LEASE BRADLEY THUNDERBIRD
PHOENIX'S ORIGINAL SCRIPTS
(This web page was last updated: August
15, 2011)
CONTENTS:
List of X-Cursion Media ORIGINAL scripts with story descriptions,
sound effects needed, and running time
Updates on Bradley Thunderbird Phoenix's Writing Projects (to include
his novel,"Warriors of the Wizard")
Bradley Thunderbird Phoenix's Sample leasing contracts
FAQ - Questions and Answers
Brad Phoenix's horror-story anecdotes from over the years of being an audio theater writer-producer-director
Leasing Guidelines and
Contract (for high schools, colleges, churches, sci-fi & fantasy
conventions, charity fundraisers and drama clubs)
References for Bradley Thunderbird Phoenix and X-Cursion Media
Donations will be given to a
charity: The Helen Keller Services for the Blind
TITLE OF PLAY / SKIT DESCRIPTION RUNNING
TIME (for audio plays)
All Robots Go to Heaven..........Humans are herded into detention
camps in this bleak future - Approximately 6 minutes long.
This is one of several fantasy, horror, and science fiction
MONOLOGUES
written by Brad.
The main
character can be female or male. Genre: Science fiction - horror
This
script can be performed as an audio play on stage, dramatic reading, OR stage
play.
SFX
(sound effects) needed: Rhythmic pounding in the background and sound of flying robot.
An excerpt of this audio short story at
www.bradleyphoenix.com/playsandskits.html in GROUP # 1.
This play / script
would work in a horror
/ fantasy / science fiction anthology
series.
Color Me Bigot................................Two-character play involving a husband and wife. Genre: Comedy
- APPROX.: 17:00
An Archie-Bunker
type and his liberal progressive high-school teacher wife.
This audio
play can work well as a stage play; there's only ONE setting:
the Bedroom.
Music needed for two transitions in the play
(it should be brief).
SFX
needed: bathroom door opening & closing, an alarm clock,
and a toilet flushing.
You can hear an excerpt of this audio play
at: www.bradleyphoenix.com/playsandskits.html
in GROUP # 1. When Montage Radio Theatre
performed this play, I asked the actor to use the
Rodney Dangerfield voice.
This play will work as a short
independent film OR as a television episode in
an anthology series.
DEATH STARE..............................A
prison warden is having problems sleeping.
MONOLOGUE - Genre: Horror / Drama.
One
setting...main character could be a
male or female -
APPROX.: 4 minutes
This story
is based on Timothy McViegh, who bombed a federal building in Oklahoma.
Music is optional...you can just have the
thunder & rain in the background.
SFX needed:
Thunder, lightning, and rain OR no sound effects...it's
the director's call.
This play / script
would work in a horror
/ fantasy / science fiction anthology
series.
You can hear an excerpt of this audio play
at: www.bradleyphoenix.com/playsandskits.html
in GROUP # 2.
The Plutocracy is my Shepherd....A political MONOLOGUE
/ POEM on corporate greed & fascism. Genre: Political satire
patterned
after the 23rd Psalm. Not intended to mock the Bible (a sacred book), but used
as a warning
against the evils of political corruption and corporate greed.
APPROX.: 2:15
No SFX needed OR you can have a montage of sound effects...factories, police sirens,
etc.
This script can be
performed in coffeehouses OR between long stage plays or live radio
plays.
You can HEAR an excerpt of this audio play at: www.bradleyphoenix.com/playsandskits.html
in GROUP # 3 (bottom column).
Send me an inquiry via e-mail or by snail mail on
the script(s) you are interested in performing / producing,
BEFORE I send you my contract to LEASE my scripts,
YOU have to decide which of my script(s) / play(s)
you want to perform for the STAGE or RADIO.
MOST
OF MY AUDIO PLAYS ARE SHORT AND CAN FILL-IN BEFORE
OR BETWEEN LONG PLAYS.
CAN MOST OF MY AUDIO PLAYS
WORK AS STAGE PLAYS?
YES! BUT YOU HAVE TO PUT IN THE ELEMENTS
OF BLOCKING, COSTUMES, LIGHTING, PROPS, AND SETS. HERE
ARE MY AUDIO PLAY SCRIPTS:
"Aggavated"...................................It only goes to show ya that
you can know someone and not really know them - Genre: Drama.
the word is
not "aggravated" but "aggavated" for this drama - APPROX.: 12 minutes.
This play can
be done with the two lead characters as the same sex or
the opposite sex.
5 characters in this play.
There's nothing supernatural about this play, it's
a drama.
Music needed for a transition OR
during this audio play at the director's discretion.
SFX needed: fire engine siren, office sounds, door
opening & closing.
It
could work as an indie film.
The Rifle Man..............................This isn't starring Chuck Connors,
but a budding vicious serial killer - APPROX.: 15 min.
No foul language,
but a violent story with an unhappy ending...college level / for
mature audiences
only. About 5 characters and extras needed for shouts
and background dialogue.
SFX needed:
Shotgun and handgun reports and an office ambience.
Vocal effect: person
on office
p.a. system.
Genre:
Crime Drama (there's nothing supernatural or
science fiction about this play).
You're Still Guilty!...........................A racist Southern judge and
a very old law make powerful allies. - APPROX.:
12 minutes.
Main characters:
the defendant, his defense attorney, and judge. Extras needed for
courtroom.
Genre: Drama.
SFX needed: gavel and courtroom walla (OR you can have actors/extras
perform the courtroom .
You can HEAR an excerpt of this audio play
at: www.bradleyphoenix.com/playsandskits.html
in GROUP # 1 (3rd column).
Always Leave'em Laugh'n..............A homicidal clown preys upon the rich.
Only one setting: a park. 2-character play basically a female
clown and a businessman.
(SEE "Confession of a Cheater) - APPROX.:
15 minutes long.
Sound effects (SFX)
needed: children playing in a park and birds. Genre: Drama.
"Always Leave'em Laugh'n" is the twin
piece to "Confession of a Cheater", but they CAN be done independently.
It could work as a short
independent film OR as a television
episode in an anthology series.
Confession of a Cheater...............A conceited playboy meets his
match. (SEE "Always Leave'em Laugh'n").
2-character audio play or
it can be converted into a
stage play.
Only one setting: a park. APPROX.: 15 minutes long.
SFX needed: children playing in the background and
sound of a water pistol
squirting water. Genre: Drama.
"Confession of a Cheater" is the twin piece to "Always Leave'em Laugh'n”, but they CAN be done independently
Don't Point at Me!.....................Courtroom drama involving a supernatural
twist. A man acquires
the power to kill
people just by pointing at them. Genre: Horror / Drama.
One setting: a
courtroom. About 8 characters in this play - APPROX.:
14 minutes long
.
SFX needed: gavel
for judge, courtroom walla, and gun shots.
Extras needed
for courtroom spectators OR use SFX.
You can hear an excerpt of this play at GROUP # 1 - First
column on the following web page:
http://www.bradleyphoenix.com/playsandskits.html
Prayer of Corporate Greed............. Prophet Profit, White House Chaplin,
has a special prayer YOU need to hear!
Genre: Political
satire - MONOLOGUE - APPROX.:
3 1/2 minutes long.
Can be done as a STAGE PLAY or a radio play (audio play) over the
radio OR on stage.
This skit doesn't require
sound effects (SFX).
Suggested music: religious organ music playing softly in
the background.
This script can be
performed in coffeehouses OR between long stage plays or live radio
plays.
I Know Who Killed JFK...........Reporters and journalists team up
to shoot a documentary about the
conspiracy to assassinate
JFK, unaware of an ancient supernatural evil about to attack them.
Five characters in
this play - Genre: Horror
- APPROX.: 30 minutes
Music needed for
two transitions between scenes.
SFX needed: paper
crinkling, footsteps, physical wrestling among three people,
squeaky screen door
opening & closing, birds singing, and light traffic.
This
play / script
could work as a short independent film.
QUESTIONS CONCERNING ORIGINAL X-CURSION MEDIA SCRIPTS? - E-MAIL:
scriptbird [at] gmail.com
Major Screw-Up............................A military pilot kills 300 people
and the government cover up which follows. Genre: Drama.
4 characters in
this play (including the narrator) - APPROX.: 12 minutes
long.
Can be performed as
a stage play OR a radio play on stage. Don't need narrator if
done as a stage
play. SFX needed: Knock on the door and door opening & closing.
Vocal effect: man or
woman on a PA system. This
play
could work as a short independent film.
Wash Your Own Butt.................2 main characters, an Army private
and staff sergeant. One female character.
Can be done as
an audio play on stage OR as a stage play.
Genre:
Comedy
-
APPROX.: 9 minutes long
OR...what does the U.S.
Army do when a person doesn't like to bathe?
SFX needed: Door knock,
door opening & closing, portable bathtub placed on floor, & water
splashing.
This play could work as a short
independent film OR as a television
episode in an anthology series.
Wait Loss...................................A woman is trapped inside a room at a college during winter break. Will she live
or starve to death?
