Dave Tosti-Lane gave an engaging introduction to the world of sound design for the legitimate theater, from history to planning and artistic decisions to hardware. Dave is a founder and Chair of the Performance Production Department of Seattle's Cornish College of the Arts, where he has taught for 25 years. Armed with a bachelor's degree in Home Economics and experience lighting rock bands at Virginia Tech, he turned to lighting design in graduate school, and eventually, sound design. He is an AES PNW Section Committee member and has served on an AES Standards Committee on interfacing. About 12 AES members and 13 nonmembers attended. The meeting was held in the Ned & Kayla Skinner Theater of the Raisbeck Performance Hall at the Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle.

PNW Chair Dan Mortensen began by conducting the Section business including presenting the June election nominees, and asking for any more names of turnaways from the overcrowded April meeting. Attendees all briefly introduced themselves.

The century-old theater was originally a Sons and Daughters of Norway meeting hall, more recently a bar, and with Landmark status, was carefully renovated 4 years ago by Cornish while retaining its rustic charms. A typical surround-type sound system was used for demonstrations and two projectors showed the computer displays. PNW Committeeman Jake Perrine helped operate the demo hardware.

Dave began by noting the unique aspect of sound in the theater - it can only be experienced in time: it can't have a snapshot taken of it to show someone, like a set or light design. It has less control over variables than stage lighting has, such as noises, audience, etc. that must be accounted for in the total sound design.

He described the job of sound designer, who at best "creates an aural environment that transports the audience into the world of the play." Sound is often the first thing that occurs in a play. Sound Designers create soundscapes, the aural equivalent of a landscape.

Dave went into the functions of theater sound, including audibility (as in reinforcement, and the audience expectation of film-like sound levels); motivation (sounds must fit appropriately and come from the right place); music; vocal alteration and substitution; extension of dramatic space/time; and for mood.

Next came a history lesson, with theater sound through the Bronze Age, Medieval, Shakespeare, Restoration/Neoclassical/Romantic periods, to contemporary times. He described the extensive 1920s London, "Ghost Train" sound props list to simulate a train sound in the theater.

Historical equipment for effect playback included the gramophone, and the Panatrope (phono discs with a calibrated tonearm to hit the desired cues on the discs) used for decades until tape came. Tape was actually not as flexible in many ways for quickly changing cues. Modern digital systems used now, such as this "SFX Pro Audio Show Control" program from Stage Research Inc. have revolutionized show sound design to where it works as flexibly as the old 78 rpm disc systems!

In the US, it appears automatic mixer expert Dan Dugan was the first to be listed as a Sound Designer, for work he did at ACT in San Francisco in their 1968-69 season; Bob Kernan was given the credit "Sound by Bob Kernan" on Hair on Broadway in that same year, and Abe Jacob was the first to get "sound designer" billing on Broadway, for Jesus Christ Superstar in 1971.

Dave then went through the Sound Designer's process, which typically starts with script analysis and research. There are initial readings, research, zeroing in on specific needs, scene breakdowns, and a tension curve created if needed. A tension curve is a chart of time versus emotional level through a play. Also considered is the collaboration with director and designers, rehearsal work and cue building, and tech and dress rehearsals, where 90% of cue work detail is often done.

In response to questions, Dave said that sound effects are now often bought online, although CDs are still available. He played an example of a complex effect, and we watched program cues fire on the computer as we heard a helicopter take off and move around the room. Then it was time for a snack break.

Door prizes were drawn after the break, with the following winners:

• T shirts courtesy Opus 4 Studios and Stage Research:
  • Tom Stiles
  • Jayney Wallick
  • Terry Denbrook
  • Chance Unterseher
• CDs courtesy Starbucks Hear Music:
  • Tiberu Spulber
  • Mac Perkins
  • Jake Perrine
  • Rick Smargiassi
  • Stephen Devore
• Swag courtesy Meyer Sound and Dansound Inc:
  • Meyer Sound hat, Andy Hall
  • Meyer Sound bag, Rick Chinn
• Courtesy Stage Research, makers of SFX:
  • Stage design pencil templates from Stage Research:
    • Shawn Murphy
    • Susie Kozawa
    • Kevin Cameron
  • ShowBuilder software package, Paul Colvin

Dave said that he encourages students to use whatever computer platform and software programs they like. Some will edit with the open-source Audacity program, some run ProTools or Adobe Audition.

We finished up with discussions on some suitable small-theater sound hardware and their capabilities.