On the air!

• Radio theater - edits

Ann Hermes and Kevin Lee discuss some edits.
• Radio theater - sound effects

John Thalmann performed some sound effects during the recording of The Diary.
• Radio theater - recording

Kelly Smith and Mike Roers recorded a portion of Zero Hour.

Talk about it

Today's entertainment provided by television, the Internet and the cinema are creative, imaginative and fun. They allow audiences to sit back and be entertained.

A group of local artists had come together to offer audiences an opportunity to do more. Their goal is to entertain you with a story, leaving you to use your own imagination to create unique pictures in your mind.

The newly formed group is the Lakes Area Theatre (LAT), and they are joining with KXRA 1490 AM to offer local audiences the opportunity to listen to "mindful theater" through radio performances.

The concept is nothing new. The British Broadcast Company has been doing radio theater for years. Minnesota's own Garrison Keillor has been entertaining audiences with his aural tales of fancy on A Prairie Home Companion. The craft of producing radio entertainment was in its heyday prior to the advent of television.

But it is new to the KXRA listening area and the LAT troupe is diligently working to produce weekly radio theater shows in all genres - mysteries, comedies, detective stories, suspense, dramas, westerns, etc.

Shows will be performed before live studio audiences, recorded and played back on the KXRA 1490 AM radio, or from KXRA's website at www.kxra.com as the shows stream live to the world.

The beginnings of LAT

The idea of forming a local radio theater group came from Mike Roers of Alexandria. Roers has been a fan of radio theater for many years. That, combined with his long-time association with stage productions, kept fueling the idea of producing local radio theater.

He contacted Ann Hermes of Alexandria to see if she wanted to join him in the effort to create a new form of theatrical entertainment for the area. The endeavor offered Hermes the opportunity to apply her background in writing, producing and theater toward the venture.

As LAT artistic director, Hermes has been gathering and editing scripts, assembling the troupe, coordinating efforts with KXRA, working on marketing efforts, helping Roers, who serves as executive producer, find sponsors for each show, and other activities to launch LAT.

The troupe is made up of many talented regional individuals working as writers, directors, voice actors, sound effects technicians, musicians and recording technicians.

The goal of LAT is to use the talents of area individuals to produce weekly shows.

LAT welcomes anyone interested in being involved in creating radio theater. Contact Hermes at (320) 808-3841 for more information, or visit the LAT website at www.lakesareatheatre.com.

View live performances

The public is welcome to attend a live performance of each show as it is recorded. All begin at 7 p.m. at the Lakes Area Theatre, 2214 Geneva Road NE in Alexandria. Cost is $5 per person for half-hour shows and $10 per person for hour-long shows.

Call (320) 808-3841 or e-mail lakesareatheatre@gmail.com for tickets. Seating is limited. Upcoming shows are as follows:

Friday, October 15: The Will, a comedy directed by Betsy Ostenson (half hour).

Friday, October 22: Annie Clark reading her own humorous and heartwarming essays, directed by Ann Hermes (half hour).

Friday, November 5: The Three Gifts, a drama directed by Sharon Thalmann (one hour).

Friday, November 19: A Christmas Carol, a drama, director to be determined (one hour).

Friday, December 3: Night Before Christmas, a drama, director to be determined (half hour).

Friday, December 10: Phoebe and Maude, a comedy directed by Claudia Bursch (half hour).

Friday, December 17: Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar, a drama directed by Paul Schoenack (half hour).

2011: Performances will resume January 7 and continue every Friday night through May.

October on-air performances

October is the kick-off month for the Lakes Area Theatre (LAT) performances. The shows in October are all suspenseful and tend toward the eerie and macabre in recognition of Halloween.

All are rated G to PG and can be heard on KXRA 1490 AM from 12:30 to 1 p.m. on the dates listed. The performances will also be streaming live on www.kxra.com to the rest of the world.

Sunday, October 17: The premier is Cass and Lol, written by Jeffrey Adams from International Falls. It features two teenage girls who are wrapped up in the vampire craze.

Director: Pete Woit

Voice actors: Alex Blaser, Caroline Roers, Claudia Bursch and Pete Woit.

Keyboard: Dedra Zwieg.

Special effects: Curtis Deterding.

Recording techs: Ann Hermes and Benjamin Roers

Sunday, October 24: The Diary was also written by Jeffrey Adams of International Falls and is a tale of one family's secrets revealed following the death of an aunt.

Director: Kevin Lee

Voice actors: Kara Gerdes, Mary Pohl and John Thalmann.

Sound effects: John and Sharon Thalmann.

Keyboard: Dedra Zwieg.

Recording tech/editor: Ann Hermes.

October 31: This performance is adapted from two Ray Bradbury stories, each dealing with the destruction of Earth by different means - There Will come Soft Rains and Zero Hour.

Director: Ann Hermes.

Voice actors: Gene Meier, Courtney Bitzan, Kelly Smith, Caroline Roers, Christy Meier and Mike Roers.

Sound effects: John and Sharon Thalmann.

Keyboard: Dedra Zwieg.

Recording tech: Ben Roers.

Tags: lakes area theatre, entertainment, events, radio