Rick Reid Adds Sound Effects & Music To Pair of Dickens-inspired Holiday Plays

(Westminster, Colorado) -- Denver voice actor and sound designer Rick Reid lends his creative and technical expertise to a pair of holiday stage plays being presented by the 73rd Avenue Theatre Company.

Reid serves as sound designer for "A Christmas Cactus" directed by Mellisa Taylor and "A Hillbilly Christmas Carol" directed by Ellen Farnsworth. "A Christmas Cactus," written by Eliot Byerrum, is a detective comedy that draws inspiration from characters and situations in Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol." "A Hillbilly Christmas Carol" by LeRoma Eshbach Greth takes the Dickens references a step further, with a story about a backwoods family who try to recreate Ebeneezer Scrooge's dreams to inspire some Christmas cheer in a cranky family member while he snoozes.

Both shows feature music and sound effects researched and edit by Reid. In "A Christmas Cactus" he also performs several musical sound effects cues and the voice of an off-stage character.

"To me, creating the sound environment for a stage production is just as challenging and rewarding as playing a character on stage," said Reid. "I also enjoy the added challenge of finding or creating just the right sound effect to bring heightened authenticity, drama or humor to the on-stage action."

"A Christmas Cactus" opens Friday, November 27th. "A Hillbilly Christmas Carol" opens December 5th. All performances will take place at the 73rd Avenue Playhouse, 7287 Lowell Blvd., Westminster, Colorado. For tickets and show times, visit: http://www.the73rdavenuetheatrecompany.com/now-playing/

Denver Actor Brings Hare-Raising Vocal Performance To Arizona For Higley High School Staging Of ‘Harvey’

(Gilbert, Arizona) -- When Denver, Colorado actor and theatrical sound designer Rick Reid took on the vocal role of incompetent opera singer Miss Tewksbury in a February 2009 community theater production of “Harvey,” he had no idea that his performance would take on a life of its own. This week, the recording of his off-key falsetto rendition of “I’m Called Little Buttercup” appears in its third production of the show, as Higley High School presents the classic Mary Chase comedy about a middle-aged eccentric and his invisible rabbit friend.

“When I was creating the sound effects for the production of this show in Parker, Colorado, I needed the off-stage sound of a very bad, female opera singer performing the Buttercup aria from ‘H.M.S. Pinafore’ by Gilbert and Sullivan for the opening scene,” said Reid. “I thought about recording a female cast member, but I was worried that she would sing too well. I realized nobody could sing the part worse than me, so I did it myself.” Reid posted the recording on YouTube.com after the Parker production closed. It has since been played hundreds of times. With Reid's permission, a southwest Nebraska community theater group used the recording in their October 2009 production of “Harvey,” after a company member heard it on YouTube.

Shortly after that show closed, Reid got a similar request from another YouTube listener, this time from a student on the stage crew of Higley High School in Gilbert, Arizona. So, on Thursday night at 7:30pm, Reid’s improbable Internet hit will take the stage for a third time as the Higley Knight Time Players present “Harvey” by Mary Chase, under the direction of Debbie Prost. The run continues Friday and Saturday, November 13 and 14 at 7:30pm. All performances are at the Higley Center for the Performing Arts, 4132 East Pecos Road, Gilbert, Arizona.

Fortunately, Arizona audiences will only have to endure Reid’s almost window-shattering performance for several seconds each night. Those brave enough to listen to the entire song can find it on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7cdE5Trzeo

Rick Reid is an accomplished voice actor, stage actor, theatrical sound designer and network TV writer-producer. More details about his adventures in modern recording can be found at his website, http://www.rickreid.com.

EVENT DETAILS:

"HARVEY" by Mary Chase
directed by Debbie Prost

Higley Center for the Performing Arts
4132 East Pecos Road, Gilbert, Arizona 85295
November 12 – 14, 2009, 7:30pm

$7 adults, $5 children

Tickets are available at the door, or may be reserved by calling Debbie Prost at (480) 279-9753.

Rick Reid Voices Medical Motion Comics For Children On International Website

Denver, Colorado-based voice actor Rick Reid provides the voices of several of the characters in the new, educational motion comics animated video, "What's Up With Paris? Medikidz Explain Overweight," being previewed on the Medikidz.com website Friday, October 23. Reid bring his voice talents to super hero characters called Gastro, Axon and Abacus, as well as several minor characters in the 25-minute program produced by Bangalore, India-based animation studio, Liquid Comics.

Website visitors who have completed the free registration process can watch an early draft of the first 7 minutes of the new video in the Medikidz.com "Brain Room" beginning at 4pm UK time, 9am Mountain time. The video will repeat throughout the day. It can also be seen on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TaF3PlXab0

"A motion comic is a fairly new form of animation," said Reid. "It's basically a comic book with moving parts, rather than a fully-animated cartoon. It can be produced at a much lower cost than full-motion animation, yet it has a strong appeal to comic book fans because it preserves the visual style elements such as speech balloons and spelled-out sound effects that make comics and graphic novels unique," Reid said. "The soundtrack plays out differently, too. It's more like an audio book than a fully produced animated cartoon. There is less emphasis on sound effects and music, and just a few actors may play a bunch of different roles," he said. "Kids can even read along with the actors because most or all of the dialog is spelled out on screen, just as it would be in a comic book."

The non-profit Medikidz Foundation was established by a group of physicians in the United Kingdom who saw a need for health and medical information presented in formats suitable for their youngest patients. With their team of teenage Medikidz super hero characters, Medikidz teaches children about a wide range of diseases and other health issues through their interactive website, comic books and motion comics videos.

"What's Up With Paris? Medikidz Explain Overweight" also features the voice talents of David Brower and Kat Keesling.