Radio Drama by FHU Student Wins First Place

A radio drama written and produced by a Freed-Hardeman University student won first place in a competition sponsored by the National Broadcasting Society—Alpha Epsilon Rho. The award was presented March 24 at the national convention in New York City.

“The Adventures of William Bradford,” Episode One, a 20-minute radio drama, first aired last fall on WFHU, the campus radio station. The radio drama deals with a 1920’s era adventurer/archaeologist who struggles to find an ancient tomb in the rocky plains of Egypt. An evil villain has also found the tomb and intends to get his hands on the treasure within. A second episode is currently in production.

The show was written, produced and edited by John Couch, a junior Bible major from Lincoln, Ark. Couch, a broadcasting minor, became interested in radio drama through a class he took last fall, Radio Production and Copy Writing. “I fell in love with telling a story through sound,” he said. The radio program was his final class project.
Five students provided the voice talent for the drama: Rip Elliott, Bradley Field, Hannah Danner, Sam Glover, and Josh Perry.

Couch also wrote and produced an award-winning public service announcement. The 60-second PSA, an anti-smoking piece, was named first runner-up in its category.
Freed-Hardeman operates WFHU, a 10,000 watt FM station, and has a campus television studio used for campus and community television cablecasts.