In our everyday lives, the sounds that we hear have a profound effect on how we interact with our environment. Sound in theater has a reputation for being overlooked when it comes to conveying a compelling story. Many directors and playwrights don't even consider the potential impact that sound may have on a production. This is primarily due to sound's role as an invisible element; one that should go unnoticed, if it is done right. The perfect musical score can move an audience and turn a climactic moment into a truly emotional one for the viewer - but they shouldn't leave the theater saying, "that was a great song." They should say, "that was a great moment." A quiet production may feel unnatural and anxious. Conversely, sound can lose its impact quickly if a production is saturated with it. The balance of presence and anonymity is the subtle dance of the sound designer.
Many in the industry seek nothing more of sound than transitional music or a practical effect (i.e., the script says "a phone rings" so there should be a phone ringing sound here). But People's Light has taken purposeful strides to embrace our auditory "taste" buds and go above and beyond the practical implementation of sound for theater. This mission is very apparent in PLTC's production of Shipwrecked, currently running on our Steinbright stage. Shipwrecked is the art of storytelling at its core. The script is rich and the acting is superb, but the technical elements (sound and light) go to great lengths to make the production unique and engaging. Shipwrecked utilizes one of the oldest forms of sound for theater - foley. Foley is the reproduction of everyday sounds by a live artist, typically used in the film industry for adding sounds in post production. Shipwrecked's talented cast of three perform over half of the sounds in the play themselves to an array of cleverly concealed microphones that are scattered throughout the set. In addition to the foley elements, musical themes help drive the story. The sound designer, Daniel Perelstein, wrote only a few pieces of original music but orchestrated them in many variations. This way he was able to introduce new locations while, at the same time, subtly guiding the audience's collective emotions by echoing previous scenes.
Our next production, A Wrinkle in Time, looks to continue PLTC's commitment to excellence with an ambitious soundscape that focuses on unconventional vocal music, signal processing and live mixing.
More to come...
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