Come join the Willamette Radio Workshop as we make another journey to Middle-earth with “The Hobbit’s Greatest Hits,” our one-of-a-kind adaptation of the J.R.R. Tolkien classic. The performance is set for 2pm Saturday, January 17, at the McMenamins Kennedy School, part of the annual J.R.R. Tolkien Birthday Celebration. The performance is absolutely free, but remember: when you come to Middle-earth, you too may be called into service!
Category Archives: Live Shows
Halloween 2008 — From the Case Files of Dr. Moreau!
The Island of Dr. Moreau presented for Halloween at McMenamins Kennedy School by the award winning Willamette Radio Workshop. 2 performances at 5 pm and 6:30 pm. Admission is free, all ages welcome, children must have an accompanying adult. Food and beverages available. The show will be performed in the Gymnasium. The Kennedy School is located at:
5736 N.E. 33rd Ave, Portland, OR 97211Â (Click here for map/directions!)
This Halloween WRW tackles the classic novel of terror and imagination, The Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. Wells. We are lucky to have the illustrious and talented William S. Gregory to adapt this classic novel for us. As with his past work with us, Mr. Gregory brings a spin to the classics of the past, his Ogle Award winning version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a case in point. Mr. Gregory re-imagines this classic story of science and biology and the limits of both. This story, From the Case Files of Dr. Moreau , uses the point of view of the manimals (as we like to call them) as opposed to the usual human point of view. The questions of freedom, nature, man’s rights and animal rights all come into play. The genius of Dr. Moreau takes on new depths and the story of his children, created by his own hand, follows new leads with classic results.
WRW has once again collected an amazing group of artists to help bring the jungles of Moreau’s island and the horrors of his laboratory to life. Sound designers with out peer, Martin John Gallagher, David Ian and Marc Rose (winners of s\a shelf full of national and local awards) are taking care of music, sound design and Foley that will fill your imaginations. The cast includes Mark Homayoun, Cindy McGean, Megan Murphy, Scott Jameison and Sam A. Mowry, who also produces and directs.
You can buy original audio drama at the show from WRW members Jamie Lawson (web mistress) and Joe Medina (Associate Producer). There will also be work from Afterhell, an audio horror series and the long running epic story of Emil Song, Psychic Detective from Dry Smoke and Whispers.
Halloween 2007
This year’s HALLOWEEN SHOW focuses on two classics of both the horror genre and Old Time Radio. The Monkey’s Paw by W.W. Jacobs is a story we have either read or heard or saw in some form or another. The story is the perfect “Be careful what you wish for†type of tale. It has a story book feel but still carries a modern urban vibe at the same time. Our version is adapted by Written by W. W Jacobs for the long running Canadian Broadcast series Nightfall. An old family friend returns from the war carrying a wizened relic from another time. A monkey’s paw with magic powers from the Far East. The story sounds too strange to be real, but the lure of three wishes has held the imagination of mankind for as long as they have looked into a night sky searching for the answers to all life’s mysteries. The Monkey’s Paw is a perfect tale for audio theater. The images you create, the paw itself and what is on the other side of the door will leave you breathless.
Our second show needs no introduction, The Pit and the Pendulum by Edgar Alan Poe. The master of horror, the inventor of the modern detective novel, the poet of pain and sorrow without peer. This is another tale that lives so well in the imagination that you would think Poe was writing for radio scores of years before it was dreamt of. The Spanish Inquisition, scorching a path across Spain puts one of Bonaparte’s Captains on trail. His destruction of a church serving as an ammo dump leads the Grand Inquisitor to sentence him to a death so unimaginable, that the auto de fait seems like a charitable end.
Dramatized by John Dixon Carr (an amazing writer) for one of the greatest radio programs of all time, Suspense. The show delves into the mind of a man pushed to the brink of madness and beyond, tortured by rats, fire, starvation and of course The Pit and the Pendulum.
Come see these 2 mighty tales, together for one night and one night only. Halloween at McMenamin’s Kennedy School 5736 N.E. 33rd Ave. Portland, OR, October 31st at 5:00 and 6:30 pm. FREE and open to ALL AGES (kids must have an adult with them). Free treats for the kids from 4:30 pm until 7 pm. The subject matter might be too intense for younger listeners. Use your discretion.
