Tag Archives: Geno Heiter

From Beach To Best: 60 Years Of Teen Radio

Posted on January 29, 2026 | 14 comments

WWPT-FM is the best high school radio station in the country.

That’s not just my opinion. Staples’ “PT” earned that John Drury Award honor last year — to go with similar “Best High School Radio Station in the Nation” trophies in 2011, ’17 and ’18.

WWPT 90.3 picks up plenty of other Drury trophies each year too, for everything from news features and public affairs, to sports and radio dramas.

The station draws a wide audience. Live sports are particularly popular. They’ve launched the professional careers of sportscasters like D.J. Sixsmith, Eric Gallanty and Cam Manna.

Celebrating at the 2010 John Drury Awards ceremony (from left): advisor Mike Zito, and students Eric Gallanty, DJ Sixsmith, Brendan Rand and Jake Chernok.

But listeners may not realize that WWPT is more than 50 years old.

Or that a radio station featuring Westport teenagers stretches back to the Eisenhower administration.

Pam Docters knows.

And now anyone who pays $9.03 0n Amazon (yes, the price is deliberate — get it?!) can read all about that storied history.

Docters — a 1978 Staples graduate, and proud ‘PT alum — has just published “Radio Whoopie at Compo.” The slim, 49-page paperback tells the story of the station, in the words of those who were there. And with an impressive number of archival photos.

It focuses on the late 1950’s through ’80s. The pioneers who Docters spoke with were the most fervent WWPT alums, she says.

The story begins with  Stuart Soroka. He hung a speaker outside his bedroom window on Wake Robin Road, and hosted a “radio show.”

That evolved into a 100-megawatt AM station — called WWPT, for “Westport” — at 1160: “The Sound on the Sound.”

Soroka, Gordon Joseloff and others broadcast from the YMCA and Compo Beach, with a transmitter the size of a cereal box.

Teenagers at Compo Beach, listening to “The Sound on the Sound.”

They attracted the attention of the New York Times, World Book Encyclopedia, Scholastic Magazine — and the Federal Communications Commission, which reluctantly shut them down.

Soroka — a 1961 Staples graduate — went on to became a noted Boston weatherman. Joseloff had a career as a CBS News correspondent, then served 2 terms as Westport’s first selectman.

This July 1961 New York Times story alerted the FCC to the existence of the unlicensed radio station. 

In 1968, Keith Satter and others built an AM transmitter that broadcast throughout Staples, from what had once been a storage room. WSRB — for “Staples Radio Broadcasting” — is believed to be the first high school radio station in Connecticut.

In the early 1970s it evolved into WWPT-FM. At 110 to 330 watts, it was the 12th high school radio station in the country.

The designer of the original 1970s logo is unknown. It’s still used today.

Docters uses interviews with former staff members like Dennis Jackson, Mark Potts and Larry Perlstein to describe the growth of the station: its antenna at the old Nike missile site on Bayberry Lane; live broadcasts from the Yankee Doodle Fair, and of Candlelight Concerts; coverage of Board of Finance, Board of Education meetings; an interview with former Stapleite Charlie Karp, who had played with Jimi Hendrix but was excited that his new band’s music was being played on “this little station.”

In 1975, WWPT sponsored a fundraising concert in the Staples auditorium with the James Gang, and an up-and-coming English musician named Peter Frampton.

On Election Day 1977, ‘PT scooped all the other local media with the local results. Station members headed to polling places across town, and called in the results via pay phone.

Marta Flanigan waits for election results, in the WWPT studio.

Chuck Davis and Neil Hartman built a robust sports department. WWPT aired football, soccer, basketball and baseball games. They scored press passes from the Yankees, Giants, Knicks, Whalers (and Bridgeport Jai-Alai), and interviewed top athletes.

Davis went on to work at Sports Illustrated; Hartman headed to Comcast SportsNet. Another member, Jon Stashower, became a noted ESPN radio anchor.

Photos in Pam Docters’ book show (top to bottom) Chuck Davis and Neil Hartman interviewing Cosmos soccer stars Giorgio Chinaglia and Pele, respectively.

Thanksgiving fundraising marathons became legendary. With pitches from famous New York DJs like Don Imus, Cousin Brucie and Murray the K, plus celebrities like Howard Cosell, Frank Gifford, Jim McKay, Dave Winfield, Jack Lemmon and Ben Vereen, students raised thousands of dollars each year.

1977 fundraising marathon poster.

