earshot study guide

Earshot by Morris Panych

an NAC English Theatre / Crow’s Theatre (Toronto) revival coproduction

of the award-winning original production

Study Guide

THE NATIONAL ARTS CENTRE ENGLISH THEATRE

PROGRAMMES FOR STUDENT AUDIENCES 2005-2006 SEASON

Peter Hinton Artistic Director, English Theatre

This Study Guide was written and researched by Jim McNabb for the National Arts Centre, English Theatre, December 2005. It may be used solely for educational purposes. The National Arts Centre English Theatre values the feedback of teachers on the content and format of its Study Guides. We would appreciate your comments on past Study Guides, on this current one, or suggestions on ways to improve future Study Guides. Comments may be directed to Martina Kuska either by email at mkuska@nac-cna or by fax to Martina Kuska at the NAC, (613) 943-1401.

About This Guide This Study Guide is formatted in easy-to-copy single pages. They may be used separately or in any combination that works for your classes. The colour pages are meant for classroom display but may also be photocopied for students.

Table of Contents page(s) About the Play – Plot Synopsis; What Critics Have Said ...............................................1

What to Watch and Listen for in the Production ......................................2 Who Helped Put the Production Together? Selected Biographies ............................. 3–4 Other Plays by Morris Panych.....................................................................................5 So You Want to Be a Sound Designer.........................................................................6 A Mini-course in Sound Production ..........................................................................7-9 A Research Activity on Sound Design based on “artsalive.ca”................................ 10-11 Ideas for Designing a Set ........................................................................................12 Activities Before and After Viewing the Play .........................................................13–14 Vocabulary .............................................................................................................15 Theatre Etiquette ....................................................................................................16 Photo of Randy Hughson in Earshot (colour page for display in the classroom) .....................17 Reproduction of The Scream by Edvard Munch (colour page for display in the classroom) .....18 Acknowledgements .................................................................................................19

Earshot Study Guide – page 1

About the Play – page 1 of 2 Plot Synopsis

Doyle lives alone in a squalid one-room apartment in a run-down building in a poor section of Vancouver. Doyle is a loner by choice, rarely leaving his room because of the painful cacophony on the outside. Doyle is afflicted with extra-sensitive hearing, ultrasonic and infrasonic hearing, unimaginably amplified hearing. He can hear the turning of a key in the mailboxes downstairs, the crumpling of a rejection letter in the apartment above, the vibration of his senile neighbour’s dentures in a glass on the fridge and the sensuous sound of his neighbour Valerie taking off her pantyhose. He can even hear the soft groan of the earth turning in space.

Doyle knows his world almost entirely through his ears. Above Doyle lives a failed writer in a noisy wheelchair trying to tap out a best seller. Below him is a retired longshoreman with bowel problems and an obsession for re-hanging pictures. On one side lives old, asthmatic and recently widowed Mrs. Noon whose chinaware and fragile life are constantly shattering and crumbling way. On the other side lives lovelorn Valerie who Doyle has never seen but whose body he has become intimately aware of as she slips into her bubble bath or towels off afterwards. Valerie’s love life has been a failure up until now, but Doyle has a plan to turn things around. Doyle has decided to shoot himself (with an antique muzzleloader he stole while briefly working as the night watchman at a museum) in order to attract Valerie’s attention to his unrequited love. His suicide letter to her however has been delayed days and days in the mail. When it eventually arrives and she begins to read it, fate intervenes in a most astounding way. What the Critics Have Said With Earshot, the ever-clever Panych has created a Rear Window of the ear. If urban anomie

was an undercurrent in that fabled Hitchcock thriller, here it is the river itself as this Vancouver

playwright returns to the Tarragon [Theatre] with the themes of isolation that have always

powered his work, from small plays like 7 Stories and Vigil to the great wordless ballet of The

Overcoat.

[Kate Taylor – Review of Tarragon Theatre production; Globe and Mail, Feb. 15, 2001].

