Bindlepunks Blog

I’ve been a sound designer for several years, and one of my common fantasies is to have an infinite sound library at my fingertips during any given moment, so that I can play that one song that someone’s comment reminded me of, or a Three Stooges audio clip when someone fumbles brilliantly. Bindlepunks gave me the opportunity to briefly touch this fantasy.

During the rehearsal process of Our American Myth: A Theatrical Experiment, we used what we’ve dubbed Live Sound Design. During the many viewpoints sessions, I watched for opportune moments to find music that fit what the actors were doing in their open viewpoints. Furthermore, I could shape the energy of a viewpoints session by changing the music’s tempo or genre.

One of the more brilliant moments came when the actors were doing lots of slow motion running, and I turned on Chariots of Fire, followed by Thriller, which immediately turned them all to zombie mode.

This is not, of course, how the actual performances will be run, but it allowed me a much more in-depth view into what the energy of the show needed. Usually, I get a designer run-through, and then I show up during tech week with all the sound ready, hoping the energy didn’t change in those weeks I was absent. Because I was in the room for every rehearsal, I was able to grok the show and it’s sound-design needs.

I hope that my design will complete the show and add that special theatricality that separates a rehearsal from a performance. Come and see the show, and you can let me know in person if you enjoyed the results of Live Sound Design.

-Nicholas J. Ferraro

  Stage manager, sound designer, and political consultant