# Columbia Workshop

Columbia Workshop was a radio series that aired on the Columbia Broadcasting System from 1936 to 1943, returning in 1946–47.

## Irving Reis

The series began as the idea of Irving Reis. Reis had begun his radio career as an engineer and developed a fascination with the possibilities of the relatively new medium. His idea was to use experimental modes of narrative to enhance the way a narrative was conveyed over the radio. Reis had isolated attempts to experiment on the radio: Before the Columbia Workshop's debut, he had directed at least a few radio dramas. For Reis, the Columbia Workshop was a platform for developing new techniques for presentation on radio as noted in the debut broadcast:
    The Columbia Workshop dedicates itself to the purposes of familiarizing you with the story behind radio, both in broadcasting, as well as in aviation, shipping, communication and pathology, and to experiment in new techniques with a hope of discovering or evolving new and better forms of radio presentation, with especial emphasis on radio drama; to encourage and present the work of new writers and artists who may have fresh and vital ideas to contribute.
As a sustaining program, the Workshop served as a symbol to prove to the public (and the Federal Communications Commission) that CBS was concerned with educating and serving the public.
Early shows on the Workshop exemplified Reis's penchant for experimentation through narrative and technical means. The second program, Broadway Evening followed a couple as they meandered down Broadway during an evening. A subsequent show had at least 30 characters functioning within a half-hour drama. Among the technical demonstrations were sound effects, the use of various kinds of microphones to achieve various aural effects and voice impersonators (including sound effects produced by voice).
Reis called upon others to try their hand in writing new or adapting existing material for the experimental nature of the Workshop. Orson Welles did a two-part adaptation of Shakespeare's Hamlet (mentioned along with the Workshop in the fictitious film Me and Orson Welles), as well as a 30-minute condensation of Macbeth. Irwin Shaw contributed one show, and Stephen Vincent Benét adapted several of his short stories. Reis also experimented with readings and dramatizations of poetry, including works by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, John Masefield and Edgar Allan Poe. One of the most notable presentations of Reis's tenure was Archibald MacLeish's original radio play, The Fall of the City. With a cast that included Burgess Meredith, Orson Welles and 300 students, the play was notable for its portrayal of the collapse of a city under an unnamed dictator, a commentary on fascism in Germany and Italy.
Reis recognized music as an important part of radio presentation. As part of CBS's commissioning of five classical composers to write original works for radio, Deems Taylor narrated a concert (November 7, 1936) which demonstrated the possibilities of idiomatic music composition for radio by playing orchestrations of three works by staff arranger Amadeo de Fillipi.
Among the most significant musical contributions Reis made was appointing Bernard Herrmann music director of the Workshop. Herrmann had previously worked on CBS primarily as a conductor. He had composed his first radio drama for the Workshop, but it was only after his second program, Rhythm of the Jute Mill (broadcast December 12, 1936) that the appointment was made. Thereafter Herrmann composed many radio shows himself, also conducting the music of others and even proposing a show entirely devoted to music composed for the Workshop.
Other significant musical contributions during Reis's directorship include Paul Sterrett's and Leith Stevens's score for a two-part presentation of Alice in Wonderland in which music took the place of all sound effects, and Marc Blitzstein's half-hour musical I've Got the Tune, which similarly tried to convey sound effects and long-distance travel through purely musical means.

## William N. Robson

On the broadcast of December 23, 1937 (the first of a two-part dramatization of Lewis Carroll's Alice Through the Looking-Glass), it was announced that William N. Robson had succeeded Irving Reis as director of the Columbia Workshop. Reis moved to Hollywood and continued his career in the film industry. Though the Workshop continued some experimentation, Robson placed greater emphasis on good dramatic adaptations, rather than didactic explanations of radio techniques.
Robson was not averse to experimentation. His San Quentin Prison Break, originally broadcast prior to the Workshop on January 16, 1935 was based on an actual incident. To achieve a sense of realism, the dramatization was a combination news report or documentary. Unlike most radio dramas, there was no narrator involved. This was later rebroadcast as part of the Workshop on September 10, 1936.
Under Robson's aegis, the Workshop was able to broadcast a number of notable shows. Known more as a film director, Pare Lorentz wrote and directed Ecce Homo, a story concerning the relationship of man and technology. Both Irwin Shaw and Archibald MacLeish were invited back to write and direct shows as they had done under Reis's leadership. The Workshop extended its experimental mode by preceding the new MacLeish play, Air Raid with a broadcast of its rehearsal. Stephen Vincent Benèt continued to write for the Workshop, and author Wilbur Daniel Steele made his own adaptations of his previously written short stories. Arch Oboler, known for Lights Out! series, contributed one script, as did Thornton Wilder and budding writer Arthur Laurents.
At times, Robson reached beyond the typical crop of radio authors, selecting at least one script (Anita Fairgrieve's Andrea del Sarto), from his class in radio writing at New York University as well as soliciting scripts on the air from the listening audience.
With Bernard Herrmann continuing as music director, Robson (probably at Herrmann's insistence) included a few extended musical works and opera on the Workshop. Frederick Delius's Hassan, and two operas by Vittorio Giannini, Beauty and the Beast and Blennerhasset, were among those heard. Robson apparently stepped down sometime in mid-1939, after which the Workshop was somewhat adrift. Brewster Morgan and Earle McGill are credited as being those responsible for continuing the series.

## Norman Corwin

Norman Corwin had been a rising star at CBS for a few years, and had even some of his work aired on the Workshop as early as 1938, when his adaptation of Stephen Crane's The Red Badge of Courage aired. But his sense of social justice again changed the direction of the Workshop into one frequently addressing current issues. By the fall 1940, Corwin was leading the Workshop, and in 1941, the series was giving the subtitle 26 by Corwin, attesting to the author's seemingly indefatigable energy. Given Corwin's strong interest in issues of the day, it is ironic he left the Workshop just one month prior to the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

## Final years

It is not entirely clear who led the Columbia Workshop during 1942, but interest in the program was clearly waning. There were a few significant programs (historically the most interesting of them is probably the airing of John Cage's and Kenneth Patchen's The City Wears a Slouch Hat). There are only a few references to shows in 1943. The show had a revival in the 1946–47 season. When it was revived in 1956, it was retitled the CBS Radio Workshop.

