ryan hopper
sound design
Pride and Prejudice 2014 Purdue Theatre
Adaptation by Marcus Goodwin | Directed by Robert Quinlan | Set Design by Jessica Robertson | Costume Design by Emily Ganfield | Lighting Design by Kevin Allinder
In our production of Marcus Goodwin's Pride and Prejudice, we are taken on a journey to Regency Era England filled with characters taken straight from the pages of Jane Austen's classic novel. We experience this world from the perspective of Elizabeth Bennet, as her perceptions grow and change. Through music, we are allowed a glimpse into the internal world of Elizabeth, which is often in contrast to the regimented social structure that she is a part of. This internal world will be evoked through a minimal piano score that takes melodic influence from composers of the Classical Period.
Sound Design Vision
The play asks its audience to contribute to the theatrical experience by way of imagination. The text, the word, is ultimately of highest importance, as extra details are created in the mind of the audience member similar to the process of reading a novel. Location and time are both suggested and events are presented to the audience, shying away from representation. Sound works in unison with other design areas in delivering just the right amount of necessary details to paint a picture for our audience. The ball scenes feature a “live”, invisible group of musicians providing the evening’s entertainment in the musical vocabulary of their time. An invisible fortepiano is mimed onstage by several characters to prerecorded accompaniment, unique to each performer. Carriages, doorbells, and other sound effects are given life in a mostly empty playing space that relies on a playful imaginative interaction between performer and audience.
All music was composed using piano, Finale 2012, and East West Symphonic Orchestra.
Read the reviews at The Purdue Exponent and the Journal and Courier.
Listen/buy at Bandcamp.