Deep in outer space, far in the future, an alien artifact lures a mad scientist and a band of extremists to an asteroid. And their battle for the artifact unleashes a monstrous evil. Now the only hope for the human race — for the galaxy — is a mysterious alien wanderer. He has had many faces, many names. But he’s known best as… the Doctor.  And he could really use a cup of tea.
WRW is happy to once again join the UFO Festival for the 8th year. This year’s show brings Joseph Medina’s (whose rendition of The Thing at a previous UFO Fest was chilling) amazing continuation of the Doctor Who saga. With an original score by James Dineen, live Foley by David Ian and Dino de AElfweald (with assistance from Toni Lima and Amy Branson) as well as live sound from D. Neil Blake, Robert Kowal and the otherworldly audio assistance of Marc Rose.
Our special thanks go out to Claudine Knapp and Martin John Gallagher, our Resident Sound Designer and all round swell guy.
The show features the talents of: Mary Thomas, Alyson Ayn Osborn, Atticus Welles Mowry, Cobal Weaverli, Bruce Miles, Sam A. Mowry, Robert Kowal, D. Neil Blake, Marc Rose, David Ian, Dino de AElfweald, Toni Lima, Amy Branson and James Dineen as the Doctor.
2011 marks our 10th anniversary, starting with a late night War of the Worlds for Halloween. Thanks for listening! We are and have been having a blast.
One of the greatest heroes in all of science fiction is coming to the McMenamins UFO Festival next month! Author of “The Thing,” a smash hit at the 2008 UFO Festival, Afterhell‘s own Joe Medina returns to WRW with a script featuring a new incarnation of the mysterious traveling Time Lord known only as “the Doctor.”
The “Doctor Who” series has been a staple of British television since it began in 1963. The newest season is beginning a run on BBC America this weekend.
More details to come soon, but in the meantime, need to get up to speed on the Doctor and his adventures? Try some of these links:
WRW celebrates the 11th annual McMenamins UFO Festival with the classic sci-fi adventure serial, “The Amazing Interplanetary adventures of Flash Gordon.” A special compilation of the first four episodes of the 1935 weekly serial, which we are calling “Marooned on Planet Mongo!” will be presented at 2pm Saturday, May 15 in Mattie’s Room at McMenamins Hotel Oregon in McMinnville. The show is free.
The cast includes Scott Jamieson, Mary Thomas, James Dineen, Mark Homayoun, Carole Dane, Matthew Richards and Sam A. Mowry.
Originally aired in the spring and summer of 1935, “The Amazing Interplanetary Adventures of Flash Gordon” was a very faithful adaptation of the Alex Raymond comic strip, starring Gale Gordon as the heroic Flash, Maurice Franklin as brilliant scientist Dr. Zarkov, and Bruno Wick as evil overlord Ming the Merciless.
WRW has presented individual episodes of “Flash Gordon” at past UFO Festivals, most recently in 2007, but this is the first time the “Brave Earth man” has been at the top of the bill!
For more information about the UFO Festival, check out the McMenamins site. There’s no charge to attend “Marooned on Planet Mongo!” but if you’d like to support WRW, we will have CDs of other WRW shows available for sale before and after.
WRW’s performance of “The War of the Worlds” played to a packed house at the UFO Festival last Saturday. Kevin Cooke was kind enough to shoot some pictures!
The 2009 McMenamins UFO Festival will feature a live radio presentation by the Award winning Willamette Radio Workshop of H.G. Wells’ The War of the Worlds. One performance only will be in Mattie’s Room at the Hotel Oregon, 2 p.m. Saturday May 16th, 2009.
The War of the Worlds is regarded as the classic radio drama. The Willamette Radio Workshop has performed this timeless tale on numerous occasions. We have always presented it in the classic Old Time Radio style (OTR), with live sound effects and music. This year we give it the WRW treatment. Creating a blend of the best of the old and new. Our matchless Foley team of David Ian and Martin John Gallagher joins forces with Marc Rose of Dry Smoke and Whispers fame, to create a unique production, true to the original, but original in its own right.
Following in the path of our award winning adaptation of Archibald Macleish’s Fall of the City, join us for a glimpse into radio’s past and future. See what panicked America, launched the career of Orson Welles and proved the devastating power of mass media to an unsuspecting world.
The cast includes Chris Porter, Bryan Mackey, James Lawrence, Todd Tolces and Matthew Richards. Our stage manager is Autumn Lawrence and live sound is by Lori Day-Reynolds.
Original music and sound design by Marc Rose.
Live Foley by David Ian and Martin John Gallagher.
Crowd direction by Martin John Gallagher.
Special thanks to Pat Janowski.
The production is produced, directed and features Sam A. Mowry.
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 “Drillâ€: 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.
