Section B · Page 6
The University Daily Kansan
Wednesday, June 16, 1999
Kip Niven and Rick Tamblyn perform a skit live for KANU's Imagination Work- shop. The last show of the season took place Saturday night at Liberty Hall. Photo by Jamie Roper/KANSAN
Season ends with applause
Radio theater faces funding problem
By Jason Beaver
Kansan staff reporter
The Imagination Workshop ended its season at Liberty Hall Saturday night. Audience members laughed and applauded as they watched the skits performed by the cast of the radio theater. The show was broadcast live on KANU 91.5 and is syndicated nationally by National Public Radio as part of its cultural programs package.
The Imagination Workshop started in 1985, created by its producer and writer Darrell Brogden. As a young boy, Brogden listened to tape radio theater, which inspired Imagination Workshop. The program is filled with wild parodies of different movies and commercials. For instance, the take-off on Stars Wars told of OBI-Wankenobi becoming OBGYN-Kenobi and the saying: "Use the foreskin Luke. Use the foreskin."
Some of the parodies were taken from the imaginations of the writers. In Rednecks in Outer Space three men in a fishing boat belch their way to save Earth from a band of cannibal women who eat every man they encounter after having sex with them.
"Headlines inspire a lot of the skits," Brogden said. "People like to laugh at the things they recognize in their every day lives."
The cast not only read its parts on radio, it also acted out its parts on stage, adding another dimension to its performance for the loyal fans who attend the shows at Liberty Hall during October to June season.
The cast is made up of seven members who have worked in radio and voice acting. If their faces or voices are familiar it may be because many of the cast members are active in the art
Jim Moore has been with the workshop for six years and is the mid-day voice of 98.1 KUDL.
Margi Posten, who is celebrating her tenth season, has had her voice in TV and radio commercials, including the Sprint long distance ads. She also is a cowriter of The Imagination Workshop.
Roberta Solomon is going on her sixth season in the workshop and is the voice of 28 radio and TV stations across America. She is also the voice of Kansas City KCPT.
"Every script from Darrell is a blessing," said Solomon "Being surprised by a cast member as they come up with new characters is my favorite part of being her."
Rick Tamblyn, a University of Kansas alumnus, works at 101 KCFX on the morning show and is also the host of the Fun & Fortune game game for the Missouri Lottery.
Teri Wilder is the producer for the Oldies 95 morning show and the voice mail voice for Sprint PCs.
John Jessup, who is in his tenth year, is co-producer of the Kansas City International Jazz Festival, as well as the voice of commercials, corporate videos and an occasional movie-of-the-week.
"This is the most fun and the most difficult thing I do," Jessup said.
Kip Nevin is a professional actor who has appeared in Broadway theater, off-broadway theater, and movies for the past 27 years. He is also a co-writer for
David Greusel is the only member of the cast who does not work in the entertainment industry. Instead, he spends his time as an architect designing sports stadiums across the country. He is currently working on an expansion for the football stadium at Kansas State University. He is also a co-writer for the workshop.
the workshop.
Mary Ellen Kriegh, Lawrence, who has been with the workshop for eight years, creates the sound effects for the workshop. When she is not slamming doors into a microphone or breaking glass, she is a gardener for local businesses.
"It's too much fun being a part of this," Kriegh said. "I love it when the people come to laugh and relax."
Besides from all the good times and laughter, Brogden and the cast are concerned about how many years The Imagination Workshop can continue.
"Funding is a problem." Brodgen said. "It would take a million dollars a week if we started doing this full time."
"It's like a catch twenty-two," Solomon said. "We need more air time to attract sponsors and sponsors want us to have more air time before they will sponsor us."
Edited by Anjum Aziz
Stargazer records his experience in book
By Lisa John
Kansan managing editor
Even on a cloudy morning while sipping coffee outside a local coffee shop, Tom Van Holt's eyes turn starry as he talks about the wonders of the night sky.
It is such a simple topic: the stars that have beamed overhead since the day man was born and before; the stars that will be there tomorrow and the next. But to this Lawrence man, it might be said that indeed, the stars are more than that.
So much more so that Van Holt, a 1985 KU political science graduate, has just had his first book published, "Stargazing. What to look for in the night sky" (Stackpole Books).
In his book, Van Holt, 37,
strives to lead the beginning
stargazer to a vast appreciation
for and knowledge of the nighttime sky. The book includes
sketches of the constellations,
tells how to locate the stars and
planets and explains some of the
many myths, legends and old-
wives' tales of the night sky.
KU professor of astronomy Steven Shawl recommends Van Holt's book as an introduction to stargazing.
"It would be a good resource for anyone who enjoys the outdoors." Shawl said.
Van Holt, who has been an outdoors person and a watcher of stars for as long as he can remember, said his natural interest in astronomy was fueled by books he read as a child.
"As a kid I read a lot," he said. "Any kid reading books geared for his age — or even reading fairy tales — will find a lot of references to the stars."
These references, he said, helped root in him a foundation that would lead to a lifetime fascination with astronomy.
Astronomy is an uncomplicated and inexpensive hobby, Van Holt said.
Tom VantHolt's says his book about stargazing is written so that even a novice skywatcher can learn to spot the constellations. Photo by Lisa John/KANSAN
"Anybody can take a five minute drive to the country to get
away from the city lights, lie down on a blanket and watch the stars," he said.
Van Holt said his book is written so that someone with no knowledge of astronomy can read it and go outside and be able to recognize some of the constellations.
"What makes this an unusual book about astronomy is that it's not astronomy as science, it's astronomy as something you can use on a daily basis," Van Holt said. "It's astronomy as how it affects us right now today, or 30 years ago, not 500 years ago or what may happen with a space station 200 years from now. And it's how astronomy has had a tremendous impact on history. Astronomy is really the mother of all sciences and I think this book shows that."
Van Holt's book sells for $8.95, and can be ordered through local bookstores. It will be available at the Raven Bookstore later this month.
- Edited by Anjum Aziz
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