Has there ever been a one-man show where it made more sense that the actor was alone on

the stage? Panych presents us with an uncanny metaphor for modern isolation whereby our

relationships are horribly wonky, constructed out of fragments. We’re both way too close, and

not close at all, to those around us. Ken MacDonald’s stunningly grubby, grotesquely

foreshortened apartment, is the metaphor-made-physical, a world of thin walls. Doyle is nailed

to them and to his floor by the ears, so to speak.

[Liz Nicholls – Review of the Vancouver Playhouse production at the Magnetic North Theatre Festival in Edmonton; Edmonton Journal, June 12, 2004].


About the Play – page 2 of 2

What to Watch and Listen for in the Production SOUND DESIGN

Earshot is a “one-man” show in that the character Doyle is the only person to appear on the stage. However, because of the incredibly detailed soundscape by Derek Bruce we come to know the lives of the other inhabitants of the run-down apartment building where he lives. Pay close attention to the evocative sounds coming from all sides of the room.

• Try to figure out how many speakers have been placed around the set to help us believe in the tenants living above, below and on all sides of Doyle.

• Can you guess how many sound cues the stage manager has to give to the sound technician during the course of the show?

SET DESIGN

Ken MacDonald’s brilliant set design for Earshot helps to take us into the very distorted world of Doyle’s insane mind.

• Try to identify the elements of the set which have been distorted to give this effect. The main one is called forced perspective (see below). Most stage sets have a certain amount of false perspective built into them so that sightlines allow all members of the audience to see all parts of the room but without making the set look unrealistic. In this set the perspective is exaggerated so that we are very aware of it. Why do you think this helps us see the world as Doyle sees it?

• What aspects of the set, such as the painting of the water stains on the walls, are most realistic? Do you think that combining realistic and non-realistic aspects works in this set?

Perspective in a set design refers to two principles: 1. The fact that objects in the distance appear smaller that those in the foreground. 2. Horizontal lines in side walls of a box set appear to be angled down to the ‘vanishing point’. Forced perspective exaggerates this phenomenon to make more distant features of a set appear even smaller. It may also take the form of exaggerated angles in a set design. False perspective is frequently used by set designers in box sets to angle the side walls out slightly to improve the sight lines (the view from the seats farthest to the sides in a theatre). If this is done subtly the effect doesn’t destroy the realism of the room but simply makes the room look deeper than it really is.

COSTUME DESIGN The costume design for Doyle is a subtle comment on his deteriorating mental state and

his alienation from the outside world. • Watch for the changes in costume made by Randy Hughson for each scene. How

does he make them so fast? • How do each of the versions of his costume make you feel about the character?

Earshot Study Guide– page 3

Who Helped Put the Production Together? - page 1 of 2

The Actor (“Doyle”):

Original Direction: Staging Director:

Set and Costume Designer:

Lighting Designer: Sound Design/Production Manager:

Stage Manager:

Randy Hughson

Morris Panych Jim Millan Ken MacDonald

Andrea Lundy Derek Bruce Rhonda Kambeitz

Produced by Crow's Theatre:

Jim Millan, Tanya Greve, Gillian Hards, Julianne Baragar

Selected Biographies

Randy Hughson Born and raised in Kingston, Ontario, Randy Hughson graduated from Ryerson’s Acting program in 1984. Starting his entertainment career while a teenager as a movie theatre usher, and now in his mid-40s, he is one of Canada’s busiest actors, taking parts in plays from one side of Canada to the other. Since he began acting he’s been on stage – often in sell-out shows – virtually non-stop. One sign of his success is the amazing diversity of parts he selects for himself. Early in his career, he tended to play marginalized, angry – and often violent - young men. Since then he has portrayed Joseph Howe in Canada: A People’s History – Rebellion and Reform, a socially challenged simpleton in the movie Shoemaker, Bug, an ex-con and morphine addict in High Life, Pat Garrett, last of the frontier sheriff, in a Calgary production of Billy the Kid, and a dead man – who is actually living several lives at once – in a Toronto production of Possible Worlds. His most recent role in Toronto was in Morris Panych’s newest play The Dishwashers where he played a skanky labourer who was proud to work in the bowels of a chic restaurant. An avid scuba diver, hockey player and rock fan, Hughson refuses to leave Canada to pursue a career in the States, although he is puzzled by our lack of a star system in movies or stage. He has been nominated ten times for a Dora Mavor Moore Award (for Toronto professional theatre productions) and three times for a Jessie Richardson Award (for Vancouver professional theatre productions), and won one of each.


