Theatre Sound Design

I have worked as a sound designer most recently at Childsplay Theatre Company (Tempe, AZ), Gulfshore Playhouse (Naples, FL), Center Theatre Group (Los Angeles, CA), Stray Cat Theatre Company (Phoenix, AZ), Odyssey Theatre Company (Los Angeles, CA). Here are some samples of my designs:

Octopus - by Steve Yockey
Stray Cat Theatre (Phoenix, AZ)
Directed by Ron May

At this moment we see one of the characters speaking from the bottom of the ocean just before he encounters an untimely monster of peril. The water sounds build and envelop until the monster is revealed. I wanted to create a monster sound that was both familiar and unfamiliar. I layered this with low end lion growls, high end bird shrieks and then built in my own mid range howls to round it out and had some of the speakers placed beneath audience seats for more effect.
 

12th Night of the Living Dead - by Brian McInnis Smallwood
Stray Cat Theatre Company (Phoenix, AZ)
Directed by Cale Pascual

This play took place in a world broken down and then pieced back together by an army of zombies. The idea for the sound was to incorporate broken metal, found objects and eerie harmonies to capture this fragmented environment and its creepy inhabitants. I wrote an original song “Nocturne” used during the shipwreck scene which was choreographed in slow motion, when the characters were transforming into zombies and a brother and sister were separated by a shipwreck.

Getting Near To Baby - by Y York
Childsplay Theatre Company (Tempe, AZ)
Directed by Andres Alcala

Most of this design was acoustic instruments and voice reflective of the small town in North Carolina where this play takes place. Much of the melodies and occasional lyrics mirror the plays' themes of loss, grief, acceptance and hope.

Art - by Yasmina Reza
Gulfshore Playhouse (Naples, FL)
Directed by Kristen Coury

Art was an exploration in rhythm and tension following the relationship of three friends as they question friendship, art, and who they are. I wanted to capture the space and questions each of the characters faced and highlight the revelations with these percussive pieces.

God Of Carnage - by Yasmina Reza
Gulfshore Playhouse (Naples, FL)
Directed by Cody Nickell

This is a sample I designed for the very beginning of the play. I wanted to use current events, sampling various news stories each of these different characters might listen to, all woven together creating bit of chaos. It represents the fabric upon which each of these characters throughout the play unravel and destroy.

Tomato Plant Girl - by Wesley Middleton
Childsplay Theatre Company (Tempe, AZ)
Directed by Patricia Snoyer Black

This is a sample that begins with a song I wrote to bookend the beginning and end of the play and to set it up as a celebration for the discoveries that lie ahead in this small town garden. The sounds then shift and represent four elements (air, sun, water, earth) as the themes of nature, nurture, neglect and friendship are explored.  For air I created string melodies, for sun I used horns for brightness and life, for water I layered percussive instruments and bells, and earth is represented by a deep vibrating didgeridoo from which the main character, Tomato Plant Girl is born.

The Imaginators - by Dwayne Hartford
Childsplay Theatre Company (Tempe, AZ)
Directed by Patricia Snoyer Black
 

The soundscape for this play was expansive as we see the imagination come to life as the three main characters turn their garage into new worlds. This is a sample that explores sounds from outer space, a monster the characters have to tackle, and a dramatic shift of gathering courage to ultimately face their fears.