Transom Blogs: Third Coast Festival 2004: Truth on Stage, Fiction on Radio

HOME

ABOUT

SHOWS

GUESTS

TOOLS

TALK

BLOGS

Blogs > Special Features > Third Coast Festival 2004 >
Truth on Stage, Fiction on Radio

Posted by: Roman Mars on November 5, 2004 02:57 PM | Comments (3)

When I first read the conference description, the session that I was most eager to check out was Truth on Stage. Tom Lopez played a bunch of great pieces that were all works of fiction, but each sounded real. The discussion in my session tended to revolve around style choices in the pieces, but I still find myself out of step when it comes to the issue of having fiction on radio. Am I the only one who simply doesn't care if a radio story is true or not? Someone commented during the session that when she first heard Scott Carrier's piece about the death of a fictitious woman she was totally blown away. Then she found out that it was staged and she was disappointed. It doesn't disappoint me at all! In fact, I think it's more amazing.

This might tie into Julie's post about our do-gooder obsession. I like radio that doesn't have a lesson; that doesn't try help anyone. Tell me a story. That's all I want. Try to fool me! It's fun to be fooled. Can I hear an "Amen!"?

Posted by: Roman Mars on November 5, 2004 02:57 PM | Comments (3)

Comments on This Entry:

I like that alot, Roman - some of us used that style in those pieces because it was (and remains) an immediate, creative way to get at what we knew in our guts was "truth" - but we now live in a time when active independent thinking, processing and even creative imagination are threatened - think subjectively and own it - too much literal-mindedness is the work of the devil!

Posted by: Marjorie Van Halteren on November 7, 2004 05:26 AM

I was at this panel too, and I was really moved by it. I think we're really in danger of thinking that radio is inherently true, inherently documentary-oriented, when nothing could be further from the truth. Radio has no inherent qualities whatever, in the matter of truth and fiction. I think exploiting the native ambiguity of the medium itself is really exciting, and when I heard one person in the audience at the panel complain that a certain piece would have been better as a straight documentary piece I was really shocked and outraged.

Posted by: Rick on November 12, 2004 05:19 PM

Nice work.

Posted by: Dave on November 19, 2004 04:31 PM

Special Features

Third Coast Festival 2004

Third Coast Festival 2005

Third Coast Festival 2006

Third Coast Festival 2007