SOUND DESIGN FOR THEATRE: SELECTIONS
Hamlet
This selection is from a production of Hamlet directed by Stephen Crandall at West Texas A&M (Canyon, TX) in October of 2015. I had a great time as guest sound designer and also taught a sound design master class. Our approach as a design team was to combine contemporary references with more traditional Elizabethan elements. This composition of mine was an early attempt to map out an aesthetic that integrated Renaissance and Baroque instrumentation with somewhat of a punk rock attitude in keeping with their brooding and surly Hamlet in jeans. Along the way I discovered that a hurdy-gurdy can evoke bagpipes in an interesting way (heard in the distance at the end of the track). Ultimately I used this piece as post-show music. I always liked its energy and this particular combination of timbres. We didn’t go in this direction exactly - I ended up largely using pre-recorded music - but this experiment still influenced all of my other choices and the production as a whole.
This selection is from a production of Hamlet directed by Stephen Crandall at West Texas A&M (Canyon, TX) in October of 2015. I had a great time as guest sound designer and also taught a sound design master class. Our approach as a design team was to combine contemporary references with more traditional Elizabethan elements. This composition of mine was an early attempt to map out an aesthetic that integrated Renaissance and Baroque instrumentation with somewhat of a punk rock attitude in keeping with their brooding and surly Hamlet in jeans. Along the way I discovered that a hurdy-gurdy can evoke bagpipes in an interesting way (heard in the distance at the end of the track). Ultimately I used this piece as post-show music. I always liked its energy and this particular combination of timbres. We didn’t go in this direction exactly - I ended up largely using pre-recorded music - but this experiment still influenced all of my other choices and the production as a whole.
The Women of Troy
The following selections are from a production of the Euripides play directed by Benjamin Slate at Texas Tech University in March of 2013. I created all original music and sound design for this version of the play that focused on issues of male aggression and female subjugation (specifically, rape) in relation to war. We decided to use a lot of underscoring for the choral ode sequences (which featured stylized chanting and choreography by Courtney Brown), the pronouncements of the Oracle (heard intermittently throughout the “Choral Odes & Oracle” tracks A-E), and for many of the long monologues (The Funeral Underscore supplemented Hecuba’s monologue as she buries her child, for example).
Some of my favorite sonic elements include recordings of the lowest notes of an organ made at a nearby church, as many different timbres as I could muster from a single organ pipe that a student gave me, my drum set covered with metal objects and played with mallets, an ebow on an antique zither, and two software synths: an ebow guitar (made to sound flute-like) and a bowed Balinese gamelan.
Most of the titles are self-explanatory. The show opened with a chaotic battle scene composed of a stylized mixture of fight choreography and tableau done by Tiza Garland (“Opening Battle”). For Poseidon’s monologue and storm conjuring I had speakers placed throughout the theater, activating the furthest reaches of the space with sound. The audience heard soldiers marching by, buildings crumbling and burning, and thunder rumbling behind the set, above their heads, and behind walls in the alcoves through which they entered the theatre. When Poseidon conjures the storm, the low organ tones erupted from a sub woofer in the orchestra pit (where murdered soldiers later fell). The music of the “Choral Odes & Oracles” tracks are comprised of my own percussion recorded in the studio. The Oracle commentary, unique to this production, was written by Jared Strange to incorporate some of the issues discussed in contemporary rape theory that the director had been researching into the play.
The following selections are from a production of the Euripides play directed by Benjamin Slate at Texas Tech University in March of 2013. I created all original music and sound design for this version of the play that focused on issues of male aggression and female subjugation (specifically, rape) in relation to war. We decided to use a lot of underscoring for the choral ode sequences (which featured stylized chanting and choreography by Courtney Brown), the pronouncements of the Oracle (heard intermittently throughout the “Choral Odes & Oracle” tracks A-E), and for many of the long monologues (The Funeral Underscore supplemented Hecuba’s monologue as she buries her child, for example).
Some of my favorite sonic elements include recordings of the lowest notes of an organ made at a nearby church, as many different timbres as I could muster from a single organ pipe that a student gave me, my drum set covered with metal objects and played with mallets, an ebow on an antique zither, and two software synths: an ebow guitar (made to sound flute-like) and a bowed Balinese gamelan.
