Radio theatre experience on tap at KUSU

The fourth “Synecdoche” program to air takes listeners on Western river adventures, said Utah State University department of English faculty member and “Synecdoche” producer Marina Hall. The program, recorded on June 25, will air at 8 p.m. Tuesday, July 6, on Utah Public Radio 89.5 FM.

Dramatic readings of short stories by Stephanie Rosenfeld and Pam Houston take center stage in this program.

“Rosenfeld’s ‘Exactly the Size of Life’ features the largely languid San Juan river, while Houston’s ‘Selway’ takes its name from the turbulent river the characters battle,” said Hall. “Interior and exterior landscapes intertwine as the stories unfold, and the rivers become compressed metaphors for the characters’ journeys through life and love.”

The readings, by Utah State English and theatre arts faculty Jana Kay Lunstad and Nancy Hills, were directed by Cory Castillo, a 2004 graduate of Utah State’s theatre arts department. Nora Zambreno and Lee Austin of Utah Public Radio lent their technical production expertise to the program.

“Synecdoche” is made possible through support from Ken Sanders Rare Books, the departments of English and theatre arts at Utah State and Utah Public Radio.

The program takes its name, Synecdoche (pronounced si-NECK-da-ke), from the literary term that refers to a figure of speech in which a part of a thing stands in for the whole.

“Short stories and essays are like that,” said Hall. “They’re small, contained forms, but at their best they address larger, more universal meanings and themes.”

For more information on Synecdoche.4, contact Hall at (435) 797-3858, or Utah Public Radio at (435) 797-3141.

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