What is a Sound Designer?
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I am often asked this question by a variety of interested people. Students, friends, family, colleagues, the barber, the taxi driver after press night drinks...
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The short answer
The short answer is that theatre sound designer's are responsible for everything the audience hears in a production. How the sound designer carries out that role is largely dependent on the style of the show, the venue, and the vision of the director. The requirements for Sound Design on a commercial West End musical can be dramatically different to a piece of new writing in a studio style theatre.
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Naturally, my more detailed answer to this question will be shaped by my particular style of work and my own professional experiences. I came to sound design for theatre via a meandering journey of directing and writing my own work, working as a venue technician and recording studio engineer and later bringing my artistic and technical practices together in the form of Sound Design. I bring this love of storytelling and text together with a varied and creative interest in sound technology. What I love about making theatre is the constantly collaborative process with other creative team members, the technical staff, and the performers.
The Longer Answer...
For those wanting a more detailed explanation of the process
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Pre-production
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I am normally approached by a director or producer in the early stages of a productions life. The show may still be casting and, if working in the world of new writing (which I often am), the script may still be dramatically different to the version we will work with in technical rehearsals.
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At this stage I will have conversations with the director around their vision for the piece and conversations with the producers and production manager around the budget and technical resources available for the show. This sets the artistic, financial and technical parameters that my sound design will be required to work within.
Reading the script
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Before I knew what a sound designer was, I had aspirations of becoming a theatre director and dramaturg. From a young age I was enamoured with scripts and how these texts could prompt the creation of an entire imagined world onstage. I still love that moment of sitting down with a script for the first time and discovering the characters, stories and dramatic structure that a writer has dreamt up for us.
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On first reading of the script I take the text at face value. Not stopping to make any notes on ideas about the sound world or potential technical challenges. Wherever possible this first reading ideally takes place when I can read the script in one or two sittings completely uninterrupted.
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In conjunction with conversations around the directors vision for the production and the design intentions of my fellow creative team members I can begin to formulate my own brief for the sound design of the show.
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Sourcing and making sounds
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After reading the script and discussing the directors vision for this particular production, I return to the script and begin to make intuitive annotations on tones and ambiences suitable to the storytelling and mood of a scene. I also make a note of any sound effects, voice recordings or vocal effects that are suggested in or inspired by the text.
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These notes are then transferred to a QLab file where I will begin to create a unique library of sounds specific to this production.
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Attending rehearsals
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I like to spend as much time as possible in the rehearsal room. I enjoy working closely with the director and actors to find solutions to the staging and storytelling that uses sound, either in subliminal or more overt ways.
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When I can't be in rehearsals I will keep a close eye on daily rehearsal notes and keep in close communication with the director about how things are evolving in the room. I like to keep a draft QLab file updated in the room for the Deputy Stage Manager or Operator to fire some cues when rehearsing certain moments that will impact the actors performance.
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At a bare minimum I like to attend the first day of rehearsals for the meet & greet followed by the first read through with the full cast. And return to the rehearsal room for the last week of rehearsals as the company begin to run scenes or acts in their entirety.
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System design
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The creative ambitions of my sound design inform the technical infrastructure that will be required for the production. I will specify the required loudspeakers, mixing desks, microphones, effects units and other pieces of equipment. I will work closely with the production manager to ensure that we are remaining within budget, making best use of existing resources in the venue and working in accordance with the show's Green Book Policy.
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Technical rehearsals
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Once the sound system, along with lights and set are loaded into the theatre and rehearsals have concluded, we begin to go through the show in a systematic fashion adding all technical elements into scenes and transition moments. These sessions are normally ran by Stage Management as most, if not all cues will be called by the Deputy Stage Manager 'on the book' - i.e. a copy of the script that has all technical cue numbers and cue points marked up.
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It's an exciting moment for the whole company and creative team, as concepts become reality. For me, as the sound designer I get to leave behind a basic stereo rehearsal room sound system and play with a much wider range of possibilities for spatialisation and creative manipulation of the sound design.
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Previews
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The next step in the process, after tech'ing and a dress rehearsal (or two - if we're lucky!) is the first public performances, known as Previews. This is the opportunity to evaluate the decisions you made in rehearsals and tech, reflecting on whether your concept is working for the performance now there is a live audience.
I like to move around different parts of the theatre for subsequent preview performances to understand how different audience members might experience the sound design. The creative team traditionally gather in the auditorium for notes with the director after the preview show and return the next day to work through any changes that need to be made before the next show. Normally sound designers join a production ahead of rehearsals starting and stay with the show right up until press night - traditionally the official opening night of the show's run and usually a fun night in the bar after the curtain call!
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Remounts, transfers, and tours
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I am careful to document the production in as much detail as possible so as to make any future remounts, transfers or tours of the show as smooth an experience as possible. You never know when you might get the call or email to say a show is coming back, along with a welcome relicense fee for your design!
