Earplay
Encyclopedia
Earplay was the longest-running of the formal series of radio drama
anthologies on National Public Radio, heard from 1972 into the 1990s. It approached radio drama as an art form with scripts written by such leading playwrights as Edward Albee
, Arthur Kopit, Archibald MacLeish
and David Mamet
.
Airing in stereo, Earplay provided a showcase for original and adapted work. Eventually, the less-sustained successor series NPR Playhouse
drew episodes from the Earplay run. Often presented by NPR member stations on a weekly basis, Earplay episodes were produced with much attention to recording technique and sound-effects.
In 1975, it scored a triumph with Listening, an original play written by Edward Albee for stereo radio, employing one speaker for one character and another speaker for another character. Since both characters are seated in a room, the illusion is created that they are in the same room as the listener. After its premiere on radio, Listening was later performed on stage.
Along with the CBS Radio Mystery Theater
, Sears Radio Theater
, The General Mills Radio Adventure Theater
, Christian radio's Unshackled and public radio's The National Radio Theater of Chicago
, Earplay was among the most ambitious nationwide projects in the medium in the U.S. during the 1970s and 1980s.
Radio drama
Radio drama is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance, broadcast on radio or published on audio media, such as tape or CD. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine the characters and story...
anthologies on National Public Radio, heard from 1972 into the 1990s. It approached radio drama as an art form with scripts written by such leading playwrights as Edward Albee
Edward Albee
Edward Franklin Albee III is an American playwright who is best known for The Zoo Story , The Sandbox , Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? , and a rewrite of the screenplay for the unsuccessful musical version of Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's . His works are considered well-crafted, often...
, Arthur Kopit, Archibald MacLeish
Archibald MacLeish
Archibald MacLeish was an American poet, writer, and the Librarian of Congress. He is associated with the Modernist school of poetry. He received three Pulitzer Prizes for his work.-Early years:...
and David Mamet
David Mamet
David Alan Mamet is an American playwright, essayist, screenwriter and film director.Best known as a playwright, Mamet won a Pulitzer Prize and received a Tony nomination for Glengarry Glen Ross . He also received a Tony nomination for Speed-the-Plow . As a screenwriter, he received Oscar...
.
Airing in stereo, Earplay provided a showcase for original and adapted work. Eventually, the less-sustained successor series NPR Playhouse
NPR Playhouse
NPR Playhouse was a series of radio dramas from National Public Radio. The series was a successor to the NPR series Earplay and was discontinued in September 2002....
drew episodes from the Earplay run. Often presented by NPR member stations on a weekly basis, Earplay episodes were produced with much attention to recording technique and sound-effects.
In 1975, it scored a triumph with Listening, an original play written by Edward Albee for stereo radio, employing one speaker for one character and another speaker for another character. Since both characters are seated in a room, the illusion is created that they are in the same room as the listener. After its premiere on radio, Listening was later performed on stage.
Along with the CBS Radio Mystery Theater
CBS Radio Mystery Theater
CBS Radio Mystery Theater was a radio drama series created by Himan Brown that was broadcast on CBS affiliates from 1974 to 1982....
, Sears Radio Theater
Sears Radio Theater
Sears Radio Theater was a radio drama anthology series which ran weeknightly on CBS Radio in 1979, sponsored by the Sears chain. Often paired with The CBS Radio Mystery Theater during its first season, the program offered a different genre of drama for each day's broadcast.In 1980, the program...
, The General Mills Radio Adventure Theater
The General Mills Radio Adventure Theater
The General Mills Radio Adventure Theater was a 1977 anthology radio drama series with Tom Bosley as host. Himan Brown, already producing the CBS Radio Mystery Theater for the network, added this twice-weekly anthology radio drama series to his workload in 1977...
, Christian radio's Unshackled and public radio's The National Radio Theater of Chicago
The National Radio Theater of Chicago
The National Radio Theater of Chicago was an anthology radio drama series that began as a local program in 1973, but always had national aspirations . Episodes consisted of original radio plays, adaptations of fiction and stage plays, and radio plays from Europe and the Far East...
, Earplay was among the most ambitious nationwide projects in the medium in the U.S. during the 1970s and 1980s.