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April 17, 2023April 17, 2023

The Wild (and possibly Sheb Wooley) Origins of the Wilhelm Scream

Based on the news we read this weekend, there was absolutely no reason we were not going to share the glorious discovery of the original recording session that gave the work The Wilhelm Scream.

You can learn a great background of the Wilhelm Scream on Mental Floss from 2018, recently updated with this latest news. Jim Vorel has a good article on the news for Paste, an article also referenced by Luke Plunkett for Kotaku (which also has a video game compilation of Wilhelm Screams)

Bjorn Munson loves this sound effect. If, for some reason, it wasn’t already fixed in the tapestry of movie geekery, he has stated that he would still find ways to use it in his productions. It’s plaintive yet comical. Even though it wasn’t created for a 50s monster movie, it somehow encompasses every hapless monster victim. You can almost hear them swear to the main characters, “I’ll be fine watching the strange obelisk with this here faulty flashlight that will cut out at the wrong moment. Don’t worry. I’m definitely not about to be stung/eviscerated/devoured by an ancient evil/incomprehensible alien/radioactive monstronsity. Nosiree!”

Give it a listen. You’ve heard it before, but here’s a compilation. The scream is a thing of beauty:

One of the lovely aspects of it being called the “Wilhelm Scream” is the eponymous Private Wilhelm is not the first victim nor in the first movie to use the scream. That honor goes to Distant Drums. However, once you see the clip from the later The Charge at Feather River, Private Wilhelm and his strange prioritization of pipe maintenance is just a wonderful version.

The big news is the full, 39 seconds of the recording session where they did six takes of the scream and you hear some of the direction. Because this is the sort of additional recording you do all the time in sessions (we do it all the time with Jabberwocky Audio Theater), they don’t have solid notes on who was the screamer now immortalized across all sorts of media. The current thought is that it’s character actor and singer Sheb Wooley, which feels appropriate. I mean, someone attacked by the giant Purple People Eater would surely cry out with a Wilhelm Scream while being eaten.

Speaking of Jabberwocky Audio, avid listeners will note that we’ve used the Wilhelm Scream in each of the two seasons of Rogue Tyger. It works great mixed in with the sound design for fight sequences. And yes, it will be featured in season three later this year. Bjorn vows to make sure it makes it into every season… because the spirit of Wilhelm must live on (even as the victims perish).

February 11, 2023May 7, 2023

Steering the Ship: The Harbor Pilot’s Tale

This article excerpt, part of a series entitled The Quorum Chronicle, appears in full — along with expanded audio content — exclusively for our Patreon backers. See our Patreon page for further details.

When developing the concept for what became The Harbor Pilot’s Tale, I knew it would be a step removed from the tone and storyline of The Gambler’s Tale, though at first I didn’t know exactly what it would entail. But as I fleshed out the “story bible” for the overall series, I started jotting down the critical elements I’d want to include. First, I knew this was a story that would be told in a single episode — like The Messenger’s Tale before it, this would be an “interlude” between two longer Quorum seasons. Second, I wanted to showcase the broader scope of the Quorum’s influence; since both previous seasons of The Gambler’s Tale and The Messenger’s Tale had taken place in the United States, I was eager to move beyond America’s borders. And third, I wanted to introduce a tonal shift to the story; yes, it would still identifiably be a Quorum story, but it would have its own flavor. I wasn’t going to upend the format, but I wanted this to feel different.

Generally speaking, a harbor pilot — also called a maritime pilot or port pilot — is a specialized mariner who steers ships through particularly difficult waters.

Having long since worked out one of the major plot elements in what would become the third season of The Gambler’s Tale, this interlude story had a natural focus: setting that series of events into motion. (And rest assured, I’m not about to spoil anything else here.) In an odd turn of events, because of cast scheduling constraints, I actually had to script all of the Quorum bookend scenes through the end of that third season well in advance (unless I wanted to recast roles partway through the series) — so the fact that I’d mapped out the broad strokes of the overall story worked to my advantage now. While I wasn’t committed to any particular story for this episode, I had a framing template within which to operate: the Quorum was having to make some late changes to their plans, and they would involve European shipping operations.

