Hofstra Drama 20 – Sound for the Theatre

Date: February 23rd, 2022

Location and Time: Student Center, 11:07 am

Far Sounds: Metal lids clanging onto pots, espresso machine steaming, beeping of Starbucks ovens, ice pouring into cups, door closing, chip bag crinkling open, Starbucks drink being shaken in a shaker/ice rattling against the plastic shaker, light jazz music playing in Starbucks lounge

Medium sounds: Chairs scraping on floor, laptop keys clacking, keys jangling, unwrapping of plastic utensils, group of friends laughing, shuffling of feet on the floor, jacket zipping closed

Close sounds: Michelle and Mackenzie discussing our script ideas, trash bin rolling across the ground, group of friends talking behind me, chair slamming on ground, jacket being placed on back of chair, backpack unzipping, popping of container opening

Sound Description/Level: Very loud, distracting, difficult to pinpoint a specific sound on its own/constant overlapping of sounds

One Word: Cacophony

Most Important Sounds: Michelle and Mackenzie discussing, light jazz music in the Starbucks lounge, groups of friends talking behind me

Date: February 24th, 2022

Location & Time: Bits & Bytes, 7:59pm

Far sounds: People cleaning tables, keys jingling, voices coming through walkie-talkies

Medium sounds: Chairs scraping the floor, people talking at tables

Close sounds: ceiling fan whirling, typing, air conditioner running

Sound description/level: What you might expect to find in a cafe or other public place at night; not deserted but not busy. The sound is clear but not overwhelming.

One word for the “sound environment”: suburban

Important sounds: talking, fans whirling, AC running

February 11th, 3:24 PM

Location: My house’s upstairs living room, on the couch facing the front of the house

Farthest: Car engines revving, a slow siren, a motorcycle revving, a car horn 

Medium: Downstairs washing machine spinning and clanking (getting louder, speeding up, then stopping, repeatedly), cars driving past the window in front of me, kids shouting in front of the house, the downstairs’ door keypad being entered, the door opening and hitting the wall, a person downstairs walking into the kitchen and then turning on the kitchen sink

Closest: My phone vibrating against the couch, my Fitbit vibrating, the refrigerator humming loudly for spurts of time

General sound level: The environment feels cyclical, with bursts of sound coming in and out, before coming back into a stillness, and then repeating

Sound environment: Unsettled

Defining sounds: The washing machine clanking, the refrigerator humming loudly, and the cars driving by the front window

Date: February 11th, 2022

Location and Time: Hempstead, NY (home) 3:24pm

Far Sounds: Car coming to a screeching stop, Hofstra bus driving around campus, car driving by my house, the house creaking from someone moving around upstairs, car engines revving at set of lights that are close by my house, police siren, someone honking their horn, truck backing up

Medium Sounds: People throwing wood on top of other wood, construction car moving, people talking about construction, front door closing, Mishka (dog) running down the stairs, wind chimes from my next door neighbors chimes, geese flying over, fire department alarm that is going off that sounds like the world is ending

Close Sounds: Leaves rustling on the ground, wind making the branches on the trees shake, tree sounding creaky, birds chirping in the trees, someone dropping stuff off in the kitchen, wind making the screen door shake and hit into the sliding glass window

Sound Description/Level: calm, this is what it normally sounds like outside, especially with the wind. Very homey vibes and relaxing

One Word: serene

Most Important Sounds: Leaves rustling, wind chimes going, car engine revving, wood being thrown on top of other wood, end of the world sounding alarm going off

Date: February 11, 2022

Location and Time: ABP on Hofstra Campus, 3:05 pm

Far Sounds: clanging of replacing soup containers, ABP door squeaking open, bathroom door opening (heavier metal sound)

Medium Sounds: Sounds from video playing on woman’s phone sitting at a table farther away, plastic bottle dropping on the ground, keys clanging 

Close Sounds: rustling unwrapping of sandwich paper, pair of people sitting at booth to my right talking, laughing, and signing, radio music playing over speaker, chair scooting closer to table, Nicole talking, me chewing (internal), twisting water bottle open and closed, metal water bottle hitting and sliding on the table, Nicole’s fingers tapping on table, my feet tapping on the floor 

