Published on September 27, 2018 | SI Live | Written by Dr. Gracelyn Santos
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – In a world where videos games are king and people are addicted to hundreds of channels and Netflix, Sundog Theatre brings a refreshing change with is new series: “The Originals: Radio Play Reading Series.”
Beginning Tuesday, Oct. 2, Sundog Theatre will present four weeks of original live broadcasts on the air at MakerParkRadio.nyc. The plays were selected via a national solicitation to bring new works to the public.
The plays air every Tuesday, with a new script each week through Oct. 23. Note: Some of the plays contain PG-13 material and may not be suitable for children or sensitive ears.
Up first on Oct. 2: Boston writer Michael Lin’s comedy “Women Behind the Curtain,” directed by Islander Paul Smith. Michael Lin is a playwright, actor, and Foley artist. To date, his writing has been produced by Massachusetts-based theatre companies Theatre@First and the Post-Meridian Radio Players.
Michael’s most notable work to date is a full-length audio drama adaptation of J.M. Barrie’s novel Peter Pan.
Airing Oct. 9: Playwright Richard Zinober’s “Heretic,” directed by Staten Islander Joseph Daly.
Zinober teaches playwriting and screenwriting at Minnesota State University Moorhead. His plays have won awards in a number of contests and have been produced in Florida, New York, Oregon, California, and Australia. “Heretic” is published by the Playwrights Publishing Company.
Airing Oct. 16: “The Patient,” written by Ryan Kaminski and directed by Barbara Brandt.
Kaminski’s full-length thriller play has had several readings at theatres in his native New Jersey, and his 10-minute play, “The Sentence,” was recently featured in the Acme Theater’s New Works Winter Festival in Maynard, Mass.
Airing Oct. 23: Alyssa Haddad’s “Peace and Quiet” is directed Islander Ken Tirado.
Haddad is a Brooklyn-based, award-winning “and award-losing” playwright and screenwriter. Her work has been presented at the Capital Repertory Theatre, Paper Kraine, and The Midtown International Theatre Festival, where she was the recipient of the Playwright’s Award.
She holds a BA in History and Writing from The College of Saint Rose and an MFA in Dramatic Writing from NYU Tisch School of the Arts.
More about the productions: The actors are from Staten Island and other NYC boroughs, and sound effects will be facilitated by Gary J. Moore, who worked earlier this year with Sundog on its radio play series premiere in January.
“Sundog continues its mission of bringing original works to Staten Island,” said Executive Director Susan Fenley. “By presenting ‘on the air’, anyone in the world can listen to the actors perform. When possible, after each reading, we will have a Q&A with the writer, and listeners can send in questions.”
Each script was selected from submissions throughout the US. They are read and chosen by Fenley and Sundog’s Curator of New Works, Eric Petillo.
How to listen: “The Originals” is being presented in cooperation with MakerPark Radio. Listeners can livestream it from a computer at MakerParkRadio.nyc, or go to MakerPark Radio’s Facebook page.
Want to access by phone? Go to MakerParkRadio.nyc, turn the phone sideways, and press “play.” For audio only (no video), listen through the TuneIn or Mixlr apps.
Sundog Theatre is a performing arts organization in Staten Island that provides live performances for adults and children.
The Theatre also presents touring performances, education programs supplementing classroom curricula that help make lessons come alive for students, and acting classes for young people.
