Sound

This group exercise has layers. It combines planning, teamwork, performance skills, and introductory sound design. Students will create three tableau scenes to tell stories that evoke various emotions onstage, and use music clips to enhance the emotional stories. If your students have never done tableau before, you may want to have them try Numbered Tableaux or Flowing Frozen Pictures to practice. As a reminder, when doing tableau scenes, students must hold their frozen pictures for a minimum of five seconds (but often longer, as you’ll see in this exercise). And because your students will ask, yes, blinking and breathing are allowed. Instruction 1. Have students form small groups of three to five. 2. Determine which emotion you want your students to portray. If you wish, you can use our Tons of Emotion Prompts list for ideas beyond happy, sad, and angry. Decide whether the full class will work on the same emotion, or if each group will portray a different emotion. 3. Groups will create simple stories that can be portrayed through a series of three tableau scenes. The three scenes will represent the beginning, middle, and end of a story that evokes their assigned emotion. For example, if a group was assigned “despair,” they might create a story in which a child is playing with a toy, breaks it, and cries over it. Another group might be assigned “calm” and create a story with characters feeling upset at the beginning but then becoming calm by doing yoga, meditation, or tai chi. It’s up to the students to determine exactly how they will portray the emotion throughout the three scenes, but each scene must make sense with the other two and continue the story. The beginning scene will establish what’s happening, the middle scene will move the story forward, and the third scene will conclude the story. Every group member must be involved in each scene in some way, whether that is as a character, a prop, a piece of scenery or furniture, or another inventive use. They must hold each tableau scene for ten seconds. 4\ Each group will select three music clips (10 seconds per song) that evoke the emotional energy of each of the tableau scenes. The songs can be by any artist and from any genre but the clips must be appropriate for a school setting (i.e., no swearing, awareness of lyrical content). If the music has words, they don’t have to be a literal interpretation of the emotion, but students can incorporate the lyrics into their tableau scenes if they want to. Students will need to create a list of each clip with title and artist, what scene it’s for, and the exact cut of the music. For example, a group whose emotion is “playful” might create a list of clips like this: • Scene 1: “Take On Me” by a-ha (0:54–1:04) • Scene 2: “Physical” by Dua Lipa (2:13–2:23) • Scene 3: “I Feel Like Dancing” by Jason Mraz (3:20–3:30) Each group will need to submit their song clips list to the teacher ahead of performance time, so the teacher can make a playlist of the songs. (You can also assign this task to a student who does not wish to perform, has an interest in technical work, or wants to earn extra credit. It may also be helpful to designate a sound operator during performance time, so you can watch the scenes without having to multitask.) 5. Each group will perform their three scenes for the rest of the class. The teacher (or assigned sound operator) will play the first selected clip for the indicated ten seconds, pause for three seconds for the group to move to the next scene, play the second clip, pause for an additional three seconds, and then play the third clip. 6. Have students respond to the following questions, either as a group discussion or as a group written response (one page): • How did you come up with your story? • Why did you select the three clips you did? • What were some other options for songs that you considered? (Give at least three examples.) 7. Each student will complete and submit an exit slip (found in the giveaway below). Related Exercises:Creating Atmosphere Using Music Tableau Scenes from a Book Tableau Scenes from a Book Come to Life

