Theater Emory and its replica of a 1600s English playhouse, the Black Rose, became radio stars through a segment on National Public Radio's "Morning Edition."
On Feb. 20, Steve Lickteig, from NPR station WUGA in Athens, Ga., spent the day with staff and actors of Theater Emory to create a story on its Renaissance Repertory project, which explores the renaissance theatergoing experience through its replica. Lickteig taped interviews with Artistic Director Vincent Murphy, Managing Director Pat Miller, Resident Dramaturg Michael Evenden, Lighting Designer Judy Zanotti, Technical Director Bill Moore, and The Tempest cast members Tim McDonough and Park Krausen. Bill Zimmerman, the Canadian designer of the Black Rose, also was interviewed, but via telephone from his home in Nova Scotia.
Lickteig also taped a scene from The Tempest, which played to great reveiws and packed houses through March 7, as well as audience reaction to the Black Rose and ambient noise just before the opening night performance that evening.
Approximately three hours of recording were edited into the eight-minute piece that aired on March 10 at 7:50 a.m. The story opened with a nice montage of audience sounds and accordion music provided by a strolling musician which blended into the taped scene from The Tempest, giving listeners the feeling they were in the audience. Interview segments from Murphy, McDonough, Evenden, Kraussen and Zimmerman were all featured in the final version.
The story was originally scheduled to run in the first few days of March while the Renaissance Rep shows were still running, but scheduling conflicts and breaking news stories bumped the Theater Emory piece several times. The resulting story did provide Emory with great exposure, however, as well as a plug for the upcoming Sleep Deprivation Chamber, which runs April 11, 12, 16 through 19.
-Deb Hammacher