Who Helped Put the Production Together? - page 2 of 2

Morris Panych British Columbia-based playwright/actor/director. Born in Calgary in 1952, Panych received a diploma in Radio and Television Arts from the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology in 1973 and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the University of British Columbia in 1977. He studied theatre at East 15 Acting School in London, England. Although he makes his home in Vancouver where many of his plays are first produced, he has strong links with Toronto’s Tarragon Theatre and with CanStage where he is Associate Director. His plays have been widely produced in Canada, and productions are increasing in the UK, Europe and the US. His play 7 Stories won four Dora Mavor Moore Awards and was a finalist for the Governor General's Award (which he won in 1994 for The Ends of the Earth). His play Girl in a Goldfish Bowl won five Doras when it was presented in Toronto as well as the Governor General’s Award in 2004. In Vancouver he has won 14 Jessie Awards for writing, directing or acting. His CanStage production of The Overcoat, (which was developed in association with students at Studio 58 in Vancouver), based on a play by Nikolai Gogol and the music of Dmitri Shostakovich, is composed entirely of movement and mime and presented without dialogue. It is about an impoverished accountant who finally is able to afford a new coat, but when it is stolen he spirals into madness. The Overcoat has toured extensively throughout the USA and Europe to great acclaim. Morris Panych has acted in over 50 plays and in television series such as X-Files.

Ken MacDonald MacDonald is the award-winning designer of such shows as The Overcoat, 7 Stories, Vigil, Hamlet, History of Things to Come, The Game of Love and Chance, The Imaginary Invalid, Susannah, and Lawrence and Holloman. He has designed for all the major theatres in Vancouver (The Vancouver Playhouse, The Arts Club, The Vancouver Opera Society) as well as many productions at the Tarragon Theatre in Toronto. He is the recipient of 13 Jessie Awards and a Dora Award. MacDonald has collaborated on many productions written and directed by his partner Morris Panych. He enjoys playing with styles other than realism, his distorted perspective or weird, surreal set elements reflecting the neurotic world of Panych’s characters. The verbal aspects of the script match the visual statements of the set and

take the audience away from the normal world and into one twisted out of sync. “Morris cares more for the look of a show than any other director I know” says MacDonald. “He wants what people see onstage to be as theatrical and striking as what they hear, so he allows me to go far out with a design. He's always encouraging me and pushing me to go that extra bit further.”


Other Plays by Morris Panych 7 Stories A man has woken up to discover that the world no longer makes sense. He walks onto the ledge of his apartment building, and prepares to jump. However, before he can, the windows around him start to open, and the other tenants begin to talk to him. They aren't interested in helping him off the ledge, though -- they have too many problems of their own.

Lawrence & Holloman This is a universe in which Camus meets Dali, where Goya meets Disney, and where gunshots, bathtub drowning, disillusion, and dismemberment become subjects for comedy. The play explores the relationship of two opposite personalities, one an optimist, the other a pessimist and nihilist.

The Ends of the Earth This is a more ambitious investigation of the meaning of life in terms of a journey, again by two men with very different outlooks. One is paranoid, convinced that the other is spying on him, and flees to "the ends of the earth" in an effort to escape him. There, in a rooming house that teeters on the edge of a cliff, they encounter two mysterious women who assume various roles to test their ability to survive.

Other Schools of Thought: Three Plays This collection of one-acts is especially well suited for high-school audiences. These provoking dramatic pieces encourage adults to reflect on their past and young people to reflect on their future. These plays—Life Science, 2B WUT UR and Cost of Living—address the issues of AIDS, sexuality, drug and alcohol abuse, and teenage alienation. Of the writing of these plays, Morris Panych says: “Through these plays I had a chance to replay, in an imaginary way, the years I had missed living; the days and months of inexplicable sorrow and confusion that I had endured, the way most young people endure them—in solitude and in silence”.

