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Audio Drama Session 7
| The session was led by Sally Avens addressing the use of silence on Radio. We opened with a discussion about the potential use of silence in story telling and how tempting it is for writers to often over write for radio, failing to trust in the communicative potential of what might be left unspoken. We also addressed how actors can feel a desire to be constantly speaking and filling air time and the fine balance that has to be met for pauses and silences to be held and full, rather than falling into a ‘nothingness’. Sally spoke about the balance that must be found by Producers when using silence, so that the radio audience is not lost or alienated. We thought of possible occurrences of silences in conversation, denoting embarrassment, anticipation, anger and so on and listened to 3 radio drama extracts that used the notion of silence in different ways. The extracts were: 1. Cigarettes and Chocolate by Anthony Minghella In this piece the central character has chosen to stop speaking and her persona is first created by a long series of answerphone messages left on her machine which she is failing to respond to. The character feels present but is not speaking herself. 2. The Revenge by Andrew Sachs This piece is completely non verbal. We hear birdsong, a siren, laboured breathing, shouts, dogs barking, the sound of running on earth, a person moving through water, the muffled sound of being beneath the water, gasping for breath and so on as the piece develops over 45 minutes. We were able to hear the story of a prisoner escaping quite clearly without any need for verbal explanation, although we did discuss whether over 45 minutes, dialogue would be longed for. 3. Five Kinds of Silence by Sheila Stephenson This piece takes the idea of a conspiracy of silence within a family, following the abuse of the daughters and mother and the subsequent murder of the father. This obviously takes silence as a dramatic starting point and the piece moves from an intimate inner monologue, inside the father’s head to the exterior, domestic world of the home. It illustrated the excitement of radio as a medium to speak a character’s inner thoughts and the power of thoughts and feeling clearly being left unsaid but being inherently understood by the audience. We then set about creating 3 minute pieces trying to incorporate a few concluding points: - The objective is to use silence whilst absolutely holding the attention of the listener. - If silence is used to allow the listener to process information or emotion it has to be earned. - Silence and soundscapes need a dramatic impetus. - Inner monologues may usefully be used and may create a third character in any duologue. - Audiences don’t need to be spoonfed dialogue and are capable of a sensitive response to sound. Jo Croll x |
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TimEvans |
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