Broadway Master Classes - Day 2

Whew!  Saturday was busy and chock-full with more information about sound than I've ever tried to absorb in my life.  To a certain extent, the day's classes left me feeling like I'm in WAY over my head at the Broadway Sound Master Classes.  That said, I've had a little time to reflect and realize that I am indeed learning a lot, and moreover I'm learning about what I don't know and things that I want to explore in more depth.

Sound is a curious amalgamation of technology and artistic design.  Much like theatrical lighting, theatrical sound was born out of necessity rather than artistic reasons.  If you want to see the actors on a dark stage, you need lights.  Over time, this means of illumination developed into a means of artistic expression to develop mood and a host of other creative objectives.  Similarly, theatrical sound was born out of a need to hear actors better and to hear certain sound effects.  Even more recently than with lighting, sound engineers realized that their technology could be used to artistically support and contribute to the production.  Thus sound design was born.  This year will mark only the third year that a sound design is even an eligible category for a Tony Award, demonstrating how this art form has only recently received wide and official recognition as crossing over from a technical element to an artistic medium.

All this said, most (but thankfully not all) of the other people attending these classes have WAY more experience and technical knowledge of sound design and engineering than I do.  As classes began, people would throw around terminology, technical jargon, and model names and numbers of sound gear...all far beyond my personal experience or training.  But over the course of the day, I also began to see that some other attendees are indeed more in line with me and my situation (less knowledgeable about the intricacies and details being presented).  Even better, I found certain people, presentations, or kernels of knowledge to which I could relate or grasp.  It also helps to remind myself that when we get to the lighting classes on Tuesday and Wednesday, I will be one of the people "in the know" when all the "tech jargon" starts!

I'm also seeing things about teaching in general, and what works or doesn't work when addressing an audience (especially a group that might be at different levels of prior experience).  I realize that sometimes, I'm probably teaching like some of these professionals that I've been observing...standing at the front of the room, relaying information that may be above the heads of my students.  I am now receiving firsthand reminders of how difficult it can be to "key in" on new information without a point of reference (and especially without more interactivity in the presentation).  I also have been able to take note of the style of those presenters who can still hold their audience, regardless of the material.  There's a certain style of speaking and presentation that draws a class in and makes them excited to hear more.  I hope to further analyze this and emulate it in my own teaching.

More on Day 3 and summing up the sound classes later!