Hofstra Drama 20 – Sound for the Theatre

Time: 6:49 pm

Location: Outside at home

Sounds Closest: Birds chirping

Sound in Medium Distance: My family talking amongst themselves at the table

Sound farthest: airplane

One word: homey

Sound Level: medium

Three important sounds: birds, talking, airplane

5/5/24

Time: 7:45 pm

Location: my living room

Sounds closest: my computer humming, my roommate’s music playing

Sounds in medium distance: cat meowing in the bathroom, bottles occasionally falling over when she knocks them over

Sounds furthest: people milling around downstairs

One word: relaxing

Sound level: low

Most important sounds: music, cat, bottles falling over

4/27/24

Time: 9:12 am, the blackbox

Sound closest: people warming up vocally

Sound in medium distance: people walking around and preparing cues

Sound furthest: someone talking in the theatre

One word: stirring

Sound level: medium

1- 4/10/24 – 12:35 – Tables outside of Bits ‘n’ Bytes

2- People talking on the other side of the quad, cars driving down the turnpike, shuffled steps on the concrete.
3- Birds chirping, someone’s heels clacking on the cement as they walk, leaves rustling in the wind, someone’s keys jangling as they walk.
4- My friend typing at the computer next to me, an airplane flying overhead, someone laughing at the table next to me, the ice in my drink shifting as I pick it up and take a sip, the sound of someone’s skateboard as they skate by my table.
5- Describe the general sound level and amount of sound activity – Sound level: low and quiet; Sound activity: relatively high, there are a lot of different noises and sounds outside.
6- Peaceful.
7- The birds, the ambience voices throughout the quad, and the steps and general movement of the people passing by.

3/29/24 – 10:10 PM – My dorm room

Sounds farthest away from me: My friends talking in the other room, cars driving by, someone talking loudly outside

Sounds at a medium range from me: My fan, a door opening and closing in the other room

Sounds closest to me: The podcast I’m listening to, my keyboard clacking, my bracelets jangling

Sound level and activity: the sound level and activity are both low – my fan and podcast are on a lower volume, everything else is in the background. Also, everyone is winding down for the day, so there isn’t as much movement and activity within my dorm.

One word description: Chill

Three sounds essential to the sound environment: The podcast, my fan, my bracelets

3/7/24 – 8:15PM – Pride Den

1. Sounds farthest from me: people on the other side of the room talking, utensils clacking together, chairs moving  
2. Sounds at a medium range from me: The backing tracks of the song being performed, the percussion instruments, people snapping during the performance, piano  
3. Sounds closest to me: the performer singing, my friends whispering next to me, the bass line, the applause 
4. Sound level and sound activity: the sound level is relatively high due to the speakers projecting the instruments but also the performer’s voice. The sound activity is high because there are a lot of people in the room making noise i.e. the singing, playing instruments, talking, clapping. There is a lot happening at once. 
5. One word description: Musical 
6. 3 essential sounds: the bassline, the performer’s voice, percussion

Date: 2/22 11:15, backrooms of Bits and Bytes

Farthest away from me: The blender whirring at Red Mango

Medium range: People typing and talking in the next room 

Closest to me: Two guys at the table next to me talking about their math homework 

The sound level is just above a murmur. When the guys at the table stop talking, my surroundings are very quiet. 

One word: Buzzing  

3 essential sounds: Quiet chatter, typing, and the blender in the food area

2/24 4:54PM; my bedroom

sound that feels farthest away from me: either a party or a sports event happening down the street

medium range: plane flying overhead

sound closest to me: my strangely loud breathing; the sound of me typing; my housemate rustling around on the other side of our shared wall

sound level: it’s quiet in the sense that nothing is happening around me but loud because of what’s going on down the street

one word: awake

essential sounds: my housemate, the party, my breathing

2/22/24 – 12:51PM – The Student Center

Sounds farthest from me: People talking at different volumes across the Student Center, the workers making drinks, kitchen noises from other food places.

Sounds at a medium range from me: The music playing from the speakers, chairs moving, wrappers crinkling.

Closest to me: My friends’ conversation, keyboard clacking, my friend’s jewelry clanking as she writes.

Sound level: The sound level is medium to high – there is a lot of high volume volumes happening around. There are a lot of people at the Student Center at common hour all talking loudly. The metal dishes at Starbucks are loud as well.

Sound activity: There is a lot of sound activity. There is a lot of people talking and a lot of general physical activity happening that creates a lot of noise.

One work description for the sound environment: Noisy

Three sounds that are essential to the sound environment: Starbucks noises, my friends talking, music playing in Starbucks.

Date: 2/9 6:51, my upstairs living room

Farthest away from me: My downstairs housemates talking in their kitchen

Medium range: My refrigerator humming in the kitchen and my upstairs housemate’s desk chair creaking a few times per minute 

Closest to me: My keyboard clacking as I type and my occasional sniffling. My other housemate typing on her phone and clearing her throat 

The sound level is very quiet. My other 2 housemates are out of the house and everyone is sort of decompressing from the day on their own in different parts of the house. 

One word: Mundane 

3 essential sounds: Chatter of the downstairs housemates, the fridge, and my housemate’s nails as she types her phone.