Genre: Drama. This audio play can be performed as a stage play.
About 5 characters
in this play - APPROX.: 9 minutes
SFX needed: racquetball
bouncing off the walls, zipper on bag being zipped and unzipped,
footsteps, police walkie-talkie
radio, jiggling a door knob, and dialing a phone.
This play could work as a short
independent film OR as a television
episode in an anthology series.
You can HEAR an excerpt of this audio play
at: www.bradleyphoenix.com/playsandskits.html
Watchdog....................................A man riddled with guilt,
kills a dog, then hears the dog barking.
This play is salute to
Edgar Allan Poe's,"The Tell-Tale Heart". Genre: Horror.
Only two characters
in this play, they can be two brothers or two sisters
Can be done as a stage
play or an audio (radio) play on stage. APPROX. running
time: 11 min.
SFX needed: dog barking
and growling, dialing a phone, footsteps, window opening & closing,
TV being turned on, static,
and switching channels.
I Wanna Live Too!....................A murderous alien entity imitates
a human to reach...Earth - Running
time: @ 30 min.
Not a whodunit, but a WHO-IS-IT?
Who is the alien being???
Multiple characters.
Setting: spaceship. Genre: Science Fiction - Horror.
MUSIC needed
for transitions, background music, and credits
at director's discretion.
SFX needed: Laser-gun
shots, spaceship doors opening & closing, background computer sounds
(beeping and humming),
ship alarm. Vocal effect: possibly for the ship's computer.
They're Deadly.......................Astronauts trapped between LIFE &
DEATH - science fiction / black comedy.
Monologue - @ 6 min.
There's two versions:
one for female and another for a male. Unhappy ending...human beings
become
extinct. If you want a science
fiction monologue with a happy ending, try..."The Day Music Lived".
SFX needed: computers beeping
and humming in the background OR no sound effects at all.
Do Blind People Dream in Color?...Hundreds of alien spaceships are heading for
Earth. Are they friends or...invaders? - @ 12 minutes.
3 characters:
Captain of the space station, Commander John Mars, & Commander Shannon
Megan.
There are only two scenes: The ship's bridge
and the garbage disposal dock.
Story can be cut to one scene. Genre:
Science fiction space drama.
SFX needed: Spaceship
door opening & closing, misfiring of a gun (Clicking), warehouse
SFX
of machines lightly in
the background, and footsteps.
This play could work as a short
independent film OR as a television
episode in an anthology series.
The Montage Radio
Theatre performed this science fiction drama live at Borders Bookstore &
Music,
Farmingdale, NY
in 2002. Also did this live over the airwaves & webcast the year before
on WUSB.
You can HEAR an excerpt of this audio play
at: www.bradleyphoenix.com/playsandskits.html
in GROUP # 2 (column 1).
O Vanity!.........................................A vain woman accuses a
man of sexual harassment in a gym. Genre: Drama.
3 main characters in this play (mostly internal monologue in beginning) - APPROX.: 7 minutes
Surprise ending.
Has a message against pre-judging people; especially those who are handicapped.
The first half of this
play is an internal monologue. The 2nd half has dialogue between 3 persons.
SFX needed: Gym
equipment being used and background conversations in a health spa.
MUSIC:
suggested: Aerobics music lightly in the background.
This play
could work as a short independent film.
You can HEAR an excerpt of this audio play
at: www.bradleyphoenix.com/playsandskits.html
Hell Hath No Fury....................An abusive pimp experiences his own
private hell. Genre: Horror.
APPROX.: 8 minutes.
Almost a monologue
(male character). Three to five actresses needed as background voices.
Actor needed to play the demon. You'll
need at least 5 actors. Setting:
Hell
SFX needed: Flames
in an oven or blow torch sound throughout the play, and doorbell
rings.
Vocal effects:
demon speaking. The voices of women's testimonies of mistreatment--optional.
They can be done with
special vocal effects OR just have the actors perform without any vocal effects.
This can be performed as a stage play.
This play could work as a short
independent film OR as a television
episode in an anthology series.
Miss Piggy Bank............................A mother confronts the woman
who murdered her son. They meet in a high-class restaurant.
Supernatural twist at the end.
Not for children.
Genre: Horror & drama -
APPROX.:
20 minutes.
2 main characters with extras needed for restaurant scene and
hospital scene.
Music needed
for transition from the restaurant to the
hospital.
SFX needed: Ambience
in a restaurant, pocketbook being opened and closed, footsteps, and
hospital ambience.
Vocal effect: Nurse on a PA system. Can be
done as a stage play in two acts.
This play / script
would work in a horror
/ fantasy / science fiction anthology
series.
An Hour in the Shower...................Annoyed parents + a teenage
girl = COMEDY - less than 10 minutes long
A fun play
for parents and teenagers. 3 characters only.
Can also be done as a stage play.
Only 1 scene.
Music can be used for opening narration, but
there's just one setting with no transitions.
SFX needed: Squeaky
shower faucet being turned, water from shower, door opening & closing,
knocking on door, footsteps,
and chiming of a grandfather clock.
The Outcast Ones........................A
protestant pastor is on trial
by his denominational superiors for misconduct. Genre: Drama.
This story has nothing to do with sexual misconduct, but about Christian love
and the homeless.
Do Christian fellowships and local churches really reach out or do they
just build financial empires?
This story would make a good
stage play as well. Only four characters...all pastors with
one woman cleric -
APPROX.:
12 minutes long. This
play could work as a short
independent film.
SFX: Pages being
turned, background sounds of A-V equipment being set up...maybe a church bell.
You can HEAR an excerpt of this audio play
at: www.bradleyphoenix.com/playsandskits.html
in GROUP # 1 (column 1).
Thinning the Herd......................A group of redneck hunters are
attacked by a unique conspiracy between certain ghosts
and animals. Genre:
Horror / supernatural tale -
APPROX.:
30 - 40 minutes long.
About 13 characters
in this audio play (to include the park ranger, state troopers, and animal rights
protestors. Making it a stage play could be a challenge,
but it's do-able.
Music needed for opening scene and for transitions in this
play.
SFX needed: birds
in the forest, car radio, shotgun reports, jeep pulling off and coming to a
stop.
This play could work
as a short independent film OR as a television
episode in an anthology series.
This play / script
would work in a horror
/ fantasy / science fiction anthology
series.
The No. 2 Greatest Discovery.....Aliens visit our solar system on an urgent
mission. Genre: science fiction
/ black comedy.
A 3-character audio
(radio) play. Setting: a high-tech government facility.
SFX needed: Toilet
flushing, footsteps, door from a high tech facility opening & closing.
MUSIC for opening, background music, transitions, and closing credits is at the
director's discretion.
Vocal effect: Man
on a PA system. Running time
is approximately 12 minutes long.
This play could work as a short
independent film OR as a television
episode in an anthology series.
You're a Casualty.........................A crazed young man holds a man hostage
in his own car. Only 2 characters. APPROX.: 8 minutes.
Violent ending, not
recommended for children under 12. Would make a good stage play.
SFX needed: Power
window opening, car doors being unlocked, car door opeing & slamming shut,
drivers license removed
from a wallet, and gun shots. Genre: Crime Drama.
This play could work as a short
independent film OR as a television
episode in an anthology series.
You can HEAR an excerpt of this audio play
at: www.bradleyphoenix.com/playsandskits.html
The Terrorist Flu..........................Not to be confused with the "Communist
Flu" :) Main character: TV anchor - APPROX.: 1:30
Only 1 character
needed. No sound effects necessary for this skit. Genre: Political
comedy skit.
You can HEAR an excerpt of this audio play
at: www.bradleyphoenix.com/playsandskits.html
The Big Big Big Church............This church is so big, it has buses and
cars inside it! Genre: Satire / skit -
Monologue
You can hear this
audio play on the web page: www.bradleyphoenix.com/playsandskits.html
SFX needed: Light
traffic, buses, and car horns, footsteps like on a city street.
APPROX.: 1:15
Vocal effects needed:
P.A. announcer (man or a
woman (suggest Midwestern accent).
REMINDER: You can perform X-Cursion Media audio short
stories (radio plays written by Bradley Thundebird
Phoenix) as:
1. Audio plays (you'll need microphones) 2. Dramatic readings
(no microphones) OR 3. Stage plays.
SOME OF
THESE PLAYS WILL WORK AS SHORT PLAYS
BETWEEN LONG PLAYS OR IN A SERIES OF
SHORT PLAYS.
It's a War Out There!.............The USA fights a brand new war.
Only has 3 characters. APPROX.:
9 minutes.
Could be done as a
stage play. The three characters are in a helicopter throughout the play.
MUSIC at
the discretion of the director, there are no transitions in this
story.
SFX needed: helicopter
in flight throughout this play, mechanical door opening & shutting,
blast of wind, crinkling
of paper (map), and beeping (to alert crew for the jumping point).
Genre: 1984-type
science fiction not-so-distant future DRAMA.
