With limits on how many people they can perform live shows for, Castlemaine Theatre Company members are preparing to take to the airwaves.
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The company will premiere the first episode of its four-part production of Shakespeare's The Tempest on MainFM on September 22.
It marks the end of a two-year hibernation for the theatre company as the coronavirus pandemic stopped them from returning to the stage.
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Director Kate Stones said the project followed on from CTC's mini podcasts of their previous shows.
"We started doing little excerpts of our previous shows, only two or three minutes long, as something to remind people of the great stuff we have done," she said.
"At the end of 2020, listening to Radio National theatre show about a New York company that created a serialised podcast of Richard II and I thought it was a fantastic idea."
Ms Stones chose The Tempest because it was not a traditional tragedy or comedy play.
"The Tempest has had a big influence on literature," she said. "There are some famous lines like 'We are such stuff as dreams are made of'.
"What I like about it particularly is it is doesn't fall in the usual categories of tragedy or comedy. It has humour but also darkness. I like that complexity."
Ms Stones said the company focused on their radio serial even as Victoria emerged from lockdown in 2020 and enjoyed things trending in the right direction earlier this year.
"We thought for the first show it was safer to do something that didn't rely on a live audience," she said. "We have been lucky to get the recordings done between lockdowns and are glad we made that call.
"It's a really different experience for the actors. The first thing is, they don't need learn lines off by heart, which is an advantage.
"We went through text together, analysed and understood what its meaning was and recorded maybe five takes of a scene."
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Adding to the experience was the use of a Foley artist for some sound effects as well as a score by local composer David Thrussell to help describe the island that is inhabited by spirits, visions and strange creatures.
"We were really lucky work with David Thrussell, a renowned electronic composer," Ms Stones said. "It was COVID that allowed that opportunity because David supposed to be touring but couldn't and was home in Castlemaine.
"We also recorded some live Foley for a scene where a character eats raw fish - we used watermelon and got someone munching into that. I was also going to places to get water sound but we also found a lot of sound effects online.
"The result is really good and I think everyone enjoyed it. Now we are finishing up post production and are excited to see it."
The Tempest will air weekly from Wednesday, September 22, on MainFM at 1pm. It wil be repeated on Saturday nights.
CTC also plans to host a listening event on October 16 at Goods Shed Arts (formerly Castlemaine Goods Shed). The fundraiser event will include an extended interval for a meal break encouraging people to bring a picnic and have a drink at the bar and meet the cast.
"We will be playing all four episodes on that evening and eventually the serial will be on our website for people to access," Ms Stones said.
For more information or to book tickets to CTC's October 16 event visit www.castlemainetheatrecompany.com.au
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