Sounds of ‘Steel’: Behind the scenes of music and sound design for ‘Steel Magnolias’

To successfully put on a production, whether it be a play or a film, a lot of people must contribute many hours of work and effort to make it come out just right. If a play were to be composed of only a group of actors, with no costume, no make-up, no props, no lighting and no sound, it would be extremely difficult for the audience to follow the storyline.

A show without these features would be like a bowl of plain spaghetti noodles. It is possible to eat those noodles as they are; however, adding some butter, salt and pepper would give it that extra flavor and freshness it previously lacked. Just the same, adding special attributes to the stage not only helps the audience envision the environment, but assists the actors in taking on their individual roles.

In the stage production of “Steel Magnolias,” directed by Iona Pendergast, all of these elements have been tweaked, tuned and perfected over the past three months. Not only have the actors been rehearsing nonstop to polish their personas, the behind-the-scenes players have been actively working to make sure the audience does not walk into a theater, but Truvy’s hair salon.

For those who have seen both the movie-version and stage-version of “Steel Magnolias,” you know that the soundtracks are not identical. In fact, none of the music used in the stage production are from the film.

The “maestros of music and sound” for this production are Teresa Sagan and Shirelle Ruddock. These hardworking ladies were not only responsible for choosing the song list for the play, but are also in charge of prompting each song and sound effect at the right time during the show. There are a total of 35 tracks in the set list, which includes 26 songs and nine various sound clips.

Because this is the very first show being held at the newly-renovatedBlack Box Theatre, there is brand new equipment being used. Although this is an exciting and major advancement for the Theatre Department, a slight downside is learning how to use the new devices. As of now, there are only two students who have acquired the proper knowledge to use the new soundboards: sophomore theatre majors Teresa Sagan and Ross Daniel.

“I’ve learned more from working this show over any other—I walked into this (using the new sound equipment) completely blind, whereas I usually have some idea of what’s going on,” Sagan said.

Having the skill set to operate the soundboards effectively makes Sagan and Daniel extraordinarily valuable to the department. Sagan described the learning process as being both a stressful and awesome experience.

First assistant stage manager Joseph “Jo Jo” Whidby applauded Sagan’s efforts in becoming familiar with the new system.

“I know that there were a lot of challenges with the new equipment, and she completely rose to the occasion and got it…she’s been staying here all hours of the night to learn,” Whidby said.

Posted by KateRamsey on Nov 11 2010. Filed under Features. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.