## Radio techniques

The Columbia Workshop gave authors, directors, sound engineers and composers many opportunities to experiment with the use of sound as a device for enhancing narrative.

### Sound filters

Buck Rogers was broadcast from a 21st-floor studio that had been troubled with air conditioning noises. At a bend in a duct the air gave a whoosh that had been difficult to dampen. Later, when it became necessary to suggest a rocket traveling through outer space, someone remembered the duct and put a microphone in the bend. Whenever Buck Rogers was on the move, the microphone was opened, producing the sound of a spaceship. This was the first development in sound filters.
Filters developed upon the need for radio directors to find a way to portray a voice over the telephone. The filters were generally small boxes through which a microphone circuit could be shunted. The box had dials on its surface. Its inner mechanism could remove upper or lower tones or a combination of them to give an incomplete reproduction, as given by a telephone. The dials allowed the engineer to vary the effect, creating varieties of incompleteness. It became common for radio personnel to play around with the filters to find new sounds, and then having radio shows based upon their discoveries.

## Staff

Many of the staff who worked on the Columbia Workshop would continue with CBS and work for television.
* Bernard Herrmann, composer
* Earle McGill, writer, director
* Irving Reis, writer, director
* William N. Robson, writer, director
* Leith Stevens, composer
* Guy Della-Cioppa, writer

## Award

The Columbia Workshop received a 1946 Peabody Award for Outstanding Entertainment in Drama.

