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(Pipeline is giving away 2 pairs of tickets for this event – information at the end of this post)

Posted by Meagan Kate

Variety for the ears. Vaudeville for the mind.

Faces for Radio Theater member Tyler Hughs as Portland, Oregon (Photo by Anthony Pidgeon)

People are talking about Live Wire! Radio. Over a year ago, I started hearing murmurs, reading blog posts and forwarded e-mails. Though I didn't know what the hell Live Wire! was – I heard it compared to Prairie Home Companion, Saturday Night Live or a night at the theater. I knew there were musical guests and interviews sewn together by sketch comedy. I also found out they recorded said show at The Aladdin. All evidence pointed to something big. Something I wanted to see for myself.

Recently, I was approached by Live Wire! Radio Head Writer/Host/Associate Producer Courtenay Hameister to come to a live taping of the show and see for myself.  I wanted to go, I told her, but I wanted to do an interview with the cast and writers first. I was curious to know how this show came to be and who was behind it.

I was asked to come meet the group after their weekly meeting at their Mississippi Street offices. I sat down with: Robyn Tenenbaum (Producer, Co-creator), Jonpaul McLellan, “Webster” (videos, backstage interview, Twitter), Ralph Huntley (Bandleader, Ralph Huntley and the Mutton Chops), Tyler Hughs (Associate Content Producer, Writer, performer), Pat Janowski (Siren of Sound – sound effects, performer), Kate Sokoloff (Producer, Co-creator, Artistic Director), Sean McGrath (performer), and Hameister.

When I asked the group to describe Live Wire! to someone who had never heard of it, they were ready. Like Prairie Home Companion but 100 years younger; Terry Gross meets “Saturday Night Live” with mimes and clowns; ballet, cupcake tasting, sketch comedy and interviews all on the radio. Just as I'd imagined – this was something big.

Sokoloff first explained to me that years ago, she had seen variety show West Coast Live in San Fransisco and dreamt of a similar show here in Portland. After pulling Hameister (a friend from a past life, she tells me) into the equation, Sokoloff met Robyn Tenenbaum. Like most beautiful collaborations, fate played its part; Tenenbaum is a former producer of West Coast Live.

“I remember thinking that maybe some day we could do this show at The Aladdin. That's about as far as I'd ever gotten” Sokoloff explained, “Since then, we've had guests we were only dreaming of and amazing opportunities.”

The first Live Wire! show was in March of 2004 and since June of that year, the shows have been recorded at The Aladdin Theater (with a few road trips and special events along the way) – just as Sokoloff imagined. OPB was interested in Live Wire! from the beginning, but needed proof that it would work – that money could actually be made from this completely new project for Portland.  From their first show, Tenenbaum told me, they've had a great audience and never less than 350 people in their audience.

The performers were selected during a May 2005 audition, and they call themselves “The Faces for Radio” — but all of them are lovely to look at, I assure you.

Sketch comedy takes up about fifteen minutes of each show, but Hameister's incredible interviews are what most fans wait to hear or see. “We don't want our interviews to be things found on Google,” Sokoloff laughed. “We want people to talk about their passions but we also want to dig in and find out where their passion comes from. Courtenay [Hameister] does an amazing job at bringing that out.”

The group was fun and after this many years with the project, it was obvious they had a steady process, a schedule, a plan – but they were still having fun. All humble and laughing, they seemed as excited as their fans when it comes to describing the show and what comes next.

Three days after my interview, Live Wire! had a show at The Armory, and I was invited. I wasn't surprised that the show looked to be sold out and I loved hearing people whispering to their friends about how many times they'd been to the show, how excited they were for the guests, how much they loved Live Wire!

Musical Director Ralph Huntley (Photo by Anthony Pidgeon)

Each Live Wire! taping includes two shows and an incredibly interesting look at the work that goes into a radio show. Being in the audience at a show is nearly unexplainable; watching the flub-ups, the live action, the costumes, the interactions – makes for a totally unique evening of entertainment. Ralph Huntley and the Mutton Chops (the Live Wire! house band) are absolutely incredible and their improvised music for the Audience Haikus are mind blowing.

I have not been that excited for live theater in a long time, and the three hours flew by so quickly. I was amazed at how beautiful the set was, how booming the voices were, how connected the performers become to the audience. It felt like all of us in the seats had been invited in on a secret, and only we would know what it looked like.

Listening to the show on OPB is, of course, a different experience because your imagination can run wild. Hameister's description of someone's costume can become whatever you want it to be, and the audience reaction builds an image in your head. Sitting back in a chair, closing your eyes and letting the Faces for Radio guide you through your evening is part of what makes Live Wire! so incredible.

This Saturday, September 12th, Live Wire! hits the road and records a show at the Historic Elsinore Theater in Salem. The evening's guests will include Governor Barbara Roberts; OSU Basketball Coach/White House Brother-In-Law, Craig Robinson; and musical guests Mirah.

The Live Wire! folks want you to come visit – so they're giving away two pairs of tickets to PDX Pipeline readers! Please comment below and tell us why you want to see Live Wire! live — winners will be e-mailed Friday afternoon. Please be sure you can attend!

Tune in to Live Wire! every Saturday at 7pm on OPB (91.5 here in Portland).  A list of other live tapings can be found on their website, along with ticket information and Podcasts of past shows.

Related: Portland EVENT LISTINGS

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MeaganKate is a Graduate student with a shopping addiction and a love of crunchy leaves. Her rants can be found at meagank.wordpress.com. You can also follow @MeaganKate on twitter.