Most of the titles are self-explanatory. The show opened with a chaotic battle scene composed of a stylized mixture of fight choreography and tableau done by Tiza Garland (“Opening Battle”). For Poseidon’s monologue and storm conjuring I had speakers placed throughout the theater, activating the furthest reaches of the space with sound. The audience heard soldiers marching by, buildings crumbling and burning, and thunder rumbling behind the set, above their heads, and behind walls in the alcoves through which they entered the theatre. When Poseidon conjures the storm, the low organ tones erupted from a sub woofer in the orchestra pit (where murdered soldiers later fell). The music of the “Choral Odes & Oracles” tracks are comprised of my own percussion recorded in the studio. The Oracle commentary, unique to this production, was written by Jared Strange to incorporate some of the issues discussed in contemporary rape theory that the director had been researching into the play.
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- Opening Battle
- After The Fall/Cassandra's Rape
- Poseidon: Calm Before The Storm
- Poseidon: Conjures The Storm
- Choral Odes & Oracles A
- Choral Odes & Oracles B
- Choral Odes & Oracles C
- Choral Odes & Oracles D
- Choral Odes & Oracles E
- Funeral Underscore (excerpt)
- Cassandra's Torch
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A Wrinkle In Time
The following selections are from the production directed by Mark Metcalf. The play is written by John Glore and is adapted from the book of the same name by Medeleine L’Engle. This production was done at Milwaukee’s First Stage Children’s Theater in January and February 2012. I had the honor of designing sound for convulsive time warps, giant throbbing brains, and nefarious autocrats with red eyes. The play had a live foley artist on stage and in order to integrate my electronic sound design with the acoustic sounds of the live foley artist, I based a lot of my design on recorded samples of the foley instruments. The first sound below was one of my favorite source recordings and came from rubbing a wire brush on the giant metal “thunder sheet” used by the foley artist. That sound became the basis for the subsequent time warps (Tesseract 1, 2, and 3).
The following selections are from the production directed by Mark Metcalf. The play is written by John Glore and is adapted from the book of the same name by Medeleine L’Engle. This production was done at Milwaukee’s First Stage Children’s Theater in January and February 2012. I had the honor of designing sound for convulsive time warps, giant throbbing brains, and nefarious autocrats with red eyes. The play had a live foley artist on stage and in order to integrate my electronic sound design with the acoustic sounds of the live foley artist, I based a lot of my design on recorded samples of the foley instruments. The first sound below was one of my favorite source recordings and came from rubbing a wire brush on the giant metal “thunder sheet” used by the foley artist. That sound became the basis for the subsequent time warps (Tesseract 1, 2, and 3).
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- Wire Brush Source
- Tesseract 1
- Tesseract 2
- Tesseract 3
- Tesseract 4
- It Brain
- It Brain Dies
- The Man With Red Eyes
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Signs of Life
This production was directed by Kristina Hagstrom and Laura Levin and opened at Durham Studio Theatre in Berkeley California in 2002. Written by Joan Schenkar, this “comedy of menace” is set against the background of 19th Century Freak Shows and Medical Experiments. It follows the extraordinary and intersecting lives of The Elephant Woman and Alice, the sister of writer Henry James. I combined samples of bicycle wheels, out of tune pianos, music boxes, and the sounds of making tea with pre-recorded music to heighten the darkly comic mood of this fascinating show.
This production was directed by Kristina Hagstrom and Laura Levin and opened at Durham Studio Theatre in Berkeley California in 2002. Written by Joan Schenkar, this “comedy of menace” is set against the background of 19th Century Freak Shows and Medical Experiments. It follows the extraordinary and intersecting lives of The Elephant Woman and Alice, the sister of writer Henry James. I combined samples of bicycle wheels, out of tune pianos, music boxes, and the sounds of making tea with pre-recorded music to heighten the darkly comic mood of this fascinating show.
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- Elephant Woman Waltz
- Barnum's Swaggering Song
- Hospital 3
- Jane's Theme (A)
- Tea & Piano
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The Yellow Wallpaper
These are selections from the play (adapted from the book by Charlotte Perkins Gilman), directed by Gretchen Case at The University of California’s Room 7 Theater in 2003. The play explores the inner life of the protagonist during the course of a summer in which she is confined to her bedroom and diagnosed as “hysterical” by her physician husband. To support movement sequences that represented the protagonist’s unstable psychological state, I incorporated samples of Carla Kihlsdedt’s wonderful violin playing and recorded text spoken by the cast into the design.
