Radio drama
A dramatic performance created for radio, using dialogue, sound effects, and music to tell a story without visual action.
Sound effect: A recorded or performed sound used to represent an action, object, or environment. Effects make events such as footsteps, storms, and doors audible in place of visible action.
Radio broadcasting: The transmission of audio programming to receivers over radio waves or other broadcast systems. Radio drama emerged as a form of programming within this medium.
Orson Welles: An American actor, director, and writer whose work spanned theatre, radio, and film. His Mercury Theatre radio productions helped define the medium's dramatic reputation.
Audio drama: A scripted dramatic work created for listening, distributed through broadcast or recorded audio. Radio drama is a broadcast-centered tradition within the broader audio-drama form.
Television drama: A dramatic work made for presentation through television images and sound. Television can show action directly, while radio drama must make it audible or inferable.
Foley: The performance and recording of everyday sounds to synchronize them with a production. Foley techniques create convincing movement and object sounds for radio scenes.
Theatre of the Mind: A phrase for imaginative scenes formed in listeners' minds from spoken and audible cues. The phrase captures the imaginative role sound acquired in early radio drama.
Arch Oboler: An American writer and producer known for innovative radio plays and horror dramas. His scripts used sound and close-miked speech to create intense psychological effects.
Podcast fiction: Fictional storytelling produced and distributed as podcast episodes. Podcast fiction carries radio drama's sound-led storytelling into on-demand distribution.
Stage play: A dramatic work written or adapted for live performance before an audience. Stage plays use visible bodies and sets that radio drama replaces with sound.