From the very start of our devising process, we knew that we wanted to create a piece of theatre that utilised our bodies and movement as a way to show a story, as opposed to a reliance on text and dialogue. As sound designer, it was obvious to me that this meant sound and music would play a big part in creating a specific mood and tone for the piece. As a company, we have decided on the theme of the space race as a starting point for devising, and so I have started looking at composers and artists that have a distinct ‘space’ sound, mainly electronic instrumental music, that we could use in our piece.

Lyn Gardner wrote in a piece for The Guardian that ‘the perfectly placed piece of music, the sense that theatre can be musical without being a musical, still seems to be underrated’ (The Guardian, 2008).  This is what music in theatre is about, for me especially; perfectly placed pieces of music, that don’t distract or divert attention, but rather amplify the content that is being physically produced on stage. The best moments of sound and music in theatre, like in film, are when you don’t notice the music being played, as it is accompanying what you are seeing instead of trying to be its own thing, so the audio and visual experiences merge into one. This is when music can truly heighten the senses of an audience, rather than distract from the action.

This is a notion that I want to carry throughout our piece as sound designer. As a starting point, I have been looking at soundtracks from films that I think are particularly poignant but at the same time subtle enough as not to distract from the action of the film. Stand out soundtracks for me include Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’s Gone Girl and The Social Network soundtracks, as well as Daniel Pemberton’s Steve Jobs soundtrack. I think certain tracks from these may work well in our piece, particularly Remember from the Steve Jobs soundtrack, as the use of synth and electric guitar would work nicely to represent the technological side of the space race.

The Social Network album artwork. (Asbill, 2011)

I also think it would be interesting if we could use original music alongside the tracks that I will find, as it would be easier to create a recurring theme or stimulus throughout the show. For example, we could use a specific guitar riff or chord progression for certain moments in the show that would tie it together. The idea of letters throughout the show was thrown around in a recent rehearsal, so it would be nice to have a recurring theme through those, if they are used.

Asbill, M. (2011) “The Social Network” Soundtrack, A (brief) Listening Guide. [online] Millerasbill. Available from http://millerasbill.com/the-social-network-soundtrack-a-brief-listening-guide/ [Accesed 20 February 2016].

The Guardian (2008) Music deserves a bigger role in the theatre. [online] London: The Guardian. Available from http://www.theguardian.com/stage/theatreblog/2008/dec/05/theatre-music-sound-design [Accessed 20 February 2016].