Creating a Radio Program
by Laura Matas
Freshman English major Mason Hill has started his college career in quite a fascinating way. "Born out of [a] childhood dream to create a kind of fusion between the vivid imagination involved in novels and the honest delivery of lines by actors," Hill has created a radio program for KANM Student radio. Titled Frequency Films, this program centers around the discussions that take place between an array of characters. Hill says, "I try not to limit the show to any genre, and as such the characters may be discussing anything at any given week." The radio program airs Sunday afternoons at 4 pm on KANM Student Radio, but can also be accessed via the program's YouTube channel.
Interviews with the Cast and Crew:
Mason Hill '19 (Jesse/Director)
Dillon Rouse '16 (Writer)
Peter Salamat '15 (Joe)
Ryder Robinson '16 (Cameron)
Josh Howells '18 (Brandon)
Samantha Heldman '19 (Sylvia)
Liz Nelson '17 (Danielle)
Samya Irfan '19 (Maria)
Interview with Mason Hill, English major
Why radio?
In radio, when a scene is presented, the decoration is in the mind’s eye, filling in the gaps tailored to each person’s subjective view of the story. I’ve always wanted to find a kind of happy marriage between these two and be involved in the process of creating such an art.
How did this program idea come to fruition?
Taking this from an idea to a reality has been a major undertaking. At the MSC Open House, I learned about KANM, becoming a member, and having a show. I spoke to the officers and decided that this was an undertaking that was possible and that would be a fun, exciting project which several people would want to get involved with. Next, I sent emails out to the Creative Writers of Aggieland, SWAMP, and a few other student organizations hoping that they would provide their input with whatever they could; scripts, actors, editors, etc. After this, I emailed interested parties personally. The playwright, Dillon Rouse, got a few of his drama buddies involved, and we started rehearsing in the study lounges and brought the scripts to the Annex whenever we could find the schedule. The scheduling was one of the hardest parts, since everyone had such full days, and after recording several group lines we started doing one character at a time. Next, came the process of editing the production—a task that was more engrossing than I realized. In radio shows, I feel that editing is a director’s job, that they must know the scene and every beat and breath in the script—that a half-second of silence in the right place can be more effective than a dialogue full of shouting—and the director themselves must be at the head of this process. Finally, after all was edited, I saved the show on a flash drive and played the first half of it on the air.What has been your favorite part so far about this project?
So far, my favorite part about this project has been the cast and seeing how they bring life into these characters, voicing them in a way that makes them believable, because the actors are believable, while maintaining a level of fiction, because the characters themselves are fictional. When lines are read, there is no Ryder Robinson screaming at Samya Irfan because of the mistakes she’s made, these very real emotions are harbored only by Cameron and Maria in their dispute. The voice is real, the heart is real, but the people are not, and seeing that dichotomy unfold before my eyes (and ears) has been interesting to experience.
Have you made any mistakes you have already been able to learn from?
We have made a TON of learnable mistakes, some learning experiences, and some errors in judgment. In one situation, there were scheduling errors and technical difficulties—rendering a four-hour recording session virtually useless—there was a while when we didn’t have enough actors to fill the roles, and there were a few lines that were forgotten in the recording process. In fact, the reason the split occurred where it did between the two halves is because there were a few lines that were forgotten to be recorded! Fortunately, this was salvageable. The mysterious, climactic ending of the first half has almost an off-screen/off-stage feeling to it, rather than being so straightforward as to describe what’s happening immediately. There were several mistakes made like that, but ultimately it made for better future shows and didn’t completely ruin the show we had made.
What are you most excited about, moving forward with this project?
Moving forward, I’m most excited about how other people will continue to shape and mold this project into the creative venture that it is. Whatever the art, (musical composition of theme, writing, acting, editing, if someone else wants to try to direct, new ways of advertising the show to get it to a larger audience, development of logos, etc), everyone in Aggieland has something they can give to this project to bring life into the stories.
Are you still accepting new voice actors?
We are still looking for people who have always had either a dream or an interest [in voice acting] and have never had the opportunity to have it realized. I remember pouring my soul into stories and dramas, writing volumes of plays and detective novels only to find them some years later only having gained an audience of dust mites and time. I imagine that several people, Aggies especially, have run into this same problem of creativity lacking exposure. Whether they’ve always wanted to try their hand at writing a movie or have the acting bug that they could never quite address, I wanted to provide a voice for everyone who wanted to be heard, the silent composers finally to be provided a symphony that would enchant the box seats and standing areas with the melodious harmony of their undiscovered skill. If you are interested in helping with this project, please email frequencyfilmstamu@gmail.com.