The first thing I did was study cargo routes throughout Europe (and ultimately, across the globe). Since I knew that the Quorum’s quote-unquote “cargo” originated in Switzerland, it was a question of figuring out what the optimal transit route would be to its final destination. I had initially assumed that route would be via train or truck down to the Mediterranean Sea. But if this cargo was intended for overseas delivery — which this was — it was more likely that it would depart from a port on the North Sea, such as Rotterdam, in the Netherlands. From there, assuming our couriers would want to keep their charge secure, and not risk being stopped en route, I deduced that a plausible (not to mention entertaining) method of transportation would be via cargo ship, along the Rhine river.

Which brought me to Basel. Home to numerous museums, Basel is often considered the cultural center of Switzerland. While not as populous as Geneva or Zürich, it does have significant banking and chemical production industries — and happens to be home to Switzerland’s only cargo port. In effect, all shipments traveling along the Rhine go through Basel. Switzerland actually has a surprisingly robust naval history. The Merchant Marine of Switzerland is the largest merchant navy of any landlocked country on Earth, and the ports of Basel are dependent on the expertise of these sailors.

Be sure to check out the complete article, in both text and enhanced audio formats, along with the rest of The Quorum Chronicle series, at our Patreon page. And thanks so much for your continuing support of Jabberwocky Audio Theater!

— William R. Coughlan, writer/director of Quorum

January 19, 2023January 18, 2023

Listen Online! Quorum — The Harbor Pilot’s Tale

Basel, August 2012. Switzerland’s most densely populated metropolis, famed as much for its cultural heritage as for its vital role in the Swiss banking and chemical industries. Situated at the border of Switzerland, Germany, and France, the city serves as a critical transit hub for cargo traffic on the Rhine river, a function that renders those with the skills to navigate the treacherous waterways especially vital… and one that may prove pivotal to the hastily-revised plans of a cabal of enigmatic conspirators.

Near-to-retirement Swiss harbor pilot Klaus Brunner is nearly home after a long day’s work when he is called back to direct an unexpected late-night cargo ship departure. But what seems a routine if inconvenient assignment changes dramatically when he discovers the true nature of the cargo they’re carrying — and must take drastic action if he hopes to escape with his life.

LISTEN TO THE EPISODE

AD-PG Length: 29:14

Rated AD-PG, so parental guidance is suggested
Contains one use of “damn,” a few instances of “hell,” some “my God” exclamations (in English, German, and French), some fairly rude culture-specific slang, as well as a couple of instance of foreign-language saltiness. Plus assorted forms of sometimes-lethal violence (as well as implied and explicit threats thereof), gunshots, explosions, video game addiction, and cold calculations that adversely affect human lives.

CAST (IN ORDER OF SPEAKING)

Announcer: Marsha Rehns
Klaus Brunner: Tom Kramer
Lynette: Lillian Rachel
Lachlan MacKinnon: Bradley Gareth
Curt Colepaugh: Christopher Walker
Herbie Pitt: Kia Joon
Hans-Rudolf: Andrew Quilpa
Francesca Salazar: Karen V. Lawrence
Baskin: Danilo Lukovic
Simone Laplace: Laura Rocklyn
Mr King: Pete Papageorge
Ms. Rook: Faith Potts
Ms. Knight: Anna Fitzgerald
Mr. Queen: Joel Snyder
Mr. Bishop: Brian Crane
Radio Broadcaster: Andrew Quilpa

CREW

Recorded at Tulgey Wood Studios in Deepest Springfield
Supplemental recording at a variety of independent studios around the world
Dialogue and sound effects editing, mastering and final mixing by William R. Coughlan
Produced by Bjorn Munson
Written and directed by William R. Coughlan

MUSIC SELECTIONS

“Action Suspense Pulsing Trailer”
performed by Media Music Group

“Cinematic Action Suspense Thriller March 30 Sec”
performed by Media Music Group

“The Lucky Few”
performed by Michael Vignola

“No Idea”
performed by Michael Vignola

“Action And Suspense Tension Rise Trailer”
performed by Media Music Group

“Trailer Cinematic Fast Action Percussion 1 Minute”
performed by Media Music Group