The cast and crew includes: Marty Gallagher, David Ian, Marc Rose, Jan MacDonald, Autumn Lawrence, Linda Goertz, Mark Homayoun, Toni Lima, Curt Hanson and Sam A. Mowry.
The award winning Willamette Radio Workshop has been creating live and studio productions for over 7 years. We have been broadcast on stations around the world and perform live through out the McMenamin’s Empire. Find out more about us at
www.radiowork.com
Special thanks to Cindy McGean, Atticus Welles Mowry, Robert Kowal, Mary Kowal, Claudine Hemmingway and Liz.
2007 UFO Festival Is Upon Us!
The good folks at McMenamins who have invited us to once again fly the solar winds with a Sci-Fi double header for the 8th Annual UFO Festival.
This year we will present 2 shows (and no doubt some surprises) first off, Hurf the Extra Dimensional Assassin by Craig Kenworthy and then Zero Hour by the legendary Ray Bradbury. Hurf is a part of the Writer’s On the Air Workshop and sponsored in part by the Regional Arts and Culture Council.
Hurf is the tale of 2 slackers who accidentally summon a death dealing demon from another dimension while playing a game of Scrabble. The story is both funny and thought provoking as the characters juggle the moral consequences of when is it O.K. to kill.
Zero Hour is a classic invasion story. Originally aired on” Suspense,” this is a story about a little girl and her friend “Drillâ€: who lives under the rose bush. They are both very excited about the new game they are playing… Zero Hour. Kids don’t only say the darndest things. A wonderful adventure from the pen of Ray Bradbury, the dean of Science Fiction.
I hope you can join us in our new location in the Hotel Oregon in Mattie’s Room. It will be fun.
Here is the press release from the good folks at Mcmenamins.
8th ANNUAL UFO FESTIVAL
Friday, May 18 & Saturday, May 19, 2007
at
McMENAMINS HOTEL OREGON
McMinnville, OR
A celebration like no other – beams down to Hotel Oregon this May. Our 8th Annual UFO Festival welcomes believers, skeptics, noted experts and everyone in between for a weekend of fun, enlightenment and entertainment.
This year, we are pleased to host Dr. David Jacobs as our Keynote Speaker. Dr. Jacobs is the director of the International Center for Abduction Research (ICAR), associate professor of history at Temple University in Philadelphia and UFO researcher for nearly 40 years. He will discuss how the science of ufology has changed in the sixty years since the infamous 1947 Roswell incident in New Mexico. Guest speakers Peter Robbins, UFO researcher and best-selling author, and Peter Davenport, director of the National UFO Reporting Center, will round out the Panel Q&A on Saturday morning.
Check out all the other fun stuff happening throughout the weekend – an outdoor festival tent and McMenamins gift shop, live music from Portland bluegrass ensemble Jackstraw, a truly outlandish alien costume parade that careens down Third Street, an alien pet costume contest so Spot and Fluffy aren’t left out, a live performance by Willamette Radio Workshop and more! To cap off the weekend, attend our Alien Costume Ball for live rock ‘n’ roll by Big Mama Gayle and a chance to win prizes for the most comical or well-done outfit. Reservations at Hotel Oregon are SOLD OUT – but please refer to the McMinnville Downtown Association or the Chamber of Commerce for alternate local lodging.
Visit the UFO Festival schedule of events for complete listings.
Want to know more about the 1950 Trent sighting that started the UFO interest in McMinnville? Read a special section from a McMenamins Historic Hotel newsletter (PDF format).
If you’d like email updates about our 2007 event, join our UFO Festival Mailing List.
WRW at the UFO Festival! Dry Smoke & Whispers/Buck Rogers in the 25th Century
Who/What: Willamette Radio Workshop at McMenamins “6th Annual UFO Festival”
When: Saturday, May 14, 2005
Where: At the Mack Theatre across from McMenamins Hotel Oregon, McMinnville, Oregon
How Much: All events are free, open to all ages
Contact: Sam A. Mowry 503-730-7155. samowry@aol.com
The Willamette Radio Workshop is happy to announce its continuing participation in the McMenamins Hotel Oregon’s UFO Fest in McMinnville Oregon. This year we present another installment in the award winning Dry Smoke and Whispers series, “The Brand of the Gryphon Hawk” by Jerrel McQuen. We will also present a classic Old Time Radio Sci-Fi staple, “Buck Rogers in the 25th Century.” The premiere radio episode, with special guest, Popsicle Pete! The show is free and follows the UFO Parade right down the center of town to the Mack Theater, across the street from the Hotel Oregon.