## List of Columbia Workshop programs

This is a list of all the Columbia Workshop programs, giving known information about authors, adaptors, directors/producers, composers. Occasional remarks have been included. Gaps in dates usually refer to programs that were pre-empted. Information for the years 1942–43 is difficult to come by.
| Date | Title | Writer | Adaptation | Director/Producer | Music | Remarks |
| July 18, 1936 | A Comedy of Danger | Richard Hughes | - | Myron Sattler | - | First show |
| July 18, 1936 | The Finger of God | Percival Wilde | - | Myron Sattler | - | First show |
| July 25, 1936 | Broadway Evening | Leopold Proser | - | Irving Reis | - | - |
| August 1, 1936 | Technical Demonstration | - | - | Irving Reis | - | - |
| August 1, 1936 | Cartwheel | Vic Knight | - | Irving Reis | - | - |
| August 8, 1936 | Experiment | Mary Parkington | - | Irving Reis | - | - |
| August 8, 1936 | Highway Incident | Brian J. Byrne | - | Irving Reis | - | - |
| August 15, 1936 | Case History | Milton M. E. Geiger | - | Irving Reis | - | Fantasy of pilot in airline crash |
| August 22, 1936 | The March of the Molecules | Orestes H. Caldwell (FRC commissioner) | - | Irving Reis | - | Demonstration of how radio works |
| August 22, 1936 | There Must Be Something Else | Helen Bergovoy | - | Irving Reis | - |
| September 5, 1936 | San Quentin Prison Break | William N. Robson | - | William N. Robson | - | Rebroadcast of a play originally broadcast January 16, 1935 |
| September 12, 1936 | Voyage to Brobdingnag | Jonathan Swift | Leopold Proser | Irving Reis | - | - |
| September 19, 1936 | Hamlet, Acts 1-2 | William Shakespeare | Orson Welles | Orson Welles | - | - |
| September 26, 1936 | The Dream Maker | Charles Burton | - | Irving Reis | - | Fantasy of how dreams are made |
| September 26, 1936 | Shadows That Walk In | - | - | Irving Reis | - | Ghost analysis |
| October 3, 1936 | St. Louis Blues | | | | | |
| October 10, 1936 | Sound Demonstration | | | | | |
| October 17, 1936 | Dauber | John Masefield | Burke Boyce | Irving Reis | Bernard Herrmann | |
| October 24, 1936 | Letting the Cat Out of the Bag | - | - | - | - | Interview on vocal sound effects with Brad Barker and Madeleine Pearce |
| November 7, 1936 | Music for Radio | Narration by Deems Taylor | - | Davidson Taylor | Debussy: Golliwogg's Cakewalk, Schumann: Traumerei, Bizet: Farandole (from L'Arlesienne Suite) orchestrated by Amadeo di Fillipi | To illustrate idiomatic use of radio orchestration for the Columbia Composers' Commission |
| November 14, 1936 | Hamlet, acts 3-5 | William Shakespeare | Orson Welles | Orson Welles | - | |
| November 21, 1936 | The Use of Theaters for Broadcasts | E. E. Free | - | Irving Reis | - | Electrical demonstration |
| November 21, 1936 | 2000 Were Chosen | E.P. Conkle | - | Irving Reis | - | - |
| November 28, 1936 | The American Patent System | Irving Reis | - | Irving Reis | - | Honoring 100th Anniversary of the U.S. Patent Office |
| December 12, 1936 | Rhythm of the Jute Mill | William N. Robson | - | William N. Robson | Bernard Herrmann | - |
| December 19, 1936 | The Gods of the Mountains | Lord Dunsany | - | - | Bernard Herrmann | - |
| December 26, 1936 | The Happy Prince | Oscar Wilde | - | Irving Reis | Bernard Herrmann | - |
| January 2, 1937 | Public Domain | Eustis Wyatt | - | Earle McGill | - | Fantasy of PD characters yearning for release from stories |
| January 9, 1937 | Interview with a Control Engineer, part 1 | van Voorhees, control engineer | - | - | Clyde Borne, singer | Control sound engineering |
| January 9, 1937 | A Voyage to Lilliput | Jonathan Swift | (Irving Reis?) | Irving Reis | - | Control sound engineering |
| January 16, 1937 | Interview with a Control Engineer, part 2 | - | - | - | - | microphone mixing |
| January 16, 1937 | An Incident of the Cosmos | Paul Y. Anderson | - | Irving Reis | Bernard Herrmann | Extraterrestrials witness the end of Earth |
| January 23, 1937 | The Signal-Man | Charles Dickens | - | Irving Reis and Earle McGill | - | - |
| January 30, 1937 | Evolution of the Negro Spiritual | - | - | Irving Reis | arrangements by Clyde Barry & Helen Bergeron | - |
| February 6, 1937 | Rime of the Ancient Mariner | Samuel Taylor Coleridge | Leopold Proser | Irving Reis | Bernard Herrmann | - |
| February 13, 1937 | Sound and the Human Ear | Narrated by Dr. John Steinberg | - | Irving Reis(and pro.) | - | demonstration of pitch perception |
| February 28, 1937 | Macbeth | William Shakespeare | Orson Welles | Orson Welles | Bernard Herrmann | - |
| March 7, 1937 | | - | - | - | - | (unidentified show) |
| March 14, 1937 | Split Seconds | Irving Reis | - | Irving Reis | Bernard Herrmann | Script first broadcast in 1931 |
| March 21, 1937 | Danse Macabre | Helen Bergeron, George Zachary | - | Irving Reis | Camille Saint-Saëns | - |
| March 28, 1937 | Eve of St. Agnes | John Keats | Edward A. Byron | Edward A. Byron | - | - |
| April 4, 1937 | Big Ben | John Mossman | - | John Mossman | - | - |
| April 4, 1937 | Crisis | Roy Winsower | - | Roy Winsower | - | - |
| April 11, 1937 | The Fall of the City | Archibald MacLeish | - | Irving Reis | Bernard Herrmann | - |
| April 18, 1937 | R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots) | Karel Čapek | - | Irving Reis | Bernard Herrmann | - |
| April 25, 1937 | St. Louis Blues | Irving Reis | - | Irving Reis | Blues by W.C. Handy | Orig. written in 1932; first play for radio about radio; First heard on the Workshop Oct. 3, 1936 |
| May 2, 1937 | Drums of Conscience | - | - | Irving Reis | - | - |
