Greetings, all.

First I'd like to thank you all for your patience as we continue the process of bringing the ARTC podcast back.

Second I'd like to ask you to be patient a little longer.

The archival process is complete...sort of.  We've captured all the recordings from the original DAT files that we have on hand.  There are a number of shows missing, but I'm not going to let that stand in the way of the podcast returning.  Those shows can be found and dealt with as a separate project.

What we're doing now is a two-step process.
1) We're taking the raw DAT files and editing them.  What typically happens with our live shows is that someone starts the recorder early so we don't forget and then it runs through the mic check and sometimes longer.  We're cutting all that out.  We're also removing intermissions and other dead air.  And we're trying to fix other technical glitches when possible.
2) We're filling in the blanks on all the administrative information to do with these shows.  Dates performed, times, cast and crew, scripts performed, authors, musicians, Foley artists, etc.  Luckily most of this is included with the recorded credits.

Once we have both of those things then we'll be able to bring the podcast back in full force.  Why didn't we do all that before we started?  Good question...I think the answer is that we were too eager to get started and thought we could do both at the same time.

Thanks again everybody...we promise we haven't forgotten about you.

In the meantime, keep checking the website and don't forget about Audible.com.  Great ways to make sure that the audio drama you love keeps coming.

There is Adventure in Sound!

Hey, folks, we're now entering the third month of the hiatus and I have no idea if anybody is still reading this, but I thought I'd give you an update on how things are going.

The archival process is proceeding as quickly as possible.  This process involves taking DAT recordings and transferring them to the computer hard drive, which must be done in real time, and then those recordings can be evaluated and cleaned up a little.  We are also making careful notes about which scripts were performed, who wrote them, whose voices were featured, and who the tech crew was.  I just finished the recordings from 1993 and have started on 1994.  Which should give you some idea of the scale of this project.

We're also experimenting with a few mailing list programs so we can move the list off of YahooGroups and onto our own server.  If anybody has any suggestions for something that might be good, send them to podcast@artc.org.

We've also begun posting pictures of our live performances to our website.  This is still in beta phase, but you can check them out if you like at www.artc.org/gallery2.

We appreciate everyone's patience while we sort this out.

There is Adventure in Sound!

Hey, everybody, just a quick note about the podcast.

First of all, it's NOT dead.  It's merely resting.  We're streamlining our archiving process, making a few tough decisions, and listening to your feedback. 

When will it be back?  That's tough to say.  ARTC is an all-volunteer organization, and so when paying work calls we must all answer and that pushes back timelines like woah.  Ballpark estimate is within six months.  Sooner if we can manage it, later if we can't.  Don't delete your bookmarks or your RSS feed, keep checking back.

You can also keep current on all things ARTC by subscribing to our public email list.  You can do that at www.artc.org.  Currently it's powered by Yahoo Groups, although we're working on having that hosted on our own site, too.  Feel free to go ahead and subscribe to the email list, though, and we'll let you know when the new system is ready.  It's low-volume, but packed with cool stuff about audio drama.

I also want to thank those of you who wrote in with your feedback regarding the reasons why we went on hiatus in the first place.  Those comments are at the forefront of why I'm stepping up the schedule to come back and they're also influencing our production schedule for new studio releases as well as our podcast programming.  If anybody else wishes to sound off you can leave your comment here or you can write to us at podcast@artc.org.

So fear not.  Things change, we grow, audio drama isn't going anywhere, and it'll be back before you know it.

There is Adventure in Sound!

Folks, just a very quick word to let you know where we've been lately.

The ARTC podcast is on an indefinite hiatus.  The reasons for this are as follows:

1) The time.  The ARTC podcast has been taking time away from other projects.  After much deliberation, it has been decided to give that time back to those projects for the time being.
2) The cost.  The ARTC podcast had two purposes when we envisioned it.  The first was to expose a wider audience to audio drama, letting people know that it was still going on and letting people who had never heard of it know it existed in the first place.  The second reason was to try to encourage sales of our studio recordings on CD or by download at Audible.com.  A recent survey of our sales records has indicated that this second purpose is not being met.  As much as we'd love to be able to give away our stuff for free all the time, it's just not possible right now.
3) The audience.  You folks are great, but...well, I hate to say it, but there's not enough of you.  If our weekly hits were triple what they are now I'd probably keep it going despite the time and expense, but they aren't.

