Hofstra Drama 20 – Sound for the Theatre

February 23rd, 12:10pm–Breslin Hall, Room 111

Farthest Away: The hum of the microphones and buzz of the HVAC system.

Medium Range: The squeaking of the chairs moving.

Closest: The soft rasp professor’s voice coming in through the speaker above me. The soft click of the MAC keyboard directly behind me.

Sound Level: Everything was at a pretty low level, except for the squeaking chairs. They would cut everything out  and be the only thing you could hear the second the chair moved.

Sound Activity: The hum of the microphones and buzz of the HVAC were consistent and did not change. The squeaking chairs were harsh and quick every two to three minutes. The soft click of the keyboard would be consistent for two minutes, and then go away and come back a couple minutes later at the same level. The sound of the professor’s voice was inconsistent, as he would pause in the middle of a sentence and occasionally speak louder or softer; he also moved around the room which would either bring his voice closer to me or farther away.

Description: Orthodox

Essential Sounds:

• Professor’s Voice
• Squeaking Chairs
• Buzz of the HVAC

Date: February 22 – 2:00pm

Location: My Backyard

Far Sounds: bell tolling, planes flying by overhead, incomprehensible music from a car radio down the street.

Medium Sounds: car honking, truck rumbling past, birds calling to one another, cars whooshing by, icy sleet falling.

Close Sounds: keyboard clicks, breathing in and out, sleet hitting the ground, chairs, tables nearby.

Sound Description/Level: as the sound of sleet intensifies, it brings the other sounds in and out of focus. The planes and cars increase in volume as they get closer, then gradually fade away. Every sound seems one-and-done, a little snippet of something new in the world before it disappears again into the wash of sleet falling. 

One Word: transient

Most Important Sounds: sleet, cars driving past, bird calls.

1- DATE-TIME-LOCATION of the sound environment

— Sit, close eyes and allow the sounds around you to envelope you, listen for all of the sound in your environment.

February 22nd, 11:57AM, Emily Lowe Hall room 216.

2- Identify and list the sounds farthest away from you.

Furthest: David Henderson talking aloud (teaching), chairs squeaking and clinking against metal parts.

3- Identify and list the sounds at a medium range from you.

Medium: Heater exerting a mid-range hum, students whispering, mice clicking, students typing on computers. 

4- Identify and list the sounds closest to you (You can include internal sounds if noticed or relevant).

Closest: My own breathing, swallowing, student behind me sniffling.  

5- Describe the general sound level and amount of sound activity.

Sound level is varied with one vocal booming sound accompanied by many smaller sounds of technology (clicking, typing, etc.) The amount of sound activity comes in waves, when David stops talking the room is mostly silent. Otherwise his voice takes up the most space. 

6- Assign a one word description to the “sound environment”.

One Word Description: Lethargic 

7- Select and list 3 sounds which are essential to the sound environment. Note: you need to try and figure out what sounds make up this environment and which of those sounds need to be there for the feeling of the environment to stay intact.

Essential Sounds: 

1. David’s teaching voice
2. Heater hum 
3. Mice/computer clicking and typing

Location: 224 Lenox living room  Time: 10 PM

Farthest Away Sounds:

• people talking and laughing upstairs
• footsteps upstairs
• music playing upstairs

Mid Range Sounds:

• sink running in kitchen next door
• plates and bowls clanking in the sink
• bedroom door opening in closing

Closest Sounds:

• roommates sitting around table talking and laughing
• chairs being scooched on floor
• tv playing wii music

Sound Level:

When I started my observation I was the only one in the room and was mostly hearing everything upstairs that was very faint and far away and then as it went on more and more people joined in the living room and then we started playing games and it progressively got louder and more lively

Descriptors: lively but calm

Essential Sounds

• laughing
• music
• wii music

1. February 12, 12:00pm, Film Set in a Dinner

2. People chatting in a corner about the next shot for set, cars driving down the street, the hum of the heater running

3. The hum of the appliances (mainly fridge), actors practicing their lines, people walking by me and the squeaking of their shoes

4. The rubbing of my jacket in the booth, my heavier breathing and stuffy nose

5. It can get loud when people are debating in the corner or when they are walking by, but it’s generally at a medium level. The most consistent sound level is the appliances running.

6. Hectic

7. Fridge hum, director talking with actors, steps of people frantically walking to grab/move equipment

1. February 10th, Enterprise Dorm, 3rd floor
2. Farthest Away: Cars driving really far away
3. Medium Range: An airplane getting lower slowly, the trees outside, some people talking outside
4. Closest: A toilet flushing down the hall, people walking on the floor above me, me typing, a door opening down the hall
5. Sound Level: Very quiet. The sounds that happen are very low
6. Sound Activity: Each close sound happens very occasionally. There’s not a lot of quick movement, and the sounds don’t happen often. Not much activity at all
7. Description: Gentle
8. Essential Sounds: The cars driving, the doors opening and closing, and the trees moving quietly outside

February 10th, 1:00am–Estabrook Dorm, 12th Floor

Farthest Away: The sound of cars vrooming a couple streets away.

Medium Range: People screaming outside of HofUSA on their way home from party. The Night Shuttle speeding over speed bumps and the squeak of the breaks as it rolls through a stop sign.

Closest: The cutting in and out sound of my roommate’s phone that’s playing TikToks and the hum of my refrigerator that sits at the foot of my bed.

Sound Level: The sounds in the dorm were quiet and would be drowned out from the voices outside that seemed to echo as they spilled into my dorm.

Sound Activity: The sound was inconsistent and came in loud spirts. There would be random screams that would out of nowhere and then it would go back to the quiet sounds from my roommate’s phone and the refrigerator.

Description: Lively

Essential Sounds:

• Quiet Phone
• Drunk Girls’ Screams
• Night Shuttle’s Squeaking Breaks

February 9th, 10:00PM, Bill of Rights dorm, 10th floor. 

Furthest: Cars moving outside on the Hempstead Turnpike, at least 10 stories down from the current location. 

Medium: Someone is playing classical music from a speaker in the bathroom next door, shower water running, pipes making a gentle hissing noise. 

Closest: Upstairs dorm neighbor is making short thumps, heater creaking and exerting a low hum. Focused, intent breathing coming from me. 

Sound level is generally soft and muffled. The amount of sound activity is somewhat limited, the room being confined to faint sounds of machinery amid far away driving and muted classical music. 

One Word Description: Subdued. 

Essential Sounds: 

1. Heater humming
2. Music playing from speaker inside the bathroom
3. Cars outside

2/9/23, 8:50pm

Couch in the Living room at my off campus house

Farthest sounds – revving car engine, fridge humming, rustling wind in the front trees, plane rumbling overhead

medium sounds – doors opening up the stairs, fire station alarm (from the station behind our house), running faucet, radiator humming, footsteps upstairs, creaking floorboards

closest sounds – clicking of my laptop keys, housemate chewing her dinner, footsteps, styrafoam food container scraping, tin foil crinkling

sound description/level – when I started my observation, it was relatively quiet and the loudest thing was the clicking of my keyboard, sitting in the room by myself. My housemates got home, and the room was flooded with sporadic yet controlled noise levels of everyone doing their own night routines, settling down for the evening. the room really ebbed and flowed.

descriptor – at ease

Essential sounds – chewing, footsteps, clicking of my laptop keys

Date: Feb. 9th, 2023, 6:08pm

Location: A/V office in the Student Center

Far sounds: Doors opening and closing, people talking downstairs and/or outside, a car outside driving by

Medium sounds: Coworker eating his dinner, coworkers typing, plastic water bottle being opened and drunk from

Close sounds: My laptop fan, chairs creaking, my own typing, people shifting positions in their chairs

Sound description/level: It is very quiet in here. The loudest sound to me is my laptop fan at a constant hum, which is not that loud. Occasionally something does happen – a few minutes ago the phone rang – but since I started listening, it’s been extremely uneventful.

One word: quiet

Most important sounds: Laptop fan, people typing, people shifting in their seats