Hi.  I'm writing a series of radio plays and have finished the first script (52 pages) and  have started the second (of five plays that make up season 1).  First off I'm wondering how to tell how long the play will actually run.  Is it safe to assume that one page equals about a minute?

Also I'm wondering about how to portray the passage of time.  Most of the plays take place in Prussia in 1764, and while a few of the plays or scenes from the plays take place in the present day where I can use simple tricks like radio news broadcasts to use as transitions between different times of day  that are set in the same location but I'm having trouble coming up with ways to to do the same thing in 1764.  Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I'm also trying to do as much research on the War of Austrian Succession and the Seven Year's War as they helped shaped Prussia and will be talked about, but I also want to create a series of battles that take place during these two events.  Since this is the first time that I have used real world events in a story I've written (having mainly written fantasy stories) are there any pitfalls or traps that I should be aware of, or things that I could do to make the job easier?  Also I want to avoid being placed in the position of having to use specific battles and try and shoehorn my characters in, but I want the battles and situations I create to be believable and am unsure how much detail I need to include.  Has anybody done this before?

Thank you very much for all your help.

Sincerely,

David

Off the top of my head, if this is for radio, it would seem the use of sound effects would be imperative.  So, the script would not just contain dialog, but also sound effects, and perhaps  narrative.  Any run time would have to include them, as well as music, and commercial breaks, if any.  You also have to know how long the air time available to you is.

Is this your first attempt at such a project?

I would read it aloud, sound effects and all to judge length. Mentioning things taking place " today" might help. (ie. The tsar is passing through town tomorrow) I guess that would pre-suppose the audience is aware of the history.
I've read many fictions where there were actual wars going on. The hero of the tale may discuss actual battles, and be the hero of fictional ones to lend authenticity.
Best of luck.
BJ

 Hi.  Yes this is the first attempt at such a project and must note that I have never been published in any form. I just really love writing.   I was rather ill this summer and spent most of it on my back at my parents place.  Just before getting ill I had ordered a whole stack of Doctor Who (and spinoff) radio plays from England, and that was pretty much all I had to listen to except for a few other music cds my parents picked up from my home.  Once I started feeling better I decided to try and write a radio play (since it was something I had never attempted before and I wanted allow other ideas for a second graphic novel to simmer in the back of my mind).  As for narrative, I wanted each play to stand on its own, but also be part of a much larger story that is being told from a future point in time.  Because of this each play will/should start out with a monologue by the main character Eric.  Below is the monologue from the first play:

ERIC

** Emmett City, Saskatchewan, population 2500.  To the west,  south and east of the town are the vast plains that dominate the province.  To the north are the salt flats and mine which employ most of the townspeople. My name is Eric Faramond.  I own a bookstore, the only one in town, which makes it a very busy place, but this story is not about my bookstore.  Looking back on it now this story is about magic and history, life and death, and how one can see so much in such a short time that changes them forever.  This story, my story, begins in Emmett City, in the month of October, in the year of our Lord two thousand and eight.** 

And here is the opening monologue from the second play:

ERIC

**            October 26th 1764.  It has been almost three months since I arrived here with my late Uncle Jurgen.  My uncle expected me to take his place and I suspect that Jurgen thought that he would have more time to educate me, but his death left me stranded, a prisoner of the past.  Yet I am not alone.  As the new Count of Fara I have a whole village of people to look out for and I have my tutor, the Lady Belinda.  Under her training I have learned enough German to easily hold a conversation and even more importantly I have begun translating many of my uncle’s journals in the hopes that I will find a way back to my own time.  So far I have learned nothing except that I am once again late for another tutoring session.**

In the scripts I have included sound effects  ranging from present day airports to German forests and battles with daggers, knifes, swords that leads up to the climax inside a raging forest fire.  I have also included music, almost all of it classical pieces that will either fit the scene (such as St. John's Night on Bald Mountain for the forest fire) or pieces by composers such as Biber, and Shostakovich, to represent specific locations like Strom Manor in the city of Mannheim, or the fictional village of Fara deep in the heart of the Black Forest.

At some point I hope to either get the money to produce the plays myself or see if I can sell the series of plays to a company like Bigfinish and have them produced.  I'm aiming for a runtime of about 50-75 minutes maximum because that is all that will fit onto a cd, but if the story takes 2cds worth of space to tell than that's what will happen.  For me telling a great story is most important and I will deal with the other aspects of creating the Radio play later.

Thanks.

Sincerely,

David

P.S.  Please note that both opening monologues are first drafts only and once I finish writing all the places that make up the season (five) I will begin the task of editing everything.

 I forgot to mention that the overall title for the series is: The Alchemists of Time.

Cheers,

David

You captured my interest with just this little bit.  Depending on how the rest is written, I could easily be enticed to return on a weekly basis to hear another episode.  You have a huge array of stories that could be told within this theme, so a series would be wonderful.  CD's could be numerous for a serial story.

As far as timing goes, your story needs to fit within a time frame of a radio program.  First, listen to some, with and without commercials.  See how much time they have available for the actual story.  Then, do as mammajo recommends.  Doing a read through, in the way actors would act the script, with pauses, emotions, words, etc., plus sound effects, and music, would allow you to see how much of what you have written will fit the format of the radio show.

You may find that you have to have different versions written to fit within different time formats.

I used to listen to very old radio dramas while I worked.  I loved the stories, though most were quite overdramatized, which was the custom of the time.   I believe they were from the 40's and 50's.  Well worth listening to in order to get a sense of timing.  I haven't even tried to see if there are any more current radio dramas going on.  Audio dramas on CD's could easily take the place of the radio drama.  I have no idea of the costs involved in producing such works.

I wish you the best in your efforts to get this published.  You have a good idea.

This is not much different that a Stage play. Figure one double spaced page per minute including the "Stage direction", foley, sound effects, and music... --don't for get the music and foley [the sound effects of walking, etc]... To get an Idea of what its like,  listen to The BBC http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/programmes/world_drama.shtml

The Beeb had a competition last year and http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/specials/1521_int_play_comp/page7.shtml gives some of their suggestions.

or listen other "old radio" shows... there are some stations in the US that broadcast old shows from the "golden era" of radio.

Gook Luck!
Joel

Great resources from gishzida. I'd also try contacting some of them directly, for advice and the possibility of marketing your work. Please keep us posted, the tiny bits you've teased us with are intriguing! My Mom was blind so she used to listen to shows on tape, I remember sitting breathless with her as they wound out. I also remember loving and hating the serials. Anticipating the next installment as well as being dragged beck to reality as it ended each week.
BJ

Hi, I just saw this thread and since the topic is about radio plays, you may be interested on my forum which is radioplaycontests.com.

It contains many amateur radioplay productions from various producers (including myself). I like listening and making them as a hobby.

 Thanks Mtone.  I'll check it out.

David