That is the question…and it is yet another decision you must make while producing your upcoming school show. Yes, your students are making smart character choices and acting their hearts out; yes, the show is brilliantly written and staged; yes, the audience is packed with eager friends and family who cannot wait to see your students perform… But none of that matters if the audience can’t hear what’s going on. Luckily, we have an amazing invention, the microphone (or “mic” for short). These wonderful devices that help to amplify voices can absolutely be an asset to your theatre program, but they do come with some challenges. Consider the following points when you are deciding whether or not to use microphones for your upcoming show. 1. Do you absolutely need to mic the show?First and foremost – are microphones absolutely necessary in your performance space? How big is your theatre? If your theatre is a giant cavern of an auditorium with hundreds of seats, then mics may be necessary. But if your show is going up in a small studio theatre, then don’t bother! Is the show a play or a musical? Plays generally do not need mics unless you are in the aforementioned giant cavern of a theatre. Musicals may need microphones depending on if you are using a band or orchestra (versus backing tracks), how loud the musicians are, and where the musicians are located in relation to the performers and the audience. Are your students loud already? If your students have loud, healthy voices and great vocal technique, using microphones may be overkill. If not, work with your students on projecting their voices and vocal health and hygiene. Check out these Theatrefolk articles for tips: How Do I Solve Projection Issues, Projecting Your Voice Without Yelling, Why Isn’t My Actor Projecting Their Voice, 3 Tips for Keeping Your Voice Healthy, and 3 More Tips for Keeping Your Voice Healthy. Remind your students that they still need to project their voices while using microphones. A microphone cannot amplify a small, whispery voice enough to be heard. The sound operator can always bring down the volume on a big voice, but they can only crank up the volume so far, and that risks creating feedback. Who will put the mics on the students during showtime? Do you have enough crew members available backstage? Is your sound operator skilled enough to run the sound mix and turn different microphones on and off at the same time? And remember, technology can fail. Do you and your students have a troubleshooting plan in place in case a microphone breaks or dies during a show? Will your performers still be able to be heard, or do they depend on the mic? 2. What kind of mics are you going to use?This will depend on the kind of show you are doing. Some schools have an overhead microphone system that will amplify the general stage area but won’t specifically amplify any one student’s voice. It also will pick up non-voice sounds such as footsteps, set-moving sounds, and other ambient noise. The most common microphone types that are used in theatres are: • • Handheld mics (Wired or wireless; can be attached to a stand) • Lapel mics (Clips onto a shirt or jacket and attaches to a transmitter that is generally clipped on a microphone belt and worn under clothing/costumes; can be difficult to hear if the student is not facing forward) • Hair mics (Tiny mics that are set in the hairline with the wire going through the student’s hair and down their back; again usually attached to a transmitter worn under clothes. These mics generally come in black or tan. Can be difficult to use on students with very short hair or shaved heads.) • Countryman mics (Over-the-ear mics that go across the student’s cheek. These mics also generally come in black or tan. They are fragile and can be difficult to place on student’s heads. Thicker, newscaster style mics tend to be less expensive than the thinner, subtle mics, but are super-visible and distracting to audiences.) 3. How many mics do you need?You’ll need to decide who gets a microphone. Are you going to mic everyone or just the leads of the show? Will you mic any of the ensemble members? If so, who? More microphones means higher costs. Do you have enough money in your budget to mic the show? If your school already has a mic system in place, that’s great. But if yours doesn’t, will you purchase or rent microphones? Do you have the correct transmitters and receivers needed? You will have to do some research to figure out what microphones are available to you and your school and whether there are funds available to your department to make the necessary purchases or rentals for your show. Don’t forget about additional costs: batteries, chargers, body tape, hair clips, and disinfectant (if you’re using hair mics). You’ll also want to consider time: the time you will need to set up the equipment, to train your crew members and performers on correct microphone use, and the additional time at each performance to put on the microphones, do a sound check for each student using a mic, to remove the mics after each performance, put them away safely, and clean up.

Radio plays are theatrical performances that are purely auditory; they’re meant to be performed on the radio, hence the name! There is no visual aspect, so performers must rely on their vocal performances as well as sound effects and music to convey the story to the audience. Radio plays are fantastic for students to practice and develop many performance skills like projection, diction, and using emotion, without the pressure of actually getting up and performing in front of others. It also gives students the opportunity to creatively work with playwriting, selecting appropriate music, and creating sound effects. The following exercise gives students the chance to create their own radio play using a children’s story as the source material. They will then have the opportunity to perform their play for the rest of the class (either a live or pre-recorded performance). Click below for a four class Lesson Plan version of the exercise! Pre-Assignment: Play examples of radio plays for students. This will reinforce for students that all storytelling aspects have to be oral – there are no visuals! You should also look for some examples of radio play script formatting. It’s a different medium than a regular stage play. 1. Selecting the Source Material Students will form groups of 4-6. In their groups, students will select a children’s story to adapt into a radio play. 2. Writing the Play Students will adapt the children’s story into a script. Remind students to follow the radio play script formatting. Many radio plays use a narrator to set the tone of the story, switch between scenes (“Meanwhile, back at the ranch…”), and to keep the action going between character’s lines. Focus on creating really clear, strong, descriptive lines by using adjectives and “sense” words (sight, smell, taste, touch, sound) to set the mood. For example: • “Jessica sauntered into the room in a shimmering green evening gown.” • “The scent of freshly-baked cinnamon cookies made Mike’s mouth water.” • “A frightened Kyle peeked out the window to see a tall, sinister-looking man skulking around the garbage cans.” • “The wolf grinned menacingly, revealing a huge set of glistening-white, razor-sharp teeth.” 3. Choosing Appropriate Music and Sound Effects Students will choose at least 3 clips of music (one for the beginning of the piece, one for a significant part of the middle of the piece, and one for the end) to use in the play, as well as at least 5 sound effects. These sound effects can be found online or in a sound effects library, or they can be created live. Students must ensure that the music and sound effects are appropriate for the scene while not overpowering the vocal performances. 4. Casting and Rehearsing the Play Students will each take a role in the play and develop an appropriate character voice for their part, focusing on clear diction and enunciation, and showing emotion. Remember that there’s no visuals, they have only their voice to work with. Students should rehearse their roles so they are comfortable and familiar with their words. Performances do not have to be off-book, but will be MUCH easier if students are well-rehearsed. NOTE: If there are not enough roles to go around, one student can be solely in charge of performing the sound effects, or the narrator role should be split up. Alternatively, students can adapt their play to include more characters. 5. Performing the Piece Students have two options to perform the piece: LIVE: Students will perform the piece live, in front of the rest of the class. The rest of the class will face away from the performers while they are presenting, so the group cannot use visual clues to tell the story. Music and sound effects will be performed as part of the presentation, either performed live or by utilizing prepared music and sound effects (on a computer, CD player, or MP3 player). PRE-RECORDED: Most cell phones come with an audio recorder, or students can create their performance using a microphone and audio recording software on their computers (like Audacity or Adobe Audition). Music and sound effects will be performed during the recording, either performed live or by utilizing prepared music and sound effects. The recorded performance will be brought to the class and played for the rest of the class to listen to.

