Adaptation Types

Some of the best productions have come from adaptations of other works- usually from novels or movies. Adaptations allow for familiarity among listeners. Familiarity can be one of the greatest assets because it draws up a favorite childhood memory, or a family novel, a cherished story from school days, or a shared remembrance between friends. Familiar stories some how reach in to a collective time and bind people together generationally and through the veil of culture.

Consider the following adaptation types when you're looking to bring your own to the theater of the mind.


Faithful- A Faithful adaptation attempts not just to present the spirit of the original work but as close to "word for word" as the author can make it. Faithful adaptations do not attempt to repurpose or modify the meaning or the characters or the plot in any way. Instead they present the work on whole to stand as it is. The benefits of a Faithful adaptation include a marked preference by the listeners to return to those dialog bits, characters and pictures that they most love. Faithful adaptations take words on a page and bring them as closely as possible to life. The deficits of a Faithful adaptation include bringing the exact words, characters, and pictures to life. This may include out of mode language, archaic customs, and out and out prejudice and racism. Be warned, those who create Faithful adaptations, often wear the choices by their critics, for good or for ill.

Traditional- Closely aligned with Faithful adaptations; Traditional works tend to take what is most common in a generational perspective. This may or may not be faithful to the original intent. For example, what is traditional Star Wars Audio for those who are young enough to remember the NPR Playhouse presentation in 1981-1983 will indeed be different from those who have grown up with the many Star Wars Fan audio drama shows available today. Similarly the very sound of Audio Drama itself is different from traditional Old Time Radio and some day "traditional audio drama" may be expanded to include the works being developed in this new theater. This practice occurred as well with some of the great masters like Shakespeare. King Lear was edited after the Restoration for most performances "by theatre practitioners who disliked its dark and depressing tone..." and for generations its original concept was not the Traditional take on Shakespeare by most of its observers. Thankfully, the original text has been restored and we have reverted "traditional" to mean the original intent in this case. Both the benefits and deficits for Traditional adaptations are similar to that of Faithful as the adaptation is "stuck in time" and representative of a popular form.

Modern- A far more nebulous term is the Modern adaptation, that usually includes updating dialog and often setting or dress to reconnect with modern audiences. A Modern adaptation may also include the following sub-genres and allows new experiences with a powerful tale or character. The problem with modern adaptations is it may distance itself too far from the author's intent, miss an important theme, ridicule an important character or motive, or make a plot appear ridiculous in modern terms. A great deal of thought needs to be considered as to what needs to be modernized beyond language and what should remain fairly faithful to the text. Some options are:

• Reverse Gender- In which one or more, and in some cases all the genders are flipped so that traditional male roles are played by females and female roles are performed by men. This is sometimes done through sheer availability of cast members, and other times to help break stereotypical or gender boundaries. Because this can cause powerful ripples in the original intent, a producer/writer should take special care considering the ramifications and audience involved to make such a choice.
• Reverse Culture- The great Orson Welles never failed to innovate in his adaptations. One of his more brave choices at the time was casting his all black cast of Macbeth. This also has the benefit of empowering a community by either reversing traditional roles set to skin color or racial bias. The same considerations should be kept in mind before making bold choices in audio drama as cultural reversals often mean accents and that can provide some difficult acting and potentially worse stereotypes.
• Socio-political- Modifying certain elements of classic stories to highlight socio-political issues of the day can provide extra insight and new interest by listeners. However, beware that such actions may brand your writing as a particular political stripe or paint an unfair picture to the original work. For example, reimagining Erewhon into a satire of the Obama Presidency might strain credulity and hurt your listenership as much as it might gain critical acclaim. In the end, knowledge of your listener base and familiarization with the material is the key.
• Original- An original adaptation takes either the base form of the story or characters and plot and goes further than the first author's work. Original adaptations like Broken Sea's Planet of the Apes have worked with the movie plot but added in a longer story line including original side plots and characterizations. Using the power of serialized storytelling in audio drama allows for great expansions of traditional works to involve original additions. Again, a deeper understanding of the source material is necessary to do justice in the expansion or the continuation of stories. Fan Fiction tends to not operate from source story plots but instead use the setting and often the source characters to create new fiction (unlicensed) for fans to hear.

Whether you are planning to present a Faithful telling of a great work of art or a Modern adaptation, take the time to understand the source material beyond the text. Read about the author, the time the author was writing in, and some words they have (if possible) as to meaning and themes. Being informed as to original intent may not sway you from your own take on the story, but it will help defend you against the critics should you stagger too far from the original vision.