Hofstra Drama 20 – Sound for the Theatre

Royston’s voice is only ONE of the interesting things you can hear in class.

3/19/15, 3pm, Breslin Hall

Farthest: Cars outside in parking lot, a couple guys laughing about something in the hallway, someone’s leg shaking out of restlessness in the front row.
Medium: Royston talking about Expressionism, someone’s iPod (which they forgot to turn off) playing an undiscernible yet audible song from their bag, a row in front of me.
Closest: My chair squeaking (UGH), Anna and Kelly (both sitting next to me) trying to giggle as quietly as possible, Paige’s pen writing on paper.

Royston’s voice remained at a consistent level, and all the surrounding noises fluctuated from nearly silent to about half the volume of Royston.

One Word Description: Restless.

Three sounds: Royston lecturing, chair squeaking, stifled giggling

1- 3/3/15 -2:12-Emily Lowe Hallway

2- I can hear people speaking in the drama office and I can also hear the geese on the green outside.
3- People are talking in the psibrary and people are basically shouting in the drounge.
4- The door keeps opening and closing as people enter and exit emily lowe, people are walking up and down the stairs.
5- Very loud today.
6- Busy
7- The talking coming from the drounge and psibrary with the occasional door opening.

1. Bits 12:30 February 25th

2. Farthest-refrigerator humming, slight murmurs

3. Medium-shoes clacking on ground, a door opening and shutting

4. Closest-a very loud group screaming, the sound of chewing from my friend, bottle as it hits the table

5. Sounds all mush and blend together to create an obnoxious roar

6. Three essential sounds-loud group, shoes clacking, door opening and closing

7. One word-annoying

1- 2/26/15 11:30pm Emily Lowe Design Studio

2- Taylor speaking on the other side of the room and the door’s constant opening and closing.
3- Patrick is talking and cutting things. You can hear his ruffling with paper.
4- The sound of my paintbrush as I paint.
5- There is a lot going on right now and hard to pick out any one sound. There is also music playing.
6- Busy.
7- Music, talking, door’s opening and closing.

1. Walking home 2/19/2015

2. Farthest – cars on the turnpike, cars on Westbury Ave grinding their tires through salt and ice, a NICE bus starting up and pulling away, car horns in the far distance

3. Medium range – boots crunching on the snow, my friends walking ahead of me talking, slipping of shoes on the ice, a thud as someone falls down, and subsequent assorted curses

4. Close range – i become intensely aware of my own labored breathing, my waterproof coat zip zip zipping as i walk, my keys rattling in my backpack, the zippers on my backpack cling-ing together

5. A modern-day arctic exploration. The sounds of the ice and snow crunching and cracking, as well as the sounds my friends and I made as we struggled to walk home really contributed to the “Long Island Ice Hell” of it all.

6. One word – frigid

7. Three essential sounds – snow crunching, ice scraping, people breathing

Golden Theatre, 7:02pm, 2/19/15: A 7pm performance of “A Delicate Balance” on Broadway

Farthest: Sirens from outside, the soft tread of actors’ feet on the stage behind the curtain. A woman down in the orchestra section seems to fancy herself a big star and laughs heartily so the whole room hears her.

Medium: A woman twenty feet away from us asking quite loudly if the people sitting in front of her can “sit back a bit, please.” An impatient usher giving directions to the bathroom. Hushed chitchat about what the show might be about, or about what celebrities might be in attendance tonight.

Closest: The stranger on my left is taking his sweet time unwrapping his Kit-Kat and the sound is driving me CRAZY. Michael gushes to me over how excited he is to see Glenn Close onstage. The person directly behind us has forgotten to turn his phone off — it rings loudly, and he scrambles to find it buried deep in his bag.

Sound levels: generally people trying to keep their volume down and not draw attention to themselves as the show was just about to begin. last-minute arranging and chitchat before the houselights go down.

One word: Tingling

3 essentials: Unwrapping a candy bar, hushed chitchat, cell phone ringing & subsequent fumbling.

1. Axinn Library 2/19/15, 1:45

2. Farthest-Air running, birds chirping, murmured voices, elevator dinging

3. Medium-rattling of the window due to wind, doors opening and closing, heavy exasperated sounding footsteps

4. Closest-bag crackling, vibrations of someone’s phone on the table

5. Everything is very sporadic, some sounds such as the air are continuous, others like the voices, bag crackling and door opening and closing interrupt the quiet.

6. One Word-unrest

7. Three essential sounds-bag crackling, footsteps, and the rattling of the window

1- 2/18/15 11:30 Spiegel (Club Meetings)

2- People in the very back of the theater whispering. (I sit on the stage)
3- People keep moving around and the chairs make noise. Also, I can hear people from the other two clubs preparing what they will be saying while our club (USITT) is talking.
4- Nic is talking about USITT business right next to me.
5- Nics voice is loud but the rest of the room is quiet.
6- Attentive.
7- Presenter speaking, sound of chairs moving, people whispering.

1. 2/8/15, 9:50am: On our way to city class, the corner of 29th Street & 6th Ave

Farthest Sounds: Cars honking way down the street, muffled music from inside the venues we pass. A woman way ahead scolding her dog for taking the liberty of pooping on the sidewalk.

Medium Sounds: A crazy (homeless?) man shouting about (what, to his mind, was) social justice. His voice is hoarse and pitched much higher than his optimal range because he is so furious and intent on expressing it. My classmates who have fallen a bit behind are giggling about some gossip they don’t want the rest of the group to hear.

Closest Sounds: My, and my other classmates’, hurried footsteps on the sidewalk, with occasional crunching on ice/snow that isn’t yet melted. (The ones who, like me, desperately need Starbucks before class are making a pointed attempt at picking up our feet so we can get there on time). Jack talking about hypochondria and laughing.

Sound Level: Not nearly as loud as NYC gets, but we defy decibel expectations for a group of students heading to class on a Saturday morning.

One-Word Description: Bustling

Three essential sounds: Homeless man shouting, cars honking, footsteps.

1. 2/11/15 8:12 Pm, Vander Poel Dorm

2. Farthest-airplane passing above, elevator creaking open

3. Medium-refrigerator running, door slamming outside my room, something possibly falling on the floor in the room above mine, weird whoosh noise coming from unknown location.

4. Closest-the hum of fish tanks filter, phone vibrating on the desk

5. Sound levels that are the farthest away are not constant, the ones nearer are pretty consistent and at medium levels of loudness. Overall though its a pretty quiet time.

6. One Word-Peaceful

7. Three essential sounds-hum of fish tank, weird whoosh noise, airplane passing above.