Any other fun facts to share about this project?
Fun facts about the project: we had a lot of fun recording the project, we even did an outtake scene that I’ll try to publish as an easter egg in the future (without hearing the whole of the first production, it won’t make any sense.) Another fun fact: the script had to be completely re-written to adhere to KANM’s language guidelines, but most of the sentiments were kept. One more fun fact: one of the actors/actresses (I won’t say whom, they might hate me forever) has a blatant phobia of rabbits, so every time we would have recording we’d imply that everyone was supposed to bring a pet bunny for extra credit. Last fun fact: Currently, I am in the process of writing a multi-episode radio drama, which I have literally no time schedule for. If it ever airs, it will probably be my senior year, and would take virtually between now and then to record. I like to think of it as a novel on the airwaves, but like I said... I’ve hardly started yet.Interview with Dillon Rouse, English major
How did you begin writing for this project?
I began writing for this project about three summers ago. I had always wanted to write a script for a play but really didn’t know how, nor did I have the time for it. However, after the advice given to me by my Theatre professors, I began reading nothing but scripts—from classic to contemporary plays. I also applied some key elements I’d learned from a Theatre Class that I took last semester (THAR 102: Script Analysis).
How long have you been interested in writing?
Since I was in the fourth grade. I've always liked writing and how it can serve as a therapy session for you. You could be having a bad day, but whenever you start writing, you feel as if you’re putting all your worries and frustrations into this blank piece of paper. And (usually) whenever you’re done, you feel relieved and proud. You feel like you got something accomplished.What has been your favorite part so far about this project?
Getting to see the actors perform. The first read through was exciting but grueling. It was exciting because they were actually getting into the scenes they were performing and it showed me that they really do care about the project. It was grueling for me because there were times when they would read something that made me go “why did I even write that?” or “that doesn’t even make sense to me…and I wrote it!” Mostly, I was frustrated with the grammar mistakes that I had made.Have you made any mistakes you have already been able to learn from?
Yes, I’ve learned to check for grammar mistakes (which have always been a hassle for me). Another would be learning to work with everyone’s schedule. It was hard to do a practice run when everyone else had something to do, like work, other organizations, homework and studying. Next time, I need to ask the actors beforehand what their schedules are during the semester before making plans for rehearsals.What are you most looking forward to with this project?
Seeing whether or not I’m really fit for this kind of work. I always wonder—along with many inspiring writers and playwrights—whether or not I've created something that can capture the audience’s eye—if something from my work can grab audiences' attention and take them away from their reality and into this imaginary world. I’m also excited to see the show performed on the radio. I’m excited to see how the audience uses their imagination whenever they’re listening to what’s going on.Interview with Peter Salamat, Physics major
What has been your favorite part so far about this project?
My favorite part about this project has been being able to work with so many talented students and getting to meet a lot of diverse people. We all got along very well and I am happy to call the others who worked on this project my friends. I'm excited to see what we can do in the future and I am looking forward to working with them again.Have you made any mistakes you have already been able to learn from?
So far the main mistake I made was learning about time efficiency. I grew to understand that I needed to put more work in the project outside of the times we were set to meet so that I could be more prepared during the actual meetings that we had. After a few meetings, I learned to do this in order to know what I needed to do for every scene.What are you most excited about, moving forward with this project?
'Stranger in the Temple' was an amazing project to perform and produce with the cast and especially with Mason Hill, our director. I am excited to see what he has in store for KANM radio and Frequency Films in general. I really hope I get the chance to continue to work with this cast, Mason, and any future members who plan to help with any projects. My main ambition is to help Mason organize future shows and projects so that we can present them at their best possible qualities.Interview with Ryder Robinson, Telecommunications major
What has been your favorite part so far about this project?
Trying something new and related to my major.Have you made any mistakes you have already been able to learn from?
Though voice acting doesn't exactly require memorization of the material, I'll know next time that it doesn't hurt to look the lines over beforehand.Interview with Josh Howells, Psychology major
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