WWPT was a formative experience for Docters, and her love for it is clear in her book.

She tells “06880” about her long days at the station. “We were in the lower 9 building, away from everything. We never, ever saw an adult. We were independent, and responsible. We MacGyvered everything. Fixing the tower at 11 p.m., whatever — we made it work.”

Docters remains “in awe” of her predecessors. “They were there before anyone, in radio. It’s phenomenal what they did. You couldn’t recreate that today. There are so many rules and regulations now.”

40 years after graduating, 1978 WWPT members (from left) Malcolm Doak, David Schaffer, Laurel Rech, Chuck Davis, Doug Meny and author Pam Docters enjoyed a tour of the 2018 studios.

She knows “Radio Whoopie at Compo” will not be a big seller. That’s fine.

Docters just wanted to preserve WWPT’s remarkable history. She donated copies to the Staples and Westport libraries, and current station advisor and radio production teacher Geno Heiter.

That’s right: Radio is now a legit Staples class.

It’s come a long way from the outlaw transmitters at the beach and the Y; closed-circuit broadcasts that could only be heard in the cafeteria; then gangs of teenagers hanging out all day and night, playing records and planning shows and fixing transmitters.

Pam Docters is proud of the role she played. Dennis Jackson, Larry Perlstein and all the others she interview for her book are too.

And in that great radio station in the sky, Stuart Soroka and Gordon Joseloff are listening and smiling too.

(“o6880”  regularly covers Staples High School, Westport teenagers, our town’s history — and much more. If you enjoy stories like these, please click here to support our work. Thank you!)

2025 John Drury Awards.

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Staples Students’ “Limbo”

Posted on December 12, 2023 | 1 comment

In an age when many Staples High School graduates hope to major in business or STEM, or both — “it’s all about fintech,” one student said recently — is there any room for the creative arts?

Charlie Scott and Oscar Sales sure think so.

The Staples High School seniors just completed their first short film, “Limbo.” It offers a great lens through which to view today’s teenagers, and a ringing endorsement of the power of education to inspire passion and provide purpose.

Charlie is well known at Staples. A track athlete who started his first YouTube channel at age 10, he’s advanced from filming with an iPad to much more sophisticated equipment.

Inspired by teacher Geno Heiter, role models like Devon Jarvis and Zach Brody, and peers like Henry Manning, he’s taken full advantage of Staples’ radio and TV production studios.

Charlie has done everything from announcing Wrecker sports on WWPT-FM to creating videos celebrating team accomplishments. Check out this one he filmed and edited about the football team’s important Thanksgiving morning win at Greenwich:

Oscar has been inspired by English instructors Brian Tippy and Kim Herzog, who helped hone his storytelling skills. In Herzog’s Reading and Writing Fiction class, a recent assignment focused on crafting a story through dialogue.

Oscar realized a therapy session would be perfect. Then, he thought: “What if the character is dead? How could he reconcile with his past?”

He and Charlie discussed how to turn Oscar’s idea into a film. Oscar headed to YouTube, watching tutorials on how to write a screenplay.

Then they met at the Westport Library, to storyboard it. “It didn’t look very professional,” Charlie admits. “But we had a plan.”

He enlisted actor Cameron Mann. It was an inspired choice. The fellow senior has serious credits, including playing the killer on HBO’s “Mare of Easttown.”

Charlie was joined by Staples Players stars Imogen Medoff and Josy Pitaro (whose mother is actress Jean Louisa Kelly).

Charlie Scott (left) and Oscar Sales.

Filming took 2 days, earlier this month. There were the usual obstacles — Compo Beach was crowded on a beautiful afternoon, making it tough to create the “afterlife” affect they were looking for — but Charlie and Oscar got the shots they needed.

Then Charlie began editing. He used Premiere Pro, Adobe’s robust software. Whenever he needed a new effect or skill, he searched YouTube tutorials.

The result is a film that, in just 4 1/2 minutes, conveys a range of teenage emotions with subtle power and intrigue.

“I get locked in when I’m editing,” Charlie says. “It all comes together.” He hopes viewers feel the same way.

“Limbo” is not headed to Sundance. Right now, its only distribution is online.

But viewing it, you understand that not every Staples graduate will go into hedge funds or fintech.

The arts continue to live in Westport. They clearly are not in limbo.

 (“06880” proudly reports the achievements of Staples High School students. Please click here to help support our work. Thank you!)