Vigil (also known as Auntie and Me) A solitary young bank employee impatiently awaits the death of his aunt, filling the time with musings and recollections, and one-liners on mortality. As the time with the silent, bedridden old woman passes interminably he desperately builds an elaborate euthanasia machine to hasten her demise. Panych dedicates the play “to all who have died and all who've not yet got around to it”.

Girl in a Goldfish Bowl Ten year old Iris has a bad feeling about things. The Cuban missile crisis is at its height, her parent's marriage is floundering and her goldfish has just died. So when she finds a mysterious man on the beach, she regards him as a godsend - a creature sent through time and space from some distant dimension to set all things to rights. All Morris Panych’s plays are published by Talon Books.


So You Want to Be a Sound Designer

Typical Career Routes to Becoming a Sound Designer or Sound Technician

The most important starting point for a career in Sound is to develop and demonstrate an interest in sound by exploring, experimenting and learning about audio technology and its capabilities, in many cases using the sophisticated equipment which is increasingly available in schools or music groups. Sound Technicians may be graduates from specialized courses, or may have undertaken some work experience with equipment hire companies, school or community theatre, etc. They may start their careers in stage management roles, or as musicians, or as roadies/technicians with bands, and progress to become Sound Designers.

Essential Knowledge and Skills

Sound Designers and Technicians must have a thorough knowledge of, and sympathy with what is required, and what can be achieved in terms of sound, for any production, in any particular building. Sound Designers and Sound Technicians need to be able to work effectively with members of their own team, and with all others involved in the production process.

Key skills include:

• Good knowledge of audio equipment and sound technology • Knowledge of theatre production processes • Good script reading skills – the ability to “listen” to the text in terms of atmosphere and

mood as well as the literal need for particular sounds • Excellent IT skills • The ability to adapt to unforeseen situations before and during the performance • Good communication, interpersonal and team skills • Ability to listen to and make offers to the director and other members of the creative

team in a collaborative spirit • Patience, self-discipline and reliability • Diplomacy and sensitivity when working with artists and crew members • Willingness to work long and irregular hours • A logical and fast approach to problem solving • A thorough knowledge of the relevant Health and Safety requirements and legislation,

and the ability to carry out risk assessments • The ability to concentrate for long periods of time and to pay attention to detail • Knowledge of management and licensing of radio transmission systems

Training and Qualifications

Although there are no formal entry requirements for working in Theatre Sound, a demonstrable interest in sound, and some understanding of its physical properties, are essential. Experience in other roles in theatre, or in the music industry, either creatively or technically, provide a useful basis for these roles. Courses, such as that run by Sheridan College (Oakville), Recording Arts Canada (Toronto or Montreal), Fanshawe College (London), Ryerson University (Toronto) and the National Theatre School (Montreal), give a firm training in the field. As Theatre Sound Designers and Technicians learn the majority of their practical skills through hands on experience, continual professional development is vital, as theatre and sound technology and working practices are continually changing. From material found on http://www.equity.org.uk/content/1025.htm

Earshot Study Guide – Page 7

A Mini-course in Sound Production – page 1 of 3

Processing and delivering sound to a theatre audience involves the use of three basic categories of instruments: sources, signal processors and amplification and speakers.

Sources

A source is anything that generates an electrical sound signal. This can be anything from a single microphone that converts sound vibrations in the air to an electrical signal, to a CD player or a computer. Microphones: Several kinds of microphones are commonly used for stage productions – corded dynamic mics for individual musical instruments or a human voice, boundary mics placed on the floor at the front of the stage to provide coverage across the width, radio mics (containing a radio transmitter rather than a cable to connect to the sound system) which can either be hand held by the performer or hidden in the hair or clothing to amplify speech or the singing voice in a musical, and shotgun mics which can be placed at the sides of the stage to pick up a singing chorus. Sound effect playback: A player for recorded sound effects makes for dependable playback. Sound effects found on commercial CDs are often built up and modified on a computer using a special computer program such as Cubase, Wavelab or Soundforge and then transferred in the proper sequence to a CD or minidisc. Signal Processing Mixing desk: The centre of any sound set-up will be the mixing desk, and from this the sound engineer has full control of everything that goes on with the sound for the show. The mixing desk takes the source(s) and combine them to produce the final mix which the audience hears. Each source signal will be allocated a separate channel within the mixer, giving the sound designer full control over each part of the system. A typical single channel will normally consist of the following components:-

