Hofstra Drama 20 – Sound for the Theatre

April 14th, 5:00pm – my dorm with the door wide open

Farthest Away: people talking down the hall, sirens from outside

Medium Range: My roommate moving around on her bed and the sound of the HVAC blowing out air on high, a door closing a few rooms away from me

Closest: the paper towel dispenser, the bathroom door opening and closing

Sound Level: mostly a medium sound level with the paper towels and doors being able to drown out the HVAC just for a split second.

Sound Activity: Inconsistent. The background noises go in and out with the HVAC being the only sound that is constant

Description: Mundane

Essential Sounds:

• HVAC
• Paper Towel Dispenser
• Roommate moving around on her bed

April 2nd, 9:00pm – Back Room of Hof U.S.A.

Farthest Away: Squeaking of the Milkshake Machine

Medium Range: The beeping of the beepers a couple tables away.

Closest: People talking tables away from. People laughing. Maya blowing her nose.

Sound Level: Mostly a medium level of constant. Occasionally when there is more background noise, people’s conversations would get louder, so the sound level would be higher.

Sound Activity: Inconsistent. Conversations go in and out as well as the machines the workers were using. Also, Maya wasn’t blowing her nose for two minutes straight.

Description: Social

Essential Sounds:

• People’s Conversations
• People Laughing
• Maya Blowing her Nose

Date: March 30th

Location: Monroe Hall theater, Indian music concert for a class

Far Sounds: people whispering around the auditorium, people outside auditorium talking

Medium Sounds: professor talking, band playing on stage, tampura drone

Closest Sounds: my friends whispering next to me, water bottle crinkle

Sound description/level: sound wasn’t too loud or abrasive, the nature of this music is to relax you

essential sounds: tampura drone, flute , drums

one word: tranquil

March 11th, 1:00am – Corner of Belmont and California Ave.

Farthest Away: Girls screaming and the whoosh of cars driving on a wet road.

Medium Range: The rustling of leaves from the wind.

Closest: The softness of the person next to me’s breathing, and the water dripping onto the ground from gutters, drains, and roofs.

Sound Level: Everything was at the same level regarding my ears. Since I was hearing everything at a consistent level, the farthest away sounds were actually louder than the closest sounds, so that my ears could pic them up as being at the same volume.

Sound Activity: Everything was very consistent except for when the cars would stop at the traffic light. However, even though the cars on the turnpike directly in front of me were stopped, I could still hear other cars driving on the wet pavement a couple streets away.

Description: Wet

Essential Sounds:

• Cars driving on wet pavement
• The dripping water
• The rustling of leaves

Date: 02/26/23

Location: Bedroom @ 10pm

Farthest sounds: Tv on downstairs, Nidhi talking on the phone in the room next-door

Medium Sounds: Caitlin’s phone buzzing, her typing on computer

Closest: Me typing on my computer

Sound Level: very low

One Word: calm

Essential Sound: computer typing

1. 02/26/2023 – 8:47 PM – my bedroom
2. Far away: Cars on the highway, people talking outside
3. Medium: People talking downstairs, a toilet flushing, a sink turning on
4. Closest: Someone watching tiktoks, someone walking past my door
5. Sound level: relatively low, not much going on
6. One word: Tired
7. The essential sounds are: TikToks, people passing by in the hall, cars in the distance

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.

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