FIVE FAVES ENCORE
Five Faves
Producer notes best things about All Ears radio shows by
RICK FONTAINE
This month All Ears Theatre begins it 19th season — and
my 11th with this talented group. Having performed, written and produced for this fantastic troupe (serving alongside Don Ramlow, Jeff Mais and Sharon Mais), I was asked by Encore to name my five favorite things about an All Ears Theatre show. I like it all, but here are specific reasons why:
Donald Ramlow
Our Co-Creators and Writers Old-time radio (OTR) was the original “appointment” programming. Night after night, the entire country would join together to listen to and laugh at Jack Benny or thrill to the secrets of The Shadow. More than 20 years ago, Donald Ramlow and Rick Hughey, a couple of guys with a passion for the classic OTR broadcasts, asked a really good question: What if Kalamazoo could host a resurrected art form, staging classic and brand new audio-only scripts in front of a live audience? Before long, a local team of collaborators — the Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo, First Baptist Church of Kalamazoo, WMUK 102.1 FM, Education for the Arts, Brown & Brown Recording Studios and the Irving S. Gilmore Foundation — created a new stage for audio theater. No scenery, no props, no costumes. Just very talented actors presenting sometimes silly, sometimes scary, but always engaging, voices behind microphones, flanked by equally talented sound effects artists and musicians. For 18 seasons, our local writers have been whisking us off to faraway places where even animation and the latest CGI cannot go — the boundless fringes of our own imaginations! 12 | ENCORE JANUARY 2020
Our Actors and Sound Effects Artists
It may look like cheating, listing both of these in the same entry, but it confirms the fact that our characters are inhabited by two sets of performers: voice actors and sound effects artists. On the one hand, our actors bring a wide array of theater experience and ridiculous amounts of versatility. Indeed, part of the fun of an All Ears show is watching to see how many voices might pour out of a single actor. On the other hand, sound effects artists play key roles in bringing characters to life. How menacing is the villain? Listen for his heavy, ponderous footsteps. How anxious is the person under threat? Listen how urgently she fumbles as she picks up a telephone to dial for help. These artists are also incredibly sharp, intuitive performers with amazing outside-thebox thinking. Ever try to create the sound of a bow and arrow with a rubber band, dowel rod and punching bag?