“Action Suspense Pulsing Trailer”
performed by Media Music Group

“Cinematic Suspense Action Underscore”
performed by Media Music Group

“Cinematic Dramatic Documentary Action Suspense”
performed by Media Music Group

“Action Suspense Rock Orchestra BD Drums”
performed by Media Music Group

“Early in the Morning”
composed by Clyde Hunt
performed by Brooks Tegler’s Hot Jazz
from the album And Not Only That!
Amazon | iTunes

January 15, 2023January 15, 2023

Listen Live! Quorum — The Harbor Pilot’s Tale

Tune in just about now (3pm ET) for a special interlude from the world of Quorum!

Want a idea as to what to expect? Check out the trailer!

Listen Live (Streaming on WERA 96.7FM)

AD-PG Length: 28:00

CAST (IN ORDER OF SPEAKING)

CREW

MUSIC SELECTIONS

“Action Suspense Pulsing Trailer”
performed by Media Music Group

“Cinematic Action Suspense Thriller March 30 Sec”
performed by Media Music Group

“The Lucky Few”
performed by Michael Vignola

“No Idea”
performed by Michael Vignola

“Action And Suspense Tension Rise Trailer”
performed by Media Music Group

“Trailer Cinematic Fast Action Percussion 1 Minute”
performed by Media Music Group

“Action Suspense Pulsing Trailer”
performed by Media Music Group

“Cinematic Suspense Action Underscore”
performed by Media Music Group

“Cinematic Dramatic Documentary Action Suspense”
performed by Media Music Group

“Action Suspense Rock Orchestra BD Drums”
performed by Media Music Group

“Early in the Morning”
composed by Clyde Hunt
performed by Brooks Tegler’s Hot Jazz
from the album And Not Only That!
Amazon | iTunes

January 14, 2023January 14, 2023

Get Ready for Quorum: The Harbor Pilot’s Tale!

We’ve finished editing for what is probably our most ambitious episode of Quorum to date with a fantastic cast from Deepest Springfield and far beyond and we can’t wait for you to hear it!

So if you’re in the broadcast range of 96.7 FM this Sunday at 3pm Eastern, or perhaps just near a device that can stream, tune in!

Our Patreon backers will get to hear it Sunday evening and it will pop up on fine podcatchers everywhere this coming Thursday, January 19th at 9pm Eastern.

This gives you a taste:

November 14, 2022

Dim the Lights for The Dark Knight

This far removed from the era of vintage radio fiction, you don’t hear about voice actors being “the definitive actor” to play a character as much these days.

But the sad news of the passing of Kevin Conroy, longtime voice of Batman across multiple animated series and video games reminds us that for so many, he is the definitive Batman (and Bruce Wayne).

You can read some remembrances at NPR and the New York Times… and, in a fun homage, Gizmodo featured a collection of favorite Batman moments voiced by Conroy.

For all his friends, family, and fans, may his memory be a blessing.

October 21, 2022October 20, 2022

Real Secret Societies You May Not Know

What with the casting going on for our show Quorum, we have secret societies on our mind, but what about the actual ones?

As Jackie Mansky writes for Smithsonian magazine, actual secret societies are often centered around good causes (certainly as far as the members are concerned). Not only that, but these days, they’re not too secret. Indeed, their existence is often in plain sight even if their purposes might seem mysterious.

Yeah, a traditional secret society in Quorum would totally be a front organization designed to throw people off track.

Or is that what we want you to believe?

October 14, 2022October 15, 2022

Casting 15 Roles for Three Episodes of Quorum

We’re getting ready to record the next installments of our award-winning, puzzle-laden crime series Quorum, and we’re looking for a more than a dozen voice actors to join our cast.

All roles are paid, recording will be done both in-person and remotely with the director, and we’re looking for audition submissions by Saturday, November 5th.

Details below.