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Cam Manna: Staples Sportscaster Is A Winner

Posted on April 21, 2021 | 11 comments

Cameron Manna is a talented, passionate sportscaster at WWPT-FM, Staples High School’s award-winning radio station.

He just won a full scholarship to Ithaca College’s prestigious Roy H. Park School of Communications.

That’s quite an achievement. It’s even more remarkable because from 3rd to 8th grade, he had speech therapy. Cam stuttered.

Cam Manna

His determination and grit are as powerful as his passions. An athlete all his life — baseball, football, basketball, you name it — he was equally fascinated by broadcasting.

“In my backyard, I pretended to be Derek Jeter,” he remembers. “But at the same time I wanted to be John Sterling” — the New York Yankees’ announcer.

At Greens Farms Elementary School, 5th grade teacher Moira Matthews encouraged him to follow his dreams. He never forgot that.

The summer before 9th grade, Cam attended a broadcasting camp run by Bruce Beck. The lead sports anchor for WNBC-TV has covered Super Bowls, World Series, NBA and NHL finals, US Open golf and tennis, the NCAA Final Four and the Olympics.

That could be intimidating for a young teen. Especially one who would stammer at the beginnings of sentences, and over certain words.

He was teased at GFS and Bedford Middle School. “People made jokes,” Cam says. “But I just used that as motivation.” He now wears a bracelet with 2 sayings: “Never give up” and “Stay scrappy.”

He never thought his stutter would prevent him from being a broadcaster. In high school, a teacher suggested he consider another career. But he had much more support — including his parents, and radio production teacher Geno Heiter.

“He never says no to an idea,” Cam says of his mentor. “He loves what he does. He gives us his absolute all, from the time he gets up till he goes to bed. He teaches leadership skills, and grooms us to be better people.”

Heiter returns the praise. “Since freshman year I have had the privilege to witness Cam evolve exponentially in areas of leadership, organization and empathy. He always delivers.”

From day one of 9th grade, Cam found a home in Heiter’s classroom and studio. The more he learned, the more confident he became. And the more responsibility he was given, the more he grew.

He was mentored by older students. He got to school at 6 a.m., for early morning shows. As a sophomore, he and longtime friend and broadcast partner Jake Gersh called some games. Last year, they won awards.

This year, as a senior, Cam is a WWPT executive coordinator.

Cam manna, in action.

“When I put my headset on, I’m in a different world,” Cam explains. “I turn on the intensity, and bring people in.

“I know I won’t play in the NFL or MLB. But there’s nothing better than talking about sports. When I’m broadcasting. I’m almost a part of the game. Just in a different way.”

Staples’ girls basketball’s double overtime loss in the 2020 FCIAC championship game was one of his highlights. “Jake and I were courtside at Trumbull,” Cam recalls. “We were in the center of all that intensity.”

Cam loves the WWPT team. But throughout Staples, he has continued to play on other teams. There’s football in the fall. This spring he’s part of Wrecker baseball, hoping to repeat as state champions.

The young broadcaster is grateful for the opportunities he’s had in Westport: mentors, technology, speech therapy. He gives a shout-out too to WWPT sportscasters who preceded him — role models like Cooper Boardman and Jack Caldwell.

Meanwhile, Cam returned every summer to Beck’s sportscasting camp. Beck returns the favor. He listened to Cam’s call of that FCIAC basketball game, and sent the audio file to ESPN. That earned him a spot on the network’s “Kidscast” of a New York Nets-Los Angeles Clippers game last spring. COVID canceled the chance. But more will come.

At Bruce Beck’s broadcasting camp.

Ithaca boasts one of the nation’s top communications schools. It’s Beck’s alma mater — and he told Cam about the Park Scholar program.

Over 500 students applied for the award, which covers all tuition, room and board. Only 20 were selected for interviews. Eight — including Cam — were ultimately selected.

Park Scholars are passionate about broadcasting and related fields, and thrive on personal challenges. Cam’s ability to conquer his stutter certainly counts.

Park Scholars are also involved in community service. At Staples, he and friend Owen Ziegler started Renew Sports. They collected used equipment at the Westport Y and ASF, then donated it to organizations like Wakeman Boys Club.

Cam will continue initiatives like that at Ithaca. He also hopes to talk to youngsters with speech impediments, inspiring them just as Moira Matthews, Geno Heiter and Bruce Beck did for him.

His dream is be the New York Knicks’ play-by-play announcer. He knows there’s a long road to Madison Square Garden, and will be happy at every stop along the way.

