In this the second ever mounting of The Liquid Plain, I served as the sound designer, composer and music director.  The production was staged in the round, at the Robert Cohen Theater at the University of California-Irvine in January 2015. Naomi Wallace’s play explores sexuality and the violence of the slave trade as we meet two runaway slaves on the docks of an 18th century Rhode Island port to the lost archive of the slave trade at the bottom of the ocean. In the play there are many songs sung by the main character, John Cranston as he remembers his past as a slave trader.  The sonic environment for this play was dynamically coupled to the tension and violence in the story, by shifting the sounds of the ocean and the environment.

My Role:

Speaker System Paperwork

Creating the sound system for this show presented some interesting challenges. First, designing an acoustically successful show in the round with asymmetrical audience seating. Second, immersing the audience in the ocean. To accomplish both goals we used a variation on the Meyers Sound Variable acoustic system to enhance audibility as well as immersing the audience with sound. Above is a drafting package of the sound system that was delivered to the sound shop supervisor. It includes: detailed drawings of the ground plan, cables runs, front of house position, and a section view of the system.