The Sound of the First Yuk
Sunday, December 6, 2009 at 08:03PM 
I was just reading an article that says much of Alaska can get 45 minutes or less of sunlight a day in the dead of winter. So, this article was recommending ways to stay "up" and be "positive" by avoiding depressing films and listening to soothing music. I say all you have to do is listen to Native Alaskans and they'll chase the midnight blues away.In August I was invited to Anchorage to help produce and edit Raven's Radio Hour for Native Voices At the Autry and Native American Public Telecommunications. Rarely have I worked with such a talented group of professional singers, storytellers and actors. They just made me smile and it was a joy to be around these folks for eleven days.
The show deftly mixed comic spoofs with traditional tales and juxtaposed their amazingly syncopated drumming with show tunes. The script was smart and insightful and I'm sure after hearing Romeo and Juliet performed by a stuttering Raven and a gorgeous Eagle you'll never quite hear Shakespeare in the same light again .
My favorite skit was called, The First Yuk - the creation legend of the Yup'ik people. I remember there was a big discussion about what the first man should sound like. We tried goofy accents and odd deliveries and finally realized the obvious-the First Yuk should sound like a guy from Alaska-way back in Alaska. Because the sound of Alaska sounds like no other place on Earth.
Just recite the village names of Nunapichuak, Shishmaref, D'Loi Chet, Sivuuquq and Naparymuit. These are the places the cast hailed from and these are sounds of words and imagines that inform their performances.
Raven's Radio Hour has just been released on PRX by Native American Public Telecommunications and I'm sure mostly Native radio stations and maybe a few outlying community radio stations will air the show. That's too bad. Raven should be played in New York and L.A. right along side Prairie Home Companion and the sports news. So contact NAPT and get a copy. It's that good and besides how else are you going to melt the winter blues away?
THE ECHO OF ONE HAND CLAPPING
Notes on Audio Publishing and Production
B y Brian Price
920 Creekside Lane
Plainfield, IN 46168
317/203-5044
check out: http://www.greatnorthernaudio.com
our newest play "Jokes In Space" is just out
Plainfield, IN 46168
317/203-5044
check out: http://www.greatnorthernaudio.com
our newest play "Jokes In Space" is just out
Reader Comments