SHOW NOTES:
As it was mentioned in Episode 5, we had worked on three chapters of the Professor A: Adjunct Professor to the Multi-verse saga and of course we had the intention to do more. But I found when I edited the show that it sounded best with the chapters at approximately 15 minutes in length (at least for the first two) so we had an extra chapter recorded but not shared with our audience yet.
Secondly, when Olivia Wadsworth came on board I had pitched to her the idea for HER character to be Harriet Holmes. It’s always been my intention for each actor to have a signature role. Some actors may have more than one but I’d like each actor to have episodes where their character is the star. Anyway at the time I envisioned a London tale of Harriet being an actual sibling to Sherlock but found that the tv show SHERLOCK had already put out a story where there was a sister character for Sherlock and it would have seemed too derivative if I tried that too, no matter how I played it.
But as it turned out I also wanted to do a tough as nails Detective character. I have many uses for that character and certainly hard boiled detectives are so ubiquitous in Old Time Radio I’ll have many detectives on the show voiced by many different actors.
Ok, and here’s the thing. I wrote the detective story, finding the lost episode of Nutmeg Junction with a detective without a name. I wasn’t sure what we would call her.
I wrote the opening soliloquy the night before recording and posted it on facebook. This helped Olivia work on and find the voice for the recording session. I finished the story the following day, which was the day of recording, with the final pass completed 15 minutes before i left for the radio station. It’s a tight script that flows very well and there’s very little (if anything at all) I’d change about it.
I cast Jack Sheedy in the role of Lenny Snitchwell. Jack is a writer, an author and editor of a newspaper (Catholic Transcript), and the idea of an “English Major” is a call back to another show that for many years carried the torch of Old Time Radio. Jandi reprises her role of Nonna Hanna.
While we were at the table read, we discussed the fact that the detective didn’t have a name. I believe it was either Jandi or Olivia who brought up the idea of Harriet Holmes. i can not take credit for that at all. But the name fit perfectly and I asked Olivia if she wanted the detective character to be called that. She did.
So that’s how we have Harriet Holmes as a “modern” private eye, not beholden to any Sherlock but understood on her own terms.
Jack did a remarkable job as “Lenny”. He knew the character instantly and gave the right flourish.
The Professor Episode was a lot of fun. This one felt had a lot of comedy thanks to all of the actors in the cast. Everyone has a good line or two including Josh and Jandi as the two humans: Freddie and Alice (which they performed in a cockney accent).
There is only one slight editing mistake I missed in this portion of the show but I will fix it in future editions of the show.
Listeners can expect MORE of Harriet Holmes (she will undoubtedly return in Search for the lost episode part two, and more of the Professor. I plan to have scripts written and recorded this month.
CREDITS
Episode title: Episode 11: The Search for the Lost Episode (Part One) © 2018 J. TIMOTHY QUIRK
The Program Was Created/Written/Produced/Edited by J. Timothy Quirk
Guest Performer: Jack Sheedy
Music: Robert C Fullerton
SONGS:
NUTMEG JUNCTION THEME
WRITTEN AND PERFORMED BY ROBERT C. FULLERTON © 2018
- JT
WRITTEN AND PERFORMED BY ROBERT C. FULLERTON © 2018
PROFESSOR A THEME
WRITTEN AND PERFORMED BY LANA PECK (c) 2018
Additional music and foley courtesy of Youtube royalty free music or otherwise obtained in the environment by J. Timothy Quirk
Starring:
THE HARRIET HOLMES STORY:
OLIVIA WADSWORTH AS HARRIET HOLMES
JANDI HANNA AS NONNA HANNA
JACK SHEEDY AS LENNY SNITCHWELL
THE PROFESSOR: CHAPTER THREE STORY
LANA PECK AS PROFESSOR A
KURT BOUCHER AS DR. ROBERE
TIFFY MCKAY AS MS. GENTRY
JANDI HANNA AS ALICE
JOSH NEWEY AS FREDDIE
DIRECTED BY CONRAD SIENKIEWICZ
Rehearsed at Trinity Episcopal Church in Torrington
Recorded at WAPJ Torrington Community Radio