Sound Design & Composition for Band, theatre & dance My craft is part of a decidedly collaborative field in all its many forms making it possible to enter the field from one direction, become acquainted with the mediums and methods of other collaborators and, almost incidentally, become intimate with and productive wielding an evolving set of new tools and practices bringing, besides their own reward, insight into the profession one started with. As such I represent a singularly unique amalgamation of experience in the performing arts. Statistics can't begin to convey the potential wealth I represent as a resource to any local theater/live entertainment community I reside within.
As my work is currently ongoing this page is in flux. Fullerton 1973-1981Theater is my life, a purpose served through devotion to my craft which I've honored in practice. What we do is important and it's for everyone, to some extent. I am proud to have been a part of the tradition and consider it an essential social service within any community, integral to the betterment of the human experience. If you can't say the same for your chosen path I urge you to read and see plays for possible explanations why not.
The first play I saw was the musical Little Mary Sunshine at age 5. The first actress that left me speechless was the lead in Calamity Jane, age 8. The first one I wanted to kiss played Bet in Oliver, age 14. The best friend I've ever had, to this day, was waiting for me in the booth at the Magic Theatre, age 22. I was in the life for life from the start. As it should be, some of what we produced for the stage was just plain silly and some of it was poignantly profound with all the shades imaginable in between, just like the people who make it and the people who watch it and the people who don't watch it, all reflected in all the characters who have ever been presented on a stage for an audience willing to have their world views challenged and their understanding of themselves and others expanded.
I reckon it's the best available tool for generating a common frame of reference among people so an informed conversation between varying opinions can be fruitfully discussed to everyone's advantage, after seeing a drama unfold before everyone. In theater we collaborate to illustrate dramatically insights into more than peaceful coexistence. It's a dusty tool.
San franciscoTerry Hunter & Nat Fast
After landing in San Francisco summer 1981 I began by volunteering at The One Act Theatre on Mason between Geary and Post then getting paid by the Magic Theatre in Building D at Fort Mason in the autumn, soon became a Sound Op at the Magic (eventually squatting in the Northside Booth for four months with managements blessing violating many laws, rules and regulations) and was introduced to Terry Hunter and Nat Fast, a Sound Design team responsible for much of the work people heard in the (then) thriving new and experimental theater and performing arts scenes around the Bay Area throughout the 1980's. And so began my apprenticeship in Theatrical Sound Design while working as an Op and Engineer and all the other available hats to wear in any theatrical production at an unparalleled time of abundant opportunity at a nexus of innovation and determination in a robust community entrenched in the continuum. True story. I was taught the fine art of cutting 1/4" tape and introduced to the many layers of theatrical sound that any production may include if a director is so inclined to use sound to the fullest. Just sound effects alone offers weather, remote ambient, near ambient, in scene/human, in scene/object, inner space... and then there's music as the statement of the emotional subtext, all the ways it can be complimentary and contrary. I also learned that sound was typically the one area of design that most people didn't notice unless something went wrong and it drew attention. Good sound design is so well integrated that an audience isn't particularly aware of how much it contributes to the mood of a play or the dynamics of an actors performance. It is an Art and I was taught by masters who practiced internationally. I was noticed. This link goes to a page with reviews and examples of selected Sound Designs. The One Act Theatre 1981-1986
After volunteering to build sets long enough to prove I was reliable my first paying gigs were for Sound Op, light hang and some set building, all things I'd been doing off and on for 8 years. There was a second space called One Act Two in the basement of a church next door. It was devoted to work-shopping brand new plays by emerging playwrights and I soon began designing sound for the bills which usually entailed three one act plays running each night, each with different directors and sonic requirements and none with a budget for sound, all doing their best to elevate the art by pushing the boundaries of what belongs on a stage and why.
Holly Kern stands out as a playwright I knew at the time to be in awe of and we became friends working on several scrips of hers. Holly was a Digger in the 60's and wrote wonderful semi-autobiographical scripts. Theater at this level is where important history/culture can be preserved if it can be sustained, those who lived it telling various tales of it to those who can't help but long to know, our audience who we serve.
My first job was being Sound Op for a new play that had just run in Marin at the Playwrights Festival, Victims of War directed by Robert Woodruff and featuring Roxanne Rogers. I finished the Fall semester at City College (where I was introduced to Conceptual Physic by Paul Hewitt while getting more music theory that later came in handy) and then gave in to trying to work full time as an operator/engineer as much as possible.
I became staff Sound Engineer about the same time I moved into the Northside booth which produced an amazing document of an act of trust, moved out after Fool For Love opened and continued until I said something to annoy the Production Manager. I returned later to design. The Lorraine Hansberry Theatre 1984-1985
Before long I started getting a fair amount of freelance work and became the resident designer for a few different theaters, most notably The Lorraine Hansberry Theatre which gave me my first opportunity to include my own music in a production as they launched a national landmark in theater.
Studio 4 @ 440 Potrero
And for a spell I also lived in a warehouse space with three choreographers and other assorted artists/musicians/innovators which unleashed my composition skills. I was working without the constraints of genre or unfettered freedom giving me an opportunity to work intensely with very different personalities, all pushing the boundaries of contemporary dance theater, most notably The High Risk Group under the direction of Rick Darnell with an Honorable Mention of Anah-K Coates and Julia Tell who were all recent graduates from Bennington College.