You can HEAR an excerpt of this audio play
at: www.bradleyphoenix.com/playsandskits.html
in GROUP # 3.
The Greatest Writer of All Times......A Self-centered person thinks they are
the greatest writer of all times. APPROX.: 8 minutes
5 characters in the story (inlcuding the person making the p.a.
announcement).
This audio play could work as a stage play.
MUSIC used
in the X-Cursion Media production was "Pomp and Circumstance".
SFX needed:
footsteps, crinkling of paper, and paper landing in a trash can.
Vocal effect:
Person on the P.A. system.
Genre: Light
comedy.
Parental Supervision..............Teenager has joined a Nazi cult and his
parents are clueless. APPROX.: 13 minutes.
This play should definitely
wake up some parents! Not for the faint-hearted.
SFX needed: Knock on
door, footsteps, door squeaks open, closing of door, and Hitler's
voice (exerpt
of one of Hitler's demonic speeches).
It could work as a short
independent film.
This play / script
would work in a horror
/ fantasy / science fiction anthology
series.
The "Made" Rat......................A Mafia "Treasurer" just won't stay
dead. Multiple characters...Mafia wiseguys.
Two settings: in the restaurant
in Queens, NY and inside a truck.
This
audio play is "Goodfellas" or "The
Sopranos" meets the Twilight Zone.
SFX needed: Door knock
("Shave and a haircut-type music pattern), footsteps,
truck engine running (garbage
truck), truck turns onto another road.
This play can be done
as a stage play in three acts.
APPROX.: 20 minutes
long.
This play / script
would work in a horror
/ fantasy / science fiction anthology
series.
When Dimensions Collide......Science fiction play with a female Captain lead.
Two universe are involved. APPROX.: 30 minutes.
MUSIC needed for opening and transitions at the director's discretion.
SFX needed: footsteps, spaceship doors opening & closing, background
computer sounds
(beeping and humming), ship
alarm. Vocal effect: possibly for the ship's computer voice.
This play / script
would work in a horror
/ fantasy / science fiction anthology
series.
Almost Embarrassed to
Death......Man talks about his wife behind her back until she turns
the tables. APPROX.: 20 minutes.
Not for high schools.
The husband gets what he deserves, don't feel sorry for the husband.
The husband ran down
his wife, to amuse and entertain his friends, his wife never ran him
down. The husaband
didn't respect his wife or himself.
Genre: Light comedy.
SFX needed: Television
on a Sports program, beer bottles being opened, and footsteps.
The Day Music Lived........An alien visits Earth because it is fascinated
with Earth's music. APPROX. running time: 6:45.
A positive short story with an
upbeat ending.
Genre: Fantasy - science fiction
MONOLOGUE that can be performed
by either a female or male actor.
No SFX needed or
use your imagination and come up with SFX for this play.
Music suggested: The Montage
Radio Theatre used Handel's Messiah
in key parts of the play, but
music is at the discretion of the director.
This play / script could work as a short
independent film.
You can HEAR an excerpt of
"The Day Music Lived" at: www.bradleyphoenix.com/playsandskits.html
in GROUP # 2.
The Death Ship Cometh.........Genre: Fantasy - Science fiction. Requires
only 2 actors to play husband and wife.
In this play Earth and
all its inhabitants die...BUT there's still a happy upbeat ending!
No SFX needed. Running
time: APPROX.: 7 minutes long.
This will make a good dramatic reading
(just two actors on stage in a short play).
A Paycheck with Legs.......An adult mistreats his only aging parent.
The main character doesn't want to
place their parent in a
nursing home because it would cost too much. Genre: Drama.
4 characters with dialogue
in this play: main character, two persons from the
Adult Protection Agency, and
a police officer (there are 2 police officers, but one doesn't speak).
SFX needed: Doorbell, door
opening & closing, person sitting on a sofa, footsteps.
APPROX.: running time:
7 minutes.
It'll make a good STAGE PLAY.
It could work as a short
independent film.
Guaranteed any adult will
be moved by this play.
Maniac Driver.....................A maniac driver injures many
people and damages other motor vehicles.
There's nothing supernatural about this story.
Genre: Drama.
3 main characters in the entire play:
Bus driver, dispatcher, and Bus Company manager.
Additional characters: at least 3 police officers.
SFX needed: Car doors opening &
closing, car crash, police sirens, and car
horns.
It could work as a short
independent film.
APPROX. running time: 11 minutes
A Moon With My
Name on It.........Story takes place in the future.
The main character is an African American woman
who is one of the top athletes on Earth. They say that
good gifts come in small packages,
but not always! This is a
love story with
a happy upbeat ending.
Genre: Fantasy (with science fiction elements). Running time
approximately 10 minutes.
This play can work as a stage play.
* Montage Radio Theatre performed this audio play LIVE over the radio (WUSB)...twice.
The problem was that I (Brad Phoenix) went with two Caucasian actresses
who did not
sound "black". This play will work with a black
woman with a "black voice".
They're Come'n To Your
House!......A racist ultra right wing paramilitary group is dragging certain
people away to death camps.
This play deals with them knocking on the door of political activist who is the
manager
of a leftist newspaper.
This play was performed as an audio play by the Montage Radio Theatre, and is
posted
at
http://www.bradleyphoenix.com/playsandskits.html in
GROUP A.
MORE MONTAGE AUDIO PLAYS WILL BE ADDED!
J
Please contact me if you have any
questions on my leasing contract or any questions on this web page, please
contact me:
Bradley Thunderbird Phoenix - Contact e-mail:
info [@] bradleyphoenix.com
P.O. Box 58
Bay Shore, NY
11706
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MY
CONTEMPORARY RADIO PLAYS CONVERTED INTO
SCREENPLAYS:
* 70% to
90% complete
* "A-Js" ("Action Junkies"): The
military industrial war machine is enticing pre-teens and teens into
becoming
"Patriotic Warriors". - Conspiracy Drama
- 21 pages (so far...work in progress).
"Welcome To Your Future": White scientists travel centuries into
the future via a time machine only to discover
that Earth has NEW landlords. -
Science Fiction - 83 pages.
"The Educational Toy": A sleazy CEO and war profiteer battles
with his daughter's toy and his ex-wife from MIT.
- Drama and Science Fiction -
36 pages.
* "The Prayer of Faith": Space sanitation workers
have to remove highly toxic waste off the Earth AND the prayer that
changes all of their lives - Science Fiction Melodrama
- 2 pages (so far...work in progress).
* "Skeleton Crews": Thousands of these small creatures
with I.Q.s higher than humans, attack a space station.
- Horror and Science Fiction -
54 pages (so far...work in progress).
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
UPDATE ON BRADLEY
THUNDERBIRD PHOENIX'S ORIGINAL SCRIPTS!
INDEPENDENT FILMMAKER, DONALD PRUDEN JR. WHO WON AN
AWARD AT THE HUNTINGTON FILM FESTIVAL
HERE ON LONG ISLAND, NY AND ALSO MADE A
DOCUMENTARY AND SHORT FILM,"FALLOUT"
(TWO MEN IN
A FALLOUT SHELTER...IT HAS THE AMBIENCE
OF A CLASSIC TWILIGHT ZONE EPISODE), IS DIRECTING
"THE EDUCATIONAL TOY". DONALD PRUDEN JR. CAN
BE FOUND ON THE IMDB WEBSITE.
Check out Don Pruden's web pages on the IMDB website:
"Gat Crazy": http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0699161/
and
he was in the documentary "Elvis Presley: From Beginning to the End":
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2865730/
Here's an excerpt of Don's latest short film, a documentary on the late abstract
artist: Arthur Pinajian
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQSdb3Y-KL4
Don Pruden
Jr., indie film scriptwriter and director
Bradley Phoenix's audio short stories -
Brad Phoenix's scripts can work for graphic novels and
indie films
Brad's original scripts can be made into
independent films -
Brad's scripts can work for STAGE PLAY
productions
Brad Phoenix's scripts can be made into motion pictures
- Bradley Thunderbird Phoenix's scripts
can work as TV movies
==============================================================================================
QUESTIONS &
ANSWERS
IF I HAVE A QUESTION, COMMENT, OR SUGGESTION, WHO DO
I CONTACT?
Questions, comments, or helpful suggestions can be address to Bradley
Thunderbird Phoenix (BTP)
Please e-mail
info
[@] bradleyphoenix.com or by the Post Office:
X-Cursion Media, Attn: Bradley, P.O. Box 58,
Bay Shore, NY 11706
IF you're leasing scripts from X-Cursion Media and you need a phone contact
for me,
e-mail me or send a letter.
Bradley Thunderbird Phoenix,
African American & Native writer-producer-voice actor-director of audio plays
Founder & President, X-Cursion Media AND Montage Radio Theatre
Bay Shore, Suffolk County, Long Island, New York
For my REFERENCES,
please SCROLL DOWN on this web page until you
see "MY REFERENCES" (for Brad Phoenix).