| May 9, 1937 | Supply and Demand | Irwin Shaw | - | Irving Reis | Bernard Herrmann | Worthington Minor, "director of dialogue and staging" |
| May 16, 1937 | Paul Revere | Stephen Vincent Benét | - | | Bernard Herrmann | - |
| May 23, 1937 | A Night at an Inn | Lord Dunsany | - | Irving Reis | Debussy, conducted by Bernard Herrmann | - |
| May 30, 1937 | Discoverie | Merrill Denison | - | Irving Reis | Bernard Herrmann | - |
| June 6, 1937 | Downbeat on Murder | Charles Tazewell | - | Irving Reis | Bernard Herrmann | voices change into musical notes |
| June 13, 1937 | The Young King | Oscar Wilde | - | Irving Reis | - | - |
| June 20, 1937 | Red-Head Baker | Albert Maltz | - | Joseph Losey | Bernard Herrman | - |
| June 27, 1937 | Babouk | Guy Endore | Lester Fuller | Edward A. Blatt, Irving Reis | Bernard Herrman | - |
| July 4, 1937 | Mr. Sycamore | Robert Ayre | Leonard Proser | - | Bernard Herrmann | - |
| July 11, 1937 | The Tell-Tale Heart | Edgar Allan Poe | Charles Tazewell | Irving Reis | Bernard Herrmann | Used sounds of real heartbeats |
| July 18, 1937 | Fifty Grand | Ernest Hemingway | - | | Bernard Herrmann | - |
| July 25, 1937 | A Matter of Life and Death | Leopold Atlas | - | Irving Reis | - | - |
| August 1, 1937 | Daniel Webster and the Sea Serpent | Stephen Vincent Benét | Sheldon Stark | Irving Reis | Bernard Herrmann | - |
| August 8, 1937 | An Incident of the Cosmos(rep) | Paul Y. Anderson | - | Irving Reis | Bernard Herrmann | - |
| August 8, 1937 | Last Citation | John Whedon | - | Irving Reis | Bernard Herrmann | - |
| August 15, 1937 | Escape (part 1) | John Galsworthy | Leopold Proser | Irving Reis | Bernard Herrmann | - |
| August 22, 1937 | Escape (part 2) | John Galsworthy | Leopold Proser | Irving Reis | Bernard Herrmann | - |
| August 29, 1937 | The Half-Pint Flask | Dubose Heyward | Irving Reis | William N. Robson | (Victor Young?) | - |
| August 30, 1937 | Twelfth Night | William Shakespeare | Orson Welles | Orson Welles, director, John Houseman, producer | - | Includes readings by Pepys, Manningham, Mazlitt, and Brandes |
| September 5, 1937 | S.S. San Pedro | James G. Cozzens | Betsy Tuttle | William N. Robson | Charles Paul | James Gould Cozzens |
| September 12, 1937 | Death of a Queen | Hilaire Belloc | Val Gielgud | Val Gielgud | - | Originated from BBC in London |
| September 19, 1937 | Riders to the Sea | John Millington Synge | - | Irving Reis | - | Originated from Dublin, Ireland |
| September 26, 1937 | Alice in Wonderland, part 1 | Lewis Carroll | William N. Robson | William N. Robson | Paul Sterrett | - |
| October 3, 1937 | Alice in Wonderland, part 2 | Lewis Carroll | William N. Robson | William N. Robson | Paul Sterrett and Leith Stevens | - |
| October 10, 1937 | Meridian 7-1212 | Irving Reis | - | Irving Reis | Bernard Herrmann | - |
| October 17, 1937 | The Killers | Ernest Hemingway | Irving Reis | Irving Reis | - | - |
| October 17, 1937 | Illusion | Georgia Backus | - | Georgia Backus | - | - |
| October 24, 1937 | I've Got the Tune | Marc Blitzstein | - | | Marc Blitzstein | - |
| October 31, 1937 | Sweepstakes | Irving Reis & Charles Martin | - | Irving Reis & Charles Martin | Bernard Herrmann | - |
| November 7, 1937 | The Horla | Guy de Maupassant | Charles Tazewell | Irving Reis | Bernard Herrmann | - |
| November 14, 1937 | Mr. Justice | Irving Reis | - | | - | - |
| November 21, 1937 | Georgia Transport | John Williams Andrews | - | Irving Reis | Bernard Herrmann | Repeat from Sept. 27, 1937 |
| November 28, 1937 | First Violin | Norman Davey | Sally Russell | Irving Reis | - | - |
| December 2, 1937 | - | - | - | - | - | (unidentified show) |
| December 9, 1937 | Marconi | - | Orrin Dunlap | - | Bernard Herrmann | - |
| December 16, 1937 | Metzengerstein | Edgar Allan Poe | Charles Tazewell | Irving Reis | Bernard Herrmann | - |
| December 23, 1937 | Alice Through the Looking-Glass, part 1 | Lewis Carroll | William N. Robson | William N. Robson | Paul Sterrett and Leith Stevens | Robson succeeds Reis as head of Columbia Workshop |
| December 30, 1937 | Alice Through the Looking-Glass, part 2 | Lewis Carroll | William N. Robson | William N. Robson | Paul Sterrett and Leith Stevens | - |
| January 8, 1938 | The Ghost of Benjamin Sweet, part 1 | | | | | |
| January 15, 1938 | The House That Jack Didn't Build | Alfred Kreymborg | | William N. Robson | | Experiment in drama |
| January 16, 1938 | Mr. Whipple is Worried | | | | Bernard Herrmann | |
| January 22, 1938 | Robert Owens | | | | Bernard Herrmann | |
| January 29, 1938 | Madame Curie | Eve Curie | William N. Robson | William N. Robson | Bernard Herrmann | |
| February 5, 1938 | Andrea del Sarto | Anita Fairgrieve | | Earle McGill | Bernard Herrmann | Author was NYU student |
| February 12, 1938 | Be Prepared | Guy Della Cioppa & Richard Linkroum | | George Zachary | Bernard Herrmann | Boy scouts & demo of audio montage |
| February 19, 1938 | The Well of the Saints | John Millington Synge | George Zachary | George Zachary | Bernard Herrmann | Use of sound in delineating elements of supernatural fantasy |
| February 26, 1938 | Night Patrol | Stuart Hawkins | | | | |
| March 5, 1938 | The Ghost of Benjamin Sweet, part 2 | Pauline Gibson & Frederick Gilsdorff | | Nila Mack | Bernard Herrmann | Use of microphone filters |
| March 12, 1938 | Hassan | James Elroy Flecker | Constance Brown | Earle McGill | Frederick Delius (Bermard Herrmann, conductor) | opera |
| March 19, 1938 | The Wedding of the Meteors | Leslie Roberts & Joel Hamill | | William N. Robson | Bernard Herrmann | |
| March 26, 1938 | J. Smith and Wife | Charles Tazewell | | William N. Robson | Bernard Herrmann | No sound effects used |