Group6 & SUNZ of Alien Teknowledgy 1986-1996
Glas Haus/Anon Salon/Climate Theater Corporate Product Demonstration
Las Vegas 2009-2013The Westwind House Concerts 2009-2012
Venice Beach/West hollywood 2017-2018
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Sound Design & Composition Credits
1979-2018
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U.K. Underdog
Baby Doll Nuts & Chews: A Reading of One Acts U.K. Underdog Becky Shaw Becky Shaw Tongue of a Bird Taming of the Shrew Triptych Triptych The Sex Habits of American Women Next In Line Schrödinger's Girlfriend Schrödinger's Girlfriend Mimzabim Summertime Bronte Summertime (staged reading) SUNZ Songs From The Hot Zone Dr Faustus Lights The Lights Dr Faustus Lights The Lights Bake Sale Bake Sale SUNZ Abductee Outreach Program Bake Sale Bake Sale Scenes From An Execution Scenes From An Execution Marisol Marisol Orestes Home Rule Top Girls 100% Concentrated Dance Takeover Kitchen Scraps Actual Sho New Danger Canyon Pass Big Canyon Dream A Sense of Where You Are No End Of Blame Actual Sho Actual Sho Character Of The Fish Child's Play Shameless Reality World The Longo Dances The Sandman Offensive Women Beware Women Saved The Dreamer and the Runner La Ronde All Night Long L.B.J. Air Guitar The Third Life Of Grange Copeland Spell #7 Livin' Fat Livin' Fat Trial Of Conscious Home Accidental Death of an Anarchist Sylvia Plath: A Dramatic Portrait Dream on Monkey Mountain Science Fiction on Stage Daddy San Joaquin Blues Playwrights Theater Taps at 8:15 The Fire Bugs |
Sound Designer
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Ann Bronston/Steve Spiro, Los Angeles CA
Ann Bronston/PRT Co-Op, Venice CA Paul Gersten/PRT Co-Op, Venice CA Ann Bronston/PRT Co-Op, Venice CA Ann Bronston/PRT Co-Op, Venice CA Ann Bronston/PRT Co-Op, Venice CA Cynthia Fujikawa/PRT Co-Op, Venice CA Subterranean Shakespeare The Magic Theatre The Magic Theatre The Magic Theatre Exit Theater The Magic Theatre The Magic Theatre Subterranean Shakespeare/La Vals The Magic Theatre The Magic Theatre The Magic Theatre SUNZ of Alien Teknowledgy Fifth Floor/Intersection Fifth Floor/Intersection Fifth Floor @ SOMAR Fifth Floor @ SOMAR SUNZ/Anon Salon Fifth Floor @ CELL Fifth Floor @ CELL Fifth Floor/Bravua Fifth Floor/Bravua Eureka Theater/Life On The Water Eureka Theater/Life On The Water Fifth Floor/Eureka Theater Fifth Floor/450 Geary Theater College Of Notre Dame Anah-K Coates Bill Talen/Life On The Water Anah-K Coates/Studio 4 George Coates/Herbst Theater,SF Rick Darnell Rick Darnell/Studio 4 Rick Darnell/Studio 4 Petra Franklin/Santa Fe NM Encore/450 Geary Theater George Coates/SUNY, Purchase George Coates/The Kennedy Center Anah-K Coates/Studio 4 Anah-K Coates/Santa Cruz Julia McCamy/Santa Cruz Julia McCamy/Studio 4 Rick Darnell/New Perf. Gallery Rick Darnell Encore Theater/450 Geary Theater Encore Theater/450 GearyTheater Charles H. Duggan Encore Theater/450 Geary Theater Encore Theater/450 Geary Theater Lorraine Hansberry Theater Lorraine Hansberry Theater Lorraine Hansberry Theater Lorraine Hansberry Theater Lorraine Hansberry Theater Lorraine Hansberry Theater Trial/The Lab Lorraine Hansberry Theater Eureka Theater/Theater Artaud Avatar Theater/Theater Artaud Lorraine Hansberry Theater Exploratorium The Julian Theater One Act Theater One Act Theater One Act Two Colby College, Waterville, ME. |
World Premier
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These days, when able, I put my idle time to use crocheting to redeem the time as I endeavor to pursue a next phase of my career in the performing arts centered in Las Vegas, something I wish I had been doing when I was first in theater for all the afghans , hats and scarfs I could have made for everyone and their cats.
To see more regarding my career in theater as a designer, composer and performer check out my clippings and examples page My Life in Others Words. For a complete listing of all the things I've done involving information presentation including Sound Design and Composition check out My Life as a List: 2015-1979 and My Life as a Participant. The short version is My Life as a Chart. To go the extra mile I have My Life In The Craft: A Brief Narrative telling the story roughly from beginning to now.
To see more regarding my career in theater as a designer, composer and performer check out my clippings and examples page My Life in Others Words. For a complete listing of all the things I've done involving information presentation including Sound Design and Composition check out My Life as a List: 2015-1979 and My Life as a Participant. The short version is My Life as a Chart. To go the extra mile I have My Life In The Craft: A Brief Narrative telling the story roughly from beginning to now.