Theater Articles
Here's the Lowdown on Sound
By Katherine Quinby
Sound in the theater. We are all familiar with how important a soundtrack is to a film. Sound design for a theatrical production enhances the audience’s experience in the same way: it reinforces the mood or atmosphere and setting; it focuses attention; it underscores the emotional theme of the presentation.
Music and sound affect us by evoking memories, places or emotions. Because so many of us have become familiar with the uses of music through films, sound design is an area in which someone new to the technical side of theater can contribute with a little training.
Sound for the theater takes many forms and is broken into three general categories:
- sound reinforcement
- music
- sound effects
Sound reinforcement (a fancy way of saying someone needs a microphone) is rarely used by the Players because of the small size and relatively good acoustics of Center/Stage.
In the past theatrical sound designers traditionally limited music to pre-show, intermission and post-show instrumental pieces (except, of course, for musicals). It was predictably light and upbeat for comedies, somber and dark for tragedies. But that’s no longer typical. Some productions are fully scored with music or created sounds. Some characters have specific musical themes, and some playwrights specify a particular song varied throughout the play to signal important shifts. Looking for the music that just sounds right can lead into all sorts of new musical adventures.
Sound effects, such as telephones, doorbells and thunder, may be created live offstage by a stagehand or recorded and played over the sound system. They can be the focus of attention for all on the stage and in the audience or played so low they have a subliminal effect. The possibilities are limited only by the imaginations of the designer and director. After all, the purpose of technical theater design is to communicate with the audience to create a truly magical experience.
Katherine Quinby, when not writing articles, spends her leisure hours designing lighting for Evergreen Players productions, and is very comfortable standing on high ladders thank you very much.