Writing Audio Drama: Radio, Film, Theatre and Other Media

Writing Audio Drama is a comprehensive and intelligent guide to writing sound drama for broadcasting and online production. The book uses new and original research on the history of writing radio plays in the UK and USA to explore how this has informed and developed the art form for more than 100 years.

Audio drama in the context of podcasting is now experiencing a global and exponential expansion. Through analysis of examples of past and present writing, the author explains how to originate and craft drama which can explore deeply psychological and intimate themes and achieve emotional, truthful, entertaining, and thought-provoking impact. Practical analysis of the key factors required to write successful audio drama is covered in chapters focusing on audio play beginnings and openings, sound story dialogue, sustaining the sound story, plotting for sound drama and the best ways of ending audio plays. Each chapter is supported by extensive companion online resources expanding and supporting the writers and subjects discussed and explored, and extensive information on how to access online many exemplar and model sound dramas referenced in the chapters.

This textbook will be an important resource for undergraduate and postgraduate students taking modules and courses on radio drama, theatre and media drama, audio theatre, audio drama, scriptwriting, media writing.

Tim Crook is Senior Lecturer in Media Law and Ethics and Head of Radio at Goldsmiths College, University of London, as well as being a Visiting Instructor on Media Law to the British Broadcasting Corporation. He has worked professionally in radio, theatre, television and film as a journalist, producer, director and sound designer for more than 30 years and has won more than 60 awards for drama, journalism and production. His previous publications include Radio Drama (1999) and International Radio Journalism (1997).