Help the IBRT, and Get Fab Stuff!

The IBRT has put together a Halloween Special that we are currently marketing to terrestrial radio stations via PRX.org, kind of a combination marketing outreach, fundraiser deal. If you're a fan on Facebook, you've already heard all about this. But for the rest of you, here's the pitch.

"Listening in the Dark" is an hour-long program made up of two episodes of Imagination-X, and last season's very popular IBRT episode 'The Thing on the Ice'. If you're a podcast listener, you've heard all this already, but radio listeners haven't. And we need your help to make Halloween a little scarier for those radio folks.

We are marketing this program to community and public radio stations around North America, and those stations generally only listen to requests from people in their listening area. So we're looking for some folks to look up an address and send a letter or email on the IBRT's behalf. If you're interested, respond to this thread and I'll send you a boilerplate letter that you can alter.

If you know of a commercial station that might be interested in airing the special, that would be great too. There's a built-in break at the bottom of the hour where they can insert their own commercials.

AND as an incentive, if your area station plays the show, we'll send you an uncompressed, full stereo CD of our Halloween Special, or a CD of any other IBRT play, plus a $20 gift certificate to our Cafe Press store.

-Jeff

Quick notes:
title: "Listening in the Dark"
time: 54:48
PRX page: http://www.prx.org/pieces/39720-listening-in-the-dark
Our Cafe Press store: http://www.cafepress.com/iceboxradio
Listening in the Dark page: http://www.iceboxradio.org/Halloween%20Special.html

Stu…Stu…Studio!

You remember your first apartment? Ours (my wife’s and mine, that is) was a tiny little crook in the wall with one of those accordion sliding walls for a bedroom door, and three large windows that looked directly out onto an alley, the top of the car port, and then right into the apartment next door which seemed, at times, to only be six or seven feet away. This being a college town, there was no end of drama in that apartment next door, and my wife and I spent much of our first three months of marriage trying to figure out exactly what the relationships were between the two men and one woman who lived across that alley. Diane and I have lived in many places since then, but I’ll always have fond memories of that first place.

And now, the Icebox Radio Theater has a place as well, and it’s every bit as funky and quirky as that apartment with a view from long ago. I’m writing this in the basement of Backus Community Center, a 70-year-old building that served International Falls as a junior high until a few short years ago. Our new home is in the basement; a room marked ‘Health Room’. I do not know if Health Class was taught here, or if it served as some sort of early weight room, but it was a challenge to convert this space from its former use to ours.

About two weeks ago, several brave volunteers began moving our equipment, a lot of donated carpet, Styrofoam and cardboard egg crates into the room. Along the way we picked up a few tables, chairs and music stands (it’s amazing what you can scrounge around the basement of an 70-year-old building) and benefited tremendously by the generosity of the building’s management who allowed us to use the old fly curtains from the auditorium stage as sound insulation.

Last week, our good friends the Erwin’s came in to record ‘Cass and Lol’, our first play to be recorded here. Things basically went off without a hitch. There is still a little more echo than I’d like, but we’re working on it.

The attached photos are of the actor’s area (basically finished) and the control table (look, already a mess!) The next task will be shaping a sound effects area out of the rubble of all our other projects. We still have hopes for a comfy green room area, but are waiting on some donations, namely a few furnishings. Oh my kingdom for couch!

Yesterday, my daughter and I ran internet cable to the room, so we can now broadcast from this space, as well as record. The whole project is really coming together, so stay tuned for more. Keep Listening!