Some Recommendations

I’m almost done with the final draft of the script for my first audio drama production, but it’ll still be a few weeks before I post audition information. In the meantime, I thought I’d recommend some other audio dramas.

First, I want to recommend Edict Zero, a science fiction audio drama that takes place on a far off planet, several centuries into the future. It’s actually a police procedural with science fiction elements thrown in. So far, I’ve only listened to season one, but the word I often hear used to describe later seasons is “epic.” If the quality of season one is any indication of the quality of later seasons, I expect good things.

Another audio drama that I have just recently discovered is called Homecoming. It’s a psychological drama about the treatment of war veterans for PTSD by the Homecoming Initiative, which is led by an organization that is not all it seems. The story is truly unconventional. The cast includes a number of Hollywood actors and actresses, and it shows. The acting is superb. While I wasn’t impressed by the first few minutes of the series, it got better fast. So far, there is only one season out but I am pleased to say that there is another on the way.

If you haven’t heard these audio dramas, I strongly recommend that you give them a try. They are great examples of what one can do with the medium, and making audio dramas of equal quality is something to aspire to.

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Welcome to Bear Place Audio!

Welcome to my new blog, Bear Place Audio!

So what’s this blog about? Mostly, it’s a place to gather and make available all of the audio dramas that I’m going to produce over the next few years. In addition, however, I’m going to discuss the process of creating my audio dramas. It’s tough to find that kind of information elsewhere. Everyone wants to show off their final products, but few people want to discuss the journey it takes to get there!

It will probably be a few months before I’m ready to present my first completed audio drama, but I’ve decided to start writing blog entries anyway. Why? Because the work is already beginning. I’m working on yet another draft of my first audio drama script, a story idea that has been forming inside of my head slowly over the past twenty years. It’s about time that it gets told! I’ve taken several different approaches to it in various drafts. The first drafts included a good deal of narration, but I’ve now decided to rewrite it with no narration at all. Hopefully, I can finally reach the point where I’m comfortable enough to call a draft “final.”

I’m a little nervous, of course. Producing audio dramas will definitely push me outside of my comfort zone. Once upon a time, I used to write one-act stage plays. None of them were ever performed professionally, but a number of them have been used by different theater groups. That was a long time ago, though.

Although I’ve had some experience as an actor, I plan to cast others in the main roles for the audio dramas I produce. I may fill some minor roles myself, but I want to give others the spotlight. My major focus will be on the production side of things.

As for audio production experience: I’ve had a little of that, mostly in a classroom setting. The longest material I’ve ever produced is one-minute commercials. That’s a far cry from a whole audio drama, but my experience gives me just enough confidence to believe I can pull one off. Producing commercials was actually a lot of fun, and I can only hope that producing an audio drama will be an even more enjoyable challenge. As for DAWs, I originally trained on Adobe Audition, though for my personal use I’m still debating whether to use Audacity or Reaper. I’m not going to invest money in anything more expensive just yet, as this is still just a hobby for me.

That’s all I have to say for now. I plan to write a total of two or three blog posts per month, so I’m not going to be particularly active. But if you’re interested in audio dramas and you’re curious about their creation, feel free to follow along on my journey!