Playing on Air

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PLAYING ON AIR FULL EPISODES (53 Minutes)
Playing on Air records short plays written, directed and performed by theatrical luminaries - Timothée Chalamet, Michelle Williams, Frankie Faison, Hank Azaria, Audra McDonald, Jonathan Groff, Adam Driver, Brian Cox...  Listeners enjoy a beginning, middle and knock-out punch in minutes. Plus, after hearing the actors perform, listeners essentially join the scene as all the artists converse with host, Claudia Catania, about what just went down.

The topics of these short plays are timely, engaging, humorous, and reflect the issues of our world today. Pulitzer, Tony, and Emmy award winning playwrights, as well as dynamic newcomers, write pieces that, like all great theater, entertain, illuminate, and humanize.
 
Each short is about 10-25 minutes and there are one, two or three of them on every 53-minute offering. Original music and polished, subtle sound design are composed for every bite-sized and beautifully crafted piece.  (Single plays of various short lengths are available from our Playing on Air Singles Series).


THE CRITICS, PROGRAM DIRECTORS, AND ARTISTS WEIGH IN

"An answered prayer for anyone who craves more theater in their life." -Emma Dibdin, The New York Times
 
"In the long-running podcast series Playing on Air, sterling actors sink their teeth into short plays by the country’s finest authors" -Elisabeth Vincentelli, The New Yorker
 
"Playing on Air increases the accessibility of quality theatre to theatre-hungry audiences" -Ruthie Fierberg, Playbill

Playing On Air is a great addition to our programming lineup. There’s nothing else like it on the public radio airwaves  –short plays written and performed by well-known actors and directors. Take a break from the news!” -Catie Talarski, Senior Programming Director, WNPR Connecticut
 
"When I first sampled Playing on Air I thought our audience would like the program, so I scheduled it during the summer and asked for listener feedback. The most amazing feedback returned with almost 100 % positive about this program.  This is not typical of our listeners!  This is a gem worth your review and absolutely worth adding to your schedule.  Try it!  You'll love the response! What's left to say?  Playing on Air is a public radio winner."  -  Lynne Clendenin, Program Director, OPB Radio
  
 "The playwrights and the actors are award-winning first-rate professionals you will have heard of. Because the plays are short, there's time to include insightful interviews, usually with the playwrights, in each broadcast. Playing on Air definitely fills a gap in available radio theatre programming and I'm delighted to schedule them. Your audiences will love these shows." - Linda Lopez McAlister, Producer, KUNM's Radio Theatre, Albuquerque, NM

"Playing on Air is the kind of show that should be multiplied by ten - it's fun, it's intelligent, and it reminds us how glorious radio can be." - David Ives, playwright

"Playing on Air gives actors the thrilling experience of acting without having to look in a mirror first. They produce dramatically compelling radio in a fun and accessible way." - Jesse Eisenberg, actor, playwright

 

 
We offer two different series:  
PLAYING ON AIR FULL-LENGTHS [53-minute offerings of 1, 2 or 3 short plays followed by conversation] and 
PLAYING ON AIR SINGLES [a module version of the program with one play followed by one conversation, 10-42 minutes]. 





 

Series

Caption: Playing on Air
53 Pieces

Playing on Air delivers recordings of contemporary short plays featuring top talent: Brian Cox, Audra McDonald, Timothee Chalamet, Michelle Williams, Jesse Eisenberg, Carol Kane, Adam Driver, Adepero Oduye, Danny DeVito to name a few. Each short is about 10-25 minutes and there are one, two or three of them in every 53-minute episode. Original music and polished, subtle sound design are composed for every bite-sized but beautifully crafted piece. After hearing each short play, listeners get the inside scoop from its participants. Lively, insightful conversation with each short's playwright, director and cast about what just happened, round out each show. Claudia Catania hosts. The topics of these short plays are timely, and reflect the world we live in now. Like all great stories, these short plays entertain, illuminate, and humanize. Writers and directors include Pulitzer Prize winners David Lindsay-Abaire, David Auburn, John Patrick Shanley, Beth Henley, Lynn Nottage, Donald Margulies, Lanford Wilson; Tony winners Christopher Durang, Warren Leight, John Guare, and notable emerging talent.

