Sign of the Times

BACKGROUND: I have worked previously with Stephen Helper on a production which offered the opportunity for a sophisticated sonic underlay, articulating multiple zones of time, space, memory and reality. This new production was a one man show, minimal staging, and compared to previous set/prop heavy plays, was driven predominantly by sound. SIGNIFICANCE: A Sign of the Times is the first play to have been both developed through the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA)'s Independent's creative development program and also selected for NIDA Independent's premiere production season. CONTRIBUTION: An exploration of the perceptual tipping point through volume of 'the reality' of descriptive sound effects. For previous productions I have always been cautious about the point at which sound effects, played at volume, have the potentail to appear on the audience's radar as 'sound effects', rather than read more realistically. Much of the action in this one man show was akin to mime, and relied heavily on him interacting with vehicles. The slight panto frame of that action (which ran across a seriously existential and reflective narrative throughline) encouraged me to push volume beyond what I have done traditionally. The revelation was in finding a point where the sound effect would move from authentic (low volume) to 'pretend' (louder volume) back to authentic (very loud volume). This, for me was counter intuitive and points to the need for greater research into the perception of sound at different volumes.