Forrest Attaway’s original radio drama follows a struggle between a criminal outfit and a cattle business, with musicians, families, and city officials drawn into the conflict. Directed by Victor Raider-Wexler, the series brought a Kansas City cast to listeners during the closure of live theatres.

My role encompassed the sound design, mixing, and engineering. Dialogue, effects, and musical cues had to work as a single dramatic experience: establishing place, directing attention, and keeping the action clear without a stage or screen.

A scene the audience can follow

Radio asks listeners to build the scene in their imagination. A change of distance, the timing of an effect, or a musical transition can orient the listener as decisively as a visual cut.

The opening episode culminates in a cattle stampede down 12th Street. In his review, Robert Trussell singled out the sound design’s clarity—a useful measure of the task throughout the series: let the listener follow the action as the story grows.