary. When I worked for ´óÏó´«Ã½ Wales I produced a drama that was broadcast live during an eclipse! This was a great opportunity to have a go with a rather complicated production!

Normally in studio we would rehearse and record a radio play in sections, mainly recording and re-recording scene by scene. For an hour long play we would have two days in studio followed by two days editing. In this case we had a day and a half to rehearse with the actors. For part of this time the two sound engineers were preparing the recording rig and sourcing and editing the sound effects and acoustic backgrounds.

We had a few hours rehearsal at the venue – The Centre for Contemporary Arts in Glasgow and then at seven o’clock in the evening we began recording in front of the audience. For the actors it was very much like performing a theatre show – going right through the play from start to finish. The difference was that as well as working for the audience the actors also had to direct their performance to the various microphones we were using to record the play. This meant not only remembering which microphone they had to be at for a particular scene or line, they also had to remember all the physical movement needed to create the geography and sound of the drama.

While some effects were added in editing afterwards for technical reasons the two sound engineers had to use precision timing to play in effects and backgrounds live and of course balance and monitor the recording.

Yes, lots of fun. The play takes place in a bar, a dockside, a train, and in several locations in a nineteenth century American prison. It also takes place in the imagination of the central character – Edgar Allan Poe. So there is a great deal of creativity in devising the backgrounds and the sound effects. For the actors this is for the most part heightened drama giving them the opportunity to create big and eccentric characters. As director and producer I am somewhere between being a ringmaster and orchestral conductor as I work with our ensemble of highly talented actors!

On the night, the adrenalin was pumping, the fear was in the story and in our hearts as we hoped we’d get through the performance without it all going badly wrong! In the event the hard work preparing and rehearsing paid off and it all went rather smoothly. We enjoyed it and the audience at the CCA had a good time. I hope the radio listeners also enjoy this rather unique production.