• Input Section - All the connectors on the back! • Gain or Trim - Amplifies the incoming signal to a level that is useable. • Equalisation - Tone controls for boosting/cutting bass, treble etc. • Auxiliaries - Sends part of the signal to external processors such as effects units

or to onstage monitors. • Pan - Controls if the signal is going left, right or centrally in the final mix. • Fader - Controls the overall volume of the signal in the overall mix.

Dynamic mic Boundary mic



Signal Processing (continued from previous page) Outboard equipment: Outboard equipment is used to process the raw sound and change it, normally for the better. Different types of outboard gear can include:

• Graphic Equalisers (to provide a boost/cut control of small sections of the sound frequency spectrum)

• Delays (to create or eliminate echoes in the theatre) • Compressors (to reduce the level between the loudest and quietest parts of the

signal. • Noise Gates (to act as a switch, and mute a signal when it falls below a certain

decibel threshold. This has the effect of cutting out background noise when an instrument is not playing for example.)

• Effects / Reverberation (to enhance the signal or to produce a noticeable difference in the quality of the sound.)

Amplification and Speakers

Amplifiers: Amplifiers take the relatively low voltage signal output from a mixing desk and increase it to a level which can be used to drive a speaker. It is important that the power output of the amplifier is matched to the speakers. If it is too large then you may damage your speakers, too low and you will have to drive the amp very hard and run the risk of distorting the signal. Ideally, each speaker you use would have it's own separate amplifier, connected to a single output from the mixing desk. Loudspeakers: Finally, at the end of the sound chain is the loudspeaker. The speakers take the electrical signal from the amplifier and convert it, by means of a cone moved by an electromagnet, into the vibrations in the air that the audience hears as sound. It is very difficult to produce a single speaker cone that can cope with all the frequencies that we hear, so often speaker systems will be built up from several different speakers which handle different regions of the spectrum.

(from material found at http://www.personal.leeds.ac.uk/~chm3gmn/sound/intro.html)

Mixing desk

Graphic equaliser



Making Your Own Sound Effects

You don’t have to have expensive equipment to enjoy creating sound effects for your stage plays or radio shows. Radio has a tradition of live sound effects being made in the studio while the actors read from their scripts. A child once said “I like radio because the pictures are better.” The listener’s imagination is called upon to create the complete visual world in this medium with the possible result of a deeper involvement. In radio the soundscape fills in the atmosphere (information about the environment) and mood (emotional content), duties often covered at great expense in stage productions by the set and lighting designers’ work. In simple classroom activities the same result can be attained inexpensively and spark powerful imaginative involvement. All you need for classroom productions is a simple sound system, an inexpensive recorder, an assortment of found objects and plenty of imagination – or you can do away with the sound system and do the sound effects live, either in view of the audience or out of sight.

Substituting objects for the real thing is a practice constantly done in sound production for movies. Foley experts provide the sound effects and background almost all of which are recorded in the studio well after the scene has been shot. For instance, if you need ‘walking’ sounds and can’t afford to cover your floor with sand, dirt gravel or asphalt you can make a ‘Hoof Box’. A hoof box is an open topped ‘box’ (think sandbox) measuring about 30X40X10 cm. You can fill it with whatever your character will be walking on and then use shoes to simulate the walk. Use the proper shoes; if your character is an athlete, use sneakers or cleats, if it’s a business woman, heels or flats.

In the recent movie King Kong the sound of Kong was created using a lion’s roar played backwards at a slower speed.

An important thing to remember in creating your own sound is to always test an effect over your microphone, through the computer, on videotape or whatever other medium you will be using to make sure that it has the desired effect when played back.

