Buffalo Springfield in their 1960’s hit song wanted us to perk up and listen to what’s going on. Well that is one of the goals of the Sound Designer. To give you an indication of how crucial sound is to a performance, imagine the sounds from the famous shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho. Now imagine if there was complete silence, or even worse, the wrong cue, say a rubber ducky quaking. Not the same oomph, right ?
I reached out to Bob Krukowski with whom I have worked on several shows to answer some of the nagging questions as to how he does it; what are the technical secrets behind the scenes, and what’s his inspiration. Normally I would put his answers into a narrative, but his responses were so entertaining that, not only are we keeping them intact, but we are offering him a job as a potential OLT script writer (But according to him, not an actor- never again !).
Bob Krukowski at the board (photo by Maria Vartanova)
What do you do for a living?
I work for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans as a Client Portfolio Manager. I primarily work with scientists within the department, gathering their information technology requirements and documenting them for the Information Technology group.
When did you get involved with OLT and briefly what have you done for them?
I started volunteering in 2011, first as a sound operator. But I have also operated the fly, been stage crew, and actually had the romantic lead in one of our summer plays. (I apologize to anyone who had to watch me…) But primarily I’m a sound designer now.
What do you do exactly in terms of sound?
To me, there are two goals a sound design needs to achieve. The first is the practical goal where you create an audio environment with sound effects that supports what is happening on stage. This could be anything from telephone rings to thunderstorms to planes or automobiles off stage. A critical part of these effects is ensuring that any sound that is man-made respects the era and country in which the play takes place. And trust me; people will catch your mistake no matter how small you think the effect is. The second goal is to establish an appropriate musical soundscape to shape the production. Again, you usually want to respect the era and location or social atmosphere of the play – but not always; you also want to use the music to lead the audience into a certain mood in preparation for the next scene, or to reflect the mood of something that just occurred on stage.
How does it work?
I read a script a few times, gathering different pieces of information with each read. I start collecting sound effects first, then work on any intro music or scene transitions afterwards. Then I will meet with the director to go over the design. Sometimes you and the director don’t see eye to eye, but ultimately, the director makes the final decision. The next big step is when we move the play onto the stage. You need to set up on-stage speakers in the appropriate places for effects (such as behind a door or under a phone) and load the design into the theatre sound workstation. You then start to run the sound with the rehearsals, preparing for the cue to cue, which is where all design aspects for the production (sound, light, set changes, etc.) are mapped out and finalised with the stage manager. At this point, the design is complete and there are very minor changes, if any, before opening night.
Is there a library of sound effects? Can you can draw from it? Do you have to pay for them? Can you create your own?
I use various sources to aid in my sound designs. The theatre has quite an extensive library of effects for all sound designers to use. If I can’t find what I am looking for there, I use a couple of online sites where I can buy certain effects. As a last resort, when I can’t find that exact sound I am looking for, I will create my own.
Do you still use those old methods they used on radio in the 1940s (such as banging coconut shells together to simulate horses clopping like in that Monty Python movie).
I actually have! I’ve recorded the sound of snapping a leather belt to create the sound of someone being slapped. Also quite often if we need the sound of a door closing or slamming off stage, we use what’s called a “door box”. It’s a wooden box with a door attached with a strong spring that slams the door closed. It is used to produce the sound of a full size door closing off stage.
How many sound people need to work each night of a show?
Just one. Once the design is complete and ready – you only need one person to run the cues as needed.
Does anything ever go wrong during a show? How do you repair it?
It’s live theatre; of course things go wrong! Not very often though. But speakers could fail, or actors could skip blocks of text that we rely on to know when to run a sound cue. Actors are pretty good at covering up any mishaps – and we just move on. My worst experience so far was when an actor was waiting specifically for a scream off-stage in order to proceed with the scene. (Sorry again Lindsay!) The speaker failed and she just sat there, combing her hair for what I am sure felt like an eternity for her. There wasn’t enough time to reroute the sound to another speaker, so I had to tell the stage manager “Scream!! Scream loud!!!” to give the actress something to react to. She did, and it worked and no one was the wiser.
What’s it like sitting in the booth so high above the auditorium? How do you get up there?
It’s an interesting view as you can see the audience and how they are reacting. There is a metal spiral staircase off-stage right that takes us to the upper level of the theatre.
Any funny anecdotes ?
As bad as I felt for Lindsay waiting for that scream, I laugh about it now. Not sure if she does though…
What is the sound design you are most proud of? What’s the most unusual?
A sound design I’m most proud of… That’s a tough question and I honestly don’t think I could pick just one. But a recent one that stands out was my sound design for Marvin’s Room. That design was primarily a soundtrack for the play – but the final result was nowhere near what I had originally intended. I went on a bit of a journey myself to complete it and was really proud of the finished product. The design to me was almost another character on stage. (Thanks again Shaun for having faith in me.) As for most unusual, nothing particular comes to mind.
Is there formal training?
There are schools that offer sound design as part of a larger theatre production program, but I never had the opportunity to take those. I am primarily self-taught while relying on other sound designers or online resources when in need of ideas and methods on how to do something.
Approximately how many shows do you work on a year ?
Depends on the year. This season I only have one design, but other seasons I’ve had as many as four.
Anything else ?
I think that about covers it. 🙂 Oh yes, one more thing. Just a thank you to David Magladry for the new chairs.
-Albert & Bob