| April 2, 1938 | Seven Waves Away | Richard Sale | Margaret Lewerth | William N. Robson | Bernard Herrmann | |
| April 9, 1938 | The Broken Feather | Michael Carroll | | William N. Robson | Bernard Herrmann | |
| April 16, 1938 | The Terrible Meek | Charles Rann Kennedy | | William N. Robson | | |
| April 23, 1938 | Never Come Monday | Eric Knight | Stephen Fox | William N. Robson | Charles Paul | Repeated June 25, 1938 |
| April 30, 1938 | Fours into Seven Won't Go | Val Gielgud, Stephen King-Hall | | Val Gielgud | | |
| May 7, 1938 | The Fisherman and His Soul | Oscar Wilde | [William N. Robson?] | William N. Robson | | |
| May 14, 1938 | Melodrams | various [poems read by David Ross] | | William N. Robson | Bernard Herrmann | music composed 1934-35 |
| May 21, 1938 | Ecce Homo | Pare Lorenz | | Pare Lorenz | Bernard Herrmann | |
| May 28, 1938 | Bury the Dead | Irwin Shaw | William N. Robson | William N. Robson | | |
| June 4, 1938 | Tranga Man, Fine Gah | John S. Carlisle | | John S. Carlisle & William N. Robson | | |
| June 11, 1938 | Surrealism | Ernest Walsh & George Whitsett | | Davidson Taylor | Bernard Herrmann | Also music by Erik Satie & Virgil Thomson |
| June 18, 1938 | Reunion | John Hines Jr. & Guy Della Cioppa | | William N. Robson | Columbia Univ. Singers conducted by Lyn Murray | |
| June 25, 1938 | Never Come Monday | Eric Knight | Stephen Fox | William N. Robson | Charles Paul & Bernard Herrmann | Repeat from April 23, 1938 |
| July 2, 1938 | The Constitution of the US | | | William N. Robson | | |
| July 9, 1938 | The Red Badge of Courage | Stephen Crane | Margaret Lewerth | Norman Corwin | Charles Paul | Corwin's debut on CBS |
| July 16, 1938 | The National Headliners | | | William N. Robson | | |
| July 23, 1938 | Murder in the Cathedral | T. S. Eliot | George Zachary | George Zachary | Bernard Herrmann | |
| July 30, 1938 | Tristam | Edwin Arlington Robinson | Stella Reynolds | William N. Robson | Wagner (Cond. BH) | |
| August 6, 1938 | The Devil and Daniel Webster | Stephen Vincent Benét | Charles R. Jackson | Earle McGill | Bernard Herrmann | |
| August 13, 1938 | | | | | | |
| August 20, 1938 | | | | | | (unidentified show) |
| August 27, 1938 | Pelleas et Melisande | | | | | |
| September 1, 1938 | | | | | | (unidentified show) |
| September 8, 1938 | | | | | | (unidentified show) |
| September 15, 1938 | Outward Bound | Sutton Vane | Charles R. Jackson | Martin Gosch | Bernard Herrmann | |
| September 22, 1938 | He Doubles in Pipes | Hilda Cole | | William N. Robson | | |
| September 29, 1938 | The Lighthouse Keepers | Paul Cloquemin | | Norman Corwin | | |
| October 13, 1938 | Brushwood Boy | Rudyard Kipling | Eustace Wyatt | Earle McGill | Bernard Herrmann | |
| October 20, 1938 | The Happy Journey to Trenton and Camden | Thorton Wilder | | | | |
| October 26, 1938 | Air Raid (Rehearsal) | Archibald MacLeish | | William N. Robson | | |
| October 27, 1938 | Air Raid | Archibald MacLeish | | William N. Robson | | |
| November 3, 1938 | Poetic License | Norman Corwin | | Norman Corwin | | |
| November 10, 1938 | A Drink of Water | Wilbur Daniel Steele | Max Wylie | Martin Gosch | Bernard Herrmann | |
| November 17, 1938 | Luck | Wilbur Daniel Steele | Margaret Lewerth | Martin Gosch; Betsy Tuttle, producer. | Bernard Herrmann | |
| November 24, 1938 | Beauty and the Beast | | Robert A. Simon (libretto) | | Vittorio Giannini (Howard Barlow, conductor) | opera |
| December 1, 1938 | The Giant's Stair | Wilbur Daniel Steele | Charles R. Jackson | Earle McGill | Bernard Herrmann | |
| December 8, 1938 | Man With a Gun/ Experiments in Music/ Fall of Jericho | Sound engineer: Al Span | | Charles Vanda | Simeone, music director | 3 pop songs in 2nd half of show |
| December 15, 1938 | A Trip to Czardis | Edwin Granberry | James & Elizabeth Hart | | Bernard Herrmann | |
| December 22, 1938 | Bread on the Waters | Arch Oboler | | Earle McGill | Alexander Courage | Sound: D. Gaines |
| December 29, 1938 | Crosstown Manhattan | Travis Ingham, Norman Corwin | | William N. Robson | Alfred Newman, Mark Warnow | |
| January 5, 1939 | Orphan Ego | Arnold Manoff | Leslie Ubrach | William N. Robson | Bernard Herrmann | |
| January 9, 1939 | Forgot in the Rains | William Merrick | | Brewster Morgan | Bernard Herrmann | |
| January 16, 1939 | Mr. Whipple is Worried | James Frederick | | Brewster Morgan | Bernard Herrmann | |
| January 23, 1939 | Prophecy | | | | Bernard Herrmann | |
| January 30, 1939 | Now Playing Tomorrow | Arthur Laurents | | William N. Robson | Bernard Herrmann | |
| February 6, 1939 | Do Not Open For 5000 Years | William N. Robson | | William N. Robson | | |
| February 20, 1939 | Nine Prisoners | William March | Brian J. Byrne | Earle McGill | Bernard Herrmann | |
| February 27, 1939 | Jury Trial | Elizabeth & James Hart | | William N. Robson | | |
| March 6, 1939 | The Winged Victory | David Redstone | | Brewster Morgan | | |
| March 13, 1939 | In the Train | Frank O’Connor | Hugh Hunt | Brewster Morgan | Bernard Herrmann | |
| March 20, 1939 | A Letter from Home | Charles R. Jackson | | Nila Mack | Bernard Herrmann | |
| March 27, 1939 | Pepito Inherits the Earth | | | | | |
| April 3, 1939 | Rendezvous with Kit Carson | | | | | correct date? |
| April 10, 1939 | They Fly Through The Air With The Greatest of Ease | Norman Corwin | | Norman Corwin | | |
| April 17, 1939 | Ear Essay On Broadcasting | | | | | |
| April 24, 1939 | Seems Like Radio Is Here to Stay | Norman Corwin | | Norman Corwin | Bernard Herrmann | |
