Name Role within the organisation Skill Base
Iain Mackness Artistic Director Actor, Writer, Director. Sound & Lighting Design for Stage. Voice-over work for TV and Film. Workshop experience and Qualifications..
Julie Nicholson Producer & Secretary Actor & Singer. Workshop experience. Admin knowledge..
Simon Bestwick Script Editor/Producer Actor & Writer. Published author. Teaching experience..
Richard Delafield Script Editor/Producer Actor & Writer. Extensive workshop experience..
Aaron Kelly Actor/Writer..
Mike Clarke Actor/Member Actor. Business skills. Staging and lighting experience..
Rachel Clarke Actor/Member Actor & Singer. Business skills
Influences
One of my earliest memories is from when I was five and decided to go into the garden barefoot and trample bees. Not the most intelligent of plans, but I was five. After my mother had pulled the stings from my feet and wiped the tears from my eyes I vowed to leave well alone – until the next day. And the next.
What any of this has to do with Dark Smile Productions is anybody’s guess. It just gives you an idea of one of the minds behind it. I am now rather fond of bees.
Another early memory is listening to “Genesis of the Daleks” on BBC cassette and being scared out of my wits. It still sends chills up my spine when I listen to the final speech. Years later, when I finally watched the TV episodes it just didn’t equal what I had imagined. The three Daleks just weren’t as scary and the quarry that doubled for a desolate wasteland was just disappointing (and very gritty).
There is something magical about being in a darkened room listening to a story unfolding partly in your stereo and partly in your own head. A feeling that is totally different to visual entertainment. Through the years I’ve developed a love of talking books and audio plays. One of my most treasured collections is “The Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Galaxy” which I have in radio format and the vinyl releases. More recently I have enjoyed the work of Dirk Maggs who has really pushed the boundaries of radio drama, and also the new Doctor Who stories that Big Finish have been producing. I also owe a debt to Orson Wells, but then, don’t we all?
Surprisingly, “Zen and the Art of Apocalypse” was not originally intended as an audio piece. Adam Robins wrote the play for stage. Over time as the ideas became more and more elaborate we realised that without a Royal Exchange budget we hadn’t a hope in hell. The bright idea to do it as an audio piece was mine. Oh, if only it had been that easy. The memory of those bees seems suddenly analogous.
However, we made it through the wilderness and here we are. After the Zen trilogy is completed we have several projects to work on. Hopefully you will enjoy listening to these as much as we like producing them.
Enjoy….
- Iain Mackness 2003
We are an independent radio drama production organisation dedicated to opening the area up to those who feel they are misrepresented in mainstream radio, and those who have a passion for this kind of work, but no outlet. We are committed to enriching lives and the radio drama landscape. We currently utilise people from the Salford and Greater Manchester area, and with the right connections and a little funding we can begin to get even more people involved on a voluntary basis.
• Dark Smile will create a north-west based network of new radio drama artists. We will also identify and develop individuals who would not normally get the chance to experience this kind of work.
• We already have links with High Peak Radio, SCR, All FM, Takeover Radio and Crystal Clear. Outlets for work include the internet, local and national radio stations, hospital radio, school & university stations.
• Eventual national awareness of project will put Salford on the radio drama map.
• All publicity and promotion can be linked in with SCR, and help to encourage diversity of programming, and creativity.
• The creation of high quality products could lead to links with the BBC.
• Benefits of training courses will be numerous - character and confidence building, discovering and encouraging new talent, giving direction and purpose to young people who feel they are ignored.
• Outputs:-
• 5 plays in 2005, 8 plays in 2006. Various broadcast outlets including CD copies.
• Training/participation in 2005 – 10 people. Rising to at least 20 in 2006.
• Volunteers – 5 in 2005, 10 in 2006.
Three tales of the medically macabre that will curdle your blood and chill your bone marrow, hosted by the grotesquely insane Chief Surgeon Mal Practeeeece.
In Dave and Jeff Versus The Maniacal Cannibal Orderlies On The Missing Floor, by Stephen Michael Lowe, we follow the adventures of morticians Dave and Jeff as they seek to find who exactly has been helping themselves to the limbs of their cadavers.
Hood Rats by Simon Bestwick, takes you into the Pygmalion world of Mr Ponsenby: a retired field surgeon who attempts to re-educate the bungling burglar Wayne.
My Two Lungs, by Iain Mackness recounts the tale of Charlton Lung who after recently discovering his long lost Siamese twin also discovers the universal taste of chicken.
This is a must buy for those with a horrific sense of humour.
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