R4 Update, February 2014

From the Desk of Ruth, R4 Update:

DRACULA, WRAPPED! our recording of Bram Stoker’s classic is ready for release and anxiously awaiting a slot on the ICRT program calendar. Featuring the howling talents of (in alpha-order): Marc Anthony, Thomas Bellmore, Sarah Brooks, Rick Brundage, Marina Burana, Nate Murray & Nic Sando. It will also be posted on the RedRoomTaipei website.
For Aside @The Red Room on March 29, 2014
R 4 has been commissioned to present a reading of TS Eliot’s The Waste Land in celebration of the poem’s approaching centenary. Widely regarded as one of the most important poems of the 20th century and a central text in Modernist poetry , The Waste Land will be set for four voices , live sound effects accompanied by recorded music by influential contemporaries of the poet: Stravinsky, Schoenberg, Berlin, Ravel, and especially the music hall tunes popular in London at the time. While the poetry can be quite dense , the text is rich with dramatic situations and, in fact, there is a long tradition of dramatic settings of the poem. Scholars refer to its “many voices” and Eliot himself explored the dramatic potential of his poetry with works like Murder in the Cathedral and The Cocktail Party.

This will surely be a unique approach to this historic piece

More news
Our Educational Outreach Department is in communication with two organizations to schedule performances of our TREASURE ISLAND: a new branch of the public library in the Shilin district and the Zhong Cheng public high school (where we presented our Christmas Carol, 2013). Casting for TREASURE ISLAND will begin as soon as dates are confirmed for shows in late April/early May.

A Short Story Project is in a very early stage of development: our Dramaturg has chosen nine stories from well-known Western writers with specific R4 readers in mind. We have approached ICRT re: recording dates in May. Stay tuned, Dear Listeners!

R4 ~~Kindling the power of the spoken word and populating the theatre of your imagination ~~