CAN ANYONE LEASE X-CURSION MEDIA SCRIPTS?
No. X-Cursion Media is looking for organizations and businesses to lease
their scripts rather than individuals who
are not connected to an organization. These organizations can be religious,
business, theater companies (union or non-union),
junior and senior high schools (public, independent, or parochial), drama
clubs, college, science fiction or fantasy conventions,
fraternal, charity, medical...as long as it's an established organization
OR business.
The lessee (person representing
their organization), must be 21 years old or
over to LEASE X-Cursion Media's original
scripts.
Let's say your business makes a living making furniture, it has nothing to do with
theater, BUT for some reason
this business has a variety show during the year to boost morale.
If your business wants to lease any of the
X-Cursion Media scripts available, then you can. Any organization (religious,
business, charitable, theatrical, club, etc.).
Festivals, fairs and sci-fi conventions often have theatrical performances. They're sponsored
by established organizations.
WHAT IF THE LESSEE ALTERS OR MODIFIES AN X-CURSION MEDIA CONTRACT?
If the lessee (X-Cursion Media's client) has a problem with an
X-Cursion Media contract,
they should contact X-Cursion Media with their concern. No person
outside of X-Cursion Media
should be altering X-Cursion Media leasing contracts. Altering X-Cursion
Media contracts once both
parties have signed the contracdt can result in your school, college, convention, church, theater company,
or organization being prohibited from leasing, performing, or using X-Cursion Media scripts for
classroom-study
use. Contracts are not official until they are
authenticated / signed by BOTH
parties--the lessee and X-Cursion Media.
AM I GETTING SCRIPTS FOR STAGE PLAYS?
At this time, X-Cursion Media has
some stage plays which were converted from contemporary radio (audio) plays
The X-Cursion Media scripts for leasing (all written by Bradley Thunderbird
Phoenix), are mostly
AUDIO PLAY (radio play) SCRIPTS of various genres and NOT stage play scripts. It's OK,
many of
these
audio
play scripts can be CONVERTED into stage plays.
Some work as theatrical monologues, especially
audio plays such as: "They're Deadly", "All Robots Go To
Heaven", "Death Stare", and "The Day Music Lived".
X-Cursion Media plays & skits contain all the necessary components for
conversion into STAGE plays:
The setting of the plays
The characters in the plays
The dialogue for the actors
In some cases, a narrator who gives Rod-Serling-like narration to intro and
outro the plays
Directions on which emotions should be expressed, which accent to use,
or which tone of voice to use
Suggested sound effects (SFX) and music to use
Costumes, hitting your marks, props for the actors, lighting, elaborate
sets, and memorization of the script is NOT
required for actors performing audio plays.
HOW MUCH MUSIC AND
SOUND EFFECTS (SFX) CAN I USE WHEN I
PRODUCE THEM?
In some of Brad Phoenix's audio plays, the MUSIC is suggested.
The choice of what music to use is
always at the discretion of the director and producers.
Sound effects (SFX) are written into most of the
audio scripts, BUT you have to select the sound effects that you want in
your production(s). Stores such
as FYE, Borders Bookstore & Music, and
Best Buy carry sound effect audio CDs.
You can
also pull sound effects off the web that are in public domain.
Many audio techs associated with your
production have the ability to create sound effects on a synthesizer or
their laptop. I would suggest
an audio crew be off stage and that you have a mixer. You can
patch & plug the sound equipment you
need into the mixer. Things to plug into your mixer:
CD player (two of them), microphones, video camera,
sound sampler (to introduce SFX), and a laptop (to introduce SFX
OR record your performances).
In audio (radio) theater, the actors stand in front of microphones (there
could be 2 to 8 microphones on stage)
and perform while reading their scripts (on stage, in a recording studio, or
live over the radio). Microphones are
essential to performing audio plays. Sound effects punctuate the play.
You can have a sound effects station
OFF STAGE or ON STAGE. You can have the sound effects (SFX) channeled
through a mixer to go out over
the P.A. system in the auditorium or venue for your productions. In audio
(radio) theater, the person putting in
the sound effects manually and/or electronically (CDs, lap top, pc, sound
sampler, etc.) is called a
SOUND EFFECTS ARTIST (similar to the FOLEY artist in movies). Accept
the sound effects artist doesn't
do the sound effects in POST production, but DURING the plays. Music
is needed for transitions to different
scenes and to support a scene.
* Your high school band may be able to supply some of the background and
transitional music needed for
your productions! :) OR you can search for music on CDs in
public domain.
BUT you can have an audio play without music and sound effects. With
audio plays, the announcer reads
the intro in some cases, but always reads the credits (cast & crew)
after EACH play or skit. Yes, audio plays
are different, but very interesting. Go to a search engine and search for
the Radio Theater Conventions nearest YOU.
HOW DO I CONVERT AN AUDIO PLAY INTO A STAGE
PLAY?
It's not hard. Break down the audio play into scenes. Most audio
plays have 3 to 6 scenes.
Let's just say you wanted to perform the X-Cursion Media audio play,"The
Outcast Ones". This audio play
has four characters with two implied characters who don't have any
dialogue (extras). Three
characters make up the board that has one character on trial. The
setting is a Protestant church building.
The characters are ALL pastors in the same denomination. Once
you get the audio play script, the
director can begin converting this into a stage play. You can
have three pastors seated behind a long table.
The two pastors who have no dialogue can set up and operate the video
camera and microphones (props)
because their function in the scene is to record the trial as a digital
record for their governing elders to view.
OR, you can eliminate the
two implied characters (who don't have any
dialogue)...it's up to the director.
The pastor who is on trial can be seated at a short table in front
of the three pastors perhaps
between 15 to 30 feet away. The tables can be angled so that
the audience can view all the actors' faces.
There's only one setting and one scene for,"The Outcast Ones". This
audio play runs less than 15 minutes long.
You already have the dialogue. All the actors have to do is
memorize their lines for the STAGE PLAY.
REMINDER: The X-Cursion Media contracts
PERMITS an organization or business
that
has signed their contracts to eliminate portions of dialogue or characters,
but NOT to add dialogue or characters.
No school, business, theater company, church, convention,
organization, or individual should
have any original X-Cursion Media script without the
written permission of Bradley Phoenix or having
signed an X-Curison Media leasing contract.
Many folks are not used to seeing actors lined up in a row on stage,
acting in front of microphones performing
AUDIO PLAYS. They are used to stage plays. But therein lies the
charm of audio (radio) theater; it's a unique
medium that multiple millions of folks just don't know much about.
Contact me if you still need assistance with converting my audio plays into a
stage play.
HOW MANY X-CURSION MEDIA LEASING CONTRACTS ARE THERE?
Right now, there is a contract which can be modified to
work for the following:
CHARITY organizations (Red Cross relief, fundraisers for AIDS, the
homeless, breast cancer, etc.),
schools (colleges and high schools),
churches, prisons, science fiction & fantasy conventions,
and theater companies and troupes.
NON-USA CONTRACT ONLY for established audio theatre companies outside
of the United States of America. Here are
the requirements:
Your theatre company must: Be registered alphabetically on the site
www.audiotheater.com . They must have their own website, and the president, business manager,
producer, stage manager,
or secretary must contact X-Cursion Media via e-mail
(e-mail: info
[@] bradleyphoenix.com). X-Cursion Media scripts will be MAILED via
the U.S. Post Office
(at no charge), Fedex or DHL (at lessee's expense) and NOT e-mailed.
Please plan ahead
for X-Cursion scripts (taking into account rehearsals and performance dates).
What IF the foreign theatre company is NOT an audio
theatre company? OK, so IF they're theatre company
has been established for at least four years and
they have a website.... E-mail X-Cursion Media with your
references...what plays have you done? Who are the
officers in your troupe? X-Cursion Media's needs to know
if you're an established theatre company and what
you've done BEFORE we can lease to your theatre company.
X-Cursion Media's not gonna need DNA samples or anything
like that, but we just want to do business with established
organizations.
Payment for non-USA theatre companies can only be by PayPal, bank money
order, Travelers check, or Western Union
money order ONLY in USD (United States dollars). No
money orders from foreign post offices (outside the USA).
HOW ARE X-CURSION MEDIA SCRIPTS SENT TO THE LESSEE?
For businesses and organizations in the United States of
America,
X-Cursion Media would like to send their scripts via the U.S. Post
Office, but in some cases that
may not be fast enough. If the lessee needs the scripts ASAP and
is willing to pay for it, then the
X-Cursion Media scripts can be sent by Fedex, DHL, or any other corporation
that offers overnight
or 2-day delivery. That means that in addition to the rent for the
scripts, the lessee would have to pay
for overnight or 2-day delivery (a separate payment). X-Cursion
Media scripts
will NOT be e-mailed overseas!
For foreign audio theater companies registered on www.audiotheater.com, please plan ahead, because
X-Cursion Media does not want to send its scripts via e-mail to a foreign
country. It's a matter of
control and cutting down the chances of script
piracy.