The Series and the Episodes

Quorum is a slow-burn mystery where various Hitckcockian protagonists find themselves caught up in the machinations of a global cabal bent on… what? While we aim to keep the twists and turns and connections to real-world events entertaining in and of themselves, curious listeners pick up additional clues with each episode.

“The Harbor Pilot’s Tale” is a standalone installment that starts connecting pieces of the Quorum’s ultimate aim during a particularly action-packed stormy night in Switzerland.

“The Attorneys” and “The Physicists” are ‘found footage’ installments that build out the world and characters of Quorum in anticipation of season 3.

Recording Locations and Dates

We have two recording spaces in the Washington, DC area where the majority of our shows have been recorded for the past few years. Since the pandemic, we’ve also started doing remote recordings with the voice talent’s home recording setup.

All sessions, whether remote or in-person, will be directed live by Quorum writer/director, William R. Coughlan.

If you plan to record remotely, please make sure to record your auditions with the same home recording set-up you plan to use if cast. While we’re asking for auditions in mp3 format, our show recordings are mastered as 48k 24-bit WAVs.

Recording sessions will be scheduled between November 19th and December 20th, 2022.

Compensation

We originate on the non-profit, low-power FM station WERA-LP in Arlington, Virginia, so our pay scale is more in the ‘stipend/honorarium’ range than commercial range. It is not covered by a SAG-AFTRA agreement.

There is a base rate of $75 for each recording session plus an additional rate per line (e.g., you’re the protagonist with more lines, you get paid more). We anticipate all the roles for this casting will require one recording session.

Submission Instructions

For convenience, the character descriptions are listed below and a full PDF of all the character descriptions and their sides may be found at this link.

You may submit for as many characters as you feel you are a good fit for.

Record with your best available recording setup, especially if you plan to record remotely if cast.

You may record up to three takes of a given character’s lines if you want, but we’re also fine with just one take.

Please export the files in mp3 format with the naming convention “CHARACTER_YOURNAME.mp3”

Each character should be a separate mp3 file. If you’ve done more than one take for that character’s lines, please have them in the same mp3 file.

Once you’re ready to submit, send us an email to casting@teamjabberwocky.com with the subject line “Quorum 2022 Casting – YOURNAME”

In the body of the email, please include:

Which character(s) you’re auditioning for.
If you prefer to record in-person or remotely
If you prefer remotely, some details about your recording setup
Attached mp3 files of each character you’re auditioning for with the naming convention “CHARACTER_YOURNAME.mp3”
Attached acting/voice actor resumes, attached demo reels, or links to publicly available demo reels — which are entirely optional, but may be useful for this or future casting.
Anything else you think we should know about you.

Auditions must be submitted by Saturday, November 5th, regardless of time zone (yes, we know procrastinating Hawaiian voice actors have the advantage here).

We plan to make casting decisions by mid-November in order to schedule recording sessions between November 19th and December 20th, 2022.

Everyone who submits will be notified when casting decisions have been made.

We look forward to your submissions.

The Characters

Note: Besides some of the obvious accents, some of the characters have entire lines in German. Sprechen Sie gut Deutsch? Machmal gut? Gar nicht gut? Doch, Erlichkeit ist gut.

Below are the character descriptions only. Full sides may be found at this link.

THE HARBOR PILOT’S TALE

Klaus Brunner (male, early 60s) is the episode’s protagonist, a former merchant marine captain due to retire from his career as a harbor pilot for the Schweizerische Rheinhäfen (the Port of Switzerland) in Basel — and at least somewhat eager to do so after recent health warnings from his doctor. His voice is raspy, weighted with age, and he speaks English with a pronounced Swiss-German accent. As our story begins, he has been called back from his trip home to enable the urgent late-night departure of the river cargo coaster Liparus.

Simone Laplace (female, late 30s) is a French physicist working at the Geneva CERN facilities who finds herself held captive inside a metal cargo container aboard the Liparus. Upon her discovery by Brunner, she struggles to piece together the rationale for her abduction while evading her captors — and worrying about the fates of her missing husband and daughter. (Note: This character will also appear in a bonus sponsor-exclusive episode exploring some of her back story, and may also recur in future seasons of Quorum.)

