The Radioactive Frog Juncture

***The Radioactive Frog Juncture*** is a sketch comedy radio show that premiered on March 1, 2022 and airs weekly on WJMU 89.5 FM. Like *Owl Stretching Time*, it was created by Frank Macaluso, who also produces the series, and features performances by students of Millikin University.

## Background

In November 2021, WJMU General Manager Sam Meister appeared as a guest on the WJMU program *The Faculty Lounge.* There, he discussed the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic had had on the station, with one of the results being a temporary dip in the amount of student-produced programming on the station.

Frank Macaluso, a Millikin alum who had been staying in Decatur for a while after finishing his education, just so happen to have tuned in to hear the interview. Having missed working on a large creative project, he decided to approach Meister with a proposal for a new sketch comedy series to add to the station's number of original programs.

When Meister gave him the green light, Macaluso began writing scripts and recruiting cast members. He called on quite a few of his old mainstays, managing to secure the involvement of John DeAngelo, Jamie Gamonez, Rebecca Jaffe, Michellina McNaughton, and Owen Peterson. Macaluso also brought in some new voices for the program, including Nate Earley-Ochwada, Liz Fetzner, Taylor Hammer, Hannah Magy, and Reagan McDaniel.

*The Radioactive Frog Juncture* was originally intended to be a winter break replacement series, airing during the five weeks when students would be away from campus. However, complications arose during production—Gamonez lost her voice the day before her scheduled recording session and McNaughton's car required emergency attendance—resulting in the show's premiere being postponed until the Spring 2022 semester. As such, the majority of the material featured in the series' first four episodes was actually recorded in December 2021. Just before the decision was made to postpone the series, Macaluso had recruited Jocelyn Neidballa to appear in the series, having her step in to many of the roles originally written for McNaughton.

Production resumed in late February 2022, after Macaluso recovered from a cold. With some segments needing to be rewritten, and with some of McNaughton's parts and all of Gamonez's parts left unrecorded, Macaluso called his cast back into the studio. However, Gamonez had been cast in a Millikin Mainstage production of *Romeo and Juliet*, and was subsequently unavailable. Macaluso recruited another WJMU mainstay, Bryn Sentnor, to take on her roles. McNaughton was available to record for two of the first four episodes; Jocelyn Neidballa covered all her parts in Episode 1, while guest star Benny Zielke was brought in at the last minute for Episode 4.

In late March 2022, production began on further episodes of the series. Liz Fetzner had, by this point, transferred to another college, and would thus be unavailable. In addition, Reagan McDaniel and Michellina McNaughton had each decided to step down from the series. To fill in the voids they would leave. Macaluso recruited two more voice actors to join the cast of the show—Math Club member Zack Scott, and yet another WJMU mainstay: Tate Heinle.

## Format

*The Radioactive Frog Juncture*'s format differs quite a bit from that of its predecessor, *Owl Stretching Time*. To start with, *The Radioactive Frog Juncture* has no designated host or announcer. Instead, ensemble members will sometimes introduce sketches, and the end credits are read by a different cast member each week. In fact, sketch introductions are often done away with altogether, with the show simply going from one sketch to another.

Style-wise and structure-wise, *The Radioactive Frog Juncture* borrows a lot from the British radio comedy series *I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again*, of which Macaluso is a fan. This contrasts with *Owl Stretching Time*'s more traditional, *Carol Burnett Show*-like format. In addition, the material, according to Macaluso is "more anarchic and surreal" than the sketches featured on *Owl Stretching Time*.

Commercial parodies are less frequent on *The Radioactive Frog Juncture* than on *Owl Stretching Time*, utilized only in every other episode rather than in every episode. According to Macaluso, this is because he has found it harder to write them as time has gone on, since he doesn't watch as much television as he used to.

## Cast

* John DeAngelo
* Nate Earley-Ochwada
* Liz Fetzner (Episodes 1–4)
* Taylor Hammer
* Tate Heinle (Episode 5 on)
* Rebecca Jaffe
* Hannah Magy
* Reagan McDaniel (Episodes 1–4)
* Michellina McNaughton (Episodes 2 and 3)
* Jocelyn Neidballa
* Owen Peterson
* Zack Scott (Episode 5 on)
* Bryn Sentnor