Now the good news.
1) We do have plans to come back.  Expect artcpodcast.org to disappear in the coming months and expect podcast.artc.org to redirect to our main website.  This blog page will go away to be replaced by something completely different.
2) We are selecting a variety of our best recordings to allow folks to continue to find them on artc.org.  Look for that soon.
3) We do have plans for new podcast content.  We want to include the live performances, which we are very proud of since we're one of the only radio theatre groups in America who perform live at all, but we also want to have some podcast-only material.  We have some serialized adventures we'd love to bring you and we also have another idea that I'm going to keep under wraps so someone else doesn't steal it...but it's really cool if I do say so myself.  ;)

You can write to us at podcast AT artc DOT org if you have any comments about the hiatus, our previous work, or audio drama in general.

So anyway, thanks everybody for listening for this last year-plus.  Remember, ARTC isn't going away.  You can still buy our CDs at www.artc.org or download our material from Audible.com.  You can also come see us live...our next show will be at the Stage Door Players in Dunwoody and we'll be bringing you The Man Who Traveled in Elephants by Robert A. Heinlein.  That's going to be on Saturday, April 26 at 8:00pm and we'll have our special musical guest Juliana Finch!

There is Adventure in Sound!

Duration: 32 Minutes Size: 14.9 M

Hey, folks, another rerun this week, but fear not...plans are afoot to bring you new material in a more timely fashion.  Plus, possible new podcast-only material!  Stay tuned!

To Dine with the Devil

by Ivan Turgenev
Adapted for Audio by Joyce Leigh
Performed Live at Sci Fi Summer 2003 in Atlanta, Georgia

The old Russian proverb states:
"Those who dine with the devil may end up on the menu."

If you like H.P. Lovecraft, you'll love this....Not for the squeamish.

If you enjoy New Old-Time Radio and audio horror, then pick up one of our adaptations at www.artc.org! Also, remember that you can email podcast@artc.org with your comments, or you can include them here.  We'd love to hear from you with questions, comments, concerns, or even complaints.

Remember, ARTC is supported by people like you through the sale of our studio productions.  Don't just take the podcast for free, the studio quality is much higher!  www.artc.org for a physical CD or by download at Audible.com!

Credits:

Voice Talent (in alphabetical order): David Benedict, Phil Carter, Doug Kaye, Clair Kiernan, Daniel Kiernan, Joyce Leigh, Trudy Leonard
Original Music by Alton Leonard and Brad Weage
Directed by Doug Kaye
Sound Engineering by David Carter and William Alan Ritch assisted by Ray Spitz
Sound Effects by Henry Howard
Live Foley by Lili and Sonya and assisted by Anthony Fuller


There is Adventure in Sound!

Size: 6.7M Duration: 14:20

Welcome everyone to the last Christmas podcast of the year.  We conclude the season with another very recent show, Sunday, December 23 to be exact.  And we are proud to bring you a segment of An Atlanta Christmas that has never been presented before.  "Civil War Triptych", written by Thomas E. Fuller, follows the Christmas stories of three characters, each with an entirely different situation and take on the season.

Again, technical reasons prevented me from including the performer's names in the audio, but they are Clair W. Kiernan, Veronica Byrd, and Jeff Montgomery.  Assisting with the song at the end are Dawn Marie and Sarah Taylor.  Special thanks to our performance coach, Doug Kaye.

We hope you've enjoyed our annual presentation of An Atlanta Christmas.  We look forward to doing it again next year.

You can help make next year possible with your purchase of one of our CDs through www.artc.org or by download at Audible.com!

Let us know what you think at podcast@artc.org.

And, as we close the show, allow us to wish you Merry Christmas to all, and to y'all a good night.

There is Adventure in Sound!

Hey, just to let everyone know, I've been forced to go to 'moderated comments' which means that if anyone posts a comment I have to approve it before it will be made visible to the public.  Not a lot of folks are using the comments feature so far, but I hope they'll start.

You can blame your friendly neighborhood comment spammer for this change.  Sixteen messages all at once tipped the balance.