Here are a few to try:

Body Hitting the Ground – plastic club hitting a cardboard box. Fire – manipulate a piece of stiff cellophane. Slapping of a Face – slapping hand together. Thunder – shake a piece of Plexiglas. Boiling Water – blowing through a straw into a glass of water. Body Being Stabbed – stab a melon with a carving knife. Blow to the Head – smack a head of cabbage with a bat or club. Kissing – the most effective (but not most fun) is kissing the back of your hand. A bird flying - flapping a glove. Baseball Hitting a Bat – snap a wooden match stick. http://www.greatnorthernaudio.com/audio_theater/Sound_Effects.html An excellent resource on elements of sound design and making sound effects.

http://az.essortment.com/freesoundeffec_rrhm.htm A site with plenty of ideas on how to make your own sound

effects.


A Research Activity on Sound Design based on www.artsalive.ca (page 1 of 2)

Visit the National Arts Centre ArtsAlive website on Production

(http://www.artsalive.ca/en/eth/design/) to complete the following questionnaire

on Sound Design:

1. What does each of the following people do in creating the sound for a stage production? Sound Designer

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

Head of Sound

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Technicians

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Board Operator

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Enter the next level of the Sound Design section of the website

(http://www.artsalive.ca/en/eth/design/sound.html) to learn the answer to the

following questions:

2. In addition to the words of a play, what other sounds are heard in a stage production? __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 3. What is a soundscape? __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 4. What do each of the following people do? Composer

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Sound Designer

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________ 5. What are the logical steps in creating a sound design? __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________


A Research Activity on Sound Design based on www.artsalive.ca (page 2 of 2)

6. The webpage gives eight purposes that a soundscape can have in a production. For each one, give one or more examples that would illustrate that purpose. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

7. What are five properties that sounds have that can be varied? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

8. Define: sound plot ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ system layout ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ cue sheet

____________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

9. Aside from the sound technicians who else needs a copy of the cue sheet? ________________________________________________________________________________

10. When is the timing of sound effects worked out? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

11. Click on the name “Marc Desormeaux” to open the next webpage. Identify at least four productions he has done for the NAC. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

12. Listen to the recorded interviews with Composer/Sound Designer Marc Desormeaux.

With whom does he collaborate?_____________________________________________________

What does he “listen” for in a script?__________________________________________________

What does music do for a production?_________________________________________________

With whom does he collaborate with when composing transitional pieces?

_______________________________________________________________________________

What is the best piece of advice he has had in his career?________________________________

What is his advice for someone interested in sound design?_______________________________


Ideas for Designing a Set

Mood and Atmosphere hinted at through Line, Mass, and Colour

“mood” refers to the feelings created by the design; “atmosphere” refers to the information on the location/time/status/etc. suggested by details in the design. LINES

Straight lines: suggest strength, formality, austerity, rigidness, coldness Curved lines: suggest softness, gaiety, gracefulness, sensuousness, comedy Vertical lines: suggest reverence, nobility, majesty, claustrophobia, power Horizontal lines: suggest serenity, stability, oppression, facelessness, weight Diagonal lines suggest force, action, anger, confusion, conflict, insecurity, distortion

Lines can also give an impression of an age (Elizabethan, Roaring 20s, Hippie) or a style (Baroque, Art Deco, Victorian) and, of course, work on the cultural symbolic level (Eastern European, Japanese, Scandinavian). MASS is a plane or bulk which is most effective when an audience can see three or more sides of an object. Bulky mass: gives solidity and weight Thin mass: gives lightness and airiness The opposite of mass can be defined as a negative space, which works dynamically with the existing masses and lines. COLOUR is very effective in helping to create a mood on a set. Dark colours can suggest seriousness or richness; light colours can suggest comedy or cheerfulness. Blues, greens and purples can achieve a feeling of coolness, while reds, browns, oranges and yellows give warmth to a set. The selection of the colours for a set (the palette) could be those close to each other on the colour wheel or tones and tints of the same hue. This palette might give a feeling of harmony or evenness. Many contrasting colours, on the other hand, might suggest conflict or a more dynamic feeling. ILLUSIONS ON SETS

1. Straight walls tend to make the set on a small stage look larger 2. Jogs in a wall tend to make the set look smaller 3. Arches and alcoves suggesting other areas off stage will expand a small stage 4. Flats placed one behind another give the illusion of depth Visit the NAC’s ArtsAlive website (http://www.artsalive.ca/en/eth/design/set.html) for more information on set design and to hear interviews with designers John Pennoyer and Christina Poddubiuk.


