Category Archives: 2007 Season

Halloween 2007

by

This year’s HALLOWEEN SHOW focuses on two classics of both the horror genre and Old Time Radio. The Monkey’s Paw by W.W. Jacobs is a story we have either read or heard or saw in some form or another. The story is the perfect “Be careful what you wish for” type of tale. It has a story book feel but still carries a modern urban vibe at the same time. Our version is adapted by Written by W. W Jacobs for the long running Canadian Broadcast series Nightfall. An old family friend returns from the war carrying a wizened relic from another time. A monkey’s paw with magic powers from the Far East. The story sounds too strange to be real, but the lure of three wishes has held the imagination of mankind for as long as they have looked into a night sky searching for the answers to all life’s mysteries. The Monkey’s Paw is a perfect tale for audio theater. The images you create, the paw itself and what is on the other side of the door will leave you breathless.

Our second show needs no introduction, The Pit and the Pendulum by Edgar Alan Poe. The master of horror, the inventor of the modern detective novel, the poet of pain and sorrow without peer. This is another tale that lives so well in the imagination that you would think Poe was writing for radio scores of years before it was dreamt of. The Spanish Inquisition, scorching a path across Spain puts one of Bonaparte’s Captains on trail. His destruction of a church serving as an ammo dump leads the Grand Inquisitor to sentence him to a death so unimaginable, that the auto de fait seems like a charitable end.
Dramatized by John Dixon Carr (an amazing writer) for one of the greatest radio programs of all time, Suspense. The show delves into the mind of a man pushed to the brink of madness and beyond, tortured by rats, fire, starvation and of course The Pit and the Pendulum.

Come see these 2 mighty tales, together for one night and one night only. Halloween at McMenamin’s Kennedy School 5736 N.E. 33rd Ave. Portland, OR, October 31st at 5:00 and 6:30 pm. FREE and open to ALL AGES (kids must have an adult with them). Free treats for the kids from 4:30 pm until 7 pm. The subject matter might be too intense for younger listeners. Use your discretion.

The cast and crew includes: Marty Gallagher, David Ian, Marc Rose, Jan MacDonald, Autumn Lawrence, Linda Goertz, Mark Homayoun, Toni Lima, Curt Hanson and Sam A. Mowry.

The award winning Willamette Radio Workshop has been creating live and studio productions for over 7 years. We have been broadcast on stations around the world and perform live through out the McMenamin’s Empire. Find out more about us at
www.radiowork.com

Special thanks to Cindy McGean, Atticus Welles Mowry, Robert Kowal, Mary Kowal, Claudine Hemmingway and Liz.

2007 UFO Festival Is Upon Us!

by

The good folks at McMenamins who have invited us to once again fly the solar winds with a Sci-Fi double header for the 8th Annual UFO Festival.

This year we will present 2 shows (and no doubt some surprises) first off, Hurf the Extra Dimensional Assassin by Craig Kenworthy and then Zero Hour by the legendary Ray Bradbury. Hurf is a part of the Writer’s On the Air Workshop and sponsored in part by the Regional Arts and Culture Council.
Hurf is the tale of 2 slackers who accidentally summon a death dealing demon from another dimension while playing a game of Scrabble. The story is both funny and thought provoking as the characters juggle the moral consequences of when is it O.K. to kill.

Zero Hour is a classic invasion story. Originally aired on” Suspense,” this is a story about a little girl and her friend “Drill”: who lives under the rose bush. They are both very excited about the new game they are playing… Zero Hour. Kids don’t only say the darndest things. A wonderful adventure from the pen of Ray Bradbury, the dean of Science Fiction.

I hope you can join us in our new location in the Hotel Oregon in Mattie’s Room. It will be fun.

Here is the press release from the good folks at Mcmenamins.

8th ANNUAL UFO FESTIVAL
Friday, May 18 & Saturday, May 19, 2007
at
McMENAMINS HOTEL OREGON
McMinnville, OR

A celebration like no other – beams down to Hotel Oregon this May. Our 8th Annual UFO Festival welcomes believers, skeptics, noted experts and everyone in between for a weekend of fun, enlightenment and entertainment.

This year, we are pleased to host Dr. David Jacobs as our Keynote Speaker. Dr. Jacobs is the director of the International Center for Abduction Research (ICAR), associate professor of history at Temple University in Philadelphia and UFO researcher for nearly 40 years. He will discuss how the science of ufology has changed in the sixty years since the infamous 1947 Roswell incident in New Mexico. Guest speakers Peter Robbins, UFO researcher and best-selling author, and Peter Davenport, director of the National UFO Reporting Center, will round out the Panel Q&A on Saturday morning.

Check out all the other fun stuff happening throughout the weekend – an outdoor festival tent and McMenamins gift shop, live music from Portland bluegrass ensemble Jackstraw, a truly outlandish alien costume parade that careens down Third Street, an alien pet costume contest so Spot and Fluffy aren’t left out, a live performance by Willamette Radio Workshop and more! To cap off the weekend, attend our Alien Costume Ball for live rock ‘n’ roll by Big Mama Gayle and a chance to win prizes for the most comical or well-done outfit. Reservations at Hotel Oregon are SOLD OUT – but please refer to the McMinnville Downtown Association or the Chamber of Commerce for alternate local lodging.

Visit the UFO Festival schedule of events for complete listings.

Want to know more about the 1950 Trent sighting that started the UFO interest in McMinnville? Read a special section from a McMenamins Historic Hotel newsletter (PDF format).

If you’d like email updates about our 2007 event, join our UFO Festival Mailing List.

We Made the Funnies!

by

Mike Russell writes and draws one of the best columns in the Oregonian newspaper, Culture Pulp. It is a comic and man on the street style column that chronicles the arts and events in Portland that make us one of the most livable cities. Well Mike ran into us at McMenamins Kennedy School doing our annual Hobbit reading and we made the cut and so, the funny papers. This fulfills a life long dream of mine and several other members of the Workshop. Mike was kind enough to let us post a portion of it on our site, but do check out his site and find his cartoons as well as excellent movie reviews (We are number 57). There is a wonderful Pan’s Labyrinth piece, not to be missed, that is both. Thanks Mike and see you next year!