CHS to present ‘A Christmas Carol’ on Radio Free Palmer

PALMER — Colony High School’s drama program will present Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” as a live radio play on KVRF 89.5 Radio Free Palmer at 7 p.m., Dec. 6 and 7. The radio play will be performed on stage at the Colony High theatre for an audience in the theater and on the radio both nights.

“A Christmas Carol” marks Colony drama’s third radio play in as many years.

“Thanks to Radio Free Palmer, we have a viable venue to make radio plays a regular part of our season now,” said Brian Mead, the troupe director.

This year’s play features a cast of 17 actors, five sound effect artists and a technical crew, including a stage manager who acts like a conductor to keep all the parts in cue.

While it is a radio play, watching the performance can be just as fun. Mead has staged all of his radio plays in the same manner.

“My actors play the parts of 1940s-era actors as though they were coming to work at a radio studio and play the parts of Scrooge, Cratchit, Tiny Tim, the ghosts, and the rest of the Christmas Carol ensemble,” he said.

While music is prerecorded, most of the sound effects will be performed live by five sound-effects artists. Each one has a set of sounds they make using various sundries that may not look the part, but when listened to tell a convincing story. A box of cornstarch, for example, squished around in the hands makes a sound like walking in the snow. An actual door in a theater flat can be opened and shut with doorknob sounds and squeaks.

Radio Free Palmer will air it live on 89.5 FM and stream it over the Internet at radiofreepalmer.org. Additionally, Mead’s digital media class will experiment with live streaming of video using its portable TV studio switcher, four high definition cameras and a crew of eight more students. Pending successful tests, a link will be published on the Colony High website at matsuk12.us/chs.

Mead, at the helm of both the drama and media programs, has taken advantage of the opportunity to meld the two together whenever he can. His media class also produces the weekly hour-long radio program “Teen Talk” for Radio Free Palmer, airing Friday nights at 9. “Teen Talk” offers a voice of the teen generation on current issues, entertainment and sports in a round table format.

Tickets to see “A Christmas Carol” in person are $7 for students and $10 for general admission. Mead says the costs are relatively low to produce his radio plays, but they need to try to at least break even.

“We’ve got a lot of money we invested in microphones and audio equipment,” he said. “There is a small royalty fee and a few other expenses, like posters and sound effect props. I’m happy if we just break even. Of course, it is always free to listen on the radio.”

Tickets are available online at seatyourself.biz/colony or at the door.