“I love doing this,” Cam says. “It doesn’t matter where, or what the money is. I’m just so happy bringing stories to life, and helping a community.”

(Hat tip: Victoria Capozzi)

WWPT-FM (90.3) broadcasts Staples baseball games this spring. Cam Manna will be on the diamond — not behind the mic.

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WWPT: COVID Did Not Kill The Radio Star

Posted on May 7, 2020 | 2 comments

When school closed in March, radio production teacher Geno Heiter wondered how he could keep WWPT-FM on the air.

The answer was right in his basement. The longtime musician had plenty of equipment there. His students were used to broadcasting remotely, for sports.

In a matter of days, 90.3 was back on the air.

Heiter oversees every show from his Milford “control room.” They take place during regular class time, and in afternoons and evenings too.  Students — er, the on-air talent — see each other via Google Hangouts. They plan their general talk, sports talk and music shows that way, communicating and improvising and entertaining in real time. If you didn’t know it, you’d think they were all hanging out together at 70 North Avenue.

Behind the scenes — virtually — as the staff collaborates on a WWPT-FM broadcast.

And make no mistake: These teenagers are good. They’ve snagged guests like Monday Night Football and Olympics sportscaster Mike Tirico, and New York Knicks and ESPN announcer Mike Breen.

Tomorrow (Friday, May 8, 7:30 p.m.) they’ll chat with Stephen A. Smith, host of ESPN’s “First Take.”

“I get the ball rolling. They run with it,” Heiter says modestly.

To see (and hear) how well they run, click here.

WWPT-FM advisor and radio production teacher Geno Heiter, in his Milford basement “control room.”

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Distance Learning Begins: A Message From Staples’ Principal

Posted on March 17, 2020 | 2 comments

In his first year as Staples principal, Stafford Thomas has earned high grades for his quick understanding of the school, his warm and upbeat manner, and his care and concern for all students.

When he was hired last summer, he never imagined one task would be overseeing distance learning.

Today — with schools closed at least through March 31 due to the coronavirus — the Westport district begins “distance learning.” It means different things for different grade levels.

There are bound to be questions. Administrators in the central office and each building have been communicating with students and parents about what it all means. It is still — as it is nationally — a work in progress.

Staples students have a better idea now though, after a video from their principal.

He begins — as he often does on the announcements — with shout-outs to students. Then he explains what distance learning is, and why it’s important. He ends with some tips on staying healthy (teenage style).

Click below to see how Westport’s high school students are beginning a difficult — but important — part of their educational journey.

 

(Hat tip to Staples media teacher Geno Heiter, who produced the video. It’s part of “70 North,” the high school’s great media platform. Click here for many other videos.)

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Now Streaming: 70 North

Posted on December 10, 2019 | 2 comments

WWPT-FM was one of the first high school radio stations in the country.

Decades later, Staples again innovated — this time with an in-school TV show.

Now, our high school once again leads the pack.

Welcome to “70 North.”

With a soft launch last week, the site — named for the school’s physical address — became a clever, irreverent, YouTube-like destination for 1,900 students, scores of staff and faculty members, and anyone else in the world who wants to know what’s going on at that active, creative and very fertile campus.

It’s a work in progress. But what a work it is.

70 North marks the next step in the evolution of television. And whether that TV is based in a high school or broadcasts nationally doesn’t really matter, says media teacher Geno Heiter.

What counts is content. “70 North” has plenty of it. Sports, features, upcoming events, guidance and college news, humor, poetry, reviews, music department concerts, artwork — you name, it will find its way onto the site.

For over a decade, the school was served by “Good Morning Staples.” Devised by former instructors Jim Honeycutt and Mike Zito, and filmed, edited and hosted by students, the show aired 3 times a week, at 8:25 a.m. Every class watched — supposedly — an intriguing mélange of interviews, announcements, sports highlights and more.

It was fun, entertaining — and static.

The television landscape has changed a lot since “Good Morning Staples” marked a fresh way of providing information. Americans — particularly teenagers — no longer sit on a couch and watch a show at a predetermined time.

TV today is all about streaming. People watch on their terms, their schedule — and their devices.

70 North is television for the smartphone age.

A poster for one of the many episodes available from “70 North.”

Just as viewers no longer have to gather around a big screen, creators no longer lug around big (or even moderate-sized) cameras. Great video can be shot on phones everyone carries.

