Radio Drama: The Characteristics and Uses of a

Unique Form of Communication

There’s no romance in television: it’s just the Wal-Mart of the mind. Radio is infinitely sexier.

—(Garrison Keillor, Radio Romance, 1991)

Communication forms the very foundation of the society in which we live. Through both visual and oral forms, we communicate with our fellow man in an ongoing process of change and evolution. We rely heavily on this communication with the rest of the population to inform us about the things we want and need to know to better our lives. Whether through televisions, radios, computers, or telephones, our societal development is increasingly tied to the ease at which ideas and news can circulate. The media we surround ourselves with represents an important tool for changing the culture around us and growing as individuals. Thus, we have evolved many different forms and techniques for conveying information and ideas.

Radio represents one of these forms, and is an essential medium of mass communication. Its importance is centered on the facts that it is readily accessible by almost everyone and can carry messages to very large audiences with relatively little expense. Throughout the world, in industrialized and developing countries, the radio is a major communication force for improving the quality of life. People all across the globe spend large amounts of time listening to the radio in search of entertainment and news. Even in third world countries where wealth and technology is very limited, there is usually at least one radio in working order in each village which is listened to daily (Bogue 1). Therefore the radio represents an invaluable resource for communicating ideas and information to main stream culture as well as third world populations. Despite the emergence of television, Internet, and other mediums more visually focused, radio has maintained a position of importance in the conveyance of information on a global scale.

Radio drama represents a unique form of radio broadcast in that it tells complex stories or plays without the use of visual aid. These dramas focus on creating a mental scene within the listener’s imagination by the use of descriptive language and specially designed scripts. Because of the lack of a visual reference traditionally found in theater, radio drama is sometimes called “the theater of the mind” (Ferrington 2). Radio drama makes use of directional clues within dialogue, special effects, and the use of acoustic space to stimulate the listener to mentally create his or her own visual interpretations to the story. Because of its capacity to entertain, radio drama can be used to spread important information with social significance to large populations of listeners, where other more traditional methods have failed. This essay will assess the unique challenges presented to the production of these dramas and will discuss their significance in distributing important information, in an entertaining fashion, to the listening audience.

By their very nature, radio plays represent a contradiction in terms. The implications held within the iconic meanings of the words seem to create a challenge to radio drama. When one thinks of drama, the existence of a set with lighting, a stage, scenery, and colorfully clad actors is implied. It is the job of drama to show and present the audience with a make believe story, and to portray this story visually on the stage. “We are all accustomed, in everyday phraseology, to going “to see” plays, as opposed to going “to hear” them” (Crisell 144). With radio, many of these traditional characteristics associated with drama have to be eliminated for the obvious reason that radio is a blind medium and changes the focus of the piece away from visual representations to aural ones. “No costumes, no sets, and little blocking is needed in what has been called “the stage of pure sound” (Ney 43). Therefore, the challenge presented to radio drama is to overcome the limitations imposed on it by traditional meaning and to recreate itself in non-contradictory terms.

An important attribute of audio is that it is a “participatory medium which actively engages the listener in the on-going processing of aural information” (Ferrington 1). This requires the listener to take the information he has received, decode it, and generate meaning from it. Because the symbolic language of audio is purely based on sound, spoken word, noise, silence, and music, there is always the chance that the intended message will be misinterpreted. Thus, the perception of this intended message depends greatly on the listener’s ability to take the descriptive audio stimuli received from the radio drama and construct a mental image of what is going on within the scene. In other words, it falls to the listener to derive meaning from what the radio drama presents to him and to fill in the details beyond the limited audio information that is provided. “Each individual becomes his or her own movie director with no two people having the same imaginary experience” (Beck 2). Thus, one of the key requirements of radio drama is to create a text that allows little room for the misinterpretation of the intended message.

As already stated, the lack of visual scenery, lighting, costumes, and make-up places limits on the kinds of plays that can be done. In addition, plays with large casts cannot be successfully performed over the radio. At most, the listener can accommodate up to five actors in one scene before becoming confused as to who is present and who is speaking. Also these characters must be somehow involved in the dialogue or the listener will forget that they are even present in the scene. Another limitation arises in that non-speaking characters cannot provide visual reactions to other character’s dialogues such as facial expressions or body language. These clues have to be contained within the dialogue itself and must be conveyed through voice tone, cadence, and word choice. Other limits imposed on radio include the restriction of vocal dynamics available to actors due to the technical confines of the equipment used. In order to shout, the actor must be distanced or muffled and in order to whisper, the actor must be amplified. More importantly these sounds must maintain an unbroken flow to hold the listeners attention since there is no visual dimension to the performance.

Perhaps one of the more intriguing restrictions of radio drama involves the audience. With traditional drama, the members of the audience have a vested interest in the play. They have purchased their tickets and have made time to go to the theater to view it. Once there, they become a part of a larger audience, which has a direct influence over the drama being presented. They can laugh, cry, gasp, etc. . . Each evoking some kind of response from the actors and having an impact on the overall presentation of the drama itself. Thus, the presence of an audience is crucial to the traditional drama presentation.

