Meet the players...

of DEAD AIR! We are proud to present podcast numero dos from all of us at Dawson Street Dramatic Society, featuring interviews with Steven Rockwell and Rena Moore, recorded in West Philly, edited in our underpants, and uploaded from the coffee shop!

PODCAST DOS

...we are officially TWO WEEKS AWAY from the premier of DSDS's newest spectacle!

BUY YOUR TICKETS NOW FROM The Philly Fringe Website

Also, join our email list for superfluous updates full of hilarity and obscenities! Send us your email address or put 'em in the comment box and we'll send you stuff occasionally!

AND: check out our very own Greg Day on the Philly Fringe BLOG. Brief and silly-a must read!

Check out secret cast-mate, home-brewer, constant contributor and occasional zombie/Sasquatch stand-in JJ Darling's blog http://www.kenyonstreetbrewery.com/ and official site (for photography) The JJ DAAHLING website!

See you at the show!!

Dead Air: UPDATES!

Dead Air: the Last Broadcast of the Zombie Apocalypse is coming soon to the 2010 Philly Fringe...until then, tune into our newest addition A PODCAST!

PODCAST PART ONE
PODCAST PART TWO

(Simply click on the link, and play through iTunes or your preferred mp3-playin' program.)

Each bit is about 20 minutes long, in which Greg Day and Toni Arias (co-directors of DSDS) chat about the Dead, the undead, Earth, radio...

AND you get to hear clips from our newest work-in-progress, world-premier...Dead Air!


Tell your friends! Neighbors! Optometrists! And don't touch those dials, we'll be back soon for another edition of...DEAD AIR: the PODCAST.

DEAD AIR: The Title

"Magic is what we do, music is how we do it."
--Jerry Garcia

Hello All!  With the Fringe fast approaching and rehearsals/recordings well under way for the DSDS upcoming WORLD PREMIERE new work "DEAD AIR: The Final Broadcast of the Zombie Apocalypse."  There has been a little confusion as to the origin of the title of this work (a radio play starring the survivors of the zombie uprising) and I wanted to clarify, but also give credit where credit is due

Dead Air--–noun

the loss or suspension of the video or audio signal during atelevision or radio transmission

Ok so far so good, DEAD AIR is also the name of the roller hockey team some guys in my office play on so its a pretty general term.

But why call this play DEAD AIR?  I mean, it could be because that after the un-dead rise and consume the living, there won't be much to listen to on the radio....but really, the title itself comes from a little place called...

When I was growing up out near Houston, Texas, as a young dead head in training, my weekly exposure to the infinite world of Jerry and the boys came in through my radio speakers, with DJ Sandy bringing us DEAD AIR---playing live un-cut sets from those bootlegs and tapers, for all those additional Saturday nights when it was time to tear this old building down.  I can recall one weekend, living out in Brazoria county on the banks of the San Bernard river, and after sneaking a smoke in the backyard, found and managed to tune an old radio to KPFT during those twilight hours full of the dead.  Sitting outside, I can still see the lights and feel my mind really think as Jerry sang of the ship of fools right into my brain and showed me the only truth: that there is nothing like the Grateful Dead. Its magical what the Dead can do to a young guy staying up late just to listen to the sounds.

"Deadheads are kinda like people who like licorice. Not everybody likes licorice, but people who like licorice, REALLY like licorice!"

--J. Garcia

Even with my love of the Dead and their music firmly implanted in my mind and personality from birth, Sandy's weekly broadcast proved that there would always be a Dead show, floating around out there, not asking for anything other than a good listen, and maybe some dancing!

Check out KPFT's DEAD AIR website!

http://www.deadairkpft.com/index.htm

I hope this clears up any and all misinformation regarding the title!

and remember to check out the Fringe website for Tickets and Information!!!

http://www.livearts-fringe.org/details.cfm?id=14042

TICKETS ON SALE FOR 2010 FRINGE

Please visit the 2010 Philadelphia Live Arts and Philly Fringe website to purchase tickets, check out upcoming shows and get ready for an amazing festival!

http://www.livearts-fringe.org/details.cfm?id=14042

For Tickets and Showtimes for Dead Air!

DEAD AIR Videos

Dead Air: The Final Broadcast of the Zombie Apocalypse  is an original new full length radio play presenting the last words of mankind.  The constant pollution and destruction of our natural world has given way to the dead rising from the grave to feast on the flesh and brains of the living.  DEAD AIR is an inspired new production, and I thought I'd come on here and give you an idea of where and how Dead Air came to be:

The Original Broadcast from Orson Welles' "War of the Worlds"



John Trudell, is an American Indian activist, poet, actor and songwriter.  The following clip is from the documentary "Trudell" in which John explains the connection to the land.





One of my absolute favorite Grateful Dead traditional ballads, "Walk Me Out in the Morning Dew"---a folk song concerning the apocalypse and end of days.  Here is a video of the Dead performing the ballad in March 1986 at the Spectrum in Philadelphia




Another rocking and rolling version of the song by British folkie Tim Rose



And of course, because DEAD AIR is a throwback, or homage I suppose to the classic days of radio, this sketch with a gigantic sweaty Orson Welles and a spry Dean-o Martin should give you an idea of the madness that awaits you in our live performances---minus the abundance of sweat

A Quick Biography

The Dawson Street Dramatic Society began in 2008 as the Zombies Aint Shit Co, a collection of Saint Joe’s alumni, hippie dead heads, painters, musicians and classical thespians to present very low-tech, brand spanking new original one act plays and radio performances in the comforts of corner bars in Philadelphia.  Founded and directed by Gregory Day, a playwright from Houston, Texas and Antonia Cruz Arias, a flamenco singer from South Philadelphia.  Together, the Dawson Dramatic Society presents fringe theatre concerning the horrors from beyond: previous works included Trickster spirits, rigor mortis enthusiasts and of course, lots and lots of home made blood spattered zombies. The Society returns this fall with an exciting new work Dead Air: The Final Broadcast of the Zombie Apocalypse for the 2010 Philly Live Arts and Fringe Festival.  Taking their cue from Orson Welles and the Mercury Theatre’s 1938 production of War of the Worlds, DEAD AIR explores those desperate last words broadcast on the airwaves, as the pollution and industry overflows and spills, causing the dead to rise from their graves and feast on the living, DEAD AIR brings you all your favorite radio personalities being torn apart with original music by Stephen Rockwell and jamming of the Grateful Dead. The Society’s Mission Statement is to continue to showcase emerging new works, collaborate with musicians and artists of all shapes and sizes, and to preserve the history and the culture of the living dead.