Thanks to TikTok, Snapchat and many other apps, students are used to telling visual stories. They have a different way of telling those stories too, than even people just a few years older.

“70 North” allows them to do just that. Yet it’s hard to describe, and still evolving.

Heiter says, “It’s a platform. It’s whatever they want it to be.”

Sam Gold — a crazily creative senior, and one of the driving forces behind 70 North — calls it “School updates that don’t suck.”

Max Dorsey, shooting a “70 North” show.

Heiter likens “70 North” to Netflix. “You choose what you want, from a lot of options. It’s not one video that’s forced on you.”

But it’s not the Wild West of the web. It’s still a schoolwide communication tool. It uses server space provided by the district. And it’s as educational as it is entertaining.

Geno Heiter (left) and Sam Gold, with “70 North” on the laptop.

Heiter says he’s still “teaching skills, teaching technical ability, teaching how to use sophisticated equipment, how to cover stories, how to engage and build an audience.”

But he’s doing it in a way that meets students — those who create 70 North, and those who watch it — exactly where they are.

Which, these days, is in front of a device. Not a TV screen. Accessible any time, anywhere, by anyone.

Once again, Staples High School is at the forefront.

Just as it will be in 2029, when a new, not-yet-invented form of communication supplants “70 North.”

(Click here for “70 North.” Then bookmark it!)

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WWPT Rocks National Radio Awards

Posted on May 5, 2019 | 5 comments

You don’t have to be a Staples student to love WWPT.

Plenty of folks in Fairfield County with no connection to the high school tune into the station — 90.3 FM — for news, sports, music, even dramatic readings.

It was one of the first high school radio stations in the country.

Now the John Drury High School Radio Awards confirm: It’s also the best.

For the 2nd year in a row.

Yesterday at North Central College in Naperville, Illinois, “Wrecker Radio” walked off with the top prize: Best High School Radio Station.

But that’s not all.

Individual staff members won for:

  • Best News Feature Story (November 11, 2018: Jack Gersh, Cameron Manna)
  • Best Sports Play-by-Play (Basketball final, Trumbull vs. Darien: Greg Settos, Jake Gersh)
  • Best Sportstalk Program (Open Season – 2.o “The Return”: Jake Thaw, Nick, Kornfeld
  • Best Sportscast (A Sports Update: Greg Settos)
  • Best PSA (Don’t Text and Drive: Ben Gross)

The entire station also won Best Radio Drama – Adaptation for “A Christmas Carol – Act 1 of 2.”

WWPT-FM members who attended yesterday’s national awards ceremony in Illinois (from left): Brad Cox, Greg Settos, Reilly Caldwell, Jake Gersh, Cameron Manna and adviser Geno Heiter. (Photo/Jack Caldwell)

Those were not the only nominees from Staples. Others included Greg Settos for Best Newscast; Brad Cox for Best News Feature Story; Reilly Caldwell and Settos for Best Promo; Seettos and Lefty Penderakis, Jack Borowsky and Mark Didio, and Jake Gersh and Cameron Manna, Best Sportstalk Program (3 separate nominations); Art Shapiro and Settos, and Brad Cox, Best Sports Play-by-Play (2 separate nominations); Ethan Frank, plus Cox, Zach Iannacone, Will Rosenthal, Tim Luciano for Best Public Affairs Program (2 separate nominations); Jake Gersh and Isabella Siskind (Best PSA, 2 separate nominations); Gersh, Siskind, Dylan Mace, Dan Chu, Oscar Hachter, Jack Noble, Ben Howard and Matt Hirschler (Best Radio Drama – Original).

Congratulations to all, and of course adviser Geno Heiter.

Now set your radio to 90.3 FM!

(Hat tip: Jack Caldwell)

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Two Christmas Carols

Posted on December 25, 2017 | 3 comments

Staples High School’s Candlelight Concert is the music department’s gift to the town.

It’s the gift that keeps on giving.

On Friday night, Steve Ruchefsky and Rondi Charleston threw their annual holiday party, at their beautiful Myrtle Avenue home.

Like many gatherings around Westport, it was a warm, wonderful way to catch up with friends of all ages.

But Steve and Rondi’s party was extra-special. Their daughter Emma — now a student at Berklee College of Music — joined with fellow former Orphenians for a few Christmas songs.

No offense to any other party with carol singers, but — well, take a listen:

 

Thanks to Emma Ruchefsky, Joe Badion, Bailey Claffey, Ian Goodman, Nick Massoud, Nick Ribolla and Sarah Quagliarello for reminding us all why music may be the greatest gift of all.

