Sound For Theatre

As the lead sound designer for the Purdue University version of the Thorton Wilder classic, Our Town, I guided the sound creation and music composition process with fellow designer Nicholas Ponti. 

This process was driven by a series of ideas I had early in the production. The word I returned to was "tactile". I wanted to bolster this subtle drama through physically tangible sounds and compositions. 

I lead the process with sounds I recorded myself. My composed music predominately comprised of live instruments, and sound effects were recorded using vintage foley techniques. 

My first foray into modern dance was the 2025 spring works for the Purdue Contemporary Dance Company (PCDC). It was an experience filled with collaboration, as I took on the responsibility of lead sound design for the seasons work. This leading role entailed guiding the 6 other designers, including putting the pieces in 7.1 surround sound. 

My composition was done in collaboration with the lead production engineer, Zachary Schoensiegel and choreographer Kendal Clay. 

The second time I worked with the PCDC was for the spring works of the subsequent year. 

This design took a naturalistic approach, incorporating live instrumentation like my work on Our Town. My choreographer, Joy McEwen, wanted someone able to compose and perform something with acoustic guitar, so I used that as the primary driving force of the piece. 

The Snow is a play written by Finnegan Kruckmeyer. As a play intended for a younger audience, we wanted to create a sense of comedy and heightened realism. As assistant designer, my job was creating sound effects, but I also assisted in cue sheet creation and light composition work.

The lead sound designer, Sujin Kim, was a great mentor during the process, giving me the guidance necessary to create sound effects in line with the design vision of the production.