| May 1, 1939 | Wet Saturday | Lee Anderson play based on short story by John Collier | Margaret Lewerth | William N. Robson | Bernard Herrmann | |
| May 8, 1939 | Wild Man | | | | | |
| May 15, 1939 | Law Beaters | | | | | |
| May 22, 1939 | | | | | | |
| May 29, 1939 | Private Throgg | | | | | |
| June 5, 1939 | Highboy | | | | | |
| June 12, 1939 | Handful of Dust | | | | | |
| June 19, 1939 | Journalism in Tennessee | Mark Twain | Norman Corwin | | | |
| June 19, 1939 | Salesmanship | Mary Ellen Chase | Norman Corwin | | | |
| July 6, 1939 | The Half-Pint Flask | Dubose Heyward | Irving Reis | William N. Robson | [Victor Young?] | |
| July 13, 1939 | Never Come Home | | | | | |
| July 20, 1939 | John Brown's Body | Stephen Vincent Benét | Norman Corwin | Norman Corwin | Leith Stevens | One hour broadcast |
| July 27, 1939 | A Trip to Czardis | | | | | |
| August 3, 1939 | The Ghost of Benjamin Sweet | | | | | |
| August 10, 1939 | Radio Play | William Saroyan | | | | |
| August 17, 1939 | A Drink of Water | | | | | |
| August 24, 1939 | Meridian 7-1212 | Irving Reis | | Irving Reis | | |
| August 31, 1939 | Apartment to Let | Dorothy Parker Alan Campbell | | Brewster Morgan | George Lehman (composer) Bernard Herrmann (conductor) | |
| September 7, 1939 | So This is Radio | | | | | |
| September 14, 1939 | The Use of Man | | | | Bernard Herrmann | |
| September 21, 1939 | Now It's Summer | Arthur Kober | | Earle McGill | | |
| September 28, 1939 | The Fall of the City | Archibald MacLeish | | Irving Reis | [no music] | remake broadcast from California featuring Orson Welles and 500 University of Southern California students |
| October 12, 1939 | Wake Up and Die | Frank Lovejoy | | | | Story of alarm clocks |
| October 19, 1939 | William Ireland's Confession | Arthur Miller | | | | |
| November 2, 1939 | Blennerhasset [Conductor: Howard Barlow] | Norman Corwin | | Music direction Howard Barlow; production: George Zachary | opera music by Vittorio Giannini, libretto by Philip Roll | The opera deals with the fortunes of two Americans who become involved in the revolt of Aaron Burr, a famous Revolutionary conspirator, whose plot was mapped at the home Harman Blennerhassett on the Ohio River island named after him. |
| November 16, 1939 | A Letter From Above | Florence & Ben Vine | | | | |
| November 23, 1939 | A Circular Tour | W. W. Jacobs | | | | |
| November 27, 1939 | The Half-Pint Flask | Dubose Heyward | | | Leith Stevens | Repeat from August 29, 1937 |
| November 30, 1939 | The Wonderful Day | Frank Gould | | Earle McGill | Alexander Semmler | |
| December 7, 1939 | As You Like It | | | | | |
| December 14, 1939 | Story in the Dogtown Common | Joseph Liss | | | Alexander Semmler | |
| December 21, 1939 | Mr. Cohen Takes a Walk | | | | | |
| December 28, 1939 | Higher Than A Kite | Brewster Morgan | | [Brewster Morgan?] | | |
| January 11, 1940 | My Heart Is In The Highlands | | | | | |
| January 18, 1940 | Fannie Kemble | Joseph Liss and Louis Lantz | | | | |
| January 25, 1940 | Heavently Rest | Milton Wayne | | Earle McGill | | |
| February 1, 1940 | Coals to Newscastle | from J. P. Marquand's “Timothy Dexter” | Charles Monroe | Brewster Morgan | | |
| February 15, 1940 | Double Exposure | Maurice Level, Étienne Rey | | | Alexander Semmler | Adaptation of Grand Guignol play |
| February 22, 1940 | An Autobiography of an Egotist | | | | | |
| February 29, 1940 | The Great Microphone Mystery; Ellery Queen Mystery: The Case of the Mysterious Leap Year | | | | | |
| February 29, 1940 | Leaping Out of Character | | | | | From CBS Program book: “Announcers are to be singers; singers and directors turn actors; actors take a hand as musiciansî |
| March 7, 1940 | My Client Curley | Lucille Fletcher | Norman Corwin | | Raymond Scott | Repeated April 4, 1940 |
| March 14, 1940 | Three Original Playlets by KNX staff | | | | | Writing, acting, producinto and music has been placed in the hands of elevator operators, ushers, stenographers, tourist guides, receptionists, mail clerks and other employed in the non-glamorous jobs connected with radio. |
| March 21, 1940 | The Taming of the Shrew | Shakespeare | Joseph Gottlieb and Irvin Graham | Phil Cohan | | “specially written modernized-musical”; music & lyrics by Gottlieb & Graham |
| April 4, 1940 | Sunset Boulevard | William N. Robson | | William N. Robson | | |
| April 18, 1940 | Three Strikes, You're Out | Vernon Delston | | Brewster Morgan | | |
| April 25, 1940 | America Was Promises | Archibald MacLeish | | George Zachary | Nicholas Nabokov | |
| May 5, 1940 | The Honest Captain | Knowles Entrikin, Howard Breslin | | Earle McGill | Charles Paul (organ) | Workshop switched to Sundays |
| May 12, 1940 | A Day in Manhattan | A. M. Sullivan | | Earle McGill | | |
| May 19, 1940 | Carlos Chavez conducts a program of Mexican music | | | Carlos Chavez,various | | |
| June 2, 1940 | The Dark Valley | W. H. Auden | | Brewster Morgan | Benjamin Britten | |
| June 9, 1940 | No Complications | | | | | |
| June 16, 1940 | | | | | | pre-empted |
| June 23, 1940 | In April Once | | | | | |
| June 30, 1940 | The Man With the One Track Mind | | Lucille Fletcher | | | |
| July 7, 1940 | The Cock-Eyed Wonder | | | | | About baseball |
| July 14, 1940 | The Fish Story | Joseph Gottlieb & Irvin Graham | | Phil Cohan | | musical |
| July 21, 1940 | Canvas Kisser | | | | | |
| July 28, 1940 | Carmilla | Sheridan Le Fanu | Lucille Fletcher | Earle McGill | | |
| August 18, 1940 | The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins | E. B. White-Dr. Seuss | Nila Mack & Stuart†Aynes | Nila Mack | Charles Paul | |
| August 25, 1940 | I Followed The Seals | | | | | |
