Theatre Sound Design
Image courtesy of The Factory Theater
THE KELLY GIRLS by Shannon O’Neill
Directed by Spenser Davis
The Factory Theater, Chicago, IL, 2023
Belfast, 1960s: As conflicts between various political factions threaten to tear Ireland apart from the inside, sisters Fianna and Regan Kelly feel compelled to engage in the fight for their homeland. But when they join the ranks of The Provisionals, and find themselves committing acts of brutal terrorism and guerrilla warfare, both young women are forced to question how much they’re willing to destroy in the name of unity. Playwright Shannon O’Neill follows up her critically acclaimed “May the Road Rise Up” with this story of political upheaval and taking a stand.
Image courtesy of Babes With Blades Theater Company
PLAID AS HELL by Cat McKay
Directed by Christina Casano; Fight & Intamacy Direction by Maureen Yasko
Babes With Blades Theatre Company, Chicago, IL, 2022
Winner of the BWBTC’s International Playwriting Competition Joining Sword & Pen and The Margaret W. Martin Award
PLAID AS HELL is an honest, slightly raunchy, queer comedy which introduces us to Cass, who is hoping her annual camping trip will go well this year. But with her best friend Emilie sniping at Cass’s new girlfriend Jessica, not to mention the serial killer on the loose, the weekend is off to a rocky start.
Photo courtesy of Stage Left Theatre
MAN OF THE PEOPLE by Dolores Diaz
A new play directed by Anna C. Bahow
Stage Left Theatre, Chicago, IL, 2022
A charlatan doctor rises to power by peddling a radical remedy in the days before medical regulation in the U.S. Man of the People explores the U.S. love affair with charlatans and their existence in the space between symptom and cause of public folly.
MAN OF THE PEOPLE is inspired by the true story of John Brinkley, an American “doctor” that grew to notoriety for selling a cure for male impotence in the 1920s. Bolstered to fame through radio, Brinkley earned the adoration of many but made an enemy of Chicago’s Dr. Morris Fishbein, editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association who sought to hold him accountable for his quackery. Despite numerous attempts to thwart him, Brinkley wriggled away from consequence, creating his own reality, and announcing his political candidacy before the final showdown with Fishbein.
Radio Samples: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4
Image courtesy of Jackalope Theatre Company
13TH ANNUAL LIVING NEWSPAPER FESTIVAL
Jackalope Theatre Company, Chicago, IL, 2022
In homage to the 1930's Living Newspapers of the Federal Theatre Project, Jackalope has assembled an exciting line-up of six world premiere one-act plays inspired by recent news headlines. Each play is followed by a supplemental program to further engage with the news article that inspired the play.
The Plays
DOUG
By Paloma Nozicka*
Directed by Kaiser Ahmed*
“It Could’ve Been the World’s Largest Potato, if Only It Were a Potato” – The New York Times, March 17, 2022
CHILD PROTECTION
By Jesse Alana Robkin
Directed by Carter Caldwell
“Dreading the knock at the door: Parents of trans kids in Texas are terrified for their families” – The Washington Post, March 17, 2022
UNTIL THE SUN DIES
By Katherine Gwynn
Directed by Monét Felton*
“Did scientists really quantum entangle tardigrades?” – Cosmos Magazine, Jan 5, 2022
VIRGINS
By Jasmine Sharma
Directed by Laura Alcala Baker
“Actresses up for Madonna biopic must do ‘grueling’ boot camp” – New York Post, March 3, 2022
TRAIN TO ZANZIBAR
By Omer Abbas Salem*
Directed by Arti Ishak
“Pete Davidson will escape the Kanye drama for 11 whole minutes when he heads to space” – LA Times, March 14, 2022
THE CURRENT STATE OF SUNSHINE
By Ike Holter
Directed by Shade Murray
“How We Make Sense of Time” – The New York Times, January 1, 2022
Image courtesy of Third Avenue PlayWorks
SLOW FOOD by Wendy MacLeod
Directed by Jacob Janssen
Third Avenue PlayWorks, Sturgeon Bay, WI, 2022
Peter and Irene are empty nesters looking to celebrate their big anniversary with a nice night out, but Stephen, their server, has other ideas. SLOW FOOD is a hilarious comedy that asks what do we want from life when what we need is something (anything!!) to eat.