These are selections from the play (adapted from the book by Charlotte Perkins Gilman), directed by Gretchen Case at The University of California’s Room 7 Theater in 2003. The play explores the inner life of the protagonist during the course of a summer in which she is confined to her bedroom and diagnosed as “hysterical” by her physician husband. To support movement sequences that represented the protagonist’s unstable psychological state, I incorporated samples of Carla Kihlsdedt’s wonderful violin playing and recorded text spoken by the cast into the design.
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- In Any Kind of Light
- Interlude 2b
- Seems To Skulk
- They Get Through
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SOUND DESIGN FOR DANCE:
SELECTIONS
Parachute
An original composition for cello vibraphone, percussion, and electronics. It was made for the dance "What Are You Waiting For?" choreographed by Dani Kuepper. This piece was an homage to the late Ed Burgess whom I was lucky enough to work with on many occasions and whose voice can be heard throughout the recording. This piece was part of the winter faculty concert at The University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, February 2012. Cello by Jeff Klatt, Vibraphone by Timothy Dries. Percussion, electronics, and composition by Seth Warren-Crow.
An original composition for cello vibraphone, percussion, and electronics. It was made for the dance "What Are You Waiting For?" choreographed by Dani Kuepper. This piece was an homage to the late Ed Burgess whom I was lucky enough to work with on many occasions and whose voice can be heard throughout the recording. This piece was part of the winter faculty concert at The University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, February 2012. Cello by Jeff Klatt, Vibraphone by Timothy Dries. Percussion, electronics, and composition by Seth Warren-Crow.
7 Circular Gestures
Released on Glenn Bach's label MPRNTBL. 7 Circular Gestures is a composition for improvising musicians recorded live at Sweet Water Organics in Milwaukee, WI for the Danceworks performance Stone Soup of May 1st, 2011. The performers are Sean Behling (clarinet, electronics), David Collins (saxophone, electronics), Jeff Klatt (cello), and Seth Warren-Crow (drums, electronics, composer/arranger). It was recorded and mixed by Sean Behling.
Please listen here: MPRNTBL
Released on Glenn Bach's label MPRNTBL. 7 Circular Gestures is a composition for improvising musicians recorded live at Sweet Water Organics in Milwaukee, WI for the Danceworks performance Stone Soup of May 1st, 2011. The performers are Sean Behling (clarinet, electronics), David Collins (saxophone, electronics), Jeff Klatt (cello), and Seth Warren-Crow (drums, electronics, composer/arranger). It was recorded and mixed by Sean Behling.
Please listen here: MPRNTBL
Ways It Is
A remix of, and homage to, an old Ink Spots song for choreographer Simone Ferro for her contemporary ballet piece "EVOL - An Anagram of Love" at Ballet Quad Cities, Iowa, 2009. Saxophone by Sean Behling. The end section, with the auto-tuned voices of myself and my wife starting at 7:28, is my favorite.
A remix of, and homage to, an old Ink Spots song for choreographer Simone Ferro for her contemporary ballet piece "EVOL - An Anagram of Love" at Ballet Quad Cities, Iowa, 2009. Saxophone by Sean Behling. The end section, with the auto-tuned voices of myself and my wife starting at 7:28, is my favorite.
Changes On Noise B
An excerpt from an original score for Dani Kuepper and featured as part of the winter faculty concert at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee in 2009.
An excerpt from an original score for Dani Kuepper and featured as part of the winter faculty concert at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee in 2009.
Shadows (excerpt)
Choreographed by Ed Burgess and dancers and performed at UW-Milwaukee in February, 2010. Sound Design by Seth Warren-Crow. Videographer: David R Overbeck
Choreographed by Ed Burgess and dancers and performed at UW-Milwaukee in February, 2010. Sound Design by Seth Warren-Crow. Videographer: David R Overbeck
Chatterbox
Made for Dan Schuchart & Monica Rodero's dance company. Performed at the Minneapolis Fringe Festival.
