Student Designer Spotlight

What was your process for designing the set of As You Like It, and what aspect of the process do you enjoy most? What aspect of the process is the most difficult?

My process for designing the set started with the script. I read through it and dissected it making sure that I really understood every single scene in addition to what the needs of the show were. Next, I began doing tons of research and forming my own emotional response to the text, all of which slowly lead to the final product. The thing I enjoyed most about this process was how creative I got to be. But that was also the most difficult part of the process as well. When I first started brainstorming I did not know where to begin. There is so much freedom and responsibility that comes with designing so it can be a little intimidating, but also very rewarding at the same time.

On stage for the entirety of the show is a beautifully crafted tree-stump. What were your inspirations for creating this? How did those inspirations play into the design itself?

Andy and I both agreed that this show is about change and balance and that throughout the entire show the characters are striving for that sense so balance. I took that idea very literally and decided to make everything off-balanced with the circular platforms. In order to achieve that off-balanced feel, the platforms are also raked off-centered to the audience and cantilevered so it looks like they are floating. The paint treatment of the rings in a tree all stems from that idea of change.

What part of the set itself are you the most proud of in this play, and how did that part play into your initial design for the show?

Can I say I am proudest of the entire thing? I have been working on this design since September, and this show really means a lot to me. So in terms of the set itself, I am proud of the whole thing. Every element and detail has a purpose and has a meaning behind it. I am also proud of all of the work that the entire production team put into this design, it would not have been possible without everyone working as hard as we all did.

What was your process for designing the sound of AYLI, and what aspect of the process do you enjoy most, or find most difficult?

I came on board as sound designer a little later in the project than the rest of the design team, so there was a clear and established vision of the show but no solid decisions on the sound. We knew we were going to use student Shaan Chhadva's music, and knew there were moments within the show that called for song or music. Andy spoke a lot about the idea of metamorphosis, specifically the way it's brought on by the mystical quality of the Forest of Arden (as compared to the oppressive atmosphere of the court. One of my favorite scenes in the play is Celia and Rosalind's discussion of Fortune versus Nature. There's a lot of debate about "the lineaments of nature" versus "the gifts of the world" (being material things). In my mind, the forest, while unknown and ominous at times, is the natural counterpart to the unnatural, confining atmosphere of the court. I landed on more industrial and bass heavy sounds for the court, because they felt harsh and unnatural, and more natural, shimmering, and mystical sounds for the Forest of Arden. Sound truly has no limitations. It's both daunting and exciting to define the vocabulary of the show. There was a big learning curve, as I worked with a lot of software I'd never used before, but the exploration was a great experience and I've gained a valuable skill set.

As sound designer for this production, you worked really closely with Interlochen Composition Student Shaan Chaadva. How would you describe this collaboration?

Shaan is such an incredibly talented artist, and so much of his music aligns with the design of the show. Shaan shared with us his entire discography, and Andy and I were able to listen to his music, and flag the songs that were the most compelling in the context of As You Like It and worked with the various moods we were going for. As someone who doesn't have a ton of experience with composition, it was extremely helpful to have access to work as complex and incredible as Shaan's to pull sound from. The individual sounds within his music inspired my design for the show, and I was able to not only use individual sounds from his songs, but find and create my own sounds inspired by Shaan's music.

"The Rite Of Spring" is one of the most central and relevant parts of this show. What were your inspirations in the creation of this piece?

The Rite of Spring encapsulates the metamorphosis at the heart of the play, and is the huge transition from winter to spring. Andy and I spoke a lot about preparing the audience for the god Hymen's arrival, and giving the entire ritual a mystical, mysterious quality. Andy sent me a lot of videos and songs that informed the mood that moment called for. In listening to Shaan's music I came across his song "Imagination" that plays with otherworldly vocals, a heartbeat, and has a very enchanting quality to it. The song itself has multiple "transformations" from vocals to piano to a beat drop, etc. Since The Rite of Spring takes place in stages, and builds slowly towards the climax of the coming of Hymen to marry each pair of lovers. It's a sensual, magical, trance-like ritual. Shaan was able to send over individual sounds from within the song Imagination: the heartbeat, the vocals, the piano, and the beat of the song itself. A lot of the work I did with The Rite of Spring ended up heavily informing other parts of the show, as well. The heartbeat that begins the rite took on meaning as the heartbeat of Arden, and appears in various moments earlier in the show as the characters move deeper into the forest.

Is there any particular part of your design that you, as an artist, are most proud of?

While the sound design is my own, it's predominantly informed by the work of the playwright, director, and the rest of the design team. My job is to enhance the work, not distract from it. The best feeling is when I layer the sound and text recordings of the play, and it just flows well. It almost never does on the first try, but when I get there it's satisfying, and the magic of the text itself really comes through. I had so much fun exploring the magic of Arden, and what that sounds like. I get even more inspired by the actors' performances, too. I think people put sound and the actors' voices in two different categories, but in this show, especially, we have so much crossover between text, singing, music, and sound. And because it's Shakespeare, a lot of the text already has a musical, rhythmic quality to it. The "sound" of As You Like It isn't limited to the things I created, which I love. The moments of complete unity where the sound becomes a part of the text and the performance, rather than a separate thing, are definitely my favorites.

What was your process for composing the music of AYLI, and what aspect of the process do you enjoy most, or find most difficult?

In the beginning there wasn't much of a process as I kind of just got thrown into the role of music composer and director. But I will say that the first few songs we wrote were a group effort. I had been absent for the first several days of rehearsal after being in New York, and upon my return Andy had told me that the cast already bagan working on music and that he would like me to guide the group towards a collaborative piece. Which is exactly what we did. The first two songs we stood in a huge circle, and someone would say, “I have an idea,” and we’d roll with it. We spent several hours at the beginning of the rehearsal process just messing around. Trying anything and everything that someone brought up. We would record the whole session and post rehearsal. I'd lock myself in a practice room with a piano and listen to those sessions and notate what I liked. Then I’d return to the group with a new set of ideas I was eager to try. I can't say that I wrote Blow Blow thou Winter Wind, because the truth is, it was a truly collaborative piece developed by the cast. The Next song, Heigh Ho, was a little different, I wrote the chorus based off the feel of that scene, and then they created their own verses. Getting to work with the cast on developing the music was an experience that taught me alot; how to run a rehearsal, how to respect all ideas, and how to lead minds to a finished product. The last two songs were more independant. After working with the cast and creating several drafts of the “Horn Song,” I decided just to separate and write it out myself. I was really having trouble incorporating the meaning of the lyrics into the tone. I understood that the song needed to show the joking aspect of the cuckold horns, but it also had to have a somber feel given it was kind of embarrassing to have your spouse cheat on you. Because of this, I knew it had to be light and upbeat, but relatively dissonant and minor. I believe I spent two weeks working on this song, and I had friends come sing through it with me so I could hear it, I had friends test out new rhythms, I had friends even help me notate it because I was really struggling to get the feel of the song right. After many drafts, we finally finished a quite crunchy round that we were happy with. This was the most difficult song for me given it had to represent a certain image, allow the audience a break from the serious scenes before and after it, and still encompass the joking aspects. The last song was probably the smoothest song to write. I wrote the melody in a few hours, asked a friend to come sing a harmony and I was ecstatic with the piece we’d written. The process was different for each song, and to be honest it's still changing. Now transitioning to online has made the process so much more about online sound editing rather than the actual music. But I still am proud of the cast and the music that THEY created.

My favorite part of the process was getting to teach people the songs when they were finished, and seeing their faces light up as they heard the final product.

The most difficult part was definitely trying to write the Horn Song. I struggled a lot while trying to write that piece. And the other most difficult part has been learning and adapting to online sound editing software. I have spent the last several weeks learning the Ins and outs of Logic Pro. But now that we are full steam ahead, and are editing the music for the show, I am ecstatic with the results.

How did you go about teaching the cast your music, and what was their response to it?

The cast picked up on the music incredibly quickly, given they helped write a good portion of it. Anytime I would teach them a new song, I would give them sheet music, but more often than not I would sing and they would repeat it. This music has a very folk-like vibe, and I really feel that the music should ebb and flow to the feeling of the group, not necessarily follow beats and sheet music. Although, having the music notated made the process much easier when switching to an online format, because I was able to have them sing to the sheet music and line their vocal tracks up.

What part of music itself are you the most proud of in AYLI and how did you go about including it in your work? And how did the Shakesperian text influence your music?

I am most proud of the minor rounds that I wrote for the Horn song. It was tricky writing a round that fit all the criteria the director wanted, but I am very pleased with the final product.

The fact that this is a Shakespeare show played a huge role. First, I had Shakespeare's beautifully written texts to work with, but then I also had to adapt the tone and style of music to fit the world that he has created as the playwright.