Lawrence Today magazine, Summer 2004
Lawrence
senior Jonathon Roberts, who won the sound-design category
at the five-state regional competition of the American
College Theatre Festival earlier this year, is the first Lawrentian
in any category to win at the ACTF regional level and advance to the national
competition.
Cited for his work on Lawrence’s fall 2003 production of Shakespeare’s
The Winter’s Tale, Roberts was one of eight regional winners
from whom the national winner was chosen. In the end, he was one of four
finalists
but did not win at the national level. His place in the history of the
Lawrence theatre arts department, however, is secure.
Roberts, a B.A./B.Mus. double-degree candidate in theatre arts and music
composition, was responsible for all sound aspects of the production, which
included composing nearly 25 minutes of original music for scene changes
and underscoring and writing the music for four songs that were performed
in the play. His design incorporated an eclectic mix of conventional and
exotic instruments — marimba,
Indian Noah bells, and a “singing bowl,” as well as wooden and
metal wind chimes — along with the distinctively non-conventional musical
sounds of different types of gravel being poured, dropped, and rubbed.
Timothy Troy, ’85, associate professor of theatre arts and the J. Thomas
and Julie Esch Hurvis Professor of Theatre and Drama, who directed The
Winter’s
Tale, describes Roberts as “really quite brilliant.”
"Getting to the ACTF nationals is confirmation from the outside that he’s
good,” said Troy, who competed in the ACTF himself as a graduate student
in 1987, “but I can tell you, he’s really good. Jonathon
is as talented a sound designer as anyone I’ve ever worked with in
my 15-year professional career. He has an uncanny ability to find a sonic
metaphor
for
the action on stage
that perfectly reflects the deepest meanings of the play. That is a rare
and highly valued talent.”
The regional competition involved more than merely submitting a tape or
CD of the production’s sounds. Roberts had to assemble a large display that