Who/What: Willamette Radio Workshop at McMenamins “6th Annual UFO Festival” When: Saturday, May 14, 2005 Where: At the Mack Theatre across from McMenamins Hotel Oregon, McMinnville, Oregon How Much: All events are free, open to all ages Contact: Sam A. Mowry 503-730-7155. samowry@aol.com
The Willamette Radio Workshop is happy to announce its continuing participation in the McMenamins Hotel Oregon’s UFO Fest in McMinnville Oregon. This year we present another installment in the award winning Dry Smoke and Whispers series, “The Brand of the Gryphon Hawk” by Jerrel McQuen. We will also present a classic Old Time Radio Sci-Fi staple, “Buck Rogers in the 25th Century.” The premiere radio episode, with special guest, Popsicle Pete! The show is free and follows the UFO Parade right down the center of town to the Mack Theater, across the street from the Hotel Oregon.
“The Brand of the Gryphon Hawk” is a comic adventure that follows the adventures of Emille Song, special detective, telepath, outcast and warrior for justice; who works the crime riddled planet of Quaymet where he matches wits with a collection of extra-terrestrial villains as they attempt to take over the world. Well, their world. Quaymet I mean. Anyway join Emille as he takes on Marcori Deedwik and his henchmen with the most insidious plan for world domination you’d ever imagine. It could be happening today! It’s that timely.
Dry Smoke and Whispers has been on the public airwaves for 25 years and has won numerous national awards. Currently airing on XM Satellite radio Sonic Theater channel 163, you can find out more about the dynamic duo that created the sensation at www.drysmoke.com.
The Willamette Radio Workshop is proud to collaborate once again with DSW and present this strange amalgam of 30’s Gangsters, Victorian England and vaguely Middle Eastern motifs that are the planet Quaymet. Buck Rogers is a classic presentation of OTR with live Foley and prehistoric product placement that WRW does so well that it too is award winning.
The cast and crew of this years light hearted epics are: Tim McKennie, Eric Newsome, Greg Alexander, Suzan Zeitlin, Cynthia McGean, David Ian and Sam A. Mowry.
Sound Design and Music is by Marc Rose.
Foley by David Ian
Live sound by Robert Kowal
Special Thanks to Martin John Gallagher, Liz Robbins and Claudine Hemmingway.
Produced by Sam A. Mowry and TransDimensional Media
Directed by Sam A. Mowry
Where: Mack theater When: 2:30pm Saturday, May 15th, 2004.
The Willamette Radio Workshop is proud to return to McMenamins UFO Festival for its 5th year. Last year we presented Orson Welles’ War of the Worlds, this year, join us for two new productions from the Workshop. First on the bill Flash Gordon 1935: Episode #3, join Flash, Dale and Dr. Zarkov as they travel to the planet Mongo. Live sound effects and music will take you back to those thrilling days of yesteryear, when all you needed for a trip to Mars was a glowing Philco and a rug in front of it to dream on.
Next the present state of Science Fiction is represented by Dry Smoke & Whispers Holodio Theater: The Jewel, featuring Emile Song, Special Detective. Dry Smoke & Whispers has been broadcast across the country on more than 100 public radio stations for the last 20 years and is now beginning a new series of adventures on XM Satellite Radio. WRW is lucky to have partnered with Marc Rose and Jerrel McQuen To create the first live production of Dry Smoke & Whispers.
Dry Smoke and Whispers Holodio Theatre sweeps you into the interstellar intrigue of another dimension. Emille Song, Special Detective, a Telepath living on the vigilante fringe of a Future Society, battles the hitmen of a technopolis underworld, heartless galactic corporations, and ruthless Secret Societies. With his trusted partner, Prof. Durrick Henchard, weapons expert, they face a bewildering gauntlet of foes, in cinematic adventures that will entertain, surprise and mystify. DSW currently airs on XM Radio, and community radio stations across the country. Past seasons are available via its website: www.drysmoke.com
This is a special world premiere presentation called The Jewel, transmigrating you to a misbegotten corner of an alien universe, to bear witness to a thought-provoking drama of naked avarice and noble sacrifice.
We close our program with Flash Gordon 1935: Episode #4, this gives you the feel of an actual serial, cliff hangers and payoffs for everyone as Flash Meets Ming the Merciless and Ming’s daughter falls hard for the adventurer from the distant planet Earth. If you’re a fan of Sci-fi, Old Time Radio or just need some serious fun to distract you from the more pressing issues of the day, check out Willamette Radio Workshop at the Mack theater Saturday, May 15th at 2:30pm following the most unusual parade you’ll see all year. The Mack theater is located in McMinnville Oregon, across the street from the Hotel Oregon. Visit the McMenamins Hotel Oregon 5th Annual UFO Festival website for more information.
