Hofstra Drama 20 – Sound for the Theatre

Location: Al Hirschfeld Theatre during intermission at a performance of Moulin Rouge

Sounds Heard: 

• constant chatter from all directions 
• background music from the Moulin Rouge sound track or as learned in this class the “framing effect. “
•  announcement bells that intermission is coming to an end and to go back to your seats. 

1. April 28th- 4:44pm-The LIRR Heading into New York City 
2. Sounds farthest from me are that of the door opening and the wind bustling in from the outside only to slam shut and click into place very quickly. Another faraway sound is the punching of tickets as the conductor makes their way through the aisles. 
3. The medium sounds that are at a medium distance away in volume and not necessarily physical distance are the screeching of the rails as the train breaks when approaching a station, as well as just the general thudding sounds the train makes as it travels across the tracks. 
4. Closest sounds are the announcements that come on when reach every new station, and the snoring of the person across from me. 
5. It feels like normally when someone rides a train they are preoccupied with whatever activities they are doing or whatever conversations they are having they might not notice the level of sound activity going on. However, there is actually quite a lot of sound that takes place- from a lot of different directions and sources. 
6. One word: routine. This is a sound environment a lot of people experience as their normal routine whether its for recreational travel or a workday 
7. The clicking of the ticket puncher definitely needs to be maintained, as well as the screeching of the breaks on the steel tracks. Another sound would be the announcements that air pretty much for the entire ride. These all work together to ensure the authentic sound environment of the LIRR. 

Location:  Manhattan NY

Sounds heard: 

• Suitcases rolling on the ground 
• Beeping of a traffic stop
• Squeaking of cars as they come to a stop 
• Chatter 
• Loud blaring of a car horn 
• thud of shoes hitting the pavement, as people walk by 

1. 04/14/2022-2:30pm- On a bench outside of Calkins Hall. 
2. Farthest Sounds: laughs from people sitting on the quad, traffic from cars on the nearby road 
3. Medium Sounds: the crunching of soil as a Hofstra Plant worker shovels into the ground, birds chirping in the trees above the bench. 
4. Closest Sounds: loud slamming of tap shoes hitting the floor from the opened window of a classroom in Calkins right above the bench, the flipping of pages in the notebook on my lap as a breeze comes through. 
5. There is a fair amount of sound activity, but it is really spaced out making it seem quiet or as if there is not that much occurring. 
6. One Word: Melodic 
7. The sound of the tap dancing is absolutely needed to maintain this environment, ever since doing musical theatre in high school I have always found the sound of tap shoes hitting the floor to be a pleasant sound thus the choice to pick melodic. The birds chirping and distant laughing also contributes. Being outside and seeing others outside enjoying the warm weather really indicated that we are in a new season. It felt very soothing to be outside and away from just sitting in a classroom, and it felt good to see others enjoying this time as well. 

Location: AMC Movie Theater Roosevelt Field Mall 

Sounds heard:

• churning of the slushy machine
• crinkling as plastic wrapping is torn off 
• clanking of ice as it falls into a cup 
• spurting of liquid from the soda machine 
• a distant sound of popping as the popcorn is refilled in it’s case 

1. March 26th- 5:28pm- World War 2 Memorial in Washington D.C. 
2. The splashing of water as the ducks swim around in the reflecting pool close by, the fluttering of kites as crowds of people are flying them around the cherry blossoms
3. Chatter of those walking into and out of the memorial, as well as the scraping of shoes against the concrete and gravel. 
4. Sniffles of people taking in the memorial, camera clicks from those capturing photos. 
5. Despite how many different sounds can be heard, it wasn’t loud at all. You would only be able to pin point these sounds if you were really listening for them. Other than these subtle sounds, it was very silent as people walked around taking in what was presented to them. 
6. One word: tranquil 
7. I would say the sounds needed to maintain the environment, would be the sniffles you heard from essentially all around you, as well as the flutter of the kites overhead, and the slight splashing of the ducks in the reflecting pool. All of these sounds were very soft and quiet as if they knew that any loudness of any sort would disrupt the emotionally charged peace in the air as people wandered through the memorial. 

Location: The RA Office in Alliance Hall (recorded while I was on duty that night) 

Sounds heard: 

• sniffling 
• loud beep as someone swipes through the turnstile 
• clanking as the turnstile is walked through 
• the creaking as the turnstile is walked through 
• ding of the elevator doors opening 
• distant laughing 
• bang of the outside doors as they slam shut 

1. March 11th- 6:00PM-Outside of Axinn Library 
2. Far Sounds~  Clanking as the wind whips and makes the flag hit the flag pole, thudding of footsteps as people are walking off of the Unispan, wind whistling 
3. Medium Sounds~ Chirping of birds in trees and the scratching/scuttling of squirrels running up trees and their branches. 
4. Close Sounds~ Rustling of leaves from the tree I am sitting directly under, the labored breathing of the person next to me as they experience a cold chill from the wind in question. 
5. There seems to be a lot of sound activity happening but the level it is being produced is very soft and would be considered background noise that goes unnoticed during the regular day. 
6. Serene
7. Chirping of the birds, the rustling of the leaves, the slight whistle of the wind-  these three sounds I would say are essential to keeping the sound environment in tact. They all represent sounds in nature, furthermore a representation of how serene nature can be if we stopped to listen. 

Location: Seafood Restaurant Carle Place New York 

Sounds heard: 

• woman laughing across the room 
• scrapping of forks across the plate 
• clinking of wine glasses, as they are moved around on the table
• at the end there is cracking as a crab leg is split open 
• thuds as plates are placed on the table 

1. February 23rd- 7:17pm- My room in Alliance Hall 
2. Sounds farthest away are the shouts of residents in hallway and lobby outside of my door 
3. Sounds in medium range to me is the loud and overbearing noise of air escaping the vents in my laptop as it grows hot, almost like a chugging. 
4. Closest to me is the tapping of my hands hitting the keys as I furiously try to bang out an article the night before it is due. 
5. There seems to be a fair amount of sound activity coming from all directions of the space I am in. 
6. One word: Chaotic 
7. For the feeling of this environment you definitely need the residents to still be screaming and you need the labored chugging of the laptop, the tapping also represents the chaotic nature because it is so rushed, so really every sound identified up top really enforces the sound environment.