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Columbia Workshop Old Time Radio

30 minute drama/experimental episodes

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Irwin Shaw

Irwin Shaw

Columbia Workshop was a radio series that aired on the Columbia Broadcasting System from 1936 to 1943, returning in 1946-47, when it was revived in 1956, it was retitled the CBS Radio Workshop.

The Columbia Workshop dedicates itself ". . . to experiment in new techniques with a hope of discovering or evolving new and better forms of radio presentation, with a special emphasis on radio drama; to encourage and present the work of new writers and artists who may have fresh and vital ideas to contribute."

The series began as the idea of Irving Reis. Reis had begun his radio career as an engineer and developed a fascination with the possibilities of the relatively new medium. His idea was to use experimental modes of narrative to enhance the way a narrative was conveyed over the radio.

Early shows on the Workshop exemplified Reis's penchant for experimentation through narrative and technical means. The second program, Broadway Evening followed a couple as they meandered down Broadway during an evening. A subsequent show had at least 30 characters functioning within a half-hour drama. Among the technical demonstrations were sound effects, the use of various kinds of microphones to achieve various aural effects and voice impersonators (including sound effects produced by voice).

Reis called upon others to try their hand in writing new or adapting existing material for the experimental nature of the Workshop. Orson Welles did a two-part adaptation of Shakespeare's Hamlet, as well as a 30-minute condensation of Macbeth. Irwin Shaw contributed one show, and Stephen Vincent Benét adapted several of his short stories. Reis also experimented with readings and dramatizations of poetry, including works by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, John Masefield and Edgar Allan Poe. One of the most notable presentations of Reis's tenure was Archibald MacLeish's original radio play, The Fall of the City. With a cast that included Burgess Meredith, Orson Welles and 300 students, the play was notable for its portrayal of the collapse of a city under an unnamed dictator, a commentary on fascism in Germany and Italy.





Reis recognized music as an important part of radio presentation. As part of CBS's commissioning of five classical composers to write original works for radio. On the broadcast of December 23, 1937 (the first of a two-part dramatization of Lewis Carroll's Alice Through the Looking Glass), it was announced that William N. Robson had succeeded Irving Reis as director of the Columbia Workshop. Though the Workshop continued some experimentation, Robson placed greater emphasis on good dramatic adaptations, rather than didactic explanations of radio techniques. Robson was able to keep the quality that Reis had established, Irwin Shaw, Stephen Vincent Benèt continued to contribute to the show, and Robson got new talent like Arch Oboler and Thornton Wilder to work on episodes.

Robson left in mid 1939, afterwards there was a series of directors, most notably the socially conscious Norman Corwin. Interest in the show was waning in 1942 and went off the air in 1943, to be revived in 1946-47, then coming back under the name CBS Radio Workshop in 1956.

Text from Wikipedia

Use our player to listen to each episode for free!

All of our Old Time Radio Programs are in MP3 format. You can play them on your computer, you can transfer them to MP3 players (like the IPod), but, by and large, you cannot play them on stereos, walkmen, or car radios.

The sound quality of Old Time Radio Programs can vary greatly. Some episodes are excellent, others you have to turn up the volume a little and ignore the static. All of the episodes can be listened to and enjoyed. You can listen to our free samples to get a feel for how the programs sound.

You may also like: NBC University Theater

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Episode List


columbia-workshop_361114 Hamlet Part 2.mp3
columbia-workshop_361128 History of the Ameri.mp3
columbia-workshop_361226 The Happy Prince.mp3
columbia-workshop_370102 Public Domain.mp3
columbia-workshop_370213 Pitch Perception.mp3
columbia-workshop_370411 The Fall of the City.mp3
columbia-workshop_370627 Babouk.mp3
columbia-workshop_370928 Alice in Wonderland .mp3
columbia-workshop_371003 Alice in Wonderland .mp3
columbia-workshop_371223 Alice Through the Lo.mp3
columbia-workshop_371230 Alice Through the Lo.mp3
columbia-workshop_380521 Behold the Man.mp3
columbia-workshop_380730 Tristram.mp3
columbia-workshop_381110 A Drink of Water.mp3
columbia-workshop_381117 Luck.mp3
columbia-workshop_381215 A Trip To Czardi.mp3
columbia-workshop_390120 Pepito inherits the .mp3
columbia-workshop_390220 Nine Prisoners.mp3
columbia-workshop_390306 Winged Victory.mp3
columbia-workshop_390313 In the Train.mp3
columbia-workshop_390320 A Letter from Home.mp3
columbia-workshop_390327 Pepito Inherits the .mp3
columbia-workshop_390403 Rendezvous with Kit .mp3
columbia-workshop_390529 Private Throgg.mp3
columbia-workshop_390810 Radio Play - Saroyan.mp3
columbia-workshop_390824 Meridian 7-1212.mp3
columbia-workshop_390921 Now it's Summer.mp3
columbia-workshop_391102 Biennerhassett.mp3
columbia-workshop_391116 A Letter From Above.mp3
columbia-workshop_391123 The Circular Tour.mp3
columbia-workshop_391130 The Wonderful Day.mp3
columbia-workshop_391207 As You Like It.mp3
columbia-workshop_391214 A Story In Dogtown C.mp3
columbia-workshop_410817 Esther Part 2.mp3
columbia-workshop_411228 Who Wants To Be Born.mp3
columbia-workshop_440307 Movie Primer.mp3
columbia-workshop_440509 Cromer.mp3
columbia-workshop_440523 Tel Aviv.mp3
columbia-workshop_440530 Untitled.mp3
columbia-workshop_440704 Home for the Forth.mp3
columbia-workshop_440725 El Captain and the C.mp3
columbia-workshop_450703 Unity Fair.mp3
columbia-workshop_450710 Daybreak.mp3
columbia-workshop_450821 The Case of Gumpert.mp3
columbia-workshop_460202 Home Coming.mp3
columbia-workshop_460209 Anniversary.mp3
columbia-workshop_460302 Slim.mp3
columbia-workshop_460309 Thanks for the Memor.mp3
columbia-workshop_460512 No Children at Play.mp3
columbia-workshop_460616 Sometime Every Summe.mp3
columbia-workshop_460630 This Is Singing Coun.mp3
columbia-workshop_460721 The Pide Piper of Ha.mp3
columbia-workshop_460728 Legend in Brocade.mp3
columbia-workshop_460804 Happy Thoughts for a.mp3
columbia-workshop_460811 Wilbur, the Psychone.mp3
columbia-workshop_460818 Modern Exhibit.mp3
columbia-workshop_460825 The Path and the Doo.mp3
columbia-workshop_460928 The Day Baseball Die.mp3
columbia-workshop_461019 Moby Dick Part 1.mp3
columbia-workshop_461026 Moby Dick Part 2.mp3
columbia-workshop_461221 The Day They Gave B.mp3
columbia-workshop_461228 Rain, Rain Go Away.mp3


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