What is ambiance?Ambiance is the feel of your production, or the mood and tone of it. One way you can shape the mood of a show is with lighting and sound. They are your best tools to portray the emotion of your story. You can directly connect your show’s mood to what an audience sees and hears. For example: if you’re doing a nursery rhyme themed show, what lighting and sound would you use? It depends on the story you’re trying to share with the audience. What emotions do you want to evoke? Joy or fear? Would you use bright colours or dark ones to accomplish that? Would you want the actors’ faces to be illuminated or shadowed? Would you use light-hearted, childlike, upbeat music or something more sombre, brooding, and slow? Music can play a large part in creating ambiance. It’s a common misconception that a play needs to be a musical to have music. Music not only sets the mood, but it can also ground your setting. Take a castle location. What music would you choose if the castle was the setting of Dracula? Alternatively, what music would you choose if the castle is the setting for a King Arthur comedy? Lighting and sound can also solve major set dilemmas. There is a famous scene in Les Misérables where Jean Valjean is travelling through the sewers of Paris. Perhaps In a movie you can build the cramped sewer pipes set, but on a stage that is impossible. The answer could be to use a variety grating style gobos, projected onto the floor to represent the light from the sewer grates above. A gobo is a metal stencil or a glass that when you put over a lamp projects the image onto the stage. It’s effective and creates a mood. Sound choices might include an echo or the sound of dripping water. You feel the dankness of the sewer and the desperation of Jean Valjean. That is ambiance. How can I use this in the classroom?• Take a picture of a location and project it onto a screen so that everyone can see (NOTE: A sample picture is included in the downloadable PDF version of this exercise) • Explain to students that this location is the setting for a play but there’s no play yet. • Play some music to set ambiance. Something upbeat and exciting (search online for adventure movie music). • Based on the music, ask students to describe the story that takes place in this location. Who is the main character? What will happen here? • Have students share their descriptions. • Ask students what kind of lighting would best suit the location, based on the music? • Keep the picture up, but play a completely different piece of music. Something brooding, dark, and slow (eg: Bach pieces). • Based on this piece of music, ask students to describe the story that takes place. Who is the main character? What will happen here? • Ask students what kind of lighting would best suit the location, based on the music? • Share and discuss how the change in music changed the story. How did music affect the ambiance?

The Vowel Tree Exercise enables us to practice making sounds with our voice and exploring the entire vocal range from low to high. It allows us to be vocally impulsive in a non-judgemental way. When we are younger, we make all kinds of crazy noises. We enjoy our vocal apparatus. It’s new to us and we like discovering how it works. As we get older, we learn to tap down those impulses to make crazy sounds. It’s not something we do in polite society. Sometimes, this imprinting keeps us from releasing our voice onstage. Acting is behaving truthfully in imaginary circumstances. One of the ways we can get to acting truthfully in imaginary circumstances is to free our voice by allowing it to behave naturally in any circumstance. With the Vowel Tree Exercise, students make sounds and motions with their bodies. It’s going to look and sound silly! Model each step for your students. That way, they see you do it and know that it’s okay. Practice this on your own before you show it to your students. Sometimes students can feel really self-conscious about this exercise. Model confidence to your students in this exercise. The more confident you are, the more confident your students will be. Watch the video below for a demonstration of the exercise.

Sound is a powerful sense. Many objects and actions are clearly identified by the sounds they make. Sound also triggers powerful memories. When I hear a screen door slam, I am instantly brought back to my grandparents’ cottage on a chilly summer morning. The kettle that I use to make my tea each morning has a distinct sound. The beach where I live has a multitude of sounds from the waves lapping on the sand, to the seagulls, to kids squealing playfully in the sand. How do you express a location using just sound?1. Start the exercise with a discussion on sound. What specific sounds happen on a daily basis in your life? What would life be like without sound? 2. Show a picture of a specific location. Use the picture provided in the download or choose your own. 3. Ask the class to brainstorm on the different sounds that evoke the location. Have them practice making the sounds using whatever you have on hand. All sounds for the exercise will be manmade. 4. Divide the class into groups. Each group gets their own picture. 5. Groups have five minutes to discuss the picture, brainstorm on the possible sounds and come up with five sounds that evoke the location. All these sounds will be made by the students. 6. Each group presents their sounds for the class. Can the class guess the location just by hearing the sounds? If a group is unsuccessful creating effective sounds, work with them. Get suggestions from the class on how they can refine their sounds. 7. Have students write a reflection on the exercise.