Image by Sir Green Pea Studios
I BUILD GIANTS by Ryan Stevens
Directed by Christina Casano
The Plagiarists, Chicago, IL, 2022
The entire world changes with the invention of giant mech suits called GOSSAMERS. The Engineer who built them must reckon with the ramifications of her invention as they grow and alter the lives of more and more people, from those who'd wish to exploit these new machines, to those who fear them. A science-fiction play about big robots, bigger dreams, and how we live in our bodies in the era of machines.
Composition & Sound Excerpts: Loop 1 | Loop 2 | Executive’s Theme | Gossamer Movement | News Theme
Image courtesy of Broken Nose Theatre. Graphic design by David Weiss.
THIS IS ONLY A TEST by Eric Reyes Loo
A world premiere directed by Toma Tavares Langston
Broken Nose Theatre, Chicago, IL, 2022
It could happen anywhere, at any time, and the faculty at Washington High have decided to take "being prepared" to a whole new level. Through a series of Active Shooter Drills, their students will be trained on how to fight back. But as they’re asked to quell violence by responding violently, four teenagers begin to wonder: if we’re so prepared, why do we feel even more unsafe? Led by Toma Tavares Langston (The Light; Hedwig and the Angry Itch), this brand-new play asks us to consider the moment when preparing for the worst tips over into a whole new breed of violence all its own.
Photo courtesy of Rivendell Theatre Ensemble
THE TASTERS by Meghan Brown
A world premiere directed by Devon de Mayo
Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, Chicago, IL, 2020
With government leaders getting poisoned left and right, the Tasters have an important job—eating delicious, gourmet meals, and then waiting to see if they die. When rebellious Taster Elyse goes on a hunger strike, she kicks off a series of events that will change the course of history…while putting all of the Tasters’ lives in jeopardy.
In her sharp, energetic new play, Meghan Brown (The Pliant Girls) explores the nuances of political resistance, self-interest, and individual action creating hope in the face of hopelessness.
The General’s Theme: Johannes Brahms - Concerto for Violin and Cello, Op. 102, “Double Concerto”: III. Vivace non troppo
Sound example: the gunshot
Photo by John Cole Media
HERSHEL AND THE HANUKKAH GOBLINS by Eric Kimmel
Adapted by Michael Dailey, Music by Jacob Combs
Directed by Lauren Katz, Music Direction by Yair Farkas
Strawdog Theatre Company, Chicago, IL, 2019
Will Hershel of Ostropool outsmart the goblins who haunt the old synagogue so that villagers can celebrate Hanukkah? In this stage adaptation of the Caldecott Honor winning book by Eric Kimmel, the story comes to life with music and a little bit of magic for families of all ages to enjoy.
Photo courtesy of Mudlark Theatre Company
3:35PM by Christina Lepri
Directed by Will Quam
Mudlark Theatre Company, Evanston, IL, 2019
End of the world? Cool cool cool cool cool.
Trapped inside their school by a mysterious fog, a group of Alcott students find themselves under attack—and completely unsupervised. As the conspiracy theories (and kids) go bouncing off the walls, the students’ survival instincts and their new found freedom collide in an explosive and absurd new apocalyptic adventure.
Sound examples: the prank | the generator | desk bowling | alien communication
Photo by Michael Brosilow
LAURA AND THE SEA by Kate Tarker
A world premiere directed by Devon de Mayo
Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, Chicago, IL, 2019
It’s company outing day, and Laura, one of the top travel agents of her generation, is having the best/worst day of her life. So much so that she decides to end it all. Afterwards, her colleagues try to piece things together on a memorial blog. But how do you mourn someone you didn’t know that well? A comedy about depression, or: a treatise on travel agents who don’t travel.
