Theatre Design & Technology - Winter 2010 - 75

SOund deSign
an immediate stormy response from at least one reader, and even stronger
response from attendees of sessions in the boston 1991 conference where
charlie attempted to explain the system. over the course of several future
articles, richmond would try to "cure the apoplexy" of the responders with
cogent explanations of how control systems would really work. but the topic
remained a hot button for many years to come. richmond would return to
it with numerous articles in TD&T appearing from Winter 1992 through the
summer of 1993. While he was repeatedly accused of advocating rigid computer control of technical aspects, most often the thrust of charlie's articles
was about the necessity for maintaining and enabling human control-
again and again he made the point that there are places in the interface
where there is no substitute for a live (alert) human being!
in 1991, rick thomas became co-commissioner with John
bracewell, and in 1992 bracewell stepped down and thomas became
the commissioner.
at this point in the story, it seems important to make note of the service charlie richmond and John bracewell performed for this community
of sound artists through their long and exhaustive efforts to build the usitt
sound commission into a viable entity. beginning long before the lighting
and sound commission was formed, their involvement would span more
than two decades, and would build the solid foundation on which the current work of the commission depends. reading their early articles reveals
that both were uncannily perceptive about the future of the industry, and
both were willing to expend enormous energy to get us there. on second
thought, that would be here.
the Winter 1995, TD&T once again devoted the bulk of it's article
space to sound. "the dramatic auditory space" by rick thomas and Ken
bell, opens with: "this article presents concepts developed regarding sound
control and placement, and the relationship of the auditory space surrounding the audience and the dramatic production. its purpose is to assist in the
development of the 'spatial' repertoire of the sound score designer. ...the
sound score designer needs to develop the ability to work with sound in the
theatre in three dimensions from both a technical and aesthetic perspective.
We will explore the basics of space in sound score design, with attention to
various acoustic decisions, and will demonstrate how various effects and
moods can be created."
this important article emphasized that in the work of the sound designer the aesthetic and technical blend together, though to many observers
only the technical craft is immediately obvious. other articles in this same
issue covered using computers to create sound cue sheets, sound scores in
sequencers, and speaker plots prepared with cad.
by 1995, considerable momentum had gathered in the sound commission. a group had come together that would remain active until the present day. conference sessions were expanding to the point that usitt would
eventually limit the number of sessions an individual commission would be
allowed to present.
rick thomas continued as commissioner from 1992 through July
1996 when Martin gwinup would join him as co-commissioner through
July of 1998. also in 1996, the sound commission welcomed an international sound design guest, one david e. smith, recently arrived from the
uK. (david became a member of the sound commission, and would subsequently chair sessions in every annual convention until 2007.) in 1998,
tom Mardikes took on the leadership of the sound commission, serving as
commissioner through July 2000.

the Harold burris-Meyer distinguished career in sound award was
established by usitt in 1999. the first award went to abe Jacob, known
as "the godfather of broadway sound" (abe would later receive the usitt
award at the 2008 conference in Houston, and is the subject of the monograph The Designs of Abe Jacob, written by rick thomas and available
through usitt publications). the next two Harold burris-Meyer awards
would go to charlie richmond in 2000, and John bracewell in 2001, who
both, like burris-Meyer himself had been honored as fellows of the institute. subsequent recipients of the burris-Meyer award would include tony
Meola in 2002, dan dugan in 2003, Jonathan deans in 2005, don & carolyn davis in 2006, david collison in 2007, John & Helen Meyer in 2008 and
Jack Mann in 2009.
in July 2000, Mike Hooker assumed the mantle of sound commissioner. Meanwhile, rick thomas was busy pursuing his passion for recognition of sound as a design art by making his presence known in oistat
meetings. He was named vice commissioner for international liaison, and
by 2000, he had nearly single-handedly succeeded in moving oistat to create the sound design Working group. this international connection was
bi-directional, involving many of the usitt sound commission members
in activities abroad, and connecting us to international sound artists who
became a regular part of sound commission programming each year. since
that time, the sound commission has given the international sound artist
guest pride of place as the first session held each year. those international
artists often became "hooked" on usitt, and many of them would return in
subsequent years to participate in the conference.
together, the usitt sound commission and the oistat sound Working group began talking about something extraordinary: the first-ever international gathering of sound designers. the royal national theater and the
central school of speech and drama in london, uK offered to make their
facilities available, and the event was held in the summer of 2002. reporting
on the event, this author wrote in the summer 2002 TD&T article Sounds
Like a First:
"a colloquium on theatre sound design, the first such meeting of
international sound designers ever to occur, was attended by more than
forty sound designers from sixteen countries. [on the trip to london,] rick
thomas noted 'this is a truly unique gathering, focusing on the dramaturgy
rather than the technology of sound design, and it is an important step in
raising the prominence of sound design within the industry, in academia,
and with audiences.'"
connections made during this breakthrough event led to collaborations and interchanges that resonated in the commission and the institute
for years to come. the newly formed oistat sound Working group met
during the colloquium to plan activities for the 2003 Prague Quadrennial,
which would be the first to include specific focus on both sound and lighting
design as legitimate disciplines within the scenographic arts. the october
2003 issue of Sightlines reported on oistat meetings held during the 2003
Prague Quadrennial the sound working group's activities were detailed:
"the sound Working group expressed enthusiasm for the efforts to
include sound at the 2003 PQ. the group's activities included nine presentations for the scenofest stage, the first international theatre sound score
and Music composition exhibition, sound design for the costume Working
group's fashion show, and design and installation of the sound system for
all the scenofest Mainstage events."
the oistat sound Working group would continue to work closely

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Winter 2010