This isn’t the case with radio drama. Each individual audience member hears the play in a different environment with different sets of distractions. They haven’t paid to see the performance and haven’t committed to sitting through it. Because of their absence from the immediate vicinity of the drama, where they are capable of inflicting change through audience reaction, they assert their control over the situation by simply switching off the radio or changing the station. “They may feel that this is the only option left to them; for they not only lack the visual cues offered by actors on the stage, but cannot be influenced by the reactions of others in the audience” (Crisell 145). Thus, the audience of a radio drama must be appeased to a greater degree than the audience of traditional drama.

Despite the amount of restrictions imposed on it, the “theater of the mind” still manages to flourish as elements of radio drama have been incorporated into audio commercials, trailers, comedy shows, and narratives (Crisell 146). In fact, it is through these very restrictions that radio drama succeeds. As stated earlier, radio has been declared a blind medium in that no visual references accompany the sound. What is interesting to note is that “this blindness is both the weakness and strength of the medium” and fosters the very characteristics which help it to achieve its own niche within modern communications methods. (Ferrington 2 [Arnhiem]). By lacking visual accompaniment, the radio drama audience is required to make an active commitment, an aural contract with the play, interpreting the narrative and dialogue according to his own life experiences. Therefore, every radio drama is going to be unique and different for each listener. This personalized connection to the story fosters a stronger focus on the emotional content of the plot as well as a stronger identification with the protagonist, ultimately, making the drama more enjoyable.

“Storytelling is the art of oral communication and is integral to the design of effective audio. Good storytelling presents facts and concepts in a highly motivational manner which holds the attention of the listener” (Ferrington 2). The key to producing a good radio drama is presenting the story in an entertaining fashion. “A good radio script works largely by suggestion rather than direct statement: it must give the listener exactly those cues he needs to imagine for himself the whole sensory world of the play” (Malony 85). Without the visual stimulus present in other mediums to capture the audiences attention, radio dramas are forced to create an intriguing and complex story line focusing on just aural components, including dialogue, monologue, music, and sound effects. If a constant stream of stimuli isn’t fed to the audience they could become disinterested and cease to listen. While this is a limit to the form, it is also a strong point. It is because of this need to present the story in an interesting and suspenseful manner that the quality of story told through radio drama often exceeds that of other, visually oriented forms, where special effects and flashy visuals serve to “fluff” the plot.

Another advantage of radio drama over traditional forms deals with the issue of dramatic space. With stage plays, the audience is positioned outside the action taking place and can only watch and listen from afar. This distance creates a loss of intimacy between the action of the play itself and the audience. Because of the audience’s physical separation from the story, the opportunity for outside interference and distraction is increased. With radio drama, this problem is marginalized. Due to the fact that these dramas are recorded in the studio and then broadcast to the listeners, the audience gets a sense of being right in the middle of the play. Each person receives his own personal production of the drama through his radio. This impression of a personalized performance is furthered by the use of space within the dialogue itself. Stereo sound enables the characters to be positioned at different points within the listening field, often on opposite sides of the audience member, creating the perception of depth and movement. Thus, the impression is created that the listener is indeed in the middle of the action. “”The listener should feel a sense of being situated within a given scene” (Ferrington 3). Also, due to this immersion of the audience within the action of the drama, the amount of extraneous distractions is cut down, leaving the listener to concentrate solely on the plot and meaning of the story.

The lack of props and a stage works in other ways to aid the presentation of radio drama. With traditional dramatic styles, the range of scene changes and story lines are limited to what can be convincingly performed on the stage with the available props. This isn’t the case with radio drama. Because of its very lack of a physical presence, the opportunity avails itself to take drama to places where it couldn’t convincingly go with visual representations (Crisell 154). Examples include outer space, the ocean, and any rapid change of setting that would be restricted by physical sets.

The lack of a material setting also allows for a more introspective approach to dramatic fiction. It’s much easier to portray the inner thoughts of a character if there isn’t any physical objects to distract the listener. For example, in a theater, the characters’ inner thoughts and emotions can be conveyed through monologues or voice-overs and other similar techniques. These methods, while effective, present a challenge to the audience in that there are distracting visual stimuli competing with the message. Also these methods require a break in the action of the play which, at times, seems unnatural and out of place. With radio drama, these distractions aren’t present and the conveyance of the characters inner thoughts and emotions seems to be more with the flow of the story and less forced, thus creating a tighter bond between the audience and the characters.

Besides its entertainment value, radio drama is also important in the realm of social development around the world. It is because of this entertainment factor that it is such an effective means of distributing information and ideas. Throughout history, the radio has been used to convey information from a single person or small group of people to a much larger population. Radio is cost effective and very accessible, even in third world countries. It is no surprise that the role of radio drama in instituting social change has increased as more and more people become aware of the resources around them.