Sound examples: email notification | the office environment
Photo by Joe Mazza/Brave Lux
WOMEN OF 4G by Amy Tofte
Directed by Lauren Katz
Babes With Blades Theatre Company, Chicago, IL, 2019
Seventy-five years in the future, an all-female crew and their male captain depart on what appears to be a routine mission to Mars until the captain is murdered and the real mission comes to light. Part murder mystery, part space thriller, Women of 4G uses a science fiction world to ask questions about women in power, as well as their leadership, responsibility and, ultimately, sacrifice.
Transition Music Samples 1 | 2
Sound FX Samples: Electrocution | Alarm | Hallucination | Sealing Off the Com
SEAGULLS by Beth Hyland
Directed by Rebecca Willingham
Steppenwolf LookOut/The Sound, Chicago, IL, 2019
Seagulls is an indie-rock musical loosely based on Anton Chekhov's The Seagull. This contemporary retelling of the classic tragicomedy follows four friends and bandmates at a small college as they struggle to achieve artistic greatness without losing themselves – or each other.
Transition Music Mixing/Editing Sample: 1
Photo courtesy of Mudlark Theatre Company
CANDIDE
Created and Directed by Krista D’Agostino and John Taflan
Written by John Taflan
Mudlark Theatre Company, Evanston, IL, 2019
This new adaptation of Voltaire’s outrageous satire tells the story of the young and naïve optimist, Candide, and the absurd hardships that challenge his innocent outlook on life.
After being banished from the kingdom of Westphalia, Candide and his fellow school-aged companions begin a journey through the world encountering wealth, wisdom, and nearly unending woe as Candide desperately tries to reunite with his love, Cunégonde. Is everything that happens really for the best? Is this really the best of all possible worlds? And do we really wear pants just because we have legs? Find out in Candide.
Sound Effect Samples: The Battle | Bad Fanfare | Wando’s Sting | Holy Answerer’s Riff
Candide’s Theme: Sonata for Recorder in F Major, Op. 1 No. 11, IV. Allegro (G. F. Handel)
Design by Isabelle Souri
THE DEATH OF GAIA DIVINE by Jacob Schuler
Directed by Matthew Messina
Momentary Theatre, Chicago, IL, 2019
It’s the end of the world as we know it, and Gaia Divine (a drag-queen god) is ready to breathe her last breath; closing the curtain on Earth. Against all odds, however, there is one last love story demanding to be written. Will Benji and Tallulah, compel their has-been deity to allow one last eleven o’clock number? Or has their end already been written by another hand?
Photo by Evelyn Landow
SPIRITS TO ENFORCE by Mickle Maher
Directed by Will Quam
The Passage Theatre, Chicago, IL, 2019
It’s 400 years after the events of William Shakespeare’s The Tempest, and the monstrous Caliban has risen as a supervillain of the island's only city. And the island’s spirits? They are the superheroes, telefundraising for a production of The Tempest performed by themselves and rehearsed in their creaky submarine. SPIRITS TO ENFORCE is a funny, moving, and highly theatrical play about memory, theatre, and telephones.
Other Theatre Work
Purple Rose 2015-2016 Apprentice Class with former Artistic Director Guy Sanville (right) and Literary Manager/Education Coordinator Michelle Mountain (left)
Purple Rose Apprenticeship
Member of the 2015-2016 apprentice class of the Purple Rose Theatre Company, Chelsea, MI
Purple Rose apprentices are the backbone of the theatre. They run crew duties for the performances, assist at rehearsals, work in the box office, build the sets, hang the lights, shovel snow, scrub the toilets - you name it, a Purple Rose apprentice has probably done it! When they happen to have some down time from their work duties, apprentices attend creative workshops to build their artistic skills, and their learning and work culminates in self written, directed, and acted performance called Dark Night every summer. Many apprentices have the opportunity to join the AEA candidacy program (ECM) through their work with the theatre.