“The Brand of the Gryphon Hawk” is a comic adventure that follows the adventures of Emille Song, special detective, telepath, outcast and warrior for justice; who works the crime riddled planet of Quaymet where he matches wits with a collection of extra-terrestrial villains as they attempt to take over the world. Well, their world. Quaymet I mean. Anyway join Emille as he takes on Marcori Deedwik and his henchmen with the most insidious plan for world domination you’d ever imagine. It could be happening today! It’s that timely.
Dry Smoke and Whispers has been on the public airwaves for 25 years and has won numerous national awards. Currently airing on XM Satellite radio Sonic Theater channel 163, you can find out more about the dynamic duo that created the sensation at www.drysmoke.com.
The Willamette Radio Workshop is proud to collaborate once again with DSW and present this strange amalgam of 30’s Gangsters, Victorian England and vaguely Middle Eastern motifs that are the planet Quaymet. Buck Rogers is a classic presentation of OTR with live Foley and prehistoric product placement that WRW does so well that it too is award winning.
The cast and crew of this years light hearted epics are: Tim McKennie, Eric Newsome, Greg Alexander, Suzan Zeitlin, Cynthia McGean, David Ian and Sam A. Mowry.
Sound Design and Music is by Marc Rose.
Foley by David Ian
Live sound by Robert Kowal
Special Thanks to Martin John Gallagher, Liz Robbins and Claudine Hemmingway.
Produced by Sam A. Mowry and TransDimensional Media
Directed by Sam A. Mowry
Cast and Crew Credits for Dr. Moreau!
Hello All,
I can’t seem to get the Moreau credits on line from its page so here are the credits for our wildly successful 7 minutes of radio theater insanity, presented live on OPB’s LiveWire and soon to be a minor TV masterpiece (details to follow). Complete bios on everyone here can be found on our “Who We Are” page.
The Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. Wells
Adapted for radio by Cynthia J. McGean
“The Final Chapter: The Manimals Revolt and Prendrick’s Escape”
CAST:
Dr. Moreau: Greg Alexander
Prendrick: Tim McKennie
Sayer of the Law: Sam A. Mowry
Leopard Man: David Ian
Manimal: Atticus Welles Mowry
CREW:
Sound Design: Marc Rose, Martin John Gallagher, David Ian, Robert Kowal, Atticus Mowry, Sam Mowry.
Foley: David Ian & Atticus Welles Mowry.
Abelton & Sound Op: Marc Rose
Percussion: Martin John Gallagher
Live Sound Engineer: Robert Kowal
WRW Theme Music: Martin John Gallagher & Marc Rose
Produced and Directed by: Sam A. Mowry
Flash Gordon 1935 and Dry Smoke & Whispers Holodio Theater
Where: Mack theater
When: 2:30pm Saturday, May 15th, 2004.
The Willamette Radio Workshop is proud to return to McMenamins UFO Festival for its 5th year. Last year we presented Orson Welles’ War of the Worlds, this year, join us for two new productions from the Workshop. First on the bill Flash Gordon 1935: Episode #3, join Flash, Dale and Dr. Zarkov as they travel to the planet Mongo. Live sound effects and music will take you back to those thrilling days of yesteryear, when all you needed for a trip to Mars was a glowing Philco and a rug in front of it to dream on.
Next the present state of Science Fiction is represented by Dry Smoke & Whispers Holodio Theater: The Jewel, featuring Emile Song, Special Detective. Dry Smoke & Whispers has been broadcast across the country on more than 100 public radio stations for the last 20 years and is now beginning a new series of adventures on XM Satellite Radio. WRW is lucky to have partnered with Marc Rose and Jerrel McQuen To create the first live production of Dry Smoke & Whispers.
Dry Smoke and Whispers Holodio Theatre sweeps you into the interstellar intrigue of another dimension. Emille Song, Special Detective, a Telepath living on the vigilante fringe of a Future Society, battles the hitmen of a technopolis underworld, heartless galactic corporations, and ruthless Secret Societies. With his trusted partner, Prof. Durrick Henchard, weapons expert, they face a bewildering gauntlet of foes, in cinematic adventures that will entertain, surprise and mystify. DSW currently airs on XM Radio, and community radio stations across the country. Past seasons are available via its website: www.drysmoke.com
This is a special world premiere presentation called The Jewel, transmigrating you to a misbegotten corner of an alien universe, to bear witness to a thought-provoking drama of naked avarice and noble sacrifice.
