"Short Summer at Longhurst" (1992) by William Morelock is about four young people in search of a comedy of manners who get caught up in a succession of plot conventions and verbal repartees straight out of S.N. Behrman or Philip Barry. Set on the estate of lumber baron R. George Fellows, the play follows the no nonsense Laura, slothful Tom, the skeptical and exquisitely bored Regis, and sweet little rich girl Winnie as they come to terms with their meaning as characters in a world perpetually in love and perpetually at odds with privilege. A meddlesome Chorus encourages, censures, supports, chides, and occasionally calls up the characters in the midst of the action to give unsolicited advice. Commissioned by New American Radio.

"Terra dell'Imaginazione (Land of the Imagination)" (1990) by Helen Thorington is sound composition in which the artist evokes a landscape and tells a story without a text. Originally commissioned as an audio installation for a riverside cave in Mattera, Italy, Terra reflects the artist's view of the place for which it was intended but which she had not as yet seen: wet, quiet, and dark but inhabited by multitudes of insects and small mammals. The story is that of a solitary person paddling through these waters.

In its ten years as a weekly national series, 1987-1998, New American Radio (NAR) commissioned and distributed over 300 original works: conceptual new drama, associational documentary, language explorations, sonic meditations, environmental compositions, musical explorations and works that pioneer new dimensions in acoustic space. Wave Farm is thrilled to be partnering with New American Radio to ensure these works remain available to listeners today and into the future.

New American Radio was organized by Helen Thorington, Executive Producer and Regine Beyer, Associate Producer. A special thanks to both Helen Thorington and Jo-Anne Green for their generous support and collaboration of this partnership, and their contribution to the field at large!

Click here to explore individual artists and works.