When scripts are mailed to the lessee via the U.S. Post Office, there's
NO charge. ONLY if a school,
organization, or theater company needs a X-Cursion Media script or scripts
OVERNIGHT is there an
EXTRA charge for shipping & handling (Fedex, DHL, UPS, Airborne,
etc.).
Please CLICK ON this link to...
WHAT DO THE TERMS LESSOR AND LESSEE MEAN?
Lease: A contract granting
use of a property for a specified period
of time in exchange for money (USD).
The lessor is the business that grants the leases. The lessee
(client or customer) is the one who rents.
X-Cursion Media is the lessor. Schools, theater companies, organizations, churches, science fiction conventions,
etc. are the lessee.
One person in your organization should be the lessee. That person
MUST be a member of your organization.
BEFORE WE LEASE X-CURSION MEDIA SCRIPTS, MAY WE HEAR SOME
OF THEIR AUDIO PLAYS?
YES you may! Many of X-Cursion Media's scripts are
available as AUDIO samples / excerpts.
You can hear / listen to
FREE SAMPLES of X-Cursion Media plays (scripts)
at my web page:
www.bradleyphoenix.com/playsandskits.html
TAKE A LOOK AT THE LIST OF SCRIPTS BRADLEY PHOENIX HAS WRITTEN:
CLICK ON:
www.bradleyphoenix.com/playlist.hmtl
HOW DO EXPIRATION DATES ON X-CURSION MEDIA CONTRACTS WORK?
If a theatre company, school, church, etc., leases an X-Cursion
Media script for 4 months for example,
and the contract is signed by the lessee and then the lessor on
January 15th, then the last day in
May is the expiration date. IF the contract is signed by the lessee
and then the lessor on
April 24 for a six-month contract, then the expiration date will be
on the last day of October.
For colleges and universities, the expiration date is at the end of
each semester (the beginning and ending dates
of a semester must be written on the contract), and NOT for a entire school year (as for junior
and senior
high schools). The expiration date is the day when ALL X-Cursion Media scripts should
either be mailed to
X-Cursion Media OR completely destroyed.
If the lessee received a script or scripts via e-mail, then ALL
X-Cursion Media should be completely
deleted from their pc / computer once the
contract has expired. Most public schools have a school
"year" from
September to June. So, for example, the expiration
of their contract for September 2012 is the last day of June 2013.
WHAT IF THE LESSEE SIGNS THE CONTRACT, PAYS, AND THEN DECIDES
NOT TO LEASE?
IF the lessee has ALREADY signed and mailed back the X-Cursion Media
contract with their payment
AND then decides NOT to produce / perform a certain audio play or
plays or make use of them for classroom use.
Then the lessee has one of two choices:
A. Get credit toward a new contract and new selection(s) of a X-Cursion
Media script or scripts.
Since the lessee's money was already received. As long as
it matches the amount of scripts
covered by their payment. For example, if $100 was paid for
four scripts, then the lessee (client)
may select four NEW X-Cursion Media scripts for the same
price. If the lessee needs MORE
scripts which is NOT covered by the initial payment, then additional
money would be required to X-Cursion Media.
B. Be refunded HALF of the amount paid. For example, if the lessee paid $50.00
then
they are entitled to get half of the amount back: $25.00. Similar to passengers canceling
airline flights, there is a monetary penalty for cancellations.
This cancellation penalty is due mostly to two
factors: processing fee and portions of the proceeds will be
given to the Helen Keller Services for the Blind.
THE SCRIPT SELECTING PROCESS...
I want to work with you...I can give you a discount just by asking for it,
but we can't keep refunding entire payments.
That's why it's very important that the lessee (client) contacts X-Cursion Media
and asks questions about any
X-Cursion Media script they are considering to produce and perform
BEFORE signing an X-Cursion Media
contract. There is a list of the audio plays for leasing on
this web page (PLEASE SCROLL UP);
it gives the titles of the copyrighted X-Cursion Media plays, the description
of the stories, the genre it
falls under (science fiction, suspense, drama, etc.), how many characters
in the play, and the approximate
running time. In some cases, the audio play the lessee is considering
is on this website as an excerpt
or a full play. For example, the audio play, "Color Me Bigot", is
a comedy, it has two characters only
(a husband and wife), and the running time as an audio play is approximately
17 minutes. As a stage
play it would probably be closer to 20 minutes. There is no excessive
foul language or taking of the
Lord's name in vain in any of X-Cursion Media's original audio plays
(we don't need cursing and foul
language, what we need are character-driven stories and strong plots).
PLEASE DO YOUR HOMEWORK, FIND OUT ABOUT THE SCRIPT(S)
THAT INTEREST YOU.
WHAT IF THE LESSEE (CLIENT) HASN'T SIGNED A CONTRACT OR
SENT ANY MONEY
AND THEY DECIDE NOT TO LEASE AN X-CURSION MEDIA SCRIPT OR
SCRIPTS?
The lessee has these options:
1. Discard the X-Cursion Media contract.
2. Use the blank contract toward a new selection(s) at a later date.
CAN A TEACHER, TEACHER'S AID, INSTRUCTOR, OR PROFESSOR USE THEIR
PERSONAL MONEY?
Yes, the teacher or teacher's aid in a grade school, junior high school,
senior high school OR an instructor or
professor in a college can pay out of their own pockets to lease X-Cursion
Media scripts (personal check, PayPal,
bank money order, U.S. Post office money order, Traveler's check, etc.),
but it's conditional.
The aforementioned school employees cannot lease X-Cursion Media scripts unless
their
principal or vice principal of
their school, president of the college, vice presidents at the
college, or Dean of Students are AWARE
of their leasing
X-Cursion Media scripts. X-Cursion Media needs to know the
name of your principal, vice principal, Dean, President of your
college, etc., so that they can send them a photocopy of your payment.
IF the lessee is a principal, vice principal, Board of Education
official, Superintendent of Schools, then X-Cursion Media would welcome an
official letter from your school stationery for our file copy.
Mailing official school stationery to X-Cursion Media is always
welcome.
The bottom line: Upper management school officials
must be aware of what you're doing. So X-Cursion Media will
need your schools principal's name, address for the school, and phone number
for the principal's office.
For colleges, we will require the Dean of Student's name, address, and phone
number OR the college president's
office. Without this information, X-Cursion Media will
not sign the contract.
WHAT ARE THE VARIOUS PAYMENT METHODS?
PAYMENT METHOD: Check (company, corporate, government, or personal
check), money orders (bank money
orders, U.S. Post Office money orders, & Western Union money orders),
travelers checks, and in some cases--CASH...
if an official of an organization or
business sees me in person.
No scripts will be sent until
the check clears and money orders are cashed.
Personal checks will NOT be accepted from non-USA (foreign) theatre companies.
For foreign (non-USA) theatre companies, payment MUST be
in U.S. dollars by one of the following methods:
Paypal
Bank money order
Personal check
Travelers check
Western Union money order
* No money orders from
foreign countries / Post Offices, please.
WHAT
IF A CHECK SENT TO X-CURSION
MEDIA BOUNCES?
IF a check bounces, then X-Cursion Media reserves the right not to
do business with that party again.
IF a check or money order is fraudulent, then X-Cursion
Media will contact the appropriate law enforcement agencies.
CAN A SCHOOL, THEATER COMPANY, OR ORGANIZATION SELL THEIR PRODUCTIONS
OF X-CURSION MEDIA PLAYS?
Yes, but on the following conditions: Theatre companies (union or
non-union), volunteer drama clubs, schools, churches,
organizations,
and science fiction, fantasy, and horror conventions that have leased, produced, and performed X-Cursion
Media
scripts and recorded
them electronically, or digitally, CAN sell their productions (the
RECORDED PERFORMANCES ) and
NOT X-Cursion
Media scripts,
but there's a fee. Since they're using copyrighted X-Cursion Media scripts, X-Cursion Media
must receive $1.00 for each CD,
DVD, IPOD, or analog tape sold. The aforementioned organizations and
agencies may
archive their productions of X-Cursion Media
scripts--that's FREE (there's no charge or royalty payment, for example
if a
high school theatre department archives a video production
after they produced / performed one of my original scripts).
But when X-Cursion Media scripts
are produced, performed, and SOLD on mediums such as CDs,
DVDs, IPODs, DAT,
audio
cassette tapes, reel-to-reels,
or audio files on the internet,
etc., then
X-Cursion Media requires royalties ($1.00 for
each CD (audio &
ROM), DVD, IPOD, DAT, audio cassette
tape, or
analog tape that's SOLD).
Here are
the following three (3) options:
1. Don't sell your productions of X-Cursion Media plays.
2. Sell your productions of X-Cursion Media scripts for a $1.00 royalty
for each medium sold (CDs, DVDs, or analog tape, etc.)
OR
3. Archive your productions for folks to listen to for FREE,
and you won't owe X-Cursion Media any royalties.
IF you charge for listening to X-Cursion Media plays in any way, X-Cursion
Media requires royalties.
