Radio In Oklahoma Written and Printed by The Oklahoma Museum of History Education Staff 800 Nazih Zudhi Drive Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73105 Copyright Oklahoma Historical Society 2011 Table of Contents Note to the teacher Page 2 Audio and Video Resources Page 3 Context for D-Day Audio Resource Page 4 Radio Timeline Page 5 Theater of the Mind Pages 6 – 13 Questions for Theater of the Mind Page 14 Answer Key for Questions for Pages 15 – 16 Theater of the Mind 1889 Land Run Radio Play Pages 17 – 33 How to Build Sound Effects Devices Pages 34 – 40 1940s Radio Show Assignment Pages 41 – 44 Group Plan Sheet Bibliography Pages 45 - 46 1 A Note to the Teacher Before your students produce the land run radio play, it may be useful to have them read Theater of the Mind in order to get acquainted with basic radio theater concepts and with some of the methods that were used in radio before your students’ time. The questions that follow the text are intended to check their comprehension of the information and to encourage them to apply critical thinking skills. Theater of the mind is an overview of radio. Your students are familiar with television and probably the internet and other technologies that have developed since radio. However if they are not familiar with radio drama and comedy, this overview should help to acquaint them with some key concepts to understanding this type of entertainment. Theater of the Mind also touches on how radio works and how theater in a radio setting works. This information combined with the equipment provided in the radio education trunk and the land run play script should expose your students to something that they are familiar with, theater, but in a different form, radio theater. It may be useful to let the students listen to all or some of the CD that comes in the education trunk. It has examples of actual radio shows that come from the golden age of radio and some contemporary shows. In addition to reading Theater of the Mind, this may help them to make the transition from television to radio. Funding for this education trunk is provided courtesy of the Kirkpatrick Foundation. 2 Audio Resources Included in this education trunk is a CD that has several radio programs, sound clips, and one video that will help students to understand what a radio show is and how it works. Numbers 1 and 2 are sounds that were commonly used to identify the NBC radio network or to identify the Monitor program on NBC. Numbers 3, 4, and 5 are radio show adventures from the Golden Age of Radio, 1922 to 1962. Number 6 is a comedy show that was popular in the Golden Age of Radio. Numbers 7 and 8 are from a radio talent show that was like American Idol is on television today. Number 9 is a video that shows how a radio play is made. It starts out from the point of view of a boy listening to a show on his radio and then gradually transitions to the studio where the play is being produced and broadcast. Number 10 is live coverage of the D-Day invasion of Normandy during World War II. It is commentary on how people were feeling that day about the invasion. It comes mostly from WKY in Oklahoma City but was being broadcast to the whole NBC radio network. Numbers 11-14 are from a modern radio comedy show. 1. NBC chimes- used to identify the station as an NBC affiliate. 2. The Monitor beacon from the NBC weekend program. The beacon introduced the show and was used in transitions, for example, going to station breaks and accompanied by the tag line: "You're on the Monitor beacon”. 3. Dick Tracy episodes (2) The Dick Tracy comic strip was written by an Oklahoman, Chester Gould. 4. Tom Mix western adventure show. Tom Mix was from Oklahoma and worked on the 101 Ranch in north central Oklahoma. 5. Burns and Allen comedy show 6. Arthur Godfrey Talent Scouts two clips 7. Back of the Mike one video 8. NBC/WKY coverage of the D Day invasion 9. Car Talk four clips 3 Context for NBC and WKY D-Day Coverage On the audio CD in the radio education trunk, there is a clip of a broadcast that was made on the occasion of the invasion of Nazi-occupied Normandy in France by Allied forces on June 6, 1944, also known as D-Day. Most students will probably need some background for this clip to have meaning. During World War II, Nazi Germany had occupied all of northern France. However, by June 6, 1944, the Allied forces, consisting of American, British, Australian, and Canadian forces, were prepared to invade Normandy and fight the German army and air force. Normandy England Allied forces crossed the English Channel from England to the beaches of Normandy. “War time” is mentioned in the clip. During World War II, Congress enacted the War Time Act on January 20, 1942. Year-round daylight savings time, DST, was established in the United States on February 9, 1942, as a wartime measure to conserve energy resources. This remained in effect until after the end of the war in 1945. During this period, the official designation “War Time” was used for year-round DST. For example, Central War Time (CWT) would be the equivalent of Central Daylight Savings Time during this period. Oklahoma is in the central time zone. 4 Radio Timeline 1920________1922_______________1924___________1934________1947___1955______2001________2004_ 1924 WKY does the first broadcast 1920 KDKA in that came from a network it was 2004 1947 KWGS, Pittsburg, the singer, Reginald Werrenrath 2001 XM, the Oklahoma’s the first FM first AM first satellite first High station in commercial 1922 WKY becomes the first radio station, Definition Oklahoma, radio station Oklahoma AM commercial 1934 AM radios goes on the (HD) goes on the air in the world, radio station. Opera singer are available in air station begins Alma Gluck was the first cars for the goes on the broadcasting program. first time air KWTU WNAD AM goes on the air as 1955 90% of the first Oklahoma Oklahoma noncommercial station homes have an AM radio 5 Theater of the Mind Theater Of The Mind Radio is theater that you cannot see. Have you ever been in one room listening to a television that was in a different room? You probably have. In a way, that was like a radio show. All of the voices, music and sound effects were easy for you to hear. When that happened, were you able to imagine what was on the TV screen at the time? You probably were. So even if you have never listened to a show that was made just for radio, you have experienced something similar to it. A mother and daughter listen to the radio next to them. They are not looking at the radio because they see the show in their How Does Radio Work? imaginations. Radio is electrical energy that is sent through the air. A device called a transmitter sends out people’s voices, music or other sounds transmitted as electrical signals to the top of a broadcasting tower. At the top of the tower is an antenna which sends the signals out through the air. Instantly those signals reach radios in homes and cars where the electrical signals are changed into sounds that we recognize. Radio Shows Drama and Comedy In the pictures below, you see groups of actors performing radio shows. Notice that they are not looking at an audience. They are looking at their scripts, the microphone or at each other. Looking at each other helps them to get across to the audience how the characters feel about each other. Notice the man on the left side of this Notice the concentration in these picture. He is looking at a show script actors' faces. They are thinking of in his right hand and with the other how their characters would feel. hand , he is about to close a door for a 6 sound effect. Theater of the Mind Since a radio audience cannot see the actors’ facial expressions or other body language, it is important for the actor to get across the character’s feelings through his or her voice. Are these actors putting a lot of feeling into their performances? Even though the radio audience cannot see their gestures, these actors shake their fists to help produce the emotion of the story. Radio Tricks To create the effect of someone being far away, speak further away from the microphone. Gradually move closer to the microphone to create the effect of the character moving closer to the action. Hold a sound effect device close to the microphone if the device makes a soft sound. If the device is particularly loud, hold it further away. Be sure that the sound effect does not drown out the actors’ voices. Use your ability to pretend; change your voice to sound older or younger. Remember the audience cannot see you. Pronounce your words very clearly. Remember that the audience cannot read your lips. If you don’t already have what you need to create a sound effect, use your imagination . Look around the room, think about what is there. Also think about what sounds can be made by using your hands, feet, legs, voice, and so on. Help the audience to know what a sound effect is supposed to be by speaking about it, such as “I hear horses coming!”.