Lachlan MacKinnon (male, early 50s) is the Scottish captain of the Liparus, and speaks with a pronounced accent peppered liberally with Scottish slang. He is trusting of his core crew, and generally comes across as amiable, but is somewhat thrown by Brunner’s unexpected presence, and is cautious not to reveal too much. Though nominally in command, in reality he must accede to the demands of formidable passenger Francesca Salazar.

Francesca Salazar (female, 40s) is the Spanish representative of multinational corporation Camellirosa Shipping (and possibly another, less overtly acknowledged role), traveling aboard the Liparus and personally supervising a special cargo shipment. She is unashamedly demanding and authoritative, with a voice almost serpentine in its barely-constrained authority. (Note: This character is expected to recur in future seasons of Quorum.)

Herbie Pitt (male, late 30s) is the Australian second mate of the Liparus, largely tasked with ship’s navigation, but easily distracted by his latest mobile-game obsession. Outgoing and gregarious on the surface, his personality can switch on a dime once crossed, unearthing a more sinister, even sociopathic aspect.

Curt Colepaugh (male, early 40s) is the American chief mate of the Liparus, in charge of cargo operations. Experienced and outwardly businesslike, but wary of the ship’s new client, Salazar, and the uncertain lines of authority that her presence introduces.

Lynette Brunner (female, early 50s) is Klaus’s English wife, who left her life in England behind when the pair were married. Though not pushy, she strives to be a voice of reason in the face of Klaus’s obstinacy, and is eager for the pair to reach some level of normality in their lives once he retires.

Hans-Rudolf (male, 50s) is a German-speaking Swiss pilot boat operator and longtime friend and coworker of Klaus’s. This night he is charged with picking Klaus up from the Liparus once the latter has steered the vessel safely out of port.

Baskin (male, 40s) is an intimidating Eastern European enforcer working under Camellirosa executive Francesca Salazar. A man of few words, he is more apt to allow the array of destructive weaponry at his disposal speak for him — without necessarily thinking through the consequences.

The Broadcaster (any gender, any adult age) is a German-speaking navigational radio operator for the Port of Switzerland in Basel, belatedly checking on the whereabouts of pilot boat driver Hans-Rudolf following the departure of the Liparus.

THE ATTORNEYS

Allen Hill (male, 30s) is an ambitious Deputy-in-Charge of the Real Estate Fraud section of the LA County District Attorney’s office. After being tipped off to a series of criminal activities, he is eager to close his case with the help of his key witness.

Abril Ramas (female, 50s) is the lead attorney for Anton Kreitzer, a high-powered capitalist who has recently left the country after being unintentionally caught up in a criminal conspiracy.

Henry Cumberland (male, 50s) is the Fraud and Corruption Prosecutions Director of the LA County District Attorney’s office. Eager (or at least willing) to pursue the truth, but well aware of the political constraints in taking on a high-profile prosecution in Los Angeles.

THE PHYSICISTS

Michelle Andreoli (female, mid-20s) is an American graduate student brought on board Dr. Laplace’s quantum entanglement team at the CERN laboratories. She is eager to take on this challenging work, but may know more about the project than she initially lets on.

Jean-Phillipe (male, 30s) is a French CERN engineer assisting Dr. Laplace in her experiments at CERN.

Again, the full sides are available at this link.

Questions?

If any of your questions have not been answered, feel free to email us at casting@teamjabberwocky.com.

October 8, 2022October 8, 2022

Broadcast Time Change on WERA

If you’re one of the folks who listen to us live on the air (including live streaming over the internet), we have news!

Starting this month, Jabberwocky Audio Theater is moving from Sundays at 4pm ET to Sundays at 3pm ET.

This is part of an overall move on the station’s part to consolidate similar programs, so we’ll still be followed by our fellow audio fiction show The Hawk Chronicles, but now follow Paul McGehee’s Time Machine.

Now you can enjoy a big block of audio fiction and history every Sunday afternoon. That schedule again is: