Sound Design for the Theatre

Sound Design for the Theatre
Functions of Sound

Functions of Sound in the Theatre
o Functions and Conventions of Sound
1. Acoustic – ability to hear the actor
2. Reinforcement – amplify the actor, singer, orchestra for audibility
3. Atmosphere – or ambience, creates mood or aural environment
4. Framing – Preshow, Intermission and Curtain Call effects and music,
can establish time period, location, mood and style
5. Transition – Bridge scenes, suggest changes of time or location
6. Underscore – reinforces psychological content of moments, not
‘heard’ by the actors, may function as a leitmotif or theme
7. Spot Effects – momentary sounds to highlight a specific moment,
can be practical (phones, thunderclaps) or stylistic
8. Featured Music – program music in an opera or musical or music
required by the script, may follow any of the above conventions
9. Voice Over – recorded speech, represents thoughts or presents info

Functions of Sound in the Theatre
o Aspects of Sound Cues
1. Volume
2. Fade – change of volume, includes time to complete change
3. Focus – relation of the cue to the action, voices and environment
4. Mix – relation of separate sound elements in a cue
5. EQ – Equalization, altering the frequencies present
6. Location – where the sound comes from, speaker location
7. Movement – the transition of a sound between locations
8. Cueing – placement of the cue in the script or score

Functions of Sound in the Theatre
o The Intent of Sound Cues
1. Why is the cue there, what is its function?
2. Is the sound associated with a particular character?
3. What is the psychological intent?
4. What is the period, time and location?
5. Interaction with the actors and the world of the play
6. Reinforce the action onstage
7. Illustrate and support emotion
8. Create focus
9. Dramaturgy – Leitmotif and foreshadowing

Functions of Sound in the Theatre
o Styles of Sound Design
1. Realistic – sounds function as close to reality as possible
Strong attention paid to factual detail, toilet flushes, music from
practical (functioning) radios, phone rings; clearly represent reality
May use preshow and intermission music, but little underscore
2. Cinematic – variation on realism
Extensive use of ambience and environment, very detailed
Involved musical underscoring, leitmotifs for characters
3. Representational – sparser form of cinematic realism
Environments introduce scene and then fade out or
use single element to establish locale
Music is more specifically used

Functions of Sound in the Theatre
o Styles of Sound Design
3. Representational – sparser form of cinematic realism
Environments introduce scene and then fade out or
use single element to establish locale
Music is more specifically used
4. Abstract – sounds reflect the artist’s interpretation of the world
Can be impressionistic or expressionistic, design is conceptualized
Sounds are distorted, unnatural or used in a different context
5. Absurd – elements are incongruous or surreal