Sound Description/Level: Fairly loud, though there aren’t that many people in here they are engaged in enthusiastic conversations, the music is playing quite audibly

One Word: Lively

Most Important Sounds: Music, people talking, and doors opening/closing

Date: February 11th, 2022

Location and Time: Hempstead, NY (home), 2:08pm

Far sounds: wind blowing through the tree, neighbor talking on phone, car passing on the street, leaves rustling/falling outside, car horn honking, front door creaking open, alarm system saying “front door”, front door locking

Medium sounds: refrigerator humming, thumping of feet upstairs, side door being unlocked and opened, side door being shut, lock beeping, door locking, creaking upstairs, refridgerator making a “ting” sound, 

Close sounds: typing on a laptop keyboard, Michelle and Avery talking, laptop closing shut, backpack being zipped up, bag being set down, jacket being put on, bedroom door being shut, phone vibrating with notifications

Sound Description/Level: relatively calm, this is the normal soundscape of our home, quiet and cozy

One Word: settled

Most Important Sounds: Michelle and Avery talking, typing on laptop, doors being open and shut

Date: February 10th, 2022

Location & Time: The Drounge, 2:03pm

Far sounds: A female-sounding voice is singing in their MUTH class. The song might be “Come to Your Senses” from tick, tick…boom! There are cheers, laughter, and piano coming from that room.

Medium sounds: Footsteps going up and down stairs, doors opening and closing in Lowe.

Close sounds: people typing on keyboards, soft humming, costume carts rolling through the hall.

Sound description/level: Low, quiet but not library quiet. Good volume for getting work done in peace.

One word for the “sound environment”: mellow

Important sounds: distant singing, typing on a keyboard, humming

May 1st, 2021 Location: bedroom Time: 5:38pm 

Far Sounds: someone’s car alarm is going off down the street, ice cream truck drove by just a second ago too

Medium Sounds: the small thuds of my housemate’s cat running up and down the stairs

Close Sounds: my space heater growling, my nose sniffling from crying, you can’t hear them, but my thoughts are very loud 

Sound Description/Level: Suburban kind of atmosphere, pretty quiet except for the occasional spike in volume here and there 

Important Sounds: the car alarm, the cat, the sniffles

April 24, 2021 at 11:40 AM

 Location: RSR booth in Stuyvestant Hall

Far Sounds: Cars driving by, birds in the trees outside, a car backfiring, honking, music coming from a car parked out front

Medium Sounds: ID card being swiped multiple times, the beeping as the card is declined, the click as the card is finally accepted, multiple doors opening and closing, footsteps, keys jangling

Close sounds: The air conditioner in the booth coming on and off, my typing on the keyboard, my chair creaking as it rolls/rocks back and forth

Sound Description/Level: Medium to low, there are many moments of complete silence followed by multiple and continuous sounds at once

Important Sounds: Music coming from a car, the opening and closing of doors, typing on a keyboard

4/23/2021, 9:31 pm, the balcony in the Student Center

Sounds farthest away to me: People walking to and from the unispan, some occasionally stopping to order from Brooklyn Slice. Brooklyn Slice, exhausted but not relenting, continuously cooks pizza after pizza, slapping in a new pizza in the blasting oven, just for the poor hungry souls of the students of Hofstra.

Sounds at a medium range to me: A trash bin is wheeled around from the restaurants that are closed, picking up the thin plastic bags of garbage from each one. The Starbucks floors are being cleaned of all the hectic non stop orders they receive. First an old broom removes the floor of any hair and crumbs, and then an audibly damp mop is used to remove all the spilled drinks that have long since dried up. Then they finally close and lock up the creaky metal walls of all the restaurants, allowing them to rest until tomorrow’s busy day.

Sounds closest to me: Sitting not too far from me are some of my friends, as they laugh and talk about whatever is happening to them in life. As I sit and tap away at my computer, eager to join them, as I pound away at the keys as if it were their fault.

The general sound level and amount of sound activity: An above average sound level, but the overall amount of sound activity is high as there is so much going on, even though it appears as though there isn’t.

One word description to the “sound environment”: Moribund

Three sounds which are essential to the sound environment: Large squeaky bins, brooms sweeping, and metal walls being locked up.