Photo by Deb Gau Cast members Shamus Mahon and Stacy Abraham perform in one segment of a live radio hour by the Marshall Area Stage Company and Marshall Radio.

MARSHALL — There weren’t any backdrops or costumes at the Marshall Area Stage Company’s latest show. But community members still made a Martian invasion come to life, just using voices and sound effects.

On Friday and Saturday, MASC and Marshall Radio teamed up to present an hour of live radio drama, including “Alien Invasion,” a musical parody of the famous “War of the Worlds” radio broadcast from 1938. “Alien Invasion” took the story of Martians landing on Earth, and set it in small-town Minnesota.

The show would also be broadcast at a later date, on KMHL 1400 AM.

MASC and Marshall Radio have been doing radio dramas together since 2007, said director Paula Nemes.

Presenting a radio play is different in some ways from performing a stage play. One big difference was that there were no sets — just a row of microphone stands for the cast.

“You just get up to the mic, speak clearly and read,” Nemes said.

But cast members said it’s still challenging acting a role through voice alone. Melanie Oldenkamp said she had to exaggerate her voice and emotions to really get the character of a nagging wife in part of the show.

“I thought I was nagging, but Paula asked me to do more,” Oldenkamp said.

Most cast members had more than one role during the radio hour, and used different voices and accents to portray different characters. Cast members Bob Schwoch and Rose Hanson each had scenes where they performed both sides of a conversation. Hanson played both a radio interviewer and a pun-loving interviewee at the same time.

“That was really hard. Part of it is differentiating the voices,” Hanson said. “Also, one character is annoyed, while the other thinks she’s really funny.”

A unique part of the live radio shows was the foley corner, where Addison Walker, along with Nemes and cast members, used everyday objects to make all the sound effects. Walker showed how a basin of water was used to make splashing noises for a story about a fisherman. A metal pot and lid made the sound of the alien spaceship hatch opening, while pairs of boots where used for making footstep sounds.

“Ms. Paula helped me with the footsteps,” Walker said.

Her favorite sound effects were the musical stings, she said.

Over the years, KMHL listeners have had positive responses to the MASC live shows, said Keith Wright of Marshall Radio.

“For some, it’s how they were introduced to radio way back when,” Wright said of radio plays.

In the days before television, radio dramas were a popular form of entertainment. Today, radio drama has become more of a lost art. But it’s a different kind of programming, so people are still interested in hearing it, he said.