Playing on Air

GroupAccount image

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: Lucy DeVito
Take radars, magnetrons, and dielectric heating; add two teenagers; mix and get lots of heat in this funny short about a teenage first date. Winner...

  • Added: Jun 15, 2016
  • Length: 25:55
Caption: Sarah Sokolovic
ANNIVERSARY by Rachel Bonds, a comic drama about a young, grieving woman who finds love again. Featuring Michael Esper (The Last Ship, A Beautiful ...

  • Added: Jun 15, 2016
  • Length: 21:24
Caption: Jane Kaczmarek
Napoleon in Exile by Daniel Reitz, is a humorous and touching piece about a single mother and her young adult son who has ASD (Autistic Spectrum Di...

Bought by KUER


  • Added: Jun 15, 2016
  • Length: 38:26
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: Lois Smith
Starring Carol Kane, Julie White, Lois Smith; written by Tony winner John Guare; directed by Tony winner Doug Hughes is Something I’ll Tell You Tue...

  • Added: Jun 15, 2016
  • Length: 34:03
Caption: Steven Boyer
In Holly Walter Kerby’s Attention, Amber (Tony nominee Celia Keenan-Bolger) is bummed out that her boyfriend has visited his family without her. Sh...

  • Added: Jun 15, 2016
  • Length: 17:56
Caption: Michael Urie
Starring Harriet Harris and Michael Urie. After gay marriage is legalized in New York, one mother will stop at nothing to get her son to the altar....

  • Added: May 18, 2016
  • Length: 19:52
Caption: Tonya Pinkins
In Forward Observer, Tony Award winner Tonya Pinkins plays a harried VA hospital clerk. An elderly World War II veteran is giving her a hard time a...

  • Added: May 18, 2016
  • Length: 22:29
Caption: Rosie Perez
Rosie Perez, John Leguizamo, and Bobby Cannavale star in Crazy Eights, a short play by David Lindsay-Abaire. Two recovering drug addicts (Perez, Le...

Bought by KZYX and KZYX


  • Added: May 18, 2016
  • Length: 32:14
  • Purchases: 2
Caption: Jodi Long
Dear Kenneth Blake by Jacquelyn Reingold features Matthew Cowles and Jodi Long in a moving romance between a Cambodian refugee and a homeless man.

  • Added: May 18, 2016
  • Length: 20:23
Caption: Hope Davis
Two passengers of very different statures meet on a plane and take off! A Very Very Short Play by Jacquelyn Reingold features Tony nominee Hope Dav...

  • Added: May 05, 2016
  • Length: 13:37