We close our program with Flash Gordon 1935: Episode #4, this gives you the feel of an actual serial, cliff hangers and payoffs for everyone as Flash Meets Ming the Merciless and Ming’s daughter falls hard for the adventurer from the distant planet Earth. If you’re a fan of Sci-fi, Old Time Radio or just need some serious fun to distract you from the more pressing issues of the day, check out Willamette Radio Workshop at the Mack theater Saturday, May 15th at 2:30pm following the most unusual parade you’ll see all year. The Mack theater is located in McMinnville Oregon, across the street from the Hotel Oregon. Visit the McMenamins Hotel Oregon 5th Annual UFO Festival website for more information.
Marc Rose
Producer and Creator of Dry Smoke, Marc is a collector of Psychotronic DVD’s and one psychotic three-legged Maine Coon. Voice Talent, Sound Designer and Musician for the Dry Smoke series, he also finds time to claim there have never been anything called dinosaurs, FireSign Theatre still reigns supreme, pop music should go “pop” once and for all, and is reassured by the fact that the FDA only allows .02% “retired” mafia hit men per baseball stadium hot dog. Marc has provided the pre-recorded Sound Design for “The Jewel”, and plays the role of Emille Song, the hero of Dry Smoke, in our live presentation.
Jerrel McQuen
Author of tonight’s play, and Writer and Illustrator for Dry Smoke, Jerrel is a total recluse who only goes outside during solar eclipses and impenetrable thunderstorms. Last seen muttering to himself about “@#$* deadlines”, Jerrel doesn’t believe there’s anything on the moon, that UFO’s are the product of Temporal/Electro/Magnetic technology pioneered by Tesla and exploited by various world governments, and that sheep should remain inside their pen, though many times they’ve seen the way to leave. Jerrel will attend the UFO Festival and the Willamette Radio Workshop Presentation via a telepathic trance while resonating in the Second Attention inside a secret recreation of a Tchotalan pyramid.
We are pleased to present our first partnership with these very talented gentlemen and look forward to many interstellar adventures to come.
A Murder of Crows
Halloween, 2003
Sponsored by McMenamins Theatres and Pubs
Once again the Willamette Radio Workshop presented a live radio theater event at three of our favorite venues. First a tantalizing preview of our full show, presented by our director Sam A. Mowry, Tuesday, October 28th, 2003 on Stage & Studio, KBOO 90.7�s Arts and Entertainment show hosted by Dmae Roberts and Emily Young. (Stage & Studio and all KBOO�s other fine shows can be found on its webcast by visiting http://www.kboo.fm/index.php.)
Then on Halloween night, Friday, October 31st, 2003 @ 7pm & 8:30pm, we presented an hour of original stories, written especially for the Workshop, at the McMenamins Kennedy School. Saturday November 1st was the anniversary party for the famous White Eagle Saloon and we were there once again. Each show featured a different hour-long combination of stories.
An article featuring Murder of Crows appeared in Horizon Air Magazine.
A Murder of Crows featured the literary talents of Kris Armetta, Carole Dane, Mark Homayoun, William E. Gregory, William S. Gregory, Mary Robinette Kowal, Robert Kowal, Cynthia J. McGean, Chris Porter, Phil Rudolph and Douglas Watson.
John Martin Gallagher was once again doing our sound design and Sam A. Mowry was our producer.
War of the Worlds, 2003
WRW joins the 4th annual UFO Festival to produce a live re-creation of radio’s most famous broadcast.
Sponsored by McMenamins Theatres and Pubs
When & Where:
Saturday, May 10th – 1:00pm
Mack Theater in McMinnville, OR
Friday, May 9th – 7:00pm
The historic White Eagle Saloon in Portland, OR.
All performances are free and open to the public.
WRW presents Orson Welles� production of H. G. Wells� War of the Worlds. This is a live recreation of the original 1938 �Panic Broadcast� that shook a nation on the brink of war. The script, a loose adaptation of H.G. Wells’ Sci-Fi classic by Howard Koch (who went on to write Casablanca) tells the story of Martians invading the Earth.
