Matt Starritt | Sound Designer

During the drive from Boston (and our red-eye) to Jacob’s Pillow, was the first time I though to ask where we were going. The trees that line Mass Pike conceal the suburbs fading away from Boston (somehow in my west-coast mind, trees = we’re in the country now) but at some point it became apparent to me that we were headed somewhere remote. The highways that circle Boson become more infrequent, then non existent, and the exits from the turnpike get farther and farther.

“Where are we going?”
“Jacob’s Pillow.”
“I know, but it seems like it’s pretty far out here.”
“Yup, It’s super annoying, you actually have to back-track 15 miles from the turnpike exit to get there. It’s really close to the turnpike, but the nearest exit is 20 minutes down the road in the wrong way. You have to drive under it three times.”
“But, where does the audience come from?”
“I don’t know, New York, summer homes.”
“Humm.”

Juniper was pretty much right on track. The audience seemed like a typical modern dance audience, one that you’d find at any city in the country. Jacob’s Pillow has two professional dance companies, from all over in the world, each week, for ten weeks of the summer. We had 6 performances. They also have an educational component, a series of dance classes 2 weeks that happen at the same time. All this, I could have found out ahead of time on their website.

On the way to Bates, I didn’t even ask where we were headed– I knew. Lobster. I was going to eat 100.

As it tuns out, Bates is a college, and the festival is centered around education. 190 dance students take 4 (of the 32 offered) dance classes per week, and a professional company performs friday and saturday nights. This, I also could have found out on their website.

All this to say, the audience for our two performances at Bates had a lot more dance students that normal. As a sound designer, I feel like designing the sound is only about 1/3 of my job. The other 2/3 are talking about designing the show (lots of meetings and planning and more meetings), and watching the audience watch the show. At this point, I feel like I write a whole book about watching audiences watch shows. I can feel when they are happy, apprehensive, bored, or perplexed. I know when they are surprised in the good way, and surprised in the bad way. We talk about it after the show. “Oh, that audience was really into the show.” “Ya, they loved it”

All that to say, the audience at Bates was really fun to watch watch the show. There was an excitement and an edge of seat stillness that’s pretty hard to find. The audience is part of a feedback loop too, they more excited the audience is, the more excited the performers get. I have to say, I think the two performances at Bates have been our best yet.

Notes on Sound

Mostly, I design sound for theatre. I’ve wanted to do more design work for dance but, generally, dance shows need composers more than sound designers, and technically sound for dance is usually pretty simple. Actually, it seems to me that Zoe | Juniper and A Crack in Everything is on the far end of the technical spectrum of modern dance. Projection isn’t necessarily a new idea in dance, but  the way Juniper has designed the set / video components is novel. The load-in load-out schedule reflects that. For a lights and tights legs and borders show, the technical staff can arrive in the morning, focus the lights before lunch, and have a full show run-through by dinner. Getting the sound installed is a matter of getting the CD out of your bag, putting it in, and pressing play.

Our load in is more complicated. It takes us almost a full 12 hour day to load in the scenery and video equipment. And another day to install / focus video, lights and sound. The sound for A Crack in Everything uses eight discreet channels of sound that all have to be rebalanced in the space for every que. Every space is different. On the Boards, for example, is pretty shallow, but wide. The audience rake is medium steep– the last seat is high and far away. The space at Jacob’s Pillow, was very very deep, the audience rake shallow with a low ceiling overhang, and they have almost no wing space . BATES has almost no audience rake, the smallest stage we’ve been on so far, but has 10x the wing space.

The playback system we use (QLAB) lets me push any sound to any speaker in the theater. I have control over how, when and where the sound happens. Everything is automated, I pre-program all the cross fades, ins, outs, plays, stops, and loops. I can play as many things I want at a time and can balance the sound between every speaker in the space. I can even program it to be responsive– the music plays, then when all the dancers fall down, I hit the space bar and it plays an explosion sound and cuts the music out.

BATES is the third space we’ve installed A Crack in Everything. Its been fun to watch ourselves get more efficient with our time– and having a similar schedule in each space has given us a sort repetition– knowing what we have ahead of us, and the pace we need to keep to get everything in on time.

