Centralcasting presents The Son of West Branch and Sixty-Six Trips to Lansing, by Will Anderson

In this special double-feature, award-winning audio playwright Will Anderson presents a tribute to former US President Herbert Hoover.

THE SON OF WEST BRANCH: AMERICA'S GREAT HUMANITARIAN

The Son of West Branch: America’s Great Humanitarian is an historic dramatization looking at the pivotal moments of Herbert Hoover’s life from his early childhood up to the eve of the 1928 presidential election. It was written by Anderson during an artist residency at the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site in 2008. This performance, which stars Phil Proctor (of The Firesign Theatre) as Herbert Hoover, was recorded in front of a live audience of about 200 by the National Audio Theatre Festivals in July 2011 and received an Award of Excellence in the 2012 Broadcast Education Association Festival of Media Arts.

Directed by: Butch D’Ambrosio

Assistant Director: Sue Bilich

Technical Director: David Shinn

SFX Director: Tony Brewer

Live SFX Mixer: Renee Pringle

Music Mixer: Ben Taylor

Intro Credits: Phil Proctor & Robin Miles

Narrator: Madison Wiehe

Hulda Hoover: Suzan Lorraine

Announcer: Rich Fish

Tad Hoover: Terry Hampton

Herbert at age 2: Sue Bilich

Jesse Hoover: Peter Pollack

Dr. Minthorn: Phil Proctor

Sissy: Melinda Peterson

Toby: Tom Wiens

Mother: Sue Bilich

Conductor: Steve D’Onofrio

Herbert Hoover: Phil Proctor

Voter: Tony Brewer

Edith: Robin Miles

Martha: Toni Johnson

Charles: Michael Byers

Bewick: Jack Davids

Secretary: Suzan Lorraine

Jules’s Mother: Christy Jordan

Child: Sue Bilich

Colonel Schmidt: Rich Fish

German Aide: Lucus Keppel

Jules: Michael Byers

Blues Singer: Emily Carlson

Radio Announcer: Rich Fish

Mayor: Bill Chessman

Reporter: Lucus Keppel

Music Director: Dwight Frizzell

Master Mix: Kyle Harris

Guitar: Julia Thro

Drums: Pat Conway

Stage Manager: Jorda Ford

Recording Truck Engineers: Mike Konopa & Kerby Mitchell

Art Design and Layout: Kelly DeBoyer

Sampling Artist/Sound Effects Preproduction/Final Mixdown: Marc Wiener

SIXTY-SIX TRIPS TO LANSING

Inspired by the popular acclaim for the musical "Hamilton," this short comedy script follows the efforts of a professor attempting to get funding for a presidential-rock-musical based on the life of Herbert Hoover. This piece was recorded by actors in isolation during the 2020 pandemic lockdown and assembled in post. Sixty-Six Trips to Lansing was awarded a silver listening award by the National Audio Theatre Festivals at their 2021 Hear Now: Audio Fiction and Arts Festival.  

 

The committee chair: Ted Clayton.   

Vice chair: Jeffrey Weinstock  

The applicant: Andrew Papa

  

Written by Will Anderson and edited by Lucas Nunn.