The program was presented as a series of live news feeds that created a touch of realism by breaking into a placid evening of dance music. Although the program clearly stated at the beginning and at the half way point that it was a radio drama, most of the country was tuned into the Chase and Sandborn Hour with Edgar Bergen and Charley Macarthy, the most popular radio tandem in the country. However, Nelson Eddy was the musical guest that night and when he began to sing a couple of not-too-popular songs, the radio audience began to spin those dials, coming into the War of the Worldsbroadcast after the disclaimer. The subsequent panic, from listeners who took the radio play for real, traumatized several cities across the eastern seaboard. It is important to note that no one was killed or killed themselves, but rumors of such activity spread as fast as the rumors of Martian invasion. The ensuing notoriety made Orson Welles a star and showed the devastating power of radio in the new age of mass communication.
WRW�s 12 actors, using live foley sound effects, live music and a plethora of old school analog audio magic reproduce the excitement and drama with a production faithful to the spirit of “live Radio.” Enjoy a look at a vibrant entertainment medium and this opportunity to look back at the best Halloween prank ever pulled on the American Public.
If you haven�t seen live radio, you ain�t heard nothing yet.
The Aliens are Coming!
4th Annual UFO Fest
at McMenamins Hotel Oregon � McMinnville, Oregon
Thursday, May 8, Friday, May 9 and Saturday, May 10
It just may be the most fun-and eye-opening-event you�ll encounter all year! For three days, Thursday, May 8th through Saturday, May 10, hear experts� compelling reports of unexplained, extraterrestrial visitations from the skies, and join the dancing humans dressed head-to-toe in tin foil�
With both a serious eye and a light heart, the UFO Fest explores and celebrates the realities and possibilities of life emanating from beyond Planet Earth. It�s Oregon�s largest annual UFO event and this year�s expanded program promises to be galaxies beyond the last.
The lineup for the 2003 event features a UFO costume parade, keynote presentation by internationally UFO authority Stanton Friedman, theUFOstore.com Video Film Festival at McMinnville�s historic Mack Theater, an Alien Costume Ball, a special reception with the keynote speaker and other presenters, exhibitor booths of UFO literature, art and merchandise, and much more�
All UFO Fest events are free and open to all ages, unless otherwise noted. Details about specific events can be found at their website:
http://www.ufofest.com/McHO/ufo/
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
THURSDAY, MAY 8
Dinner with Stanton Friedman at Hotel Oregon, 7pm
FRIDAY, MAY 9
UFO Exhibits at Hotel Oregon, 4pm to 9pm
Speaker Forum at the Mack Theater, 8pm
Speaker Reception & Book Signing at Hotel Oregon, 9:30pm
SATURDAY, MAY 10
UFO Exhibits at Hotel Oregon, 9am to 5pm
�Orson Welles� War of the Worlds� a live radio theater performance at the Mack Theater, 1pm
2nd Annual UFO Parade, 3pm
theUFOstore.com UFO Film Festival at the Mack Theater, 4pm
Alien Ball at Hotel Oregon, 8pm
Dracula — Halloween 2002
A live radio re-creation of Orson Welles’ Mercury Theatre of the Air’s first broadcast.
Sponsored by McMenamins Theatres and Pubs
The Willamette Radio Workshop presented a live re-creation of the Mercury Theatre of the Air‘s first radio broadcast, Dracula, by Bram Stoker adapted by Orson Welles. This was the latest installment in a series of performances, started on Halloween, 2001 with the wildly successful War of the Worlds presented at CoHo Theatre to standing room audiences.
2002 found the WRW bringing the ultimate story of the supernatural to the McMenamins Empire. First published in 1897, the novel Dracula by Irish author Bram Stoker has never been out of print. It has been reissued in over 300 editions, including dozens in foreign languages. The figure of Count Dracula has dominated twentieth-century culture, from movies to cereal boxes to radio.
Cast: Mark Homayoun, Scott Jamieson, Mary Robinette Kowal, Bryan Mackey, Atticus Welles Mowry, Sam A. Mowry, Chris Porter, Mark Twohy and Emily Young
Sound Design and Live Foley:
John Martin Gallagher, Robert Kowal and Amy Gray