This year, the pandemic squashed any plans to have a live show, but Valley Theatre has never missed a year since we started in 2008. My brain would have broken if he hadn't found a way to make it happen. Early in March we started talking about ways to collaborate with the library for a show. I toyed with writing a new short play or even repurposing one I wrote back in the HMAC days. That didn't seem quite right so I started looking into adapting and old radio play.
Back in 2010, I had directed a production of Dragnet for Houghton College and we'd been joking about doing a sequel since then. With Eric & Kendra Mikols moving to North Carolina, I wasn't sure if he'd be up for reprising his role of Frank Smith from the earlier production so I started looking at scripts featuring different partners. I finally settled on The Big Small because the cast breakdown worked for what I wanted and I thought the plot would still be relevant. Luckily, Eric was down to play Frank again, only no mustache this time. Michael Blankenship was on board to reprise his role as Joe Friday, and Ben Layman (who had played Brad Roney in 2010) came on as a new character, Harry Allison. I voiced the announcer with my brother Stephen VanValkenburg as Bert Halstead and Kendra Mikols as Peggy Smalls, both had been involved in my most recent production (Write Me a Murder). Rounding out the cast was my wife Hilary (who hadn't been in one of my mysteries since Guilty Conscience) as Ethel Parkinson and Jessica Wiezszcyk from the library as Halstead's assistant.
We recorded in a few separate chunks, all over Skype. We'd do a basic read through with me giving notes along the way, then when we were ready, we'd try to lay down complete scenes in one take so that it would feel seamless. We would occasionally have to roll back and try again, but for the most part the scenes stayed in tact.
Dragnet has such a weird tone that it took some practice to get back into the swing of it. The banter between Frank and Joe is particularly tricky, and unless you're hitting it just right it feels lifeless. After a few readings Eric and Michael popped back in to character and we were doing Dragnet again. I particularly enjoyed the scene with Eric, Michael and Ben all reading together, each in a different state. Their camaraderie and natural chemistry came through even via Skype.
The editing process was more involved than I thought. The first pass was all about tightening the flow an deciding which take to use. I occasionally went back to the recording of the dry read and used some sections because it felt more realistic. Next came the sound effects. I hadn't done anything like this and it was a lot of fun trying to find the right balance of background noise so as to make it feel full and alive, but not overpowering. It's amazing what things like footsteps, chatter and rustling paper adds. Some of the effects I got online, but many we just made by recording doors closing, going through files, clomping around, picking up the receiver on an old phone, etc.
Once the basics were down, I did a third pass adding in more flavor. For the scene where Friday and Smith interview Harry Allison (Ben's character), I added ambient diner noise, but also included segments from a podcast I'd recorded with the library staff. Then my five-year old son and I got plates and silverware and had a fake conversation about a fishing trip. Later I added in some dialogue for Halstead's assistant and a conversation with a distraught landlady played by Debbie Young to run under a Friday monologue.
Once it was set we publicized in the local papers and set a digital premiere on YouTube. The video version included stills from the original production, when possible, as well as black and white stills from other productions that had the right look. Hilary's came mostly from a production of You Can't Take it With You and Kendra's were from Spinoff. (I also used some images of Eric and Ben from Spinoff as well.) Steve's came from our recent production of Write Me a Murder. The aesthetics of the various shows blended well making the video a pretty solid representation of what a staged version might have looked like. The audio aired on WRAQ 92.7 FM and as a special episode of The All the Books Show.
We got a lot of nice feedback on the production and we all had a fun time working on it. I'm a sucker for sequels, so it's hard to believe this is the first time I've worked on one. Aside from that, It was just nice to have part of the old gang working together again.
Maybe someday we will complete the trilogy.
