WRW Retrospective
Season 11, Episode 07
July 17, 2023
redux
Two Decades of Radio Storytelling
Re-Imagined Radio presents a retrospective listen to The Willamette Radio Workshop (WRW). Sam A. Mowry and Marc Rose share some stories about this radio theater/audio drama group based in Portland, Oregon. From origins to podcasts, with early performances, writing, music, sound design, sound effects, guitars, drama, comedy, experiments, collaborations, and more in between, Sam and Marc reflect on two decades of WRW radio storytelling.
Download the episode script
Background
The Willamette Radio Workshop, abbreviated WRW, is a collaboration of actors, writers, singers, musicians, and sound designers interested in continuing the legacy of Golden Age radio drama, while at the same time, pushing the boundaries of its future. Their live performances, studio productions, and writing and performance workshops span two decades and have attracted regional, national, and international attention, along with several awards.
Learn more at The Willamette Radio Workshop website→.
WRW was founded in 2001, in Portland, Oregon, by Sam A. Mowry and, as he tells the story, "eight to ten other stage actors" interested to explore radio stories.
Born December 16, 1959, in Pittsburgh, Mowry moved to Portland with his family in 1979. He worked at Portland's KBOO community radio while establishing himself as a professional actor and producer in the Portland theater scene.
Combining his interest in acting and radio, Mowry developed a career as a freelance voice over actor, business name, The Voice of Sam→. His distinctive voice is heard in several video games, video documentaries, and commercials.
The first public performance for WRW was October 30, 2001, when they staged a recreation of the 1938 radio drama "The War of the Worlds" using the script followed by Orson Welles and The Mercury Theatre on the Air, October 30, 1938. "The War of the Worlds" created chaos across the country with its use of realistic "break in" news announcements, multiple narrators from seeming distant locations, and superior acting and sound effects.
For the first performance by Mowry and friends, they had no microphones, and only rudimentary sound effects. But, more than one hundred people attended their midnight performance at Portland's CoHo Theatre. The troupe of eager radio actors looked at each other and asked, "What's next?"
Next was live performances on Portland's KBOO radio. Then performances at McMenamins, a chain of brewpubs, breweries, music venues, historic hotels, and theater pubs in Oregon and Washington.
Converting their two car garage into a home studio, Mowry and wife Cynthia McGean, a teacher, writer, and actress, began producing studio performances. That gave them a lot more control over the production, but lacked the immediacy of live performance, where, as Mowry says, "The beauty of a live show is it has to happen," and Rose adds, "What happens is not always expected."
Scripts submitted by community writers added another dimension to WRW's catalog. As did annual performances at Halloween and Christmas. By word of mouth and local press, WRW developed a following in Portland and other parts of the Pacific Northwest. And won several awards for their productions, some international.
Over two decades of presenting live radio/audio drama, WRW has evolved and adapted while staying true to their mission: encouraging listeners to engage with radio storytelling. Mowry and Rose share a number of WRW stories in this episode. They also look to the future which they hope will involve collaborations with more community partners. Listen to all this, and more, in this episode of Re-Imagined Radio.
In 2013, WRW partnered with Re-Imagined Radio to offer a live performance of "The War of the Worlds" at the historic Kiggins Theatre, in downtown Vancouver, Washington. That led to six years of collaborations before the pandemic arrived and closed down public performances. In 2022, WRW and Re-Imagined Radio renewed their collaborative partnership to offer a live performance of "A Radio Christmas Carol." For 2023, we are planning "The War of the Worlds" in October, and "A Radio Christmas Carol" in December. We're very excited about this. We hope you will listen.
Resources
D'Antoni, Tom. Sam A.
Mowry: Coffeeshop Conversations #168 Live radio theater, what a concept!. Oregon Music
News. 17 Oct. 2018.
Jones, Ken (host). Mr. Jones's
Neighborhood - Sam Mowry and John F. Barber. KBOO. 24 Sep. 2021.
An on-air interview with Sam Mowry (Willamette Radio Workshop) and John F. Barber (Re-Imagined Radio),
hosted by Ken Jones, for the program "Mr. Jones's Neighborhood."
Longenbaugh, John. Audio Drama PDX: Curated Nostalgia. Oregon Arts Watch, 11 Jan. 2018.
Our Staff. The Willamette Radio Workshop.
Sparks, Dennis. Willamette Radio Workshop—various venues—Pacific Northwest. All Things Performing Arts. 13 Nov. 2014.
Production
Contents
Interviews, samples, and commentary. All to provide a retrospective of the radio storytelling efforts by The Willamette Radio Workshoo, founded and directed for two decades by Sam A. Mowry, Portland, Oregon.
Credits
Written, Produced, and Hosted by John F. Barber
Sound Design, Music, and Post Production by Marc Rose
Promotional Graphics by Holly Slocum
Significance
The Willamette Radio Workshop, and Sam A. Mowry, are well-known throughout the Portland, Oregon, theatre and voice acting communities. This tribute provides witness and evidence of their success. This episode is also a "thank you" note from Re-Imagined Radio for all the opportunities we've had to work with and learn from Mowry and WRW.
Producer's Notes
Re-Imagined Radio has collaborated with Sam A. Mowry and The Willamette Radio Workshop since 2013.
Together we've produced several community radio storytelling events. It's appropriate that we share this
tribute.
— John F. Barber
Sadly, Sam died in July 2024. Listen to "WRW Retrospective Redux", Re-Imagined Radio's Memoriam for Sam. A. Mowry and The Willamette Radio Workshop.
Promotion
Press
Graphics
