Old time radio thrives again
Published 12:22 pm Thursday, June 28, 2018
KCAL Old Time Radio Troupe reenacts
scripts from the 1940s and 1950s
By Brittany Fuller
ARTS&CULTURE
CAL Old Time Radio Troupe re-enacts old
time radio shows bringing back to life a relict
not to be forgotten but enjoyed once more
by those interested in exploring the golden age of
radio. With most of the reproductions taken from
scripts originating back to the 1940s and 1950s, the
troupe offers a variety of shows to those who come
and watch such as comedy, mystery and drama. Recently
the cast added an old-time quiz show to its list
of accomplishments, which the actors created and
produced themselves.
“One phrase we like to use is ‘theater of the
mind,’” said KCAL producer and director Doug Fain.
“Before the days of television all of the programs
were produced on radio and people would listen daily
or weekly to their favorite shows.”
Shows take place periodically throughout
the year, with the next scheduled performance
coming this fall. Performances take place in
the Farmers Bank Theatre, located inside the
Polvino Family Art Center at 109 S. Main St.
in Nicholasville. Having recently finished the
spring show featuring a reproduction of an
old “Fibber McGee and Molly” episode, Fain
said the fall production will be a show they
have produced once before, the 1940s radio
version of “Arsenic and Old Lace.”
“(In ‘Arsenic and Old Lace’) a writer, Mortimer
Brewster, falls for the girl-next-door,
Elaine Harper,” Fain said. “When they return
to their respective family homes to deliver
the news, Brewster finds a corpse hidden in
a window seat. With his eccentric aunts, disturbed
uncle, and homicidal brother, he starts
to realize that his family is even crazier than
he thought.”
With scheduled showtimes for September
28, 29 and 30th, Fain said the fall production
is a hybrid play showing how it may have
looked if produced on the set of a 1940s radio
show. The cast, he said, dresses in period
clothing and produces sound effects, all while
reading the script the way it used to be read.
“We have a core group of actors who are
pretty much in all of the shows,” Fain said.
“But, since our first show in the fall of 2014,
there have been some 20 people from Jessamine
County who have played at least one
part in our reproductions. This whole idea
came out of the mind of the Creative Art
League of Jessamine County. We were approached
to do this special program and the
funds that we make off of ticket sales go to
help other art programs that CAL has for
community members.”
When it comes time to produce a new
show, the producers and directors of KCAL
make the decision on who will be cast in the
upcoming production. The core players of
the last reenactment include Fain, Norman
Cline, Billy Holland, Susan Clements, Lorette
Latham Blackford, Denise Teater Cline,
David Damron, Eddie Clements and Steve
Watts.
Fain is the producer and director, and also
serves as the Jessamine County Circuit Clerk.
He got his start in radio at the age of 15 at
WNVL, and currently hosts a 6 to 8 a.m. radio
show for the local WNJK serving Jessamine
County.
Norman Cline also serves as producer and
director. He is a veteran actor who said his
love for the stage began with his first role in
elementary school. Denise Teater Cline serves
as producer and director alongside her husband
and Fain, and said
she has been performing
since the age of two. A
dancer at heart, she also
loves to act.
Holland is a singer and
songwriter. As a published
author he devotes
his time to community
outreach.
Susan is employed
with Dr. Danny Stickler
Pediatric Dentistry and
said she loves working
with children and learning
from the longtime players in the KCAL
troupe. Eddie has been involved in the arts
all his life and has explored both the visual
and performing arts. Blackford is a lifetime
resident of Jessamine County and an employee
at Farmer’s Bank.
Damron is also employed locally with
Farmer’s Bank, and while he has acted in
several reproductions, he was also responsible
for writing the 2017 “ChristmasTIME
in Nicholasville” as well as the 2018 game
show, “What Do You Know?”
Watts is another lifetime resident of Jessamine
County. A retiree of the UK Medical
Center, Watts started his acting career many
years ago when he played an Indian in the
outdoor drama “Jessamine” written by Elexene
Cox.
“People always leave our shows telling us
how much they enjoyed not only the entertainment
but learning
about the way it used to
be before television really
made it big,” Fain said.
“Performing to a live audience,
we kind of put our
own special touch on these
reproductions. We don’t just
read the script. We might
actually get into it with
costumes or with actions
to make the play come
alive. So what you see is
not a 100 percent reproduction
of the way it was
done back then, but we get pretty close with
our own special KCAL twist.”
For the future, Fain said the group wishes
to continue to deliver family entertainment,
such as the many past plays they have produced,
hopefully for many years to come.
“We have developed quite a dedicated audience
following and everyone seems to always
enjoy the different performances that we
bring each time,” Fain said.
JL