Royalties are to be paid in USD (United States of America dollars)
the same way you paid to lease X-Cursion Media scripts.
No school, college, theater company, convention, business, or organization (religious,
business, fraternal, artistic, or civic) can sell their
productions of X-Cursion Media scripts without paying royalties as stated above
($1.00 for EACH CD, DVD, IPOD, DAT, analog tape,
or by any recording medium now or in the future).
IF you want to DONATE your CDs, audio cassettes, or IPODs, etc., of
your productions of X-Cursion Media scripts OR
your own productions to the Helen Keller Services for the Blind, the Museum of Television &
Radio (in L.A. or NYC), or to
organizations, hospices, nursing homes, or homes for the bedridden and handicapped, I encourage this wholeheartedly!
The grace of Almighty God be upon you for doing so.
- Bradley
Thunderbird Phoenix :)
DISCOUNTS FROM RECOMMENDATIONS
From time-to-time, there will be sales and discounts on leasing original
X-Cursion Media scripts.
Any business, school, theatre company, church, or organization that recommends
the leasing of X-Cursion Media
scripts to another business entity (science fiction convention, church, theater
company, school, college, etc.),
AND they lease X-Cursion scripts, then they can get a discount. The recommendation has to be in writing,
via
the mail (your business's or organization's stationery)
signed and dated. The recommendation CANNOT be via e-mail,
because e-mails can be altered. For now, any recommendation should be by letter via the U.S. Post Office or Post Office
in your
country. X-Cursion Media needs to see the letter and the date-stamped envelope it came in.
For example, Acme Theatre Troupe in Baltimore, Maryland sends a letter to
Act IV, Inc. theater company
in San Diego, California recommending that they lease X-Cursion Media scripts
for their theater company.
Act IV, Inc. in turn contacts X-Cursion Media and selects a script or
several scripts, signs an
X-Cursion Media contract and leases an X-Cursion Media play(s). Acme Theatre
Troupe in Baltimore is
entitled to a discount the next time they decide to lease any X-Cursion Media
scripts. It works the same
for schools, science fiction conventions, churches, etc. YOU can get a discount
(a recommendation discount)
when another business or organization leases X-Cursion Media scripts based
on YOUR RECOMMENDATION LETTER.
WHAT SHOULD THE LESSEE DO WHEN THEY RECEIVE THE X-CURSION MEDIA SCRIPT(S)?
Before the lessee photocopies X-Cursion Media scripts for the cast &
crew OR for classroom / workshop use, there's one thing
they should do....Make sure ALL of the pages are in the script. The scripts will be numbered.
IF it's discovered that there is a
page missing, contact Brad Phoenix at X-Cursion Media ASAP and request the missing page.
The page can be sent via e-mail.
WHY WOULD A SCHOOL BE INTERESTED IN LEASING X-CURSION MEDIA
SCRIPTS?
1. For classroom or workshop use: Students can perform the
plays within a classroom or just discuss the mechanics
of audio play script writing.
Or they're welcome to discuss the strengths and weakness of the plays themselves
in a classroom.
2. Perform the audio plays over their school radio or internet (live or
pre-recorded) OR ON STAGE
as stage plays or radio plays (traditionally with actors in front
of microphones). The agreement allows a school to
use X-Cursion Media plays for classroom / workshop use, perform
on stage, or over the school radio (live or pre-recorded).
3. The mission of X-Cursion Media is to promote and preserve the
ART of audio theatre. Because there's one thing
audio theatre helps "children of all ages" (as they say
in circuses) do and that is PRACTICE LISTENING.
There's no way you can learn anything, if you don't know how
to listen attentively.
We have short skits less than 2 minutes long and scripts
that are 15 minutes up to 40 minutes long.
The other thing is: most folks today are not used to audio theatre
or audio scripts...it's something new for them!
And audio plays encourage people to LISTEN...because the art of listening
is not doing to well in the 21st Century.
X-Cursion Media scripts are for individual schools only, not for an
entire school district in a town or
city.
If a high school in one district buys 10 or less plays to lease
from X-Cursion Media for one school year,
then the junior high or grade school CANNOT use the
same plays in that school
district.
There's ONE contract for EACH school. Three different
high schools in one school district will require
three (3) separate contracts.
Contracts must be signed by a school official with the knowledge
of the principal in each school.
WHAT OTHER SCRIPTS / PLAYS HAS BRAD PHOENIX WRITTEN?
Twilight Zone-type plays, comedy, political satire, suspense, science fiction,
fantasy, adventure, horror, DRAMA...
even a black comedy play which salutes Stanley Kubrick's brilliant film,"Dr.
Strangelove". Brad's play is entitled:
"The Gods in the Pentagon" ("Dr. Strange-body"). See the list of plays
written by Bradley Phoenix...
Brad's working on his James Bond-type super-agent and has story outlines
for four stories:
La Dies.........................Female assassins almost destroy our hero
and the law-enforcement agency he represents.
Mr. Nightclub...............Also known as Casino Fatale...trouble with
a new kind of mafia in Hollywood.
Supermen Are Go......An organization of Hitler-rites are trying to establish....
Human-esque...............This time our hero's worst enemy is not...even...human.
PLEASE GO TO:
www.bradleyphoenix.com/playlist.html
(to see a general list of audio play written by Bradley Thunderbird
Phoenix)
HEY, BRADLEY, DO YOU EVER HAVE WRITER'S BLOCK OR GET TIRED OF WRITING
SCRIPTS?
Nope. I feel like I've was born to write scripts, short stories, poems,
and plays. Now, if I can just understand
the hundreds of books I have on grammar and punctuation. :)
I credit the Almighty Creator for giving me
the gift to write. The ideas for stories, plays, & skits never stop
coming. Ideas for stories come to me similar to
that movie, "The Shining". Allow me to elaborate: I was driving down a
highway here in New York and I saw two
police cars behind each other on the shoulder of the road. Suddenly, for
a story, my mind told me: "What IF a
young honest rookie police officer traveled into the future and pulled over
and arrested his corrupt-cop self in the
future?" The seed of the idea was born in my spirit and I wrote the story:
"Turn Yourself In" (it's copyrighted!).
That's how it happens with me...story ideas come to me very easily; it's
a gift from the Grace of Almighty God and
I love it. Thank, God! It's important for a writer to write and know
when to back away from a writing project and
then go back to it. My short stories, plays, and skits are copyrighted
with the Library of Congress and/or registered
with the Writers' Guild of America, East. Thou shalt
NOT steal.
I've converted "Welcome to Your Future" (two racist scientists travel
to the future and end up in a black utopia), into a screenplay.
"Some Kinda of'a ???-Headed Deity" (a worlds at war alien invasion
story), a host of very short political satires in
the vein of "The Plutocracy is my Shepherd", "The Terrorist Flu", and "Unjustifiable
Genocide", AND "Dr. Strange-body"
(or "The Gods in the Pentagon") as a screenplay.
Hey, Hollywood has been making RE-MAKES ("Bewitched", "Pyscho", "The Manchurian
Candidate", "Shaft",
"Amityville Horror", "Planet of the Apes", "Lost in Space", War of the Worlds,
etc.), why can't we have a movie inspired
by the classic film "Dr. Strangelove" that's politically relevant to the
21st Century (that talks about revolution and the Middle-East conflict?)
I'll keep writing plays and short stories until they lower my body into the
ground or I'm supernaturally
translated out of this world by the Grace of God, and even in the world beyond
Death...I'll still keep writing.
BRAD, DO YOU HAVE ANY THEATER HORROR
ANECDOTES?
I sure do!
One middle-aged male actor told me in an orientation meeting for audio
theatre,"Brad, I only
like the lead roles." I just looked at him. I might have even
smiled my big cheesy smile.
Because I knew right there and then in my little heart of hearts that this
self-centered entity
WOULD NOT BE WORKING WITH ME!!
One middle-aged actress e-mailed me that she would love to work with me in
performing
audio theatre...BUT...she didn't like to drive at night. Some of our rehearsals
were in the afternoon and some were at night. Did she ever work with me?
NOPE.
Did I lose any sleep over her not working with my theater company?
Not one
microsecond of sleep.
I asked a man who runs a small black box theatre if my actors could
rehearse in his
theatre. I did this because I wanted to work with this man in the future
and introduce
him to audio theatre because they only did stage play productions. He graciously
allowed
me to use his theatre. I thought: Wow! What a coup!
I'll be working with theatre actors
and introduce them to contemporary / modern audio theatre.
On the night we were scheduled to use his theatre,
neither he or any of
his theatre company officers were present to open the theater. It was pouring down
rain, and there
I was with my actors outside his theatre, pounding on the door and tapping on
the door
with my keys, but no one ever came. The next day, I phoned him. He told
me he was
trying to reach me. He called me at work, but I wasn't there. He wanted to
let me know
that he or his staff couldn't make it down there that night. Which was
wonderful news
after the fact! Now, anytime I call him by phone, he treats me as if he's
angry and always
seems to rush me off the phone. This guy would make a wonderful Nazi. You
try to be nice
and work with people, and they treat you like you belong in a leprosarium.