| September 1, 1940 | Alf, The All-American Fly | Lucille Fletcher | | Earle McGill | Bernard Herrmann | |
| September 8, 1940 | The Major Goes Over The Hill | | | | | |
| September 15, 1940 | Mr. Charles | | | | | |
| September 22, 1940 | Well Look Who's Here | | | | | |
| September 29, 1940 | The Pussy Cat And The Expert Plumber Who Was A Man | Arthur Miller | | Brewster Mogran | Charles Paul | |
| October 6, 1940 | They Also Serve | | | | | |
| October 27, 1940 | Fulton Fish Market | | | | | |
| November 3, 1940 | The Constitution | | | | | |
| November 10, 1940 | Bela and Dita Bartók | | | | Béla Bartók | |
| November 17, 1940 | I Get The Blues From Revues | | | | | |
| November 24, 1940 | The Dynasts | Thomas Hardy | W.H. Auden? | | Benjamin Britten | |
| December 1, 1940 | And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street | Dr. Seuss | | Nila Mack production | | |
| December 8, 1940 | The Trojan Women | Euripides | Edith Hamilton, translator | | Virgil Thomson | |
| December 15, 1940 | The Symptoms of being 35 In The Fog | | | | | |
| December 22, 1940 | The Plot to Overthrow Christmas | Norman Corwin | | Norman Corwin | | Repeat of Corwin's original Dec. 25, 1938 performance |
| December 29, 1940 | Dr. Johnson in Scotland | | | | | |
| January 5, 1941 | Love In 32 bars | | | | | |
| January 12, 1941 | Cassidy and the Devil | | | | | |
| January 26, 1941 | This Is From David | Meridel Le Sueur | Draper Lewis, Jack Fink | Clinton Johnston | Alexander Semmler | |
| February 2, 1941 | Help Me Hannah | | | | | |
| February 9, 1941 | Dress Rehearsal | | | | | |
| February 16, 1941 | A Crop of Beans | Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings | Draper Lewis | Guy della Cioppa | | |
| February 23, 1941 | Wings of an Eagle | | | | | |
| March 2, 1941 | Roadside | Lynn Riggs | Alan M. Fishburn | Earle McGill | Burl Ives | |
| March 9, 1941 | Still Small Voice | | | | | |
| March 16, 1941 | Cassidy and the Devil | | | | | |
| March 23, 1941 | Out of the Air | | | | | |
| March 30, 1941 | The Creation The Congo | Vachel Lindsay's "The Congo" poem; "The Creation" was a dramatization of a paraphrase of James Weldon Johnson's book of "Negro poems and verse" "God's Trombones" | | George Zachary | | Had been scheduled for an earlier broadcast, but which were postponed until March 30. |
| April 6, 1941 | The Rocking-Horse Winner | DH Lawrence ad. Auden & James Stern | | Guy della Cioppa | Benjamin Britten | |
| April 13, 1941 | Glory Machine/The House/Brooklyn Cantata | | | | | |
| April 20, 1941 | The Reluctant Dragon | | | Nila Mack | | |
| April 27, 1941 | Jason Was A Man | | | | | |
| May 4, 1941 | 26 by Corwin: Radio Primer | Norman Corwin | | | Lyn Murray | |
| May 11, 1941 | 26 by Corwin: Log of the R-77 | Norman Corwin | | | Lyn Murray | |
| May 18, 1941 | 26 by Corwin: The People, Yes | Norman Corwin | | | Earl Robinson | |
| May 25, 1941 | 26 by Corwin: Lip Service | Norman Corwin | | | Larry Adler | |
| June 1, 1941 | 26 by Corwin: Appointment | Norman Corwin | | | Lyn Murray | |
| June 8, 1941 | 26 by Corwin: The Odyssey of Runyon Jones | Norman Corwin | | | Alexander Semmler | |
| June 15, 1941 | 26 by Corwin: A Soliloquy to Balance the Budget | Norman Corwin | | | | |
| June 22, 1941 | 26 by Corwin: Daybreak | Norman Corwin | | | Lyn Murray | |
| June 29, 1941 | 26 by Corwin: Old Salt | Norman Corwin | | | Lyn Murray | |
| July 6, 1941 | 26 by Corwin: Between Americans | Norman Corwin | | | Alexander Semmler | |
| July 13, 1941 | 26 by Corwin: Ann Rutledge | Norman Corwin | | Norman Corwin | Alexander Semmler | Ann Was An Ordinary Girl |
| July 20, 1941 | 26 by Corwin: Double Concerto | Norman Corwin | | | Paul Berlanger | |
| August 3, 1941 | 26 by Corwin: Descent of the Gods | Norman Corwin | | | | |
| August 10, 1941 | 26 by Corwin: Samson | Norman Corwin | | | Bernard Herrmann | |
| August 17, 1941 | 26 by Corwin: Esther | Norman Corwin | | | Lyn Murray | |
| August 24, 1941 | 26 by Corwin: Job | Norman Corwin | | | Deems Taylor | |
| August 31, 1941 | 26 by Corwin: Mary and the Fairy | Norman Corwin | | | Lud Gluskin | |
| September 7, 1941 | 26 by Corwin: Anatomy of Sound | Norman Corwin | | | [no music] | |
| September 14, 1941 | 26 by Corwin: Fragments from a Lost Cause | Norman Corwin | | | Alexander Semmler | |
| September 21, 1941 | 26 by Corwin: The Human Angle | Dore Schary | Norman Corwin | Norman Corwin | | |
| September 28, 1941 | 26 by Corwin: Good Heavens | Norman Corwin | | | Lyn Murray | |
| October 5, 1941 | 26 by Corwin: Wolfiana | Thomas Wolfe | Norman Corwin | Norman Corwin | Alexander Semmler | |
| October 12, 1941 | 26 by Corwin: Murder in Studio One | Norman Corwin | | | Alexander Semmler | |
| October 19, 1941 | 26 by Corwin: Descent of the Gods | Norman Corwin | | Perry Lafferty | [no original music] | repeat due to Corwin illness |
| October 26, 1941 | 26 by Corwin: Odyssey of Runyan Jones | Norman Corwin | | | | repeat performance |
| November 2, 1941 | 26 by Corwin: A Man with a Platform | Norman Corwin | | | Lyn Murrary | |
| November 9, 1941 | 26 by Corwin: Psalm for a Dark Year | Norman Corwin | | | Alexander Semmler | |
| November 16, 1941 | Gator Boy | | | | | |
| November 23, 1941 | The Life of a Careful Man | | | | Virgil Thomson | |
| November 30, 1941 | Double Ugly | | | | | |
| December 14, 1941 | Citizen For Tomorrow | | | | | 150th anniversary of Bill of Rights |
| December 21, 1941 | Miracle In Manhattan | | | | | Duffy's Tavern |
| December 28, 1941 | Who Wants To Be Born These Days? | | | | | New Years show – baby organization |
