Everything is relative.  That includes literary genres.  For example, is space opera science fiction, or is it fantasy in a sci-fi setting? Our feature in this installment of Midnight Audio Theatre faces that relative classification conundrum.  You’ll hear the beginning of the sci fi series Relativity by Lee Shackleford…except it might really be a mystery.  Relativity is the story of a man marooned in space, and the woman hell-bent on rescuing him (albeit “by the book”).  The big mystery to be solved if he’s going to make it home:  how was his ship sabotaged, and why? This series is lovingly produced by Shackleford.  It’s trulyRead More →

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It’s another world premiere! With this episode, we conclude our celebration of Midnight Audio Theatre-produced features with the debut of a story by K.G. Kline; it won in our 2019 scriptwriting competition. “No Man’s Land” opens above Earth.  A vast orbiting luxury space hotel has been converted into a weather observation station with just one occupant.  The ho-hum routine of her daily duties must alter suddenly when she receives a surprising transmission from a long-forgotten vessel.  This may alter more than her daily duties – it could alter the entire course of this future human society. There are stories behind the story, too.  It wasRead More →

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We continue taking our gaze inside:  to audio dramas produced right here by the many minions of Midnight Audio Theatre.  All of whom are Cathy Rinella*, your show host AND supreme sound designer, audio engineer, writer, director…well, you get the idea.  As she reads each entry from our annual scriptwriting competition, she hears how the characters and action will play to the ear, then holds tight to the demanding detail that her mind’s ear creates. That quality shows. You’ll hear it for yourself in all our offerings in this episode.  It’s a trilogy of tales penned by three-time competition champ Evan Waters, beginning with “BondsRead More →

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Midnight Audio Theatre’s features festival is roughly midstride as we present you with a world premiere.  Every year, we’re amazed at the incredible quality and creativity of the works submitted in our annual scriptwriting competition.  Last year (2019) was no exception. You’re about to hear “Wingbeats” by K.S.Dearsley.  Dearsley is an accomplished writer in multiple media – including plays, books, short fiction and poetry.   A Doctor Who fan, she loves to create speculative fiction. In “Wingbeats,” young Katya is sent to live with her aunt in a foreign country after weather ruins the crops in her impoverished farming village.  Her aunt, though, is not theRead More →

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Our Features Festival continues as we present winners from the annual Midnight Audio Theatre scriptwriting competition.  We’ve held the competition since 2012, so plenty of fantastic original audio dramas from multiple genres exist to titillate your fancy. We focus in this installment on the human factor:  personal relationships and loss. “Sea and Sky” opens the show.  Written by Michael McPherson, this 2017 winner delves into the magic that thrives in the special relationship between grandchildren and grandparents.  Then, 2013 winner “A Choice Between” by Glenn Hascall brings you to the intersection of guilt, sorrow, and the afterlife after a fatal car crash.  We conclude withRead More →

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All year long, we feature the best English-language audio dramas we can find from around the world.  Now, it’s time for our own features! Here – and continuing in the next couple of episodes – we present original stories written by the winners of our annual scriptwriting competition.  We’re taking a break from the competition for 2020, but there are plenty of other stellar stories stored and standing by. Our last episode (#346) presented wonderful, haunting works from Jim McDoniel’s entries for 2017 and 2018.  This time, get ready for the debut of his 2019 winning script, “The Wild Hunt.”  When a soldier drifts intoRead More →

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Midnight Audio Theatre scours the soundscapes of civilization to bring you the best audio dramas crawling from their creators’ minds.  Now, though, we’re treating you to a couple of original productions produced by our dear friends at…Midnight Audio Theatre! We’ve held script competitions in the past – and hope to revive them in the future, because the submissions are consistently creative, original, and attention-grabbing.  It’s deucedly difficult to pick a winner, but you’ll enjoy some standouts from years past in this installment of our show. We’re focusing on the works of Jim McDoniel.  He’s crafted stellar stories for Hartlife Productions’ Our Fair City and UnwellRead More →

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Welcome back, sonic snoops! It’s time for the final installment in our annual January of Jack Justice.  This time, satisfy your madness for mysteries with episodes 62 (“Strange Bedfellows”) and 63 (“My Heart Belongs to Mummy”) from Black Jack Justice’s tenth season. In “Strange Bedfellows,” a big boss is putting big pressure on Jack and Trixie to drop their only active case.  Problem is: without the case, they’re pretty unemployed.  With the case, they might end up pretty dead.  How will they solve that conundrum? Somehow, they do survive, only to take a sideroad to the supernatural in “My Heart Belongs to Mummy.”  What’s aRead More →

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It’s our penultimate parade of private-eye potboilers:  the third episode in a row devoted entirely to that slick sonic sultan of sleuthing, Black Jack Justice! Today’s back-to-back adventures are installments 59 (“The Big Time”) and 60 (“The Learner’s Permit”). It’s said that the life of a private investigator consists of bits of action interrupted by long stretches of slow days watching the sun crawl across the office floor.  Jack and Trixie wouldn’t know anything about that; just as they settle in for a big yawner, the door bursts open and opportunity strides in, reeking of after-shave and waving an action-packed expense account.  That means it’sRead More →

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Come inside, come inside, come inside to part two of our nonstop Noir January of Jack Justice! In this installment, the good people of Decoder Ring Theatre will treat your ears to two tales from season nine of Black Jack Justice –  episodes 56 (“Death and Taxes”) and 57 (“The Cheshire Cat”). As Ben Franklin told his pal Jean-Baptiste LeRoy, “Nothing can be said to be certain except death and taxes.”  Jack Justice would add itemized lists of expenses will certainly show things that aren’t as they appear.  Oh, and a fourth thing that’s certain:  it’ll cost you $39.99 per diem to have Justice &Read More →

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