UPDATE TO THIS STORY:
This guy opened an even bigger theater by buying an abandoned
movie theater. He had acts of stand-up comedy, professional bands,
and other entertainers there.
BUT! He just abandoned the business and left a lot of folks
"hanging". He just up and left!
He left behind a lot of disappointed and angry people. His
character is no good!
One of my actors missed a final rehearsal and we made some changes on one
of the scripts that day. When we did the
performance the next day for a science fiction convention (on stage), there were some
"pregnant pauses" and a slight bit
of confusion, but the audience was not aware of it. We pulled it off
(the production).
Thank God.
I hired an actor to perform the voice of a demon and we agreed on
how the voice should sound in rehearsal.
You know what's coming, don't ya? When we did the actual performance
LIVE OVER THE RADIO on WUSB-90.1 FM.
the actor decided all by himself to go with ANOTHER voice. Well, the voice
he chose to go with didn't sound as good
as the one agreed upon in rehearsal, and the production suffered. As the
director and writer, I wasn't smiling after that
performance. Listen to the director!!! Some actors
are arrogant. They don't want to be told what to do.
They know everything!
One man came to one of my auditions drunk out of his mind. If you flicked
a cigarette lighter near his mouth, he
would have become a blow torch. Needless to say, he didn't
get the part. Drug abuse will kill
your artistic aspirations, as well as
what little life you have left on this planet.
No big revelation here, just a fact of
life
both in and out...of the Twilight Zone.
I asked one of the audio techs to drop in the sound effects over the
PA system via a sound effects sampler
(which stores many sound effects at the press of a button). I was backstage
following the play and the audio
tech put on the sound effect of a flushing toilet...the wrong sound effect!
The actors had the wisdom to play it off as
part of the scene, but I quickly moved to the audio tech board and manned
the sound effects. How did this
person make this mistake? The sound sampler has eight buttons and
banks A - D. Now, if you're in
bank B and you hit button number 4, you would hear a different sound effect
than if you left the mode in
bank A and hit button number 4. IF bank C, button 3 is a car horn,
and you're still in bank A and you
hit button number 3...you might get the sound effects of crickets, fireworks,
or anything but what you need for
the actors at that moment. Mistakes such as these come from people
who,"Yeah-yeah-yeah you to death"
but don't take the time to focus on what they're supposed to be doing!
How would you like to drop in sound effects via a REEL-to-REEL
tape? I did. We didn't have the
sound effects sampler when we first started out in 1995, and it was
a nightmare putting on the sound effects
that way. I had all the sound effects (SFX) I needed on the reel-to-reel,
separated by a different colored tape.
That means you have to intensely watch the reel-to-reel to make sure you don't
go over into another sound effect.
Probably one of the dumbest things I've ever done, but we didn't have the sound
sampler yet (which made things
100 times easier). I was on stage at a sound effects table. The Pioneer
reel-to-reel (which I still have) was
sitting on the table. I put in sound effects manually and electronically.
It was a nightmare going through it,
but a comedy looking back on it. We've come a long way...thank God.
We were LIVE on the radio at WUSB - 90.1 FM during one of our 3 or
4 hour theater specials. WUSB's a college
radio station, and outside of doing station I.D.'s, we weren't obligated
to put on commercials because it's non-commercial
radio. We were about 15 or 20 minutes into the special, when I flicked
the switch to put a cast member on to chat
before doing our audio plays--LIVE. I wanted to kinda warm up the listening
audience and allow the actors who got up at 4 AM
to be at the radio station at 6 AM an opportunity to get settled. When I flicked
that switch, it cut off the sound to the actors in the
room separating us by a wall and a window; it was an extra guard
against too much feedback. I didn't know that...neither did
my audio tech guys. We musta spent about 15 to 20 minutes trying
to figure out how to restore the sound to the room
where the actors sat. I was stressed out! Because I not only wrote,
produced, and directed the scripts, I put the sound effects in
during the plays, announced the credits, and hosted the show. If the
actors can't hear the sound effects and music, they can't play
off of them and the the whole thing wouldn't work. By the grace of
God, we figured out what happened and everything went
well after that. It was a
learning experience. There's nothing
like live theater! Yikes!!!
I'll be back in the near future with more real-life theatre
horror stories....
Well, at least my cast and crew never got into a fist fight backstage
which happened when I was merely a spectator in
the audience at a stage play at Stony Brook University here on Long
Island, NY. As a director, I felt sorry for the director
of the production who had to pick up the pieces and smooth things over with
her hot-headed cast members. The show went on,
but YIKES! That's LIVE theater for ya, folks!
Bradley Thunderbird Phoenix :)
=============================================================================================
LEASING MONTAGE SCRIPTS GUIDELINES
X-Cursion Media & Montage Radio Theatre has over 100 original copyrighted
audio play scripts.
These scripts / plays can be leased by theatre companies, theatre troupes,
repertories, and drama clubs,
science fiction and fantasy conventions, schools & colleges (public, private,
and parochial), and for
charity events anywhere in the USA (there is a contract for theatre companies
outside the USA)
provided that an X-Cursion Media contract is signed by all parties and
payment is received.
Here are the steps to follow to lease X-Cursion Media scripts (for performances
and classroom use):
1. Please view the list of scripts for leasing and consider which play(s)
you would like to perform (SEE BELOW).
2. E-mail Bradley Phoenix at
info
[@ ] bradleyphoenix.com to ask any questions on any script or aspect of leasing
X-Cursion Media scripts. Please supply a business phone and
address (and e-mail if you send a letter via
the U.S. Post Office). Please tell X-Cursion Media who you
are: School official, business manager for a
theater company, President of a science fiction convention, church
secretary, etc. Let us know if you
have a website. If you're a drama club, tell us something
about your organization.
3. X-Cursion Media can mail our contract to you OR you can print
the contract (you'll need legal-size paper).
from off the X-Cursion Media's leasing web page: www.bradleyphoenx.com/lease.html
4. After selecting a play or plays, signing the X-Cursion Media contract,
and attaching your payment (unless it's PayPal),
mail this contract to: X-Cursion Media, Attn: Bradley Phoenix, P.O. Box
58, Bay Shore,
NY 11706.
NOTE: PLEASE HAVE
YOUR LAWYER OR LEGAL DEPT. EXAMINE THE
CONTRACT I SEND YOU.
5. IF payment is by check, there must be time for the check to clear before
the lessor signs the X-Cursion Media contract.
The lessor (X-Cursion Media) will sign / authenticate the returned
X-Cursion Media contract with the lessee's signature
on it and the contract will indicate the expiration of the contract.
X-Cursion Media will inform the lessee by e-mail that
the contract has been signed, everything's OK, and the X-Cursion
Media script(s) will be sent (in most cases by
the U.S. Post Office).
6. The ORIGINAL X-Cursion Media leasing contract will be kept on
file by X-Cursion Media and there may be
e-mail reminders of the expiration date of their written agreement.
A photocopy of the X-Cursion Media contract
will be mailed to the lessee for their records. Please safeguard
this copy.
7. Once the lessee receives the X-Cursion Media script(s), they may
use them to perform our plays as
stage plays, dramatic readings, audio (radio) plays (on stage on
over the internet or radio), and for classroom use.
If you're not sure how to perform X-Cursion Media scripts as
audio plays, please contact us at
info [@] bradleyphoenix.com REMINDER: X-Cursion Media is sending AUDIO PLAYS. In many cases,
it will be easy to perform our audio plays as STAGE PLAYS.
For example,"All Robots Go To Heaven" is a
science fiction/horror MONOLOGUE that can be performed by a
woman or a man (it's less than 8 minutes long).
As a stage play: The actor will perform the play from MEMORY. Music and sound effects can punctuate the performance.
As a dramatic reading: The actor will perform while reading the script. Sound effects, microphones, and music are not required.
As an audio play on stage: The actor will perform while reading the script WITH sound effects
and music in front of a MICROPHONE.
Microphones are the key technical
ingredient to producing audio plays (theater).
As an audio play in a recording studio: The actor will perform while reading the script to the director's satisfaction.
Sound effects and music
can be added
in POST production. The final product can be placed on an audio CD.
As an audio play over the radio & web: The actor performs while reading the script with sound effects and music
punctuate the LIVE
performance. The venue
can be in a radio station or in a venue to webcast.
* Audio theatre (radio plays) can be performed live over the radio,
in a recording studio, and live on stage.
===============================================================*****
REFERENCES
for
Bradley Thunderbird Phoenix, Founder & President of X-Cursion
Media or
My own body of work is posted on my website: Please CLICK ON
www.bradleyphoenix.com/playsandskits.html
ALSO GO TO:
http://www.bradleyphoenix.com/Online%20Scriptwriting%20Resume
For a partial list of the plays and skits I wrote (not counting my poems, articles,
& short stories) -
CLICK ON: www.bradleyphoenix.com/playlist.html
My theatre company has PERFORMED LIVE OVER THE RADIO AIRWAVES,
AND
THE INTERNET ON 90.1 FM in 3 hour and 4-hour specials on
Memorial Day and Labor Day
between 2000 - 2002. Audio scripts written, produced, announced, and directed
by Brad Phoenix.
