Nancy Drew radio play draws on imagination
Tulane University students get vocal practice in I Hope I Someday Get to Meet You, Nancy Dreaux: A Radio Play, taking the stage in the Lab Theatre on the Tulane uptown campus through Sunday (Nov. 9). (Photo by Melissa Martinez)
Deception, mystery, old-timey jingles for seasonal fruit, and beaucoup sound effects I Hope I Someday Get to Meet You, Nancy Dreaux: A Radio Play, presented by the Tulane University Department of Theatre and Dance, has something for everyone.
Sara Valentine, an assistant professor of voice and speech at Tulane, directed and adapted the play, drawing inspiration from the novels about iconic teen detective Nancy Drew. The production takes the form of a “radio play” a storytelling format popularized in the 1930s on American radio.
“I think radio plays are the purest form of storytelling because they ask the audience to use their imaginations to fill in the missing pieces.”—Sara Valentine, assistant professor of voice and speech
In this genre, each actor portrays multiple characters, and the show is augmented with in-studio production of realistic sound effects and organ music in real time, which help illustrate the story in the listener"s mind.
“I teach voice and speech, so I was interested in designing a project that would get these young actors working on a production where the main focus is the speaking,” Valentine said. “I think radio plays are the purest form of storytelling because they ask the audience to use their imaginations to fill in the missing pieces.”
While the show is based on a format in which the audience listens instead of watches, being able to actually observe the sound effects being made and the characters changing their costumes and voices gives it an additional layer for theatergoers.
“All the actors in the play have at least two parts to act out, and some actors have three, which allows them to explore how to use their voices and bodies to convey different characters,” Valentine said.
The consistent crowd participation and running jokes also are a bonus for the audience at several junctures in the play, the cast asks the audience to cheer about whether a decision was a good idea or bad idea.
I Hope I Someday Get to Meet You, Nancy Dreaux: A Radio Play runs nightly at 8 p.m. through Saturday (Nov. 8), with a 2 p.m. matinee on Sunday (Nov. 9) in the Lab Theatre, 104 McWilliams Hall on the Tulane uptown campus. General admission tickets cost $12 and student tickets are $8.
Benton Oliver is a senior at Tulane University majoring in music, communication and German.
