Original love story is one of two short dramas to be aired by Re-Imagined Radio July 19

VANCOUVER, Wash. – Re-Imagined Radio, produced by John Barber of WSU Vancouver’s Creative Media and Digital Culture Program, will present two short radio dramas in July. “Hiro & Liling” is an original love story by Portland writer Kristina Armetta, and “The Martian Death March” is a science fiction tale first broadcast in 1951.

The two stories make up an hour-long episode that will air at noon July 19 on two local radio stations: Vancouver’s KXRW-FM (99.9 FM) and Portland’s KXRY-FM (91.1 FM or 107.1 FM). Rebroadcasts will be offered by Portland’s KUIK-AM (1360 AM), Salem’s KMWV-FM (98.3 FM), and CKXU (88.3 FM), Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, which in turn distributes Re-Imagined Radio across Canada. The performance will also be available online via the stations’ websites and will be archived at reimaginedradio.net.

Inspired by Japanese folklore and created as part of Willamette Radio Workshop’s 2004 Writers-on-the-Air Workshop, “Hiro & Liling” unfolds in simple, lyrical language as an old man teaches his grandchild the legend of an ancient rock formation. “The Martian Death March” recounts how a young boy accompanied spider-like Martians on a trek from an Earth-imposed reservation to their former home in the mountains of Mars.

Community Partners

Re-Imagined Radio draws on community voice actors, Foley artists, musicians, sound artists and engineers. Partners include KXRW-FM, Marc Rose, Martin John Gallagher, Metropolitan Performing Arts, Holly Slocum Design, the Kiggins Theatre, Regina Carol Social Media Management and Photography, and Willamette Radio Workshop.

About Re-Imagined Radio

Re-Imagined Radio was begun by Barber in 2013 to celebrate sound-based storytelling and pay tribute to the radio programs of the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. “We select, produce and perform stories across a spectrum of radio genres, from dramas to comedies, from oral to aural histories, from documentaries to fictions, from soundscapes to sonic journeys, from radio to sound art,” Barber said. Episodes initially were stage productions for live audiences, with limited opportunities for broadcast or streaming. With COVID-19 restrictions, Re-Imagined Radio became a monthly broadcast and livestreamed event.

About WSU Vancouver

As one of six campuses of the WSU system, WSU Vancouver offers big-school resources in a small-school environment. Both in person and online, the university provides affordable, high-quality baccalaureate- and graduate-level education to benefit the people and communities it serves. As the only four-year research university in Southwest Washington, WSU Vancouver helps drive economic growth through relationships with local businesses and industries, schools and nonprofit organizations. 

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MEDIA CONTACT(S)

Brenda Alling, Office of Marketing and Communication, 360-546-9601, brenda_alling@wsu.edu