Hofstra Drama 20 – Sound for the Theatre

Location: Dunkin’ on the Quad

Sounds Heard: Hum of the coffee and cold drink machines, people talking, movement of kitchen supplies, quiet background music from the radio station playing through the speakers, someone laughing, parchment paper rustling, a worker calling out an order number.

April 28th, 10:33pm – my dorm with the door cracked

Farthest Away: Car vrooming down a street (barely audible), Plane flying overhead

Medium Range: Toilet Flushing, The sound of my roommate’s phone playing a tv show, the paper towel dispenser on the other side of my wall

Closest: Hum of the refrigerator, My roommate moving around the dorm packing, My roommate opening and closing her drawers

Sound Level: A medium level excluding farthest away sounds. Medium and Close range were often in a battle trying to be heard over the other.

Sound Activity: Inconsistent. It often felt like once one sound came in, they all tried to happen at once, then once one stopped they all stopped. My roommate was also not consistently moving around, she would stop in a spot to contemplate what she wanted to pack. Also, there wasn’t a person in the bathroom who was consistently dispensing paper towels.

Description: Active

Essential Sounds:

• Roommate moving around the room
• Paper towel dispenser
• Plane flying overhead

Location: Outside of Hofstra Hall

Sounds Heard: Wind, Thumps from more extreme gusts, Clicking Sounds of Walking

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

Location: Panera Bread

Sounds Heard: Background Music, People Talking, Dishes Being Moved Around in the Kitchen, Paper Rustling, Beeping from a Kitchen Appliance, Someone Slurping Their Drink

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

Location: Main Dining Room in Bits and Bytes

Sounds Heard: Clicking (unsure of source), Distant hum of the blender, hum of the toaster, people talking, movement of kitchen equipment

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

Location: Main Dining Room at Bits and Bytes

Sounds Heard: People Talking, People Laughing, Hum of the Fro-Yo Machines, Metal Clanging (from the workers cleaning up), Soft Crunch of Biting into Food, Jangles of Keys

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