Saving the Station

Saving the Station—School of Contemporary Dancers

The pandemic taught us lessons at every stage. The need for community remained essential. Music. Connection. Communication. All became integral.

Jim Priebe steps behind the microphone for his Fringe debut. While some audience members may not be acutely aware of the navigational loopholes, nonprofit bureaucracy, and red tape involved in leading a community FM radio station, Priebe recounts them all.

As someone involved with several community-run organizations, much of this resonated with me. While this is ultimately a story of ambition and perseverance, listening to a sole narrator describe the many people he “had a falling out with” feels deliberate, and leaves little room to understand those relationships from another voice.

Incorporating voiceovers, archival clips, or segments from the radio station itself could have better immersed the audience in the world Priebe worked so hard to build.

Likewise, spending more time exploring the people who helped create and sustain the station would have resulted in a more rounded narrative.

One man does not a station make. Priebe’s narrative seems to disagree.

Their voices could have added depth and balance to a story that clearly comes from a place of passion. At its heart, Saving the Station is a sincere tribute to community broadcasting and the determination required to keep a local institution alive against considerable odds.

Stephanie Adamov