Made for Dan Schuchart & Monica Rodero's dance company. Performed at the Minneapolis Fringe Festival.
The Reception
A multi-media dance performance at U.C. Berkeley in 2007 with choreography by Lisa Wymore and Sheldon Smith (Smith/Wymore Disappearing Acts) and original music by Seth Warren-Crow. Below you will find some video excerpts from the performance followed by a few audio examples of music from the show.
A multi-media dance performance at U.C. Berkeley in 2007 with choreography by Lisa Wymore and Sheldon Smith (Smith/Wymore Disappearing Acts) and original music by Seth Warren-Crow. Below you will find some video excerpts from the performance followed by a few audio examples of music from the show.
Piercing Duets (excerpt)
Music from The Reception by Smith/Wymore Dissapearing Acts.
Music from The Reception by Smith/Wymore Dissapearing Acts.
Lisa On TV
Music from The Reception by Smith/Wymore Dissapearing Acts.
Music from The Reception by Smith/Wymore Dissapearing Acts.
accompaniment for dance:
Below is some video of me accompanying a modern technique class at UW-Milwaukee taught by guest artist Alberto Del Saz of the Murray Louis and Nikolais dance company.
Below is a selection of the kind of short, impromptu, loop-based compositions that I make while accompanying dance technique classes. Often I play additional live instruments over these loops (not recorded) to add additional dynamic and flexible musical layers to the mix.
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- Champs
- Crinline
- Crassny
- Abduction Waltz
- Implua
- Cornambient
- Little Nemo
- Enronoff
- Geometry
- Irk5
- Fetris
- Neyscape
- Slithe
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OTHER COMPOSITION & SOUND DESIGN
Dummy Text
The studio version of the live performance I did as part of the ADF (American Dance Festival) Musician's Concert at Baldwin Auditorium in Durham, NC in 2014. The words come from an English translation of the Lorem Ipsum filler (or "dummy") text (used frequently on unfinished websites) by Jaspreet Singh Boparai. The voices are a female text-to-speech app speaking Italian (to approximate the, albeit mashed-up, Latin of the original) and a male text-to-speech app speaking the English translation (which delightfully doesn't make much sense).
The studio version of the live performance I did as part of the ADF (American Dance Festival) Musician's Concert at Baldwin Auditorium in Durham, NC in 2014. The words come from an English translation of the Lorem Ipsum filler (or "dummy") text (used frequently on unfinished websites) by Jaspreet Singh Boparai. The voices are a female text-to-speech app speaking Italian (to approximate the, albeit mashed-up, Latin of the original) and a male text-to-speech app speaking the English translation (which delightfully doesn't make much sense).
3 Names
3 players follow a score that explores the musical potential of the amplified (hand) written word. The players perform their own signatures and (in the section featured here) simultaneously recite and write artificial legalese suggesting the anxiety of signing contracts.
3 players follow a score that explores the musical potential of the amplified (hand) written word. The players perform their own signatures and (in the section featured here) simultaneously recite and write artificial legalese suggesting the anxiety of signing contracts.
Capillarium One
Composed of manipulated samples from the water-driven sound sculpture Capillarium by Seth Warren-Crow and David Dupuis.
Composed of manipulated samples from the water-driven sound sculpture Capillarium by Seth Warren-Crow and David Dupuis.
Untitled Virgin (excerpt)
An audio excerpt from the longer performance piece "Untitled Virgin" by warren-crow+warren-crow (Heather Warren-Crow and myself). Vocals and text by Heather Warren-Crow (and The Beach Boys). Music/sound design by Seth Warren-Crow.
An audio excerpt from the longer performance piece "Untitled Virgin" by warren-crow+warren-crow (Heather Warren-Crow and myself). Vocals and text by Heather Warren-Crow (and The Beach Boys). Music/sound design by Seth Warren-Crow.
Screen Test (excerpt)
Experiments in heavily filtered voice.
Experiments in heavily filtered voice.
Faux Pas # 1
Excerpt from a collaborative project I did with Tara Rogers in 2004. We experimented with playing live in the studio to a mix of our own field recordings.
Excerpt from a collaborative project I did with Tara Rogers in 2004. We experimented with playing live in the studio to a mix of our own field recordings.