writermag.com • The Writer | 25Generally, it’s wise to limit the number of characters in a
scene, especially early in the play. Each character should
have a unique voice, revealed through vocabulary, syntax,
and rhythm.
“The use of effects and music both within scene (to
establish location) and in transition between scenes (to
show a change in location and/or a passage of time) is vital.
Physical actions need to be established with sound effects
and often additionally with bits of dialogue. Proper format-
ting is also a useful aid in evaluating how well the author
has written for the ear,” he continues.
Bonita Agan, one of the company’s directors, agrees.
“Since I read so many submissions, I’m always delighted to
just find a script that needs no sound cue additions or edit-
ing. When a playwright does it conscientiously and skill-
fully, it’s especially delightful.”
Precision and timing
Time is the god of radio. A program often has only 30 min-
utes to tell the story (a three-act structure in a one-act play’s
worth of pages). It can’t run over and be 30:02 or 31:26. It
needs to hit 30:00 exactly.
Precision is important in television scripts, too, with the
need to fit in a certain amount of content between each
commercial break. Both radio and television generate the
funding for programming from advertising. But television
scripts are written a few minutes over the final running time
for more flexibility in the editing room. Radio rarely has
that luxury, especially in a live broadcast format.
A script page generally runs about a minute. This varies
depending on pace, but it’s the director’s job to make actors
pick up their cues. A 30-page script generally gives you a
30-minute show.
Sound cues as character and inspiration
Radio script submission guidelines emphasize that the
medium is different than stage plays or film scripts. The
Wireless Theatre Company UK asks writers submitting
scripts to prove “why it would work as an audio drama.”
Tossing in some random sound effects around stage direc-
tions doesn’t work. The visuals have to be communicated
aurally, through dialogue, music, and active sound. The
audience can’t see the character walk, but specifics of foot-
steps can communicate the information.
“I see Foley as another character in the story,” says
Amanda Balagur, a director and actor based in Boston. “It
not only helps share the tone and feel of a particular piece of
theater, it also gives the actors something to react to. And it
engages the audience, sweeps them up in the moment, and
elicits a wonderful range of responses – laughter,
excitement, fear, dread, surprise. Foley is key in
audio theater, it’s what makes it such a unique
and memorable experience.”
Agan agrees: “The writer establishes sound
cues that create a mood, and that’s important to
me as a director. Also, they give our Foley
designer direction, and he takes the time to
explore his repertoire of options. Since timing is
so important in any form of acting, our actors
love to play off the mood of the sound cues and
use it as a punctuation or cue.”
“I think it’s extremely important when acting
for radio to picture very clearly in your mind
what would be happening in the scene you’re
playing, even though you’re not actually going
through the motions,” says actress Elizabeth Ross.
“When I look at a script, I mark down all the
clues the author has given us, including sound
cues, setting, and quirks of dialogue to build a
mental map of what my character is doing. For
instance, how you speak in an intimate scene
where characters are sharing a drink versus when
characters are meeting at a train station is
extremely different. If you keep exactly what
would be happening present in your mind, that
verisimilitude will bleed into your speech.”
“As an actor, I am drawn to roles in which the
stakes for the character are high,” adds Wicker.
“I enjoy a character who has a particular
rhythm, and I love to find the places where the
rhythm changes as the conflicts intensify. I pre-
fer language that is somewhat elevated – not
necessarily formal or eloquent, but loaded with
longing and need.
“I like a little humor in my characters – or a lot.
I love plays in which my character has an impor-
tant, dynamic relationship with one or more other
characters. And all the things I enjoy as an actor
are also things that please me as a listener.”TI
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