| January 4, 1942 | The Fish on the Bathroom Floor | | | | | |
| January 11, 1942 | Free Speech | | | | | |
| January 18, 1942 | At The Sign Of The Lark | | | | | “rare books” |
| January 25, 1942 | The Man Without A Shadow | Werner Mishel | | Charles Vanda | Alexander Semmler | Lurene Tuttle plays all 7 female parts |
| February 1, 1942 | Jenny, The Bus Nobody Loved | | | Perry Lafferty | | Bus rebellion |
| February 8, 1942 | Portrait of Jennie | Robert Nathan | George D. Griffin | Earle McGill | Lehman Engel | Santos Ortega |
| February 15, 1942 | Opus For A Lute And A Liar | | Nila Mack | Nila Mack | | |
| February 22, 1942 | Plot for Mr. Greenberg | | | | | |
| March 1, 1942 | When the Bough Breaks | | | | | |
| March 8, 1942 | The Test | Joseph Ruscoll | | | | |
| March 15, 1942 | A Child's History of Hot Music | William H. Brown Jr. | | | William H. Brown Jr. | |
| March 22, 1942 | Green Receipt | | | | | |
| March 29, 1942 | Solomon and Balkis | | | | Bernard Rogers | opera |
| April 5, 1942 | Miracle of the Danube | | | | | |
| April 12, 1942 | He Should Have Stood In Elba | | | | Nathan Van Cleave | Ted de Corsia |
| April 19, 1942 | Play Ball | Louis Hazam | | | | |
| May 3, 1942 | Looking For Susie | | | | | |
| May 10, 1942 | Flight To Arras | | | | | |
| May 17, 1942 | Good Morning Mr. Crumb | | | | | |
| May 24, 1942 | Midnight Blue | James Caleb Beach | | Perry Lafferty | Nathan Van Cleave | About blues |
| May 31, 1942 | The City Wears a Slouch Hat | Kenneth Patchen | | Les Mitchel | John Cage | |
| June 7, 1942 | The Little One | | | | | |
| June 12, 1942 | Ritchie The Great | Jerome Lawrence, Robert E. Lee | | John Dietz | | James Monks, Joan Allison |
| June 19, 1942 | It Couldn't Happen To A Nicer Kid | | | | | |
| June 26, 1942 | History Is On The March/1812 | | | | | |
| July 3, 1942 | Tag number 1-184-463 | | | | | Skip Homier |
| July 6, 1942 | Broadcast from the Year 1812 | | | | | |
| July 13, 1942 | Let Me Tell You About My Operation | | | | | |
| July 20, 1942 | Someone Else | Lucille Fletcher | | Earle McGill | Bernard Herrmann | Arr. of music by André Campra |
| July 27, 1942 | Reveille Pass | | | | | |
| August 3, 1942 | Laughter For The Leader | | | | | |
| August 10, 1942 | Music Of The Mountains | | | | | |
| August 17, 1942 | All Out For Comedy | | | | | |
| August 24, 1942 | Hold ‘Em Yale | | | | | |
| August 31, 1942 | All Out For Comedy – Columbia Sketchbook | | | | | |
| September 7, 1942 | Café Society – Stars | | | | | |
| September 14, 1942 | Portrait of Jennie | Robert Nathan | | | | |
| September 21, 1942 | My Kid Brother | | | | | |
| September 28, 1942 | Florrie And The Country Green | Abraham Polonsky | | Marx Loeb | Ben Ludlow | |
| October 12, 1942 | Rebirth of Barrow’s Inlet | | | | | |
| October 19, 1942 | Remodeled Brownstone | Lucille Fletcher | | John Dietz | | Martin Gabel |
| November 8, 1942 | Proclaim the Morning | | | | | |
| July 25, 1944 | El Capitan and the Corporal | | | | | |
| March 23, 1946 | Act of Faith | Irwin Shaw | Charles S. Monroe | John Dietz | Alexander Semmler | |
| April 13, 1946 | Joe Peabody's Dream | | | Betty Todd | Charles Paul | |
| April 21, 1946 | The Playroom | Howard Rodman | | John Dietz | Norman Lockwood, conducted by Fred Steiner | |
| April 28, 1946 | A Study in Bells | Bogart Carlaw | - | Albert Ward | Norman Lockwood, conducted by Fred Steiner | |
| April 28, 1946 | The House | André Maurois | - | Albert Ward | Norman Lockwood, conducted by Fred Steiner | |
| May 19, 1946 | The Trial | Franz Kafka | Davidson Taylor | Guy della Cioppa | Bernard Herrmann | |
| August 25, 1946 | The Path and the Door | Les Crutchfield (first radio script) | | William N. Robson | George Antheil (first radio score) conducted by Cy Feuer | |
| September 15, 1946 | The Last Delegate | Margaret Lewerth | | John Dietz | Robert Stringer | |
| September 21, 1946 | The Midnight Town Is Full of Boys | Fletcher Markle | | Albert Ward | Fred Steiner | |
| October 5, 1946 | Studies in Jealousy | | | Irving Hopkins | Alexander Semmler | |
| October 12, 1946 | Brewsie and Willie | Gertrude Stein | | Richard Sanville | Robert Stringer | |
| November 2, 1946 | Lee Fountain Comes of Age | Joseph Ruscoll | | Werner Mishel | Alexander Semmler | |
| November 23, 1946 | The Tin Whistle | Richard Burdick | | Carl Beyer | Everett Helm | |
| November 30, 1946 | It Shouldn't Happen to a Man | Madelyn Pugh | | William N. Robson | Maurice Carlton, conducted by Wilbur Hatch | |
| December 7, 1946 | The Parade | Morris Markey | Margaret Lewerth | Richard Sanville | Robert Stringer | |
| December 14, 1946 | Alice and the Echo | Jean L. Meyer | | John Becker | Alexander Semmler | |
| January 11, 1947 | The Surreal Marriage | Elwood Hoffman | | Werner Mishel | Alexander Semmler | |
| January 25, 1947 | The Natural History of Nonsense | Bergen Evans | Joseph Ruscoll | Albert Ward | Ben Ludlow | |

## Sources

* Bannerman, R. LeRoy (1986). Norman Corwin and Radio: The Golden Years. University, AL: University of Alabama Press. ISBN 978-0-8173-0274-0.
* Barnouw, Erik (1968). A History of Broadcasting in the United States. Vol. 2, The Golden Web: 1933 to 1953. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-500475-5.
* Coulter, Douglas, ed. (1939). Columbia Workshop Plays: Fourteen Radio Dramas. New York: Whittlesey House, McGraw-Hill Book Company.
* Kosovsky, Robert (2000). Bernard Herrmann's Radio Music for the Columbia Workshop (PhD). Graduate Center, City University of New York.
* McGill, Earle (1940). Radio Directing. New York: McGraw-Hill Co.
* Wylie, Max (1939). Radio Writing. New York: Farr and Rinehart.