Series image
61 Pieces

Playing on Air records short plays written, directed and performed by theatrical luminaries - Timothée Chalamet, Michelle Williams, Frankie Faison, Hank Azaria, Audra McDonald, Jonathan Groff, Adam Driver, Brian Cox... Listeners enjoy a beginning, middle and knock-out punch in minutes. Plus, after hearing the actors perform, listeners essentially join the scene as all the artists converse with host, Claudia Catania, about what just went down. The Single Series is a module version of the full-length Playing on Air Series. It features a single short play followed by lively conversation with its playwright, director, cast. The times given include the ensuing conversation although the play can, of course, stand alone.


Pieces

Caption: Marsha Mason
Marsha Mason (4 time Academy Award nominee) and Steven Boyer (Tony nominee for HAND TO GOD and regular on TV's "Trial and Error") star in TASHA WA...

Bought by Connecticut Public (WNPR), WHRV, Oregon Public Broadcasting, and KUNM


  • Added: Jun 11, 2015
  • Length: 53:00
  • Purchases: 4
Caption: Jane Kaczmarek
Jane Kaczmarek ("Malcolm in the Middle") stars in the touching and humorous first piece, Napoleon in Exile, directed by Marsha Mason (four time Aca...

Bought by KUNM, New Hampshire Public Radio, WCPN, WCAI / WNAN Cape & Islands, Mass., Georgia Public Broadcasting and more


  • Added: May 27, 2015
  • Length: 53:00
  • Purchases: 7
Caption: Liv Rooth
A meet-cute in a coffeeshop contains multitudes, in this entertaining, experimental short, now a classic, from David Ives (Venus in Fur). It is fro...

Bought by KZYX, KUNM, and WABE


  • Added: Apr 16, 2015
  • Length: 15:03
  • Purchases: 3
Caption: Peter Jacobson
SECTION 310, ROW D, SEATS 5 & 6 is a short entertaining play from Tony winner Warren Leight about three buddies who bond over their shared passion ...

  • Added: Apr 15, 2015
  • Length: 29:40
Caption: David Auburn
Two short plays about political operatives by Pulitzer Prize Winner David Auburn. In the comic DAMAGE CONTROL, a political aide has a public relati...

Bought by Connecticut Public (WNPR), KZYX, Connecticut Public (WNPR), Oregon Public Broadcasting, KUNM and more


  • Added: Mar 26, 2015
  • Length: 53:00
  • Purchases: 6
Caption: Tonya Pinkins
In Forward Observer, Tony Award winner Tonya Pinkins plays a harried Veterans Administration Hospital clerk. An elderly World War II veteran is giv...

Bought by Connecticut Public (WNPR), KUNM, Oregon Public Broadcasting, and KUNM


  • Added: Mar 17, 2015
  • Length: 53:00
  • Purchases: 4
Caption: Aidan Quinn
In BANSHEE, a teacher (Aidan Quinn) who's home sick receives a visitation from an Irish sprite (Geraldine Hughes) and an out-of-this-world proposal...

  • Added: Feb 12, 2015
  • Length: 25:46
Caption: Michael Urie
Michael Urie, Harriet Harris and a great ensemble of actors star in three short plays about love and marriage. A couple celebrates their 24th anniv...

Bought by KUNM, Connecticut Public (WNPR), Oregon Public Broadcasting, Red River Radio Network (E. Texas/Louisiana/Arkansas/Mississippi), and KUNM


  • Added: Feb 11, 2015
  • Length: 53:00
  • Purchases: 5
Caption: Bobby Cannavale
In the comic classic, MERE MORTALS by David Ives, a construction worker reveals he is secretly, actually the Lindbergh baby. Turns out his pals hav...

Bought by Connecticut Public (WNPR), Connecticut Public (WNPR), KUNM, KZYX, Georgia Public Broadcasting and more


  • Added: Oct 08, 2014
  • Length: 53:00
  • Purchases: 9
Caption: William Jackson Harper
William Jackson Harper is a lascivious bee swarming a young woman’s Upper West Side apartment. Two vultures have a bone to pick with Saint Francis....

Bought by Connecticut Public (WNPR), New Hampshire Public Radio, Oregon Public Broadcasting, KZYX, and KUNM


  • Added: Sep 04, 2014
  • Length: 53:00
  • Purchases: 5