Poe Theatre on the Air

Three years ago, The National Edgar Allan Poe Theatre was invited to take part in a project called “The Media of Mediumship,” with the University of Stirling in Scotland and the University of East Anglia in England.

Poe Theatre’s Artistic Director Alex Zavistovich performed in and co-produced a three-part radio drama series written by UEA Professor Richard J. Hand, based on fiction held in the Harry Price Library in the University of London’s Senate House Library.

The programs were first heard on the BBC as “The Adventures of Zachariah Jaeger” and are a continuing part of the curated Media of Mediumship project. The series subsequently received recognition in UEA’s Innovation and Impact Awards for Outstanding Social or Cultural Impact.

This first installment of the series, “The Beast in the Caves,” was based on the short story “The Terror of Blue John Gap,” by Arthur Conan Doyle.

A range of materials for the Media of Mediumship project can be found on YouTube at

https://youtube.com/@themediaofmediumship4182?si=gtjM6xjw7AgbwDEJ

Hear the third and final story in Edgar Allan Poe’s Auguste Dupin trilogy of mysteries! Dupin and his assistant help the Paris police find a stolen letter, which is being used for blackmail at the highest levels of French government.

The Purloined Letter script was written and directed by Alex Zavistovich. Music and sound effects by James D. Watson, featuring the voices of Adam R. Adkins, Bri Caelleigh, Jimi Kinstle, Melanie Kurstin, Jennifer Restak, and Alex Zavistovich.

Here are links to the first two of Poe’s Dupin mysteries:

“The Murders in the Rue Morgue”:

https://www.wypr.org/podcast/poe-theatre-on-the-air/2024-01-19/the-murders-in-the-rue-morgue

“The Mystery of Marie Roget”:

https://www.wypr.org/podcast/poe-theatre-on-the-air/2024-08-13/the-mystery-of-marie-roget

“The Purloined Letter” was recorded live in the Poe Room of The Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, MD, and made possible by The Enoch Pratt Free Library, DC Dogs, and The Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts.

This Halloween special edition of Poe Theatre on the Air features two readings of the works of Edgar Allan Poe: “The Masque of the Red Death” and “Shadow (a Parable).”

Published in 1842, “The Masque of the Red Death” has been adapted numerous times, most notably by Roger Corman in a 1964 film starring Vincent Price.

“Shadow (a Parable)” was written by Poe during his time in Baltimore and published in 1835. The story is read by British actor Helen Atkinson-Wood, best known for her work in the BBC series “Blackadder.”

The National Edgar Allan Poe Theatre on the Air is sponsored in part by Baltimore’s own RavenBeer, and by DC Dogs, a multimedia performing arts troupe.

Special thanks to the Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts, and the Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum in Baltimore.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The second of Poe’s Auguste Dupin detective stories, “The Mystery of Marie Roget” follows Dupin and his biographer as they unravel the case of a missing perfume worker, found dead in the river. Written by James Comtois, and directed by Alex Zavistovich. Music and sound effects by James D. Watson, featuring the voices of Adam R. Adkins, David Hanauer, Jimi Kinstle, Melanie Kurstin, Jennifer Restak, and Alex Zavistovich.

“The Mystery of Marie Roget” was recorded live in the Poe Room of The Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, MD, and made possible by The Enoch Pratt Free Library, DC Dogs, Avaya, and The Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.