The biggest factor in installing the sound comes during queing. Queing happens last– after we’ve fully loaded in and focused everything, and right before we are ready to rehearse with the dancers on the stage for the first time (that’s spacing). Queing is when lights and sound take a look at how the show looks, and make adjustments for the space. First I run some music, to get a sense of the space. I go through speaker by speaker and listen to the quality of the sound, the direction of the sound, how loud we can run the speakers, how quiet I can get the sound before I can’t hear it anymore. Then I do a quick balance for the space, just making an educated guess about where I think the level for each speaker should be set. Once we have a general overall mix, I play a couple of loud ques, then a couple of quiet ques, and make more adjustments. Then, (the hard part) I run step by step through each of the the show’s sound ques, play them all in the space while listening, and make little tiny changes to what each speaker is doing. Then we’re ready to bring in the dancers, have a spacing rehearsal, and then a tech run.

Matt Starritt | Sound Designer

It is my personal belief that everyone should have a funny haircut. I don’t know if Juniper agrees, but his haircut sure is funny. We’ve worked together for a while now, so we’re pretty used to the idea of having matching funny haircuts– mohawks both. When we got to Jacob’s Pillow we got the usual response, mild amusement and “you guys know you have the same haircut, right?” My response is usually, “well, everyone should have a mohawk.”

Then around day three something different than normal happened. The crew we were working with (fantastic crew) was still really interested. At lunch they had more mohawk questions for us. How long had we had them? Were they easy to maintain? Then right before the show, “Who cuts your hair?”, they asked both of us. Well, Juniper cuts his own mohawk and has a “it’s going to look awesome in two weeks” philosophy and my wife cuts mine in the kitchen, we explained. We found out that they had made a pact. Mohawks all. They let Juniper cut the first, and by the end of the next day two mohawks had become seven.

It is amazing to be in the dressing room there and to see the signatures of all the amazing dance companies that have come through there. We are honored to have our names there with so many other people.

Thanks Jacobs Pillow for bringing us and letting us premiere this work on the Doris Duke theater

I feel very excited by what we have been able to do. The questions at the talk backs have really indicated to me that we have accomplished what we set out to do with this piece. When I get a chance I will post the videos of theses talk backs because for me they are an exciting addition to the experience of the work.

I have to thank the efforts of all involved. The integration of all of the elements together feels seamless and it could not have happened without the great team of people we are working with. They all bring such wonderful strengths to the piece.

Thanks Robert and Matt for touring with us and thank you to Eric for the costumes. You all have done an amazing job to make this a full piece

Matt Starritt| Sound Designer

Everything has been going pretty well here in W. Mass. Robert, Juniper and I took a red eye from Seattle to Boston–no one slept. We were able to rent a car despite the fact that Juniper had left his licensee on the scanner at Meany (which Tom Burke overnighted to us the next day). Robert drove us from Boston to the Berkshires. On the way we stopped at a Mass Pike rest stop for some breakfast where, literally, the only place open was a McDonalds that featured Dunkin Donuts coffee. Once we got out to Jacob’s Pillow, we had the whole rest of the day to get settled in (nap). Which was good because we were all pretty tired. We’re staying in a farmhouse that’s just down the road from the main Jacob’s Pillow grounds. The grounds are big– two theaters, restaurant, bar, cafeteria, clinic, rehearsal halls, picnic areas, housing for the staff and interns for the two spaces, and parking for both venues.

Zoe and the dancers arrived from New York that afternoon and we all got to casually explore the grounds here (cafeteria).Tuesday was our load-in, which went smoothly, with no big technical snags. The crew here is fantastic. They are all part of a production internship that pulls internationally.

