Q: Why choose to sound design/what is your favorite part about it?
Gwen: I have always liked music & radio so when I joined DT I immediately gravitated towards sound. I love making playlists for house music (the music you hear before the show starts) to set the tone of the play, and I also love working with our sound cueing program, Qlab!
Alex: I haven’t done much tech work at DT so I wanted to give it a shot before I graduate next month! What really drew me to sound design was honestly Gwen’s enthusiasm for it. It’s been really fun learning from her. There’s so much thought that goes into choosing songs for house music or even just the perfect train whistle that most people don’t realize.
Q: Is there an element of your design that you’re really excited about that the audience should know?
Gwen: There are only a couple sound effects in the show, so I’m mostly excited about the house music. It’s all from the 20’s and 30’s, when Cabaret is set, and a lot of the songs are old recordings from German jazz bands or “kabarett” performers! There’s also a pretty rad train whistle I guess. Toot toot.
Alex: I second that. It was really interesting to research the music from that era and find the right tone for the show. One of my favorite songs on the list is “Ich bin die fesche Lola” which translates to “I’m the sexy Lola.” It seems like something Sally might sing.
Q: Favorite song in the show?
Gwen: From a theatre-goer standpoint, probably Cabaret, but from an orchestra standpoint it’s the Entre’acte that we play at the end of intermission!
Alex: This is tough because most of them have been stuck in my head all week, but if I have to pick, I’ll say Wilkommen. It really makes you feel like you’re there with the dancers at a dimly lit table in the back of the Kit Kat Klub.
Q: Any key on the keyboard, what would you be?
Gwen: All this time I thought this was a music question but I just realized that the right answer is the space bar.
Alex: I think space bar is the only acceptable answer here.