shmuSOUND Play to Premiere on shmuFM
shmuFM is to air its first locally-produced radio play this week as part of a move to promote spoken word broadcasting in the city. Recorded at the shmuSOUND Studio in Tillydrone, the play is titled ‘Black Ice’ and involves local actors who all auditioned for the parts several months ago. The first airing of the play on radio will be this Friday (July 12th) from 7-8pm on 99.8FM.
The play itself is just over 30 minutes long, with the rest of Friday night’s hour-long premiere made up of interviews with cast members and writer-director Jack Elliott.
Recorded by shmu's expert sound engineer Iain Macpherson, Black Ice is a character-driven drama, with interconnecting stories tackling big issues such as relationships, alcohol and abortion, but the piece also has lighter moments and is uplifting in tone.
Jack Elliott said, “Recording this play has been one of the most enjoyable experiences of my life. I really hope it's a success because it would be fantastic to do another one.”
Cast member Scott Ironside – already well-known in Aberdeen for his comedy nights – was keen to promote the local element of the production. He said:
“As an Aberdonian Actor, I am delighted to support and involve myself with local professional productions. It is encouraging to see artists and producers finally utilising the abundant amount of talent and vision we have right here in the North-east.”
Broadcasting the play is part of a drive by shmuSOUND to promote more spoken-word broadcasting, including poetry, short stories and radio plays.
shmuSOUND recently secured funding from Aberdeen City Council in order to develop this area of work and there are plans to record more radio plays and encourage people to enjoy radio for more than just music.
shmuSOUND’s Stevie Kearney said, “This is about promoting creativity and using shmuFM a platform for spoken-word pieces – it’s not something that other radio stations are generally prepared to do. As a community station we don’t have advertisers, so we can experiment a lot more with our shows. Hopefully this will be the first of many radio plays on shmuFM”.
‘Black Ice’ goes out between 7 and 8pm on Friday July 12th on 99.8FM or online at www.shmu.org.uk
