Lamplighter Theatre

Well, I hope you enjoyed our latest production, The Basket of Flowers, which aired its fourth and final episode over the course of the past week. If you haven’t heard it yet then get to our website before Friday to hear it. Come Friday, the first episode of Charlie’s Choice will take its place, so you better hurry! The 2-disc set, complete with beautifully illustrated, full color packaging is now available for purchase and will be shipping out starting October 30th, so get your copy today! Or, if you’re in a hurry, you can purchase the high quality MP3 version here. Either way, you’re bound to enjoy it over and over again!

As you may know, the Basket of Flowers was the first book published by Lamplighter Publishing. Just like Finnian Jones told Jessica in the story, it was first written in 1878 by Christoph von Schmid. Originally written in German, then translated into French, and then into English, this book is the cornerstone of our Lamplighter Rare Collector Series.  What a picture of mercy, thankfulness, honesty, and integrity it paints for us in fundamental truths like “It is better to die for the truth than to live for a lie,” or “The worst pillow to sleep on is the pillow of a guilty conscience.”

What are some of the truths that stood out to you as you listened? What were your favorite parts of the story? We’d love to hear from you! Post a comment below and share your thoughts.

Have you ever wondered what goes on behind the microphones at a recording session for a radio drama? Well here is an insiders look from one of the industries best, Mark Drury, on what the Foley recording involved for Sir Malcolm and the Missing Prince.

Well, you’ve got 53 scenes with some challenging action and settings…it ain’t a Whit’s End or Barclay’s show! Even with 2 of us working on it together (with me doing some stuff on my own), the time commitment will probably end up being around 80-85 hours for the foley. That might be about 15-20% longer than if I was doing this at Focus – in a true foley room with all surfaces and props readily available – but foley is always a very time-consuming process, especially when you have to get very unique sounds like crawling through weeds, jumping on/off wagons, horse dismounts (did that with a real saddle on a stand), building a dam in a stream (used a real stream), jumping on/off a rolling ladder, getting in/out of a boat and rowing, etc, etc, etc. Can’t just get that stuff off of sound fx CD’s and make it sound in-scene or timed correctly.

Foley is the art of recording the natural, everyday sounds that would occur in a soundtrack for a movie or audio recording. Basic sounds would be cloth movements, foot steps, doors opening, body movements, etc. It is the sound that provides a real life aspect in a fictional environment. You may not notice when it’s there, but when it’s not, you would certainly feel a difference. Foley recording involves long days of much physical activity, scrutinizing the performance to ensure accuracy, and a lot of editing. For a high quality, realistic sounding audio drama like Sir Malcolm and the Missing Prince, much of the recording would be done at various locations outside the studio in order to capture the most realistic sounds.

Our producers and sound designers have put an incredible amount of effort into making this audio drama the very best that it can be in a relatively short amount of time. There has been a great number of long days and nights put into the creation of Lamplighter’s first audio drama. We can’t wait for you to hear it!

On a daily basis, usually many times a day, Mark Hamby, the founder and president of Lamplighter, is either on the phone or exchanging e-mails with our talented producer John Fornoff. These conversations are full of energy, ideas, and passion for the projects we’re working on at Lamplighter Publishing. Here is a thread of conversations that Mark sent to me to give you a glimpse into the process of Lamplighter Theatre:

John,

My mind is spinning right now with so many ideas. We probably should have a phone meeting and talk through all of the ideas that i have sent to you and try to hone in on the most quintessential ones. One that came to me this morning is that:

God is more concerned with our holiness than our happiness. God loves us enough to allow us to suffer. Why? Because suffering produces endurance which produces character which cultivates hope, which will never disappoint us. This is because we have a sovereign God who loves us so much that He allowed His own Son to suffering on a cross…for our good. So many today are looking for a quick fix. We want it now. But God sees the future…the eternal future and teaches us that the suffering of this present time is not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us….

As Debbie would say at about this time…”Cut it! You think too much.”

On another note, just a reminder to share with Marshal how we want to convey about the tough choice the father has to make in order to help his son learn valuable lesson. John, we are so excited about this! praying for you…let me know when you want to meet.

-Mark Hamby

Hi Mark,

I was just talking this morning with a bright young man who’s facing some challenges in his work situation, where he’s not being treated well. I mentioned that he needs to leave in God’s timing–not his. If he jumps ship just because he’s suffering, he’ll miss the benefits of perseverance, character, and hope. Don’t get off the ride until God says you’re done.

Anyway, the words your sharing are having an effect on me and others. I never saw that perspective–that God allowed his own Son to suffer for our good. So he’ll allow us to suffer for our own good as well.

John:

I hope I am not inundating you with too much. There is just so much that needs to be done and now that God is opening the doors that we have been praying and dreaming about for twenty years, it is hard to hold back.

-Mark

Mark, Amen! Bring it on!

Whenever I get around someone who’s passionate about their mission–as your are–I get a clear sense of the excitement of God himself. A pastor friend told me once that the root word of enthusiasm is entheos, or “God within.” That’s the sense of excitement I sense in you and Debbie. This is no flash-in-the pan excitement. This is a reservoir of blessing that’s been building up for thirty years like water about to burst through a dam.

Blessings ahead,

John

Mark,

I’ve told the team how much you appreciate their hard work. And I am grateful for how God teamed us together. I have sensed his favor before, but this is on a whole different level. He wants to birth something powerful here, and like you, I want to be faithful to the call. Thank you for your thoughtful note. I’m touched and very thankful for your passion to be a God-seeker and courage to be a God-pleaser no matter what. It’s an honor and joy to work alongside you!

Blessings ahead,

John

Here is a short note we received from a valued member of the Lamplighter family:

Hi Mr. Hamby,

We were in the car today, and [my sister] was reading the script for Sir Malcolm aloud to us. Very soon after she started to read, the car was quiet, all of us listening. My 8 year old brother, sitting there with rapt attention, suddenly said, “Turn it up!” We all burst out laughing because we knew he meant the volume, and she was only reading it! Thought you might like to hear that…we can’t wait to hear the audio version!!! We were very sorry when she came to the end of part 1. As Adventures in Odyssey fans, and already Lamplighter Theatre fans, we’re very excited to see this! (This looks like it might turn out even better than Odyssey!)

-Esther