PEP Productions

July 1, 2008
Contact: Paul Ellis
Phone: 845-469-7563

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The Air Pirates Radio Theater Audience Makes the Show

The Air Pirates Radio Theater, a unique mixture of live contemporary interactive theater and old time radio drama, will once again present live radio plays at the Lycian Centre in Sugar Loaf, NY. Voted the Best Theater Troupe in the Hudson Valley by the Times Herald Record Readers’ Poll; The Air Pirates Radio Theater continues its season with the fourth episode of its popular Herb Marks Mysteries with All Fortunes Are Not Found In Cookies on July 19 at 8:00 PM .

Audiences play an integral part in the performance. In all of the Air Pirates plays, the audience supplies the sound effects. In the case of the Herb Marks Mysteries that includes doors slamming, gunshots, footsteps and crowd noises. Before each performance the audience is lead through a short review of how and when to make the required sound effects. For the Air Pirates the sound effects function as another character and set the mood for where and when the play takes place as well as moving the action forward. Members of the audience are given toy guns, special rigged shoes, hand-built doors and in some cases water and watering cans which are used to produce the sounds. A cue card girl holds up signs cueing the audience when to execute their sounds. “We even have sounds in our commercials which are performed live and without the audience these would fall flat.” says Paul Ellis Producer of the Air Pirates, “If we miss a sound we could miss the entire scene. Our audience may be the only audience that actually makes the show.” Audiences have expressed excitement and pleasure in having been a part of an Air Pirates production.

The first season introduced the Herb Marks Mysteries which quickly became the trade mark of the Air Pirates. This season the company continues the adventures of the four foot two inch detective as he solves crimes from his unique perspective on the world. Fashioned after the hard-boiled detectives of the nineteen-forties Herb Marks continually saves his own skin by solving crimes in which he had no intention of being involved. Voiced by actress Jennifer Circosta, Herb’s sarcastic manner and irreverent demeanor make him a character to be reckoned with. In, Herb Marks Freelance: All Fortunes Are Not Found In Cookies, Herb finds himself dragged into the mysterious world of Chinatown where he must unravel the mystery of the jade dragon. Everything falls a part as he unwittingly looses his heart to the lovely temptress who hires him. With the help of his side-kick Smokestack El Ropo and much to the chagrin of Detective Sawyer, Herb solves the case and saves his skin. The cast includes Brian Nieves, Kate Brannan, Tristan Bissell and Holly Gorman.

Sponsors include: Eclectic Tech, Style Council, Weinert T-Shirts, Croll Organizing, D & H Canvas, Meeting Tree Computer Corp, Winn Cards and Comics, 1st Advisors Mortgage and Empire Signs of the Hudson Valley. The Air Pirates Radio Theater is made possible, in part, with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts’ Decentralized Program administered by Arts in Orange.

The five play season will be recorded and broadcast on WTBQ radio at both 1110 AM and 99.1 FM. The Air Pirates Radio Theater is scheduled to perform at the Pavilion at the Lycian Centre in Sugar Loaf. Performances are on July 19, August 16 and September 20. Tickets are $15 for each show. For information and to order tickets call 845-469-7563 or visit www.airpiratesradiotheater.com.