The National Audio Theatre Festivals, Inc. (NATF) will host two-time Peabody award winning audio book producer and dramatist Yuri Rasovsky as he presents a three-day hands-on workshop for producers and directors entitled Principles of Directing Actors for Audio Drama. This weekend workshop is another in NATF's series of ongoing Tony Hawkins Advanced Master Classes.

The workshop, to be held in state of the art recording studios in the New York metro area, is open only to producers or directors who have completed at least one long-form audio drama production for either broadcast or the audiobook marketplace. The workshop, scheduled for September 11 - 14, 2008, is limited to twelve participants.

The author of The Well Tempered Audio Dramatist, Yuri Rasovsky is a highly respected professional in the field of audio theatre. Since founding the National Radio Theater (1972-1987), Rasovsky has created hundreds of radio productions heard on commercial and public radio stations internationally. He has won two George Foster Peabody awards, three Audie and a Grammy, and most recently has been nominated for three 2008 Audie Awards for Sweeney Todd and the String of Pearls. In addition to being the executive producer/director of The Hollywood Theater of the Ear, Rasovsky is also a contributing editor to AudioFile magazine. (www.irasov.com)

Joining Rasovsky will be Sue Zizza of SueMedia Productions. Most recently NATF's Executive Director and a current NATF Board member, Zizza has been producing national award winning audio drama programming for over 20 years. For 13 years she produced The Radio Works audio drama series, which was heard coast to coast on public radio stations. Zizza has just completed a new audio drama about the life of writer Jack Kerouac called "Jack's Last Call: Say Goodbye to Kerouac" which was featured on the PRX in April 2008 (www.jackslastcall.com). Along with producing and directing Zizza has been a member of the adjunct faculty at New York University, Tisch School for the Arts (Film School) since 2002 where she teaches audio drama story telling and sound design and recording techniques. Zizza work has been honored by the Missouri Review, the International Radio Festival of New York, The National Federation of Community Broadcasters, The Gabriels and many others.

Registration fee (which does not include room and board) for this Master Class is $425.00. Special arrangements have been made with La Quinta Inn & Suites in Garden City, NY for those requiring lodging and transportation between the hotel and the studios. Registration fee does include opening night reception and closing morning breakfast.

Principles of Directing Actors for Audio Drama Master Class is made possible in part with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts.