On ode to our designers

We've been wrestling the sound and lights and costumes into place over these last three days, and what a massive effort that is!  Sometimes I wish we could just present the simple, tight little show we've created in the Weybridge gym, without anything but our actors and Shakespeare's words.  It really works that way!

When in the midst of tech, our beautiful show falls flat and looks like a ragged bunch of awkward elements fighting for a purpose.  This is when we all feel our worst.

But last night these elements fell into place, with the hard work of so many people, our wonderful Stage Manager, Gwen Zwickel in the lead, learning to call the dozens and dozens of cues, so precisely timed to the words and actions onstage.  

Matthew Stone's lights have grown and deepened and darkened and lightened until he finds just the right and most breathtaking combination of light and shadow.  

Peter Hamlin has created an eerie and beautiful sound score.  Tweaking and retweaking until it fits each moment.  Peter wanted to attribute the following sounds as follows:

Peter Hamlin acknowledgments for sounds used in Macbeth.
The following sounds were used from the collaborative sound database Freesound…
 
Kitten meow (used as one of the witch’s familiars)
http://freesound.org/people/kyles/sounds/51811/
 
Clock wind-up – attribution license (I used a portion of this and mixed it with some of my own sounds)
http://freesound.org/people/nemoDaedalus/sounds/75324/
 
Beating wings – attribution license (added after owl sound)
http://freesound.org/people/juskiddink/sounds/125940/
 
Raven caw – (used as one of the witch’s familiars)
http://freesound.org/people/KiddoFish86/sounds/274439/

Sam Hurlburt painstakingly takes these sound cues and trims/fades/raises and lowers volume until they are just right!  His skill is wonderful to see.

Angela Brande and Marykay Dempewoolf are frantically stitching and fitting and outfitting our huge cast in a world of Scottish kilts, cargo pants, and plaids and flack jackets.  It comes together to create just the world we want.  An indeterminate time, and a time that is close to all.

And then we have the always dependable Sky on the sound board, and we are a team!