Use your back button to return to previous page.

A Radio Drama Project
(Time: 3 to 6 weeks)

This unit is appropriate for any class dealing with subject matter—literature, history, government, science, etc. The project may be done at any time during the year, but is probably most effective if done in the second half of the course, so students will have plenty of material from which to select their event.

Goal:
To write and perform a 3 to 5 minute scene, dramatizing an event that has been studied in the class.

Listen to some recorded radio dramas to familiarize students with radio drama. Before listening, be sure to inform the students that they will, at some time during the year, be expected to write and produce a radio play of their own. The actual listening can be accomplished over several weeks of playing an occasional radio play and discussing its elements, or playing 2 or 3 plays immediately before starting the unit. Providing a script and having the students read along with the recording and then discussing script format helps.

Step Two: [Time: one-half period]

Form groups. The ideal group size for writing the script is two or three students. The writing portion of this activity is the most beneficial part of the project. The larger the group, the less the participation of individual members. Groups of more than four are not recommended. Small groups will usually require intergroup work when it comes to production, but inter-group cooperation can be a very positive activity. Have each group turn in a paper listing its members and identifying the head-writer.

Step Three: [Time: one-half period]

Plan the script. Provide students with a list of important events that have been studied in the class. Have each group select an event to dramatize. At this point the teacher must decide whether to allow different groups to select the same event. Have groups write a brief summary of their event (beginning/middle/end) and list the characters in their scene.

Step Four: [Time: one, two, or three periods]

Discuss sound effects use. Playing an example of a radio play with good sound effects is a good way to begin this step. Having some students create a simple sound effect as an extra-credit activity may also be helpful. Important points about sound effects that should be covered are: (1) Use sound effects sparingly. (2) Sound effects should support the story and suggest action, but too many sound effects may make the scene difficult to produce and detract from the story. (3) Sound effects that must be timed precisely with the dialog should be done manually—a knock on the door, for instance. (4) Certain manual sound effects are more difficult to perform and should be avoided unless appropriate equipment is available [Example: For footsteps to be effective, an appropriate medium—gravel, wood sounding board, etc.—along with proper microphone placement is necessary.] (4) Sound effects or music that serves as background or mood may be recorded earlier and played back on a boom-box fading in and out as needed. To avoid rewinding tapes, be sure to record several minutes of each background effect.

Step Five: [Time: 5 to 8 periods depending on availability of computers.]

Write the scene. Groups should incorporate sound effects and music notations as they go. For this step, access to computers with word processors is a definite advantage. With computer access, writing time can be cut to about one third the time required for writing the scene in longhand.

Step Six: [Time: 3 periods]

Cast and rehearse the scene. The groups writing the script should be responsible for this step. In most cases, because of the size of the cast and the number of technical jobs, inter-group cooperation will be required. Allow groups to trade duties with other groups, whenever possible. Some assistance may be needed from the teacher here.

Step Seven: [Time: variable, depending on class size]

Perform the Scene. Very effective performances may be accomplished with only 2 or 3 boom-boxes for ambient sounds.

It is always a nice touch when scenes are recorded and copies of these recordings are given to the students involved. To do this properly, however, a bit more equipment is required. The following equipment is recommended if you plan to record the productions.

1. Boom-boxes (two or more, for music and recorded ambient SFX).
2. Tape recorder with microphone jack.
3. One microphone (for actors, omni directional is best).
4. Microphone cable (match to the jacks on the recorder)

Student Handout

Assignment:

Write and produce a 3 to 5 minute radio play scene about an event that you have studied in this class.

1. Each group must select one of the topics listed by the teacher.
2. The scene must be based upon facts learned in this class.
3. The scene must demonstrate that your group has carefully considered the ideas or concepts involved.
4. The script must follow script format as discussed by the teacher.
5. Each group must have a head-writer.
6. Each group must have a director.
7. Each member of the group must perform in the scene as an actor, technician, or sound effects person.