Size: 15M, Duration: 32:31

Hey, folks, sorry for the multiple repeats this year, but this holiday season is busy busy busy!!  Live shows, paying work, shopping, parties...it all adds up.  But fear not, new material is coming!

Our annual gift to our listeners continues with more excerpts from An Atlanta Christmas.  This week we bring you three short pieces and another lovely song.  We hope you enjoy it.

The Santa Claus Blues, by Thomas E. Fuller
Rory Rammer, Space Marshal: A Visit From St. Rex, by Ron N. Butler
The Tree Comes to Atlanta, by Thomas E. Fuller
O Holy Night, performed by the ARTC Chorus

You can see us perform live at Stage Door Players in Dunwoody on Saturday, December 22, 2007 at 8:00pm or Sunday, December 23 at 2:30pm.  Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at the door or by calling (770)396-1726.

Also, ARTC CDs make great gifts, so be sure to go to www.artc.org and check our catalog for those last minute stocking stuffers.  You can get directions to the show there, too!

There is Adventure in Sound!

Size: 4M Duration: 8:52

Hey, folks, technical difficulties are forcing me to post this week's installment without intro or outro crediting information.  Hopefully this is just temporary, but we'll see.

This week's episode is from an extremely recent show.  Like this past weekend.  Yes, from December 8, 2007 at 4pm to be exact, we present "Cut-Out Christmas" by Thomas E. Fuller, adapted for audio by Daniel Taylor and featuring the voices of Veronica Byrd and Burt Tanner.  Foley effects created by Sonya with Caran Wilbanks.  Music by Brad Weage.

Our next performance is our return to the Stage Door Players in Dunwoody on Saturday, December 22 at 8:00pm and Sunday, December 23 at 2:30pm.  Mark your calendars for our yearly celebration of our Family Christmas!

Like the podcast?  Sound off!  Make sure it continues by doing one or more of the following!

Buy our CDs! www.artc.org  Download at Audible.com! 

Tell someone about us!

Write to us!  We're lonely!  podcast@artc.org.  (seriously, I'd like to get some actual feedback in addition to the spam...)

But no matter what, always remember...

There is Adventure in Sound!

Time: 22:29 Size: 10.5M

Welcome, welcome one and all to our family Christmas! To every family Christmas that ever was or ever will be! Behold the traditional Christmas tree weighted down with ornaments and decorations! Every five year old's Christmas morning writ large and come true!

Welcome also to another repeat in our podcasting series.  Some things are worth hearing again and this is a busy time of the year.

For one day a year, the Theater of the Mind gives way to a warm hearth and a bowl of gingerbread -- and when from the roof there arises a clatter, it's neither a faceless monster nor a Martian.

It's Christmas.

Christmas is memories.  For the next 4 podcasts, ARTC will be bringing you some of our favorite memories from our holiday programming, drawing heavily from Thomas E. Fuller's An Atlanta Christmas, but with a few other surprises along the way.

This week we bring you The Ultimate Christmas Pageant and O Tannenbaum by Thomas E. Fuller, and Some Assembly Required, by Daniel Taylor.

These were recorded live in 2003 at Stone Mountain Park's Fruitcake Festival.  Featured in the cast were the voices of Joyce Leigh, Daniel Taylor, Ron N. Butler, Neil Butler, Colin Butler, Daniel Kiernan, Clair Kiernan, Tamara Morton, Justin Ameri, Katie Brass, Megan Jackson, Juliana Finch, Sarah Taylor, Josh Adams, Jack Mayfield, and Caran Wilbanks. 

Foley sound effects were created by Lili, Deanna Ameri, and Sheila Ameri.  Music performed by Brad Weage.  Sound engineering by David Carter, Ray Spitz, and Elayna Little.  The show was produced and directed by William Alan Ritch.

Please join us for this year's production of An Atlanta Christmas at the Stage Door Players in Dunwoody.  As mentioned in the audio, we'll be there on December 23 at 2:30pm, but we'll also be there on December 22 at 8:00pm!

More information can be found at www.artc.org, and don't forget that our CDs of New Old-Time Radio make great gifts.

There is Adventure in Sound!