SEE "The Montage Photo Gallery" photographs at www.bradleyphoenix.com/photogallery.html
(photos of cast & crew at WUSB radio station - Stony Brook University,
Long Island, NY.
PERFORMED AUDIO THEATRE ON STAGE AT THE FOLLOWING VENUES:
The Huntington Public Library (2002), Border Bookstore & Music in Farmingdale,
NY (2002),
Babylon Town Annex Building (2002), SAC (Student Center Activities) Auditorium
(1998),
Stony Brook University Student Union Hall for the ICON Science Fiction Convention
(1997),
Stony Brook University Student Union Hall (1996).
My theater company and website are listed on GOOGLE.com - type in:
Montage Radio Theatre or Bradley Thunderbird Phoenix
on www.google.com X-Cursion Media also has GOOGLE ads relevant to our web pages--please...CLICK ON'EM.
This website has a list of established audio theatre companies and troupes
in America and Europe.
My website (bradleyphoenix.com) is listed at "Deb's Web", a respected
Long Island Theatre reference website:
www.debsliweb.homestead.com/index.html Under the LINKS page: www.debsliweb.homestead.com/LINKS.html
* Debbie Starker, the founder of this website, has performed audio theatre live
over the airwaves with Montage Radio Theatre.
Debbie played United States President, President Strong in the Dr. Strangelove-type
play "The Gods in the Pentagon",
a murderous clown in "Always Leave'em Laugh'n", a betrayed friend in "Aggavated",
and the liberal wife in a
2-character play entitled: "Color Me Bigot".
* CHECK OUT Debbie Starker
(important to Long Islander in theater)
by CLICKING ON "FREE SAMPLES - MONTAGE
PLAYS & SKITS" Debbie Starker is the main character in audio play
entitled: "The Day Music Lived" and "The Gods in the Pentagon".
Former Assistant Arts Director at WUSB radio station at Stony Brook University,
Stony Brook, Long Island, NY. Had my own
radio talk show for 5 years on WUSB (6 AM - 7 AM, alternating Mondays
- a volunteer position!), interviewed Hollywood
celebrities (Geoffrey Lewis, Phil Proctor, Will Hutchins....), interesting
guests (Dr. Charles Pellegrino (wrote: "Her Name Titanic").
Robert Groden (wrote several books on the JFK assassination), Father Lawrence
Lucas, Bernard White (Program Director of WBAI),
Amy Goodman (journalist), local artistic talent, and played an eclectic range
of music (Mozart, Wendy Carlos, Cab Calloway,
John Barry, Vangelis, Buddy Holly, Geoff Levin, Emerson, Lake, & Palmer,
Duke Ellington, Patsy Cline, Johnny Cash, J.S. Bach,
John Tabacco, Marcie Geller, and of course...James Brown, the Godfather of
Soul...and many others).
I have a public access television program entitled:
X-Cursion. It falls under the Hauppauge, NY office
and broadcasts to
the Brookhaven District of Long Island, NY.
Cablevision Public Access, P.O. Box 5843, Hauppauge, NY 11788.
X-Cursion Media, my web business, is registered with E-Bay & Paypal,
a reputable online business. E-Bay requires that a
person fills out their application, has a checking account
and/or credit card and, they are in contact with your bank
(you can transfer money from your Paypal account directly into your
bank account for FREE). E-bay (Paypal) is very
thorough in their screening process. That's why E-Bay is one
of the best online businesses in the WORLD!
NOTE: On my online resume web page
(www.bradleyphoenix.com/bradleybio.html
), you can SCROLL DOWN and see the thank-you
letter that famous author, Harlan Ellison, sent me when I
sent him my audio play comedy of him on an audio CD entitled: "Harlan
Speaks".
Mr. Ellison said my audio play was..."horrifyingly
on-target" and thanked me for it. This was one of
the greatest moments of my
life to have my favorite writer repond with a kind word about one of my scripts.
Who's Harlan Ellison? James Cameron's "Terminator"
is based on Ellison's work. Ellison has received numerous awards for
his short stories and teleplays.
==========================================================================================
CLICK ON
X-Cursion Media Leasing Letter for schools (public, private, & parochial)
and colleges & universities. Please CLICK ON...
X-Cursion Media Lease Letter.doc
I need your help. I need to reach teachers who teach English,
Film Studios, and Theatre (DRAMA), and tell them about our leasing program.
PLEASE FORWARD THIS LETTER VIA THE E-MAIL TO ANY TEACHER,
INSTRUCTOR, OR PROFESSOR
YOU THINK MAY BE INTERESTED IN LEASING X-CURISION
MEDIA SCRIPTS...ANYWHERE IN THE USA.
PRINT the X-Cursion Media contract YOU need for your school, church,
convention, or theatre company by CLICKING ON...
VIEW and
/ or PRINT Bradley Phoenix's LEASING CONTRACT
Hooked on Phonics is a form of audio theatre along with audio books
out today. I'm one of those people who
believes that audio theatre sharpens the imagination of folks,
especially our youth. When you watch television
(and there are some good programs on television, especially PBS,
the History Channel, and The Discovery Channel),
a lot of shows are so formulaic that you can put your mind on "automatic
pilot". NOT SO with audio theatre
(radio theatre). With
audio theatre you have to scrape the rust off your imagination and use it.
Promoting and preserving
the ART of audio theatre is part of my mission.
NOTE: In my audio plays / scripts, there is a refreshing absence
of excessive foul language and taking the Lord's
name in vain. The emphasis is on story and characterization, and not on how
many curse words you can squeeze into a play.
I'm guilty of loving character-driven stories. I'm guilty of admiring
the work of Rod Serling, Jack London, Philip K. Dick,
Ray Bradbury, John Steinbeck, Paddy Chayefsky, and my favorite
author: .
Respectfully,
Brad Phoenix :)
Money donations AND CD donations will be given institutions such as:
The Helen Keller Services for the Blind
*NOTE: If X-Cursion Media plays are purchased and downloaded to your
pc or computer, the rights still remain with
X-Cursion Media. The public can purchase X-Cursion Media
plays for private HOME USE, listen to on
a walkman, IPOD, listen to on their CD players in their
cars. Radio stations cannot air X-Cursion Media plays
without written permission. Radio stations may air
excerpts of X-Cursion Media audio plays anytime as
long as they credit the author (Bradley Phoenix) or
X-Cursion Media as holding the copyrights.
DONATIONS TO THE HELEN KELLER SERVICES FOR THE BLIND
I met with Matt Campo, Director of Development, Helen
Keller National Center, Sands Point, NY. on July 8th, 2005.
What came out of that meeting: I learned about HKNC's
school for the blind and deaf. Their equipment
for their students is very expensive (but necessary). Montage
Radio Theatre has donated some of its audio plays
to their library. X-Cursion Media will help in anyway I can
in audio theatre productions; some of the
will be students at HKNC. If HKNC needs plays and skits
for fundraising, Montage Radio Theatre will gladly
donate some of its scripts. The X-Cursion Media website
will help to bring awareness to HKNC and encourage
individuals and organizations to make direct donations to the
HKNC. What is the connection between what I do
(audio theatre) and the Helen Keller Services for the Blind?
The connection is this: One doesn't need eyes to
enjoy audio (radio) plays. I wanted to support a charity
that I feel "connects" with what I do. I choose
the Helen Keller Services for the Blind.
God
bless, Bradley Thunderbird Phoenix
Portions of the proceeds from leasing X-Cursion Media scripts will be
donated to:
The Helen Keller Services for the Blind.
X-Cursion Media is set up for making donations to
the Helen Keller Services for the Blind, but
there are several details that must be worked
out. We will keep the visitors to this site informed.
We're going to have specific goals for EACH year.
The X-Cursion Media goal is to raise $4,000.00.
That money will be given to the Helen Keller National
Headquarters in Sands Point, Long Island, NY.
Monthly reports will be given to update everyone on
the count or tally on how much money was raised.
So, when someone does any of the following:
1. Leases X-Cursion Media scripts - www.bradleyphoenix.com/lease.html
2. Purchases X-Cursion Media audio plays online - www.bradleyphoenix.com/purchasing.html
3. X-Cursion Media Garage Sales and Auctions -
www.bradleyphoenix.com/garage.html
Portions of the proceeds of X-Cursion Media will be DONATED
to the Helen Keller Services for the Blind
(more details will follow: addresses,
contacts, etc. in the weeks to come).
The goal for the remainder of this year (2011) is: $4,000.00
(four thousand dollars).
Last day of
the tally is the last day December 2011.
OR
Help support the Helen Keller National Center's mission by making
an online donation at
http://www.hknc.org/Giving.htm
====================================================================================================
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