VANCOUVER, Wash. – Re-Imagined Radio, produced by John Barber of Washington State University Vancouver’s Creative Media and Digital Culture Program, will celebrate World Audio Day Oct. 18 with a broadcast of “The War of the Worlds. Barber calls it “the most (in)famous radio drama of all time.”
“The War of the Worlds” will air from 1 to 2 p.m. on Vancouver’s KXRW-FM (99.9 FM), Portland’s KXRY- Portland’s KXRY-FM (91.1 FM or 107.1 FM) and KUIK-AM (1360 AM). The episode will also stream simultaneously with the broadcast. Rebroadcasts will be offered by Salem’s KMWV-FM (98.3 FM), and CKXU (88.3 FM), Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, which in turn distributes Re-Imagined Radio across Canada. After the broadcast, the performance will be available online via the stations’ websites and will be archived at reimaginedradio.net.
“We are striving for a more enhanced listening experience with this episode,” Barber said. Headphones are recommended for listening, especially for a separate “enhanced” version being created for live streaming from the Re-Imagined Radio website after the initial broadcast.
“The War of the Worlds” first aired in 1938. The Re-imagined Radio production features a rewritten script, with action based in Vancouver and Battle Ground, Wash.; some new character roles delivered by The Voices, a new ensemble of voice actors; and new cinematic sound effects and soundscapes.
The October broadcast inaugurates a new schedule for Re-Imagined Radio. The performance will air on the third Monday of the month on KXRW-FM, KXRY-FM and KUIK-AM. In addition, every Sunday, a random episode of Re-Imagined Radio will be broadcast on KXRW only, drawing on previously broadcast episodes.
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. 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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