YOUNGSTOWN Live radio returns to Valley

An audio theater group prepares for the airwaves.
By SEAN BARRON
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- For one hour, local radio will go back in time, thanks to a group of Youngstown State University students.
The days of live radio are back.
Three of Dr. Fred Owens' audio theater students shared their views on directing and managing a pair of shows for "It's All in Your Mind," a collaboration between Clear Channel Productions and YSU's Communications Department. Both shows, "Trouble in Studio A" and "Trifles," air Saturday before a live audience.
"We have strong characters, and the play has a lot of ad-libbing," said Renee Stanko, director of "Trouble," a farce about live radio that will be on live radio.
Preparation time: Stanko pointed out that her group had only 12 rehearsals to prepare the eight actors for their performance. She said she learned from her first direction how to tell the performers what she wanted.
Teresa Haraburda, stage manager for "Trifles," a drama that focuses on two women who discover the truth about the life of a woman accused of killing her husband, compared this experience with her first audio theater show last month.
"This lets us fall into a leadership position," she said. "Each leader has more of a leadership role."
Haraburda said she's happy with the mix of high school and college students and community members whose voices will fill the airwaves. She also said everyone has contributed to the show coming together.
"We went through our stage of panicking," she mentioned.
It's as much fun -- but as much work -- behind the scenes as acting, said Haraburda, whose initial goal was to act in audio theater.
For Lindsay DeMaiolo, the class has meant a change in career choice.
"Before, I wanted to be an on-air talent," she explained. "Now I love behind-the-scenes work. I want to be a director."
The "Trifles" director added that her interest in live radio came from her grandparents, who told her stories about shows they used to listen to. DeMaiolo said she's nervous, but excited about Saturday's broadcast.
Stanko, a former theater major, said she has benefited in ways that reach beyond stage directions and cues.
"I've learned how to express what I want. I've also learned how to stand up and say what I want as a director."
Using the mind's eye: Audio theater allows the audience to use its imagination. Members can watch or close their eyes while being taken to another time. Sound effects include metal buckets, a scratched record and cornstarch, among other things.
Audio theater is a throwback to the "Golden Age of Radio," when live programming was popular. The "War of the Worlds," an Orson Welles dramatization depicting a false report of an alien invasion, was one of the most popular -- and controversial. The entertainment form declined with the invention of television.
Dan Rivers, Clear Channel Youngstown's director of operations, and Owens came up with an evening when WKBN wouldn't be carrying a Cleveland Indians game.
Rivers cited other reasons for giving the group airtime.
"This gives the kids more widespread publicity of their work," he said. "We're trying to be a good citizen. WKBN is interested in every aspect of the community."