Hubbard’s myTalk 107.1 in Minneapolis-St. Paul raised $106,000 for Minnesota charities by recreating the classic radio drama, War Of The Worlds, which was broadcast on myTalk 107.1, with a behind-the-scenes video released on YouTube.
The production was part of myTalk 107.1’s annual Project Down & Dirty, an annual fundraiser that has raised over $700,000 for Minnesota charities. Project Down & Dirty – Classic Radio Drama was the second largest fundraiser in the ten year history of the PD&D fundraising initiative.
Orson Welles’ classic radio drama, War Of The Worlds, was first broadcast on October 30, 1938. The iconic cultural event caused major panic around the United States, as listeners reacted to the broadcast live on the radio. myTalk 107.1 wanted a lighter and more local version of the program so they brought in playwright and screenwriter, Jeffrey Hatcher, to create a satire of the original broadcast.
Hatcher lives in Minnesota, is a Broadway and Off-Broadway produced playwright and is best known for his screenplays for The Good Liar starring Helen Mirren and Ian McKellen, Mr. Holmes starring Ian McKellen and Laura Linney and The Duchess starring Kiera Knightly.
The broadcast featured the air personalities of myTalk 107.1 playing all of the voice roles. The majority of the sound effects were created live. Minnesota Foley artist, Katharine Horowitz, provided training and direction for all of the live sound effects, which were created by myTalk 107.1 staff.
myTalk PD Amy Daniels said her team blew her away. “Voice acting is very different than the work they do hosting a radio show every day, but they did an amazing job bringing the story to life. Also, big thanks to the artistic and production staff we brought in. We could not have done this without them.”
Market Manager Dan Seeman. “Like everything else in 2020 we had to re-imagine Project Down & Dirty. In the past the fundraisers were built around large crowds and interaction with our listeners. This year we had to create an event that everyone could enjoy on a virtual basis, so we came up with recreating a classic radio drama.”
The charities benefiting from the fundraising project were: Little Brothers Friends of the Elderly, Allina Health’s Caring for Caregivers Fund, Every Meal and Springboard for the Arts.