Activities Before and After Viewing the Play – page 1 of 2

Before Seeing the Play: 1. It is strongly advised to distribute copies of pages 1 and 2 (About the Play) of this Study Guide which include a synopsis, what critics have said about the premiere production and points to watch for in the play. The ideas made on these two pages can be the starting point for discussion on themes and production aspects after seeing the play. 2. Distribute pages 7 - 9 (A Mini-course in Sound Production – Making Your Own Sound Effects). Using voices or found objects try to create some of these sounds in Doyle’s world. If sound effects CDs are available you may choose to create some of these sounds electronically but this is not essential. With other students making the sound effects have the scene read again. 3. Have the class write a short story or play based on what it would be like to have a super sense or super power. Would this super sense or power always be a gift or would it ever become an annoyance? Would Superman always enjoy being incredibly strong or having X-ray vision? Find the irony or comedy in no longer wanting the super power. A movie called Mind Over Murder starring Tory Spelling was recently shot here in Ottawa in which the lead character attained the power to hear other people’s thoughts allowing her to solve a murder. What would it be like to have that power? 4. The soundscape for Earshot plays a vital role in this production. Distribute copies of A Research Activity on Sound Design based on ‘artsalive.ca’ (pages 10-11) and have the students visit the National Arts Centre ArtsAlive website (http://www.artsalive.ca/en/eth/design/) to complete the questionnaire. 5. Distribute copies of the page So You Want to Be a Sound Designer (page 6) to students interested in technical theatre. After reading the page they should visit the following website to see what a course in theatre sound would be like: http://www.ccm.uc.edu/tdp/sounddesign_courses.html. This is the program at College-Conservatory of Music at Cincinnati University. Interested students will gain a deeper appreciation of the job of Sound Designer and Technician by reading the pages 7- 9 A Mini-Course in Sound Production in this Study Guide.


Activities Before and After Viewing the Play – page 2 of 2

After Seeing the Play: 1. Hold a class discussion on points made in pages 1 and 2 (What Critics Have Said and What to Watch For). Did having certain things to watch for in the production make it more meaningful or did it ruin the surprises? What is the theme of the play? What does it mean on a grand scale? Do the critics’ remarks included on page 1 inspire a deeper meaning? Does the painting by Edvard Munch, The Scream, (found on page 18) and which resonates with the photo of Randy Hughson on page 17 inspire any comments on Doyle’s existence? 2. While the play is still fresh in their minds, have your students write a review of the production of Earshot. Have them read reviews of other plays in The Citizen or Xpress to give them an idea of the standard approach to theatrical criticism. A suggested outline for writing a review can also be found online on page 12 of the Study Guide for The “Vaudevilles” of Chekhov found on the NAC’s website http://www.artsalive.ca/en/eth/activities/. Another excellent guide to writing a review can be found on the Theatre Ontario website http://theatreontario.org/content/play_reviews.htm. Students may refer to pages 3 and 4 of this Study Guide (Who Helped Put the Production Together?) for the correct information about the production in their reviews. The areas the review should cover, in general and more specifically when merited, are: all design elements (lighting, sound, set and costumes), the performance of the actor, the direction, the basic narrative, dialogue and the central theme(s) of the script.

