Report from the Open House

Like most of us, Aiden got into audio theater for the babes.

Earlier this week, we hosted our second Open House in the Chatterbox Studio. It was great fun, with a crowd of about 60 friendly faces. Everyone had a chance to get on mic and to play with sound effects equipment (which was especially fun for the young'uns who attended). And of course there was food and drink and great camaraderie throughout the evening. You can see photos from the Open House on the Chatterbox website.

Events like these remind me how much Chatterbox depends on its community in order to succeed. Our little theater requires directors, actors, writers, musicians, sound effects artists, sound engineers, visual artists, Board members, administrators, donors, and of course listeners. Without every single one of those elements in place, we couldn't do what we do.

If I weren't busy with Chatterbox, I like to imagine I'd spend my free time hunkered down in a basement somewhere, working on a the Great American Novel. Which would be fun, sure -- if nothing else, I could smoke a pipe and wear jackets with elbow patches -- but would also be a fairly solitary endeavor. Meanwhile, in four years of Chatterbox, we've worked with about 220 people in the creation of our shows, and thousands more listen in each month. I'm certainly the richer for it, and I hope all our participants can say the same.

So, no matter how you participate in Chatterbox, thank you! And whether or not you made the Open House, mark your calendar for our next event: a live Halloween broadcast on WKNO-FM, part of the Transcontinental Terror collaboration. More details soon.