AUBURN – Singer Dennis St. Pierre hopes that soon “happily ever after” will be more than just a classic ending for a children’s story.

He and his wife, Sine, have created Happily Ever After Productions, which hopes to bring back radio theater for children.

“This came about after numerous discussions over how little radio is available for children, paired with a growing concern over the amount of time children spend in front of the TV and videos,” St. Pierre said.

The couple are working with Maine Public Radio and National Public Radio to bring their “Theater of the Mind” radio program to the airwaves.

They believe it will be the beginning of sharing popular children’s literature with youngsters all across Maine.

Harking back to the days when radio was the centerpiece of American family entertainment, Happily Ever After Productions looks to create serialized versions of classic children’s stories.

“Each script, which the production company will write, will be adapted from old fairy tales from the likes of Hans Christian Andersen and Aesop,” St. Pierre said. “We chose these stories due to the many layers, their great morals and their familiarity to audiences.”

Each night, the chosen story would pick up right where it left off, giving listeners a chance to form emotional and creative attachments to the programs.

In addition, each story would have authentic sound effects and its own music, performed by Maine artists.

Reading gap

St. Pierre cited educational studies that show the importance such programming could have in a child’s development.

“Everyone knows that reading to and with kids is important, but according to recent studies, many parents stop this after a child learns to read independently,” St. Pierre said.

The ages of 4 to 10 are the most critical in a child’s development, yet many of those kids aren’t getting the benefit of being read to, he said.

“Maybe hearing these stories performed in this way will cause children to say, I want to check out that book.'”

The St. Pierres wanted to create a program that was accessible to all children. Radios are inexpensive and listening to programming is free so radio theater would be available to all children, regardless of social or financial class.

Fund-raiser

To benefit the production company’s efforts, “A Casual Evening of Music,” will be held at 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 19, in Kirk Hall on the Central Maine Community College campus.

St. Pierre will perform Broadway songs, vocal standards and operatic pieces. Paul G. Caron, who recently completed a stint as musical director for Community Little Theatre’s “Man of La Mancha,” will provide piano accompaniment.