*Radio on the Lake Theatre* <http://www.radioonthlakthatr.org>, Northeast Ohio's only professional theater company exclusively dedicated to the audio arts, is thrilled to announce the start of its new live radio play series. The Audio Gallery Series at Negative Space will spotlight classic and contemporary audio drama with actors and sound effects artists bringing great stories to life, thanks to generous grants from the Ohio Arts Council and the Char and Chuck Fowler Family Foundation. This fall, three plays will be performed at the Negative Space Art Gallery, located at 3820 Superior Avenue, 2nd Floor, in Cleveland's Asia Town district. The first play in the new series is* Destination Freedom: An Evening of African American Radio Plays <https://www.wwfm.org/show/a-tempo-with-rachel-katz/2025-08-18/radio-theatre-includes-1940s-dramas-highlighting-african-americans-in-upcoming-season>* on September 11 at 7:30 pm. Between 1948 and 1950, a radio series called *Destination Freedom* aired on WMAQ, a local Chicago NBC station. Richard Durham created *Destination Freedom* in an attempt to profile significant African American historical figures and their contributions to American democracy and freedom. Durham was an African American journalist, poet, dramatist, labor organizer, and one-time Communist Party member, who began his career as part of the Writer’s Project of the WPA and later worked as a writer for *The Chicago Defender.* In an era when African Americans were increasingly visible in the arts, though not always in positive roles, Durham’s scripts attempted to reclaim a triumphant narrative of African American history. Two of Durham’s scripts – *Railway to Freedom* and *The Death of Aesop* – will be performed on September 11. The plays will be followed by a discussion of the life and work of Richard Durham and the legacy of African American radio plays in this country. *“**It is an honor to team with Radio on the Lake to bring Richard Durham’s Destination Freedom plays back to life as live radio theatre”, said the play’s director Darelle Hill. “Both Railway to Freedom and The Death of Aesop celebrate voices that refused to be silenced; Harriet Tubman, whose courage reshaped history, and Aesop, whose perceptive yet humorous wit challenged power. My hope is that people leave inspired, entertained, and reminded of the courage it takes to speak up”.* Tickets for the Audio Gallery Series at Negative Space are $15, and are on sale now on *Eventbrite <https://sjuvgy5ab.cc.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001Vh8ktXpY5da9-smPVzzjEJommbe6FXVVINzgxo-M8aJx6IX_Hcb6J_yg431Ds6HgL89NV8B1Xvea1sH2uTAXYTzRRAXwUnA0ntXD8FP-gVR35U1Dqe95sV92G-PGzm2r3pHDYxRVMdjt1o-8dQm8jBwgMF0cPDXXcm8s8ZWzswFIZoc7eVzLIE75HolNJrx_HY8EYYl_Q87e5tkucrdalckTyDPxuTSSlNvPk_slQqo=&c=mGUXb1jef8OSCD8P9GHV_Y228ZaT-wrsUuCuv9pn0fZxaG5REgB9DA==&ch=cnXa8Ju0WPvShR3K150zEHTN36tgftMjpS4tPxzP3kGLnlolhzQ5og==>. * For more information about the series and Radio on the Lake Theatre, please send an email to info@radioonthelaketheatre.org. -- Margaret Reardon | she/her Development Coordinator Radio on the Lake Theatre (216) 802 8595 radioonthelaketheatre.org <https://www.radioonthelaketheatre.org/>