Episode Five - Sound - October 18th, 2023

The fifth episode of The Impossible is Only the Untried: a Prologue Podcast with Mandy E. MacLean.

In this episode, Mandy shares a recap of where the process is so far - and plans to explore with Sound Designer Richard Feren and Audio Technician Mike Brunelle. 
 
W. Ross Macdonald X Prologue Performing Arts Collaboration is supported by The Canada Council for the Arts and the Arthur and Audrey Cutten Foundation.

Learn more about the W. Ross MacDonald X Prologue Performing Arts collaboration at @prologuearts and www.prologue.org

Transcript

Episode Five - Sound - October 30th, 2023 

(student voices) WRMS. W. Ross Macdonald. W. Ross Macdonald School. WRMS. W. Ross Macdonald School. W Ross.  The Impossible. The Impossible. The Impossible is Only the Untried. 

(Mandy)  You’re listening to The Impossible is Only the Untried - a Prologue Performing Arts podcast that shares findings that are being discovered and questions that are being asked when we think about how to make performing arts more accessible to youth from the Low Vision and Blind community. 

For our new listeners - My name is Mandy E. MacLean, I’m a professional theatre artist living in downtown Toronto. I’m in my late thirties, I am a member of the Mad Community, and have had multiple Traumatic Brain Injuries, and I have a really awesome cocker spaniel puppy named Mulder. 

*sounds of puppy panting*

Do you have anything you want to add Mulder? Yeah, good boy! 

And I am thrilled to be the Project Coordinator of the W. Ross MacDonald School for the Blind and Prologue Performing Arts Project. 

This is the first episode from Phase # 2 of our project - so to bring you up to speed - 

Prologue has been joining the W. Ross drama class since early 2023, along with a team of other additional professionals from the arts community, to explore how youth audiences from the Low Vision and Blind Community experience theatre. With feedback from the students, we’re discovering some amazing stuff - and we’re thinking about how to incorporate these thoughts into a piece of theatre from the initial concept all the way into production  - so that Low Vision and Blind youth audiences can have the option of engaging in a piece of theatre without the use of any formal accommodation. 

Last semester, the drama teacher and the students created a play called “That One Drama Class” - it’s a fun story where a monster overtakes a drama class, and the students develop superpowers (and okay wait… fast forward 10 seconds if you don’t want to hear a spoiler) they ultimately defeat the monster and they save their school! This semester, we’re continuing to use it as a vehicle to explore some of the ideas we’re working with! This is exciting, since we’re taking a process that is similar to how a new play is developed in professional theatre.

Richard Feren (an incredible, awesome Dora-winning sound designer) is back this semester, and he’s joined by Mike Brunelle (who, let me tell you, is the best audio tech dude I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with), and we’re exploring sound. We’ve outlined a series of sessions to explore with the class - and some of these topics include directionality, vibration, transformation, and elevating practical sounds. And I am so excited to tell you about them as we keep exploring.

Last week, Richard focused on using stings with the class. We told you a little bit about this in a previous podcast episode. A question we had was how a young person from the Low Vision or Blind Community associates sound with stage action - or how they give it meaning. A specific example of this is the sound created for each of their superpower gestures (this is in the sound world called “a sting”). Here’s an example of one:

*a low vibrating hum occurs that resolves in pitch as it finishes*

After meeting the class this semester, and sorting out who has what power and sound - we asked them - How does dramaturgy of the moment need to change in every instance? And how is the sound more clearly associated with your superpower? Do we understand that a gesture has even happened? 

Alesia, who was in the class last semester, and we are so lucky to have back again, cause she is awesome, gave us some feedback - 

(Alesia) Um, I feel like my sting… it starts fast, and like my hands go up really fast and then, um, it slows down, and my hands like slow down, so it matches like what I am doing, so it’s fast and then it becomes like slower.

(Mandy) Yeah, so do you think someone in the audience will have an understanding of what your movements are through that sound.

(Alesia) Yeah because - 

(Mandy) Great 

(Alesia) At first it will go very fast, and they will be like Oh that person is probably doing something really fast, and then when it slows down they’ll be like, ok maybe that person is still  doing something but it’s not fast like it was I don’t know five seconds ago.

(Mandy) Yeah, like they match.

(Alesia) Yeah

(Mandy) They work together…

So it sounds like we’re on the right track!  The superpower stings ARE helpful in replacing what in another version of this play might have been something like “Alessia raises her hand and extends it forward into the air”. Something important to note is that stings (like these superhero sounds)  aren’t a new concept, we’re just using them in a new way. So far we’re uncovering that concepts and tools that are already used regularly in sound designs - we’re just using them with a more considered leveling or different placement. We’ll keep you posted as we continue to explore.

The class has also told us that text is an element that can help clarify the meaning or action of a sound. An example could be:

*the sound of a something winding up under tension, being followed by a release*

OMGOSH ALESIA YOU’RE GETTING THE MONSTER!

That was my really great attempt at acting - in that example,  we understand that the action of that sound came from Alessia - and her action was big enough to destroy, well, a monster! Dramaturgy is so awesome. Isn’t it? 

Leah Holder, the Company Dramaturg of Theatre by the Bay, has joined this process as a Dramaturg and Script advisor. And one thing we’ve been trying to figure out is the “sweet spot” of integrated audio description. How much is too much? How much is not enough? Alesia has helped us to realize that when description is based on the action that is necessary to move the story forward, it’s the closest you can get to any kind of a sweet spot - so maybe there isn’t a spot, but maybe a “generally sweet area” we should just all strive for.

(Alessia) To me personally, it’s annoying. Someone saying someone raised their hand, someone went slightly to the right, someone exited the room, I don’t need to know all that information, that’s just taking up too much time! 

(Mandy) Great, so if it’s something you absolutely need to know that is absolutely crucial to the storytelling - 

(Aleisa) Then do it

(Mandy) The you need - love that, thank you.

(Alesia) But if it’s just somebody moved slightly to the right, I don’t care.

(Mandy) You don’t care

(Alesia) Somebody moved upstage - 

(Mandy) Somebody twitched their foot?

(Alesia) Do not care

(Mandy) Don’t care.

(Mandy) After all, everyone experience with Low Vision and Blindness is different - and therefore everyone has different needs and different preferences! 

We’re looking at how we can make the audience experience more inclusive for youth of the Low Vision & Blind Community - and the fabulous students at W. Ross MacDonald are helping us discover techniques and strategies through our exploration! 

Join us next time, and I'm going to update you further on our exploration of sound - Next week, Richard will be looking at directional sound with the students - and I can’t wait to hear what happens!

I encourage all of you to come up with questions, and if you are interested in exploring more, please reach out to Prologue and continue this conversation.

Visit www.prologue.org or find us on social media at @prologuearts!

And here are those amazing students again to send us off - 

 (student voices) The impossible. The impossible. The impossible. The impossible. The impossible. The impossible. The impossible is Only the Untried.