Wednesday morning, the glossy floor went down smoothly. Then, Robert and I got the lights and sound qued through pretty quickly. We had an afternoon run followed by a totally successful premiere. Initially the show seemed a little avant guard for the venue here, our video and visual arts elements are atypical for the type of dance the audience is used to. But, so far, the audiences all seem to be pretty excited about the show. We’ve even gotten some good reviews.

http://blog.timesunion.com/localarts/zoe-juniper-jacob%E2%80%99s-pillow-72011/17318/
http://www.boston.com/ae/theater_arts/articles/2011/07/23/zoejunipers_abstract_crack_offers_dance_in_multi_dimensions/
http://www.berkshireeagle.com/entertainment/ci_18526875

Overall, its been very smooth– until this morning when Juniper poured coffee all over himself. Twice. Its thrown everything out of whack. Now, he’ll have to wear his Monday shorts on Saturday. And tomorrow he’ll have to wear his Tuesday shorts. Tuesday shorts on Sunday! If we don’t get to a laundry soon, it could have dire consequences. =

I am in no doubt extremely excited for tonight’s kick-off of OntheBoards‘ second annual showcase of The A.W.A.R.D. Show! I am also super nervous. This is my Seattle premiere! I have been working here in Seattle with zoe|juniper for over a year now and I could not be more eager to share with the art community here, my love for the experience of  performing. There really is nothing like it. My body quakes and warms, my head pulses and my senses ignite with the feeling of electric cold ice followed by my heart ramping from a pump to a vibration- did I say there is nothing like it?

Here is a taste of what we have been working on.

This here is an improvisation that zoe|juniper developed over the summer.  Zoe and I performed it at the conclusion of a residency at Jacob’s Pillow, who will be premiering A Crack in Everything this summer. This of course is not what you will see tonight, just a visual of how the company moves.

Question: Does everyone know what The A.W.A.R.D. Show! actually is? On the front, we cannot deny that it is a competition for $10,000. But if we look deeper into the acronym A.W.A.R.D. therein lies the most important factor: Artist With Audiences Responding to Dance. How amazing is an opportunity like this? For myself, it is a part of the beautiful seed from which art is born: discourse, dialogue, controversy, politics, etc. A showcase like this brings to the forefront what people are doing and saying without having to ask them to do or say it; imaginations are crossed with perception which encourages preference and this leads to the desire for more of the experience. This is art in demand!

Even before the show starts the conversations spark the Seattle community. Read about it here: The SunBreak: The AWARD Show! Returns For a Second Round At On the Boards
and here:Seattle Magazine: How OtB’s A.W.A.R.D Show is democratizing Dance

Choreographer Neta Pulvermacher, the founder of The A.W.A.R.D. Show!, summarizes her vision: “The idea is that, by declaring out loud and upfront that audiences for The A.W.A.R.D. Show! are charged with the rights and the responsibility to make qualitative choices about what they see, the selection process becomes transparent and hopefully encourages honesty.  Then, the audience and artists can get on with the task of really looking at the work before them for what it is and to try and see it deeply. For me, The A.W.A.R.D. Show!is about freedom–the freedom to see, respond, imagine, dream, create, make or even fail, and the freedom to speak your mind and heart.”

In getting prepared for tonight’s performance, I am taking my day easy: facebook, blogging, enjoying Seattle’s finest coffee and soaking in what will soon to be known as that day of my premiere performance in Seattle. I am well rested and fed, thanks to Team Diva.

If you don’t have a ticket, there is still time! Even if the box office says sold out, take my advice- if you want to see the show- Show up! Start time- 8pm!

Curtain Warmers stand-by…
Curtain Warmers Go!
Curtain, Lights, Music Stand-by…

and Go!

I thought I would start with a couple of things that i wrote while trying to think of an installation idea for “a crack in everything”

Gallery installation. Working with the ideas of permeable space and the hierarchy of space. We want to create a world of felt sense. Using video projections to create Physical Metaphors that are felt in the body via the perceptions of the visual space. How the viewer moves through the space will determine the part of the hierarchy. The relationships of the viewers to the projections will shift there perception.

Using Osmosis or infusion of information. A space you can walk into but from the outside it looks two dimensional. The space has to glow with a white light (like a Turrell) it has steps that take you up into it but then the floor is raked the other way. Behind that entrance will be the performers. In white with simple white tunics made of course material but white. The Performers are moving between stillness and motion. Powder dropping down onto there backs to create wisps of smoke as if their body is evaporating. it is a forest of bodies 5 to 9 who are all painted white with red thread coming out of their mouths and creating a line over the top of their head. They move from one position to another at different times and at different paces. Viewers are able to walk through the performers and occupy the space. But they also will be able to watch from outside and see what looks like a two dimensional space