3. After experiencing the effect Derek Bruce’s powerful sound design can have on a stage production, you might now choose to distribute the pages A Mini-course in Sound Production (pages 7- 9) Refer the students to the website from which these pages were drawn for a much more in- depth coverage of the topic. 4. Discuss the effectiveness of the costume and make-up designs for this production in determining personality, location, social status, etc. 5. Look over the page on Ideas for Designing a Set (page 12) and discuss how the principles of design were used by Ken MacDonald to achieve certain effects. What effects did his choices of lines, mass and colour have? Pick out what elements gave it mood and atmosphere. Discuss his use of forced perspective and distortions and what effect it had. Below are some websites with excellent photos of set designs which may be used to illustrate the principles of design. http://qfolio.com/clients/schweikardtm/nav/splash.shtml

http://www.danieldvorak.com/galerie/?lang=en http://www.insightdesigngroup.com/New%20Files/theater.html

http://www.webster.edu/%7Edaidu/DStudio/Pages/portfolio.htm

The following websites give very useful and understandable information on the principles of set design: http://www.geneseo.edu/%7Eblood/SetDesign1.html

http://www.northern.edu/wild/th100/CHAPT7.HTM http://www.theatrelinks.com/set.htm


Vocabulary

Perpetually – lasting forever or for a very long time, constantly

Aphasia – loss of the power to use or understand words

Clarion call – clear, sharp ringing sound; a wake-up call

Paradigm – an example or model

Unrequited love – love which is not returned or acknowledged

Inane – senseless; silly

Expectorating - spitting

Redolent – smelling of; suggestive of

Perfunctory – done merely as a routine, superficial; without concern

Antimacassars – a small covering on the back or arms of a chair to avoid soiling

Insatiable – that cannot be satisfied

Dejected – disheartened, depressed

Wounded everyman – a representative of humankind negatively affected by life

Masticating - chewing

Mulching – rotting vegetation; spreading straw or leaves around bases of plants to protect

them

Embossed insignia – emblems of rank with raised designs

Meanders - wanders

Martyr – one who chooses to suffer or die for his faith or principles

Cacophony – harsh, jarring sound

Longshoreman – person who works on a waterfront loading and unloading things

Interminable – endless; lasting or seeming to last forever

Calamitous – disastrous; of great misfortune

Ignominious - disgraced

Supplication – a humble or modest request

Inextricable – unsolvable; that cannot be untangled from

Acquiescence – consent made without protest or question


Theatre Etiquette

Please take a moment to prepare the students for their visit to the National Arts Centre by explaining good Theatre Etiquette which will enhance the enjoyment of the play by all audience members: 1. Earshot will be performed in the Studio of the NAC. Matinées at the NAC are for students and the general public. It is important for everyone to be quiet (no talking or rustling of materials) during the performance so others do not lose their immersion in the “world of the play”. Unlike movies, the actors in live theatre can hear disturbances in the audience and will give their best performances when they feel the positive involvement of the audience members. The appropriate way of showing approval for the actors’ performances is through laughter and applause. For the enjoyment of all, people who disturb others during the show may be asked to leave the Studio. 2. It is important that there be no electronic devices used in the Theatre so that the atmosphere of the play is not interrupted and others are not disturbed. Cell phones, pagers and anything that beeps must be turned off. Cameras and all other recording devices are not permitted in the Studio 3. You will be seeing Earshot in the Studio of the NAC. Unlike Southam Hall or the Theatre, seating is unassigned so ushers may assist in showing patrons to their seats. 4. Information on the artists who put this production together can be found in this Study Guide for those who wish to write a review. 5. The play is performed in 18 scenes with no intermission. It is important to make a trip to the washroom before the play starts. Anyone leaving while the play is in progress may unfortunately not be allowed back into the Studio.


Randy Hughson in Earshot Set and Costume design by Ken MacDonald p

hoto

: C

ylla

von T

iedem

ann


The Scream – Edvard Munch 1893

NAC English Theatre High School Matinées are

supported by the Imperial Oil Foundation

NAC Study Guides are supported by the National Youth and Education Trust

with special thanks to Founding Partner TELUS, CGI, SunLife Financial,

Bruce Power, Michael Potter, and Véronique Dhieux, supporters and patrons of the NAC Gala and the NAC Foundation Donors’ Circle

earshot study guide

Documents