Dark Adventure Radio Theatre: At the Mountains of Madness
Encyclopedia
Dark Adventure Radio Theatre: At the Mountains of Madness is a 2006 radio drama
performed by the H. P. Lovecraft Historical Society
, and based on the novella
At the Mountains of Madness
by H. P. Lovecraft
. It is 75 minutes long.
, the HPLHS wanted to make At the Mountains of Madness as if it were being made at the year the story came out (1931/36), the difference being that it was a radio drama
as opposed to the first's silent film
. Orson Welles
's The Shadow
and The War of the Worlds
were both given as examples of influences. The immersion to the fiction of it being produced as an actual news event in the 1930s is completely maintained throughout the piece, with only the ending ("copyright 1931...plus 75") not maintaining it. At the beginning and end, the host of the "show" even reads from a fake cigarette
ad of the era.
Troy Sterling Nies, who did the music for The Call of Cthulhu, also did the music and sound effects for At the Mountains of Madness, using Lake Ilo
in winter to capture sounds used for Antarctica. Many of the actors from The Call of Cthulhu also returned to give their voices to the story.
A number of supplemental materials (fake Arkham Advertiser
clippings, pictures of the Elder Thing
city, and rubbings of the Elder Things' hieroglyphics, with the images of the Elder Things based on their appearance in Barlowe's Guide to Extraterrestrials
) were included with the CD, to maintain the illusion that is was an actual recording of a real-life event.
(the 'show' that is performing the play). Throughout the work, many of Dyer's explanations of the expedition are replaced with 'news reports' by Nathan Reed of Worldwide Wireless News. Other than some of the more detailed or lengthly segments being cut down, much of the rest of Lovecraft's work remains.
Radio drama
Radio drama is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance, broadcast on radio or published on audio media, such as tape or CD. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine the characters and story...
performed by the H. P. Lovecraft Historical Society
H. P. Lovecraft Historical Society
The H. P. Lovecraft Historical Society or HPLHS is the organization that hosts Cthulhu Lives!, a group of live-action roleplayers for the Cthulhu Live version of Call of Cthulhu. Founded in Colorado in 1984, it is now based in Glendale, California...
, and based on the novella
Novella
A novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative usually longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards for science fiction define the novella as having a word count between 17,500 and 40,000...
At the Mountains of Madness
At the Mountains of Madness
At the Mountains of Madness is a novella by horror writer H. P. Lovecraft, written in February/March 1931 and rejected that year by Weird Tales editor Farnsworth Wright on the grounds of its length. It was originally serialized in the February, March and April 1936 issues of Astounding Stories...
by H. P. Lovecraft
H. P. Lovecraft
Howard Phillips Lovecraft --often credited as H.P. Lovecraft — was an American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction, especially the subgenre known as weird fiction....
. It is 75 minutes long.
Production
Similar to their earlier film, The Call of CthulhuThe Call of Cthulhu (film)
The Call of Cthulhu is a 2005 silent film adaptation of the H. P. Lovecraft short story of the same name, produced by Sean Branney and Andrew Leman and distributed by the HP Lovecraft Historical Society...
, the HPLHS wanted to make At the Mountains of Madness as if it were being made at the year the story came out (1931/36), the difference being that it was a radio drama
Radio drama
Radio drama is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance, broadcast on radio or published on audio media, such as tape or CD. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine the characters and story...
as opposed to the first's silent film
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
. Orson Welles
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
's The Shadow
The Shadow
The Shadow is a collection of serialized dramas, originally in pulp magazines, then on 1930s radio and then in a wide variety of media, that follow the exploits of the title character, a crime-fighting vigilante in the pulps, which carried over to the airwaves as a "wealthy, young man about town"...
and The War of the Worlds
The War of the Worlds (radio)
The War of the Worlds was an episode of the American radio drama anthology series Mercury Theatre on the Air. It was performed as a Halloween episode of the series on October 30, 1938, and aired over the Columbia Broadcasting System radio network. Directed and narrated by actor and future filmmaker...
were both given as examples of influences. The immersion to the fiction of it being produced as an actual news event in the 1930s is completely maintained throughout the piece, with only the ending ("copyright 1931...plus 75") not maintaining it. At the beginning and end, the host of the "show" even reads from a fake cigarette
Cigarette
A cigarette is a small roll of finely cut tobacco leaves wrapped in a cylinder of thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end and allowed to smoulder; its smoke is inhaled from the other end, which is held in or to the mouth and in some cases a cigarette holder may be used as well...
ad of the era.
Troy Sterling Nies, who did the music for The Call of Cthulhu, also did the music and sound effects for At the Mountains of Madness, using Lake Ilo
Lake Ilo National Wildlife Refuge
Lake Ilo National Wildlife Refuge is located in the U.S. state of North Dakota and is managed from Audubon National Wildlife Refuge by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The refuge consists of Lake Ilo, surrounding wetlands and some upland range, providing habitat for hundreds of species of...
in winter to capture sounds used for Antarctica. Many of the actors from The Call of Cthulhu also returned to give their voices to the story.
A number of supplemental materials (fake Arkham Advertiser
Arkham
Arkham is a fictional city in Massachusetts, part of the Lovecraft Country setting created by H. P. Lovecraft and is featured in many of his stories, as well as those of other Cthulhu Mythos writers....
clippings, pictures of the Elder Thing
Elder Thing
The Elder Things are fictional extraterrestrials in the Cthulhu Mythos. The beings first appeared, although not named in H. P. Lovecraft's short story "The Dreams in the Witch-House"...
city, and rubbings of the Elder Things' hieroglyphics, with the images of the Elder Things based on their appearance in Barlowe's Guide to Extraterrestrials
Barlowe's Guide to Extraterrestrials
Barlowe's Guide to Extraterrestrials is a 1979 science fiction book by artist Wayne Barlowe, with Ian Summers and Beth Meacham...
) were included with the CD, to maintain the illusion that is was an actual recording of a real-life event.
Plot
The audio play is only 75 minutes long, while the novella was over one hundred pages long. However, much of the basic plot remains. Instead of writing his confession through the medium of a letter, Dyer gives it in the form of an 'interview' to Chester Langfield, the host of Dark Adventure Radio TheatreDark Adventure Radio Theatre
Dark Adventure Radio Theatre is a series of radio dramas produced by the H. P. Lovecraft Historical Society. They are produced in the style of the 1930s, with "Dark Adventure Radio Theatre" being a Mercury Theatre-type production hosted by Chester Langfield and sponsored by Fleur-de-Lis Cigarettes...
(the 'show' that is performing the play). Throughout the work, many of Dyer's explanations of the expedition are replaced with 'news reports' by Nathan Reed of Worldwide Wireless News. Other than some of the more detailed or lengthly segments being cut down, much of the rest of Lovecraft's work remains.
Cast
- Sean Branney - William Dyer
- Seth Compton - Danforth
- Matt Foyer - Lake, Sherman
- Andrew Leman - Nathan Reed, Ropes
- Barry Lynch - Frank Pabodie
- David Mersault - McTigh, Larsen
- Troy Sterling Nies - Williams
- Josh Thoemke - Announcer, Gedney
- Noah Wagner - Chester Langfield
Crew
- Adapted and produced by Sean Branney and Andrew Lemon
- Music and sound effects by Troy Sterling Nies
- Supplemental illustrations and clippings by Darrell Tutchton and A.H. Leman