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APPROPRIATE
Sound Design
Appropriate is a complex family drama aptly named as the themes of the play explore the many facets of what "appropriate" is. With that, playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins calls upon the symbolic nature of the cicada as he writes a whole prologue of the creature and its control of the theatre as "the insect song fills and sweeps the theatre in pulsing pitch-black waves, over and beyond the stage - washing itself over the walls and the floors, baptizing the aisles and seats, forcing itself into every inch of space, every nook, every pocket, hiding place, and pore until this incessant chatter is touching you." This passion from the playwright inspired me.
Knowing the importance of the cicada, I used that inspiration from the playwright to focus my sound design to craft dense and emotional soundscapes using the different calls and sounds of the creature. Starting with an overture of its various kinds of calls at the top of show expressing the life long cycle of this insect, its sounds transform and find their place surround the space as the play continues on. Then at the end, they return in full force, encompassing the audience as they reach the end of their life cycle and restart the whole process again.
Overture - Cicada Swell
Overture - Cicada Fill
Overture - Lows
Overture - Full Mix
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