Sound designer, Composer
Passage
In the finale, Goddess G pleads the audience to reflect our experience
Q is surround by imaginary monsters in a mystical cave
B is imprisoned while her friends M and S visit her
F is visited by a speaking Gecko
F converses with a speaking Mosquito
B is standing in the sacred temple
Theme: This play explores the very human, universal yet nuanced experiences regarding colonialism and how deeply intertwined the cultures and people are.
Sound Goal: Being a very sound-centric play where spaces are constantly transformed, it is important to build a soundscape that is very specific to the world to ground the “abstract” nature the playwright calls for.
Music writing wise, I am aiming to explore the dynamic between the two countries by usage of different instrumentation, textures, meters etc.
For the more fantastical or liminal moment, I am interested in utilizing microphones to pick up actors’ voices and live process them.
Production Team
Director: Ausar Stewart (terminated)
Associate Director: Robert Ramirez, Kyle Haden
Assistant Director: Sean Barnett
Scenic Designer: Jonah Carleton
Costume Designer: Carrie Anne Huneycutt
Lighting Designer: Ariel Bernhard
Media Designer: E. Lieu Wolhardt
Sound Designer: Pan-Pan Gou
Dramaturg: Annie Nguyen
Photographer: E. Lieu Wolhardt, Louis Stein
Cast: Annalisa D’Aguilar, Mariana Garzon Toro, Simone De La Torre, Noah Pacht, Lukas Jarvi, Sophia Macy, Joshua Ellijah Lewis, Leyla Davis, Nate Kelderman, Lilac Emery-Haynes
Opening
Representing the deeply intertwined, complex relationship between people of motherland and colony, the opening theme expresses a more grand, cinematic quality.
Musically, the piece took inspiration from the motif in Ólafur Arnalds’s “Island Song IV."
Monster (Gunshot trigger)
The suspenseful soundscape continues to grow as Q enters the Cave and encounter mysterious monsters, played by other actors crawling on the floor. The climax builds up when one of the actor is lifted up and the whole group swarms towards Q, caused her to fire a shot.
Speaking with Mosquito
F is having an imaginary conversation with a mosquito to find comfort.
As one of the more liminal moments in the show, I enjoy creating more fantastical sounding underscore throughout. There is also occasional insects sound traveling in the space, especially behind audience’ back.
Urgent Travel
Suddenly summoned by her hospital duty, B is while other actors purposely blocked her. The quick tempo and percussive sounds underline the urgency of the transition. The trombone represents the dominant presence of Country Y as it plays the Country Y anthem motif. The juxtaposition of wooden vs metallic instruments also highlights the resistance between the two groups.
Finale
This is a 30s sequence of universal realization of the “resistance” against oppressing powers . The level needs to be deafeningly overwhelming and engulfing the audience. The chaotic sequence ends with a sharp black out.
System
