Mark Finn
New in Town
- Messages
- 4
- Location
- Vernon, Texas
My turn at the podium
My name is Mark Finn, and I'm the creative director for the Violet Crown Radio Players, in Austin, Texas. We perform old time radio in period costumes, using period-specific props and sound effects, and with period music, as well. I write many of the scripts that we perform, or adapt them from 1930s sources. The troupe is very successful, now in its fifth year, and we are going gangbusters to get some professionally-produced and nationally distributed audio theater cds into bookstores this year.
I also write professionally. My most recent book, "Blood & Thunder: the Life and Art of Robert E. Howard," is a biography of the creator of Conan the Barbarian, who lived in the small town of Cross Plains, Texas, and did all of his writing in the 1920s and 1930s. It's the first book-length biography of REH in over 20 years. My next project is a period mystery, set on a low-budget movie set in Hollywood, circa 1936, and it features one of the smallest and least-known about groups of people to ever work in film.
My wife Cathy and I got married in a 1940's-Hollywood themed ceremony and reception. She wore a vintage dress, and while not really formal, I chose the white tux jacket with the black tux pants, a la Casablanca. Our order of service included a romance comic that I had written about our courtship, called "On Our Marry Way" (big points for anyone who gets that reference), and illustrated by my comic artist friends (many of whom were just glad that they didn't have to go shop for a toaster).
Obviously, we're huge fans of the 1930s and 1940s. Cathy loves the fashions, the music, and the style. I love the the history, the popular culture, and that sense of Romanticism that came with the period.
Currently, we are living in Vernon, Texas, and we've just bought a vintage (1953) movie theater. We are fixing to move into the upstairs loft (converted from the business offices), and soon we'll be showing movies and dishing out popcorn and Dots.
I'm really glad I found this place; the Internet SHOULD be about getting like-minded people together. I'll be jumping in on new posts as I make this one of my regular stops on my stroll through the Internet.
Here's looking at you, Folks,
My name is Mark Finn, and I'm the creative director for the Violet Crown Radio Players, in Austin, Texas. We perform old time radio in period costumes, using period-specific props and sound effects, and with period music, as well. I write many of the scripts that we perform, or adapt them from 1930s sources. The troupe is very successful, now in its fifth year, and we are going gangbusters to get some professionally-produced and nationally distributed audio theater cds into bookstores this year.
I also write professionally. My most recent book, "Blood & Thunder: the Life and Art of Robert E. Howard," is a biography of the creator of Conan the Barbarian, who lived in the small town of Cross Plains, Texas, and did all of his writing in the 1920s and 1930s. It's the first book-length biography of REH in over 20 years. My next project is a period mystery, set on a low-budget movie set in Hollywood, circa 1936, and it features one of the smallest and least-known about groups of people to ever work in film.
My wife Cathy and I got married in a 1940's-Hollywood themed ceremony and reception. She wore a vintage dress, and while not really formal, I chose the white tux jacket with the black tux pants, a la Casablanca. Our order of service included a romance comic that I had written about our courtship, called "On Our Marry Way" (big points for anyone who gets that reference), and illustrated by my comic artist friends (many of whom were just glad that they didn't have to go shop for a toaster).
Obviously, we're huge fans of the 1930s and 1940s. Cathy loves the fashions, the music, and the style. I love the the history, the popular culture, and that sense of Romanticism that came with the period.
Currently, we are living in Vernon, Texas, and we've just bought a vintage (1953) movie theater. We are fixing to move into the upstairs loft (converted from the business offices), and soon we'll be showing movies and dishing out popcorn and Dots.
I'm really glad I found this place; the Internet SHOULD be about getting like-minded people together. I'll be jumping in on new posts as I make this one of my regular stops on my stroll through the Internet.
Here's looking at you, Folks,