Marc Rose
Producer and Creator of Dry Smoke, Marc is a collector of Psychotronic DVD’s and one psychotic three-legged Maine Coon. Voice Talent, Sound Designer and Musician for the Dry Smoke series, he also finds time to claim there have never been anything called dinosaurs, FireSign Theatre still reigns supreme, pop music should go “pop” once and for all, and is reassured by the fact that the FDA only allows .02% “retired” mafia hit men per baseball stadium hot dog. Marc has provided the pre-recorded Sound Design for “The Jewel”, and plays the role of Emille Song, the hero of Dry Smoke, in our live presentation.
Jerrel McQuen
Author of tonight’s play, and Writer and Illustrator for Dry Smoke, Jerrel is a total recluse who only goes outside during solar eclipses and impenetrable thunderstorms. Last seen muttering to himself about “@#$* deadlines”, Jerrel doesn’t believe there’s anything on the moon, that UFO’s are the product of Temporal/Electro/Magnetic technology pioneered by Tesla and exploited by various world governments, and that sheep should remain inside their pen, though many times they’ve seen the way to leave. Jerrel will attend the UFO Festival and the Willamette Radio Workshop Presentation via a telepathic trance while resonating in the Second Attention inside a secret recreation of a Tchotalan pyramid.
We are pleased to present our first partnership with these very talented gentlemen and look forward to many interstellar adventures to come.
WRW joins the 4th annual UFO Festival to produce a live re-creation of radio’s most famous broadcast.
Sponsored by McMenamins Theatres and Pubs
When & Where: Saturday, May 10th – 1:00pm
Mack Theater in McMinnville, OR
Friday, May 9th – 7:00pm
The historic White Eagle Saloon in Portland, OR.
All performances are free and open to the public.
WRW presents Orson Welles� production of H. G. Wells� War of the Worlds. This is a live recreation of the original 1938 �Panic Broadcast� that shook a nation on the brink of war. The script, a loose adaptation of H.G. Wells’ Sci-Fi classic by Howard Koch (who went on to write Casablanca) tells the story of Martians invading the Earth.
The program was presented as a series of live news feeds that created a touch of realism by breaking into a placid evening of dance music. Although the program clearly stated at the beginning and at the half way point that it was a radio drama, most of the country was tuned into the Chase and Sandborn Hour with Edgar Bergen and Charley Macarthy, the most popular radio tandem in the country. However, Nelson Eddy was the musical guest that night and when he began to sing a couple of not-too-popular songs, the radio audience began to spin those dials, coming into the War of the Worldsbroadcast after the disclaimer. The subsequent panic, from listeners who took the radio play for real, traumatized several cities across the eastern seaboard. It is important to note that no one was killed or killed themselves, but rumors of such activity spread as fast as the rumors of Martian invasion. The ensuing notoriety made Orson Welles a star and showed the devastating power of radio in the new age of mass communication.
WRW�s 12 actors, using live foley sound effects, live music and a plethora of old school analog audio magic reproduce the excitement and drama with a production faithful to the spirit of “live Radio.” Enjoy a look at a vibrant entertainment medium and this opportunity to look back at the best Halloween prank ever pulled on the American Public.
If you haven�t seen live radio, you ain�t heard nothing yet.
The Aliens are Coming!
4th Annual UFO Fest
at McMenamins Hotel Oregon � McMinnville, Oregon
Thursday, May 8, Friday, May 9 and Saturday, May 10
It just may be the most fun-and eye-opening-event you�ll encounter all year! For three days, Thursday, May 8th through Saturday, May 10, hear experts� compelling reports of unexplained, extraterrestrial visitations from the skies, and join the dancing humans dressed head-to-toe in tin foil�
With both a serious eye and a light heart, the UFO Fest explores and celebrates the realities and possibilities of life emanating from beyond Planet Earth. It�s Oregon�s largest annual UFO event and this year�s expanded program promises to be galaxies beyond the last.
The lineup for the 2003 event features a UFO costume parade, keynote presentation by internationally UFO authority Stanton Friedman, theUFOstore.com Video Film Festival at McMinnville�s historic Mack Theater, an Alien Costume Ball, a special reception with the keynote speaker and other presenters, exhibitor booths of UFO literature, art and merchandise, and much more�
All UFO Fest events are free and open to all ages, unless otherwise noted. Details about specific events can be found at their website:
http://www.ufofest.com/McHO/ufo/
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
THURSDAY, MAY 8
Dinner with Stanton Friedman at Hotel Oregon, 7pm
FRIDAY, MAY 9
UFO Exhibits at Hotel Oregon, 4pm to 9pm
Speaker Forum at the Mack Theater, 8pm
Speaker Reception & Book Signing at Hotel Oregon, 9:30pm
SATURDAY, MAY 10
UFO Exhibits at Hotel Oregon, 9am to 5pm
�Orson Welles� War of the Worlds� a live radio theater performance at the Mack Theater, 1pm
2nd Annual UFO Parade, 3pm
theUFOstore.com UFO Film Festival at the Mack Theater, 4pm
Alien Ball at Hotel Oregon, 8pm
Doctor Who: Proteus Rising by Joseph Medina