The greatest challenge to getting a message of educational or social value through to the people who need it most deals with the fact that most people view these messages as boring and a waste of their time. “The radio has a long history of disappointing those who want to use it primarily for public education, social progress, or promoting the common good. Careful monitoring usually reveals that, when “educational programs” are aired, all but a tiny fraction of the audience quietly turns the dial to another station or simply turns the set off in order to save the batteries for a time when something more interesting is available” (Bogue 2). The solution to combating this resistance to being educated, instead of being entertained, is to combine the two together into one program that both educates and entertains.

The strategy of groups interested in introducing messages of social development should focus on the incorporation of their messages into formats that the audience is used to hearing. “Instead of trying to replicate the teacher-classroom situation over the air, the communicator complies with the listening preferences of his audience and packages his messages in forms that blend in with and/or reflect the programming the audience is accustomed to accepting” (Bogue 5). With this strategy, radio drama assumes a leading role in instituting social change because of its familiarity and acceptance by people all over the world.

“Radio dramas have become increasingly popular as a means of educating the public about health issues in the developing world. Known as the entertainment-education approach, this means of communicating health messages was first developed in Mexico by Miguel Sabido and was used to encourage family planning” (Chirwa, Hornik, Yoder 188). Since then the entertainment-education approach has been used to address issues ranging from infectious diseases, AIDS, and first aid treatment, to crop information, fertilizer, and sex. Although the results of these broadcasts are marked by a mixed response from the target audience, it has been demonstrated in many studies that the persuasive power of radio is effective. At the very least, the presence of such programs on the air brings the desired area of concern to a conscious level and creates a forum through which a change of the targeted practices can be discussed.

When radio drama is selected as the medium through which social change is to be attempted, there are several guidelines that will greatly increase its odds of success. First and foremost, the story line must prominently address the exigency that you seek to change. To merely mention it sporadically throughout the text isn’t enough to cause the casual listener to realize the error of his ways and to make a life change. In order to insure the success of the campaign, it is necessary to model the play in such a way as to be popular among the community. Maloney suggests that the persuasive drama should be modeled after existing plays that are already popular within the community. The communicator should “try to discover why they are popular. There is no reason why [the drama] should not build on success rather than offering something unfamiliar to [the] audience” (Maloney 98). Also, it stands to reason that a long running series would be more effective than a single broadcast. Not only does this give the audience more chances to hear the intended message, but also enables them to build a closer relationship with the characters in the drama. By following a few simple guidelines, the entertainment value of radio drama can be coupled educational information to create a medium that entertains and informs the listener. If used properly, this medium can be used to better and enrich the lives of people around the world.

Radio represents a universal communicating and unifying force that ties our global community together. It can be found everywhere from the jungles of South America, to the Deserts in Asia, to the penthouses of New York City. Not only is it widespread, the costs for producing and broadcasting a radio show are minimal when compared to other mediums, such as television. Even the poorest third world communities have at least one functioning radio. Thus, the ease at which radio technology is spread throughout the world is what makes it such an effective medium in communicating the ideas and information of modern society.

Radio drama fills a unique spot within the audio spectrum in that it accomplishes goals similar to those found in traditional theater, without the use of visual representation. Also, the entertainment value associated with radio drama distinguishes it as a very important tool in initiating social development. When strategically used, it can become a valuable vehicle for improving the lives of people around the world. It is the lack of visual stimuli that both limits and enables the medium in its conveyance of ideas and information. Because of this exclusive focus on the aural, radio drama is limited in the number of characters possible within the plays, the complexity of the plots, and the use of gestures, facial expressions, body language, and other movements by the actors. However, by forcing the listener to create visual accompaniment within his own mind, radio drama results in a more personalized dramatic experience characterized by a fashioning of closer ties to the protagonist and a greater understanding of the themes presented within the play. Thus, it is through this very “blindness” that radio drama succeeds as a medium.

Works Cited

Beck, Alan. Listening to Radio Plays: Fictional Soundscapes.

http://interact.uoregon.edu/MediaLit/FC/readings/Listentoradio.html

Bogue, Donald J., Higgins, Robert C., Maloney, Martin J., Peigh, Terry D. The Use of

Radio in Social Development. University of Chicago, Chicago 1979.

Chirwa, Ben C., Hornik, Robert, Yoder, P. Stanley. Evaluating the Program Effects of a

Radio Drama About AIDS in Zambia. Studies in Family Planning 1996 v27 p188.

Crisell, Andrew. Understanding Radio. Routledge, New York 1986.

Crook, Tim. Radio Drama: Theory and Practice. Routledge, New York 1999.

Ferrington, Gary. Audio Design: Creating Multi-Sensory Changes for the Mind.

http://interact.uoregon.edu/MediaLit/FC/readings/sndesign.html.

Montague, Sarah. Inebriate of Air: A Short History of Contemporary American Radio

Drama. http://www.westernpublicradio.org/rc/inebriate.html.

Ney, Diane. Making Waves. American Theatre 1992 v8 p42.