Creating WCUG's Old-Timey Radio Drama
Walking downtown past the Carpenter’s Building on a lazy Sunday afternoon, you might just see the cast and crew of Stone Cold Mysteries plotting their next murderous show.
Every episode follows 1890s detective Samantha Stone—played by Yvonne Marshall, an integrated media communications major—and the police chief Carter Sheppard—voiced by Derek Rains, of the same major—on their quest to solve different murders in the 1950s style radio show. They are supported by a team of other voice actors who help populate the story with characters and intrigue.
“We run the show all month so we have time to create a quality product for our listeners,” said Marshall, “It also allows our patrons to go back and re-listen to the show or listen for the first time.” At the end of each episode all of the evidence and suspects are reviewed so the audience can try to figure out who the killer is before it is revealed in the following episode.
When asked about her writing process, Marshall said, “I start with the murder. I sit down with a glass of juice and kill someone. Then I decide who killed them, why they were killed, and where they were killed.” She is the head writer for the show as well as the voice of the main character.
Like most people, Marshall experiences writer’s block. When this occurs, Marshall says she “drives down to the radio station and bounces ideas off whoever is here; usually it is Matt Rorer.” Rorer works on stitching together the audio bites for the next episode.
When asked why she wanted to do a radio show in this style, Marshall answered, “I love listening to old radio shows like Gun Smoke with my dad. They are minimalistic in execution, but the story is engrossing. I decided to write a murder mystery because of my love for old detective stories.”
Since Stone Cold Murder Mysteries is based off the 1950s radio shows, the cast writes their own commercials for fake products. “We try to keep the commercials short and funny to break up the hour long show, but what is still most important is the story.”
If anyone is interested in helping make Stone Cold Murder Mysteries, they can contact Marshall or Rorer at their school emails. Tune in next month for their upcoming episode “Addicted to Death.” The show airs every Saturday from 5pm-6pm on the WCUG 88.5 FM station. Previous episodes are backlogged on SoundCloud
