Westward, Ho!

NWA Audio Theater brings Capra’s world to life in ‘Westward the Women’

Northwest Arkansas Audio Theater will conclude its inaugural season with its production of “Westward the Women” June 2-4 at the Arts Center of the Ozarks in Springdale. The group’s ambitious first season included “The Canterville Ghost,” A Christmas Carol,” “The Shadow” and “Nero Wolfe.”

Director Eden Miller says she’s a big fan of Frank Capra, whose short story is the basis of this radio play.

“I have always loved Capra’s stories and find this one conveys the best of his work,” says Miller. “It is funny, sad, gritty, romantic, playful — very human in its scope.”

The audio play tells the story of the women who traversed the country, from East to West, to seek husbands in the wake of the Gold Rush in California.

Miller says the art of audio theater is demanding and challenging.

“Audio theater, as theater of the imagination, depends on voices, sound effects, music and timing even more than regular theater does,” she says. “The actors have the advantage of being able to read from the script, and there is very little blocking, other than making sure they are at the right microphones at the right time. Relating to other actors and to the audience is crucial.”

During the course of the play, actors must take on a variety of tasks, which can be as fascinating for the audience to watch as a fully mounted production.

“Everyone does a little of everything,” says Miller. “Voice, sound effects, music. Several actors play more than one character, so [they] face the challenge of making those characters distinct enough for the listeners.”

The production will feature advertisements that help set the time frame for the audience, says Miller. One ad serves to link the production with a local favorite.

“The tie-in to the Rodeo of the Ozarks is a happiness we worked to bring about,” says Miller. “They kindly lent us their stagecoach for publicity pictures, and we have a commercial for them just after intermission.”

The message of the play is a heartwarming one, says Miller.

“The lesson we bring away is the need for interdependence — helping our neighbors through the storms of life.”

COURTESY PHOTO Actors in Northwest Arkansas Audio Theater’s “Westward the Women” pose in front of a stagecoach wagon on loan to them from the Rodeo of the Ozarks.