SPECIAL HOLIDAY BONUS: Last week, Staples’ Audio Production and Theater 3 classes combined to produce a live radio broadcast of “A Christmas Carol.”

It includes all the voices from Charles Dickens’ classic — plus music, clever sound effects, even old-time radio ads for products like Pepsodent.

If you missed it on WWPT-FM, just click here. Instructors Geno Heiter and David Roth, and dozens of students, offer a perfect soundtrack to your holiday.

And so — in the immortal words of Tiny Tim — “A Merry Christmas to us all!”

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Radio And Robotics Raves

Posted on May 7, 2017 | 5 comments

There are 12 categories in the John Drury High School Radio Awards.

Staples’ WWPT-FM was nominated in 7 of them — sometimes more than once.

Yesterday — at North Central College in Naperville, Illinois — they won 1st place in every category they were nominated for. The teenagers (and advisor Geno Heiter) snagged a total of 12 awards, in news, sports and public affairs.

Including the big one: Best High School Station in the Country.

The winners! WWPT-FM faculty advisor Geno Heiter is in shades and a beard, at right.

Congratulations to these Staples students — the next generation of radio stars:

1st Place
Best Newscast: Cooper Boardman, Channing Smith (“WWPT News Update”)
Best Public Affairs Program: Jackson Valente, Jarod Ferguson (“A Better Chance ‘Social Justice’)
Best Radio Drama Adaptation: Staples Players and Audio Production classes, with support from WWPT (“Dracula”)
Best Sports Play-by-Play:  Cooper Boardman, Jack Caldwell (Football — Staples vs. Darien)
Best Sportscast: Buster Scher (“Knicks — Past 2 Seasons”)
Best Sportstalk Program:  Cooper Boardman and Jack Caldwell (Staples Field Hockey State Championship Show)
Best High School Station: WWPT-FM

2nd Place
Best Sports Play-by-Play:  Cooper Boardman (Basketball — Staples vs. Danbury)
Best Sportstalk Program:  Jack Caldwell (Interview with NHL announcer Chuck Kaiton)
Best Sportscast:  Luck McManus, Hunter Duffy (NASCAR championship interview)

3rd Place
Best Newscast: Zachary Halperin, Nieve Mahoney, Jack Moses (Politics — Election Reflection)
Best Sportscast:  George Goldstein, Sam Zaritsky (Fulmer Trade)

WWPT-FM faculty advisor Geno Heiter (left) and student broadcasters jump for joy after earning 12 John Drury Awards.

Also yesterday, Staples sophomores Nick Durkin, John McNab and Daniel Westphal, and freshman Nathan Wang won 5 awards — including 1st Place Overall — in the Marine Advanced Technology Education Center’s New England competition, in Sandwich, Massachusetts.

The quartet — competing as Team Curriodyssea, which is not affiliated with the high school — designed, built and programmed underwater remotely operated vehicles.

Team Curiodyssea members (from left) Daniel Westphal, Nathan Wang, John McNab and Nick Durkin.

Team Curriodyssea also won golds for Engineering Evaluation, Highest Score on the Underwater Challenges, Technical Report and Poster Display.

They advance to the international competition next month in Long Beach, California, where they’ll face 27 other teams from North America, Europe, Asia and Africa.

Sounds like a great story for WWPT!

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It’s A Wonderful Life, Indeed!

Posted on December 21, 2016 | 3 comments

Take out your earbuds. Move over, Spotify. You’re so old school, iTunes.

Staples students are embracing a cutting-edge new technology: radio.

But not just any radio: a 1940s-style radio drama.

WWPT_logoTomorrow (Thursday, December 22, 1 p..m.), Geno Heiter’s Audio Production class and David Roth’s Theater 3 Acting class collaborate on a radio broadcast of “It’s a Wonderful Life.”

They’ll use the original 1946 script — including Lux toilet soap advertisements from that long-ago time.

Similar WWPT-FM productions have won top awards in the John Drury national high school radio competition. Check it out:

It’s a phenomenal event — and a great undertaking. High school students incorporate live drama skills, sound effects and radio production into an entertaining, uplifting performance.

You can hear it locally on 90.3 FM, or by clicking here for the livestream.

It is indeed a wonderful life!

PS: The 2016 Candlelight Concert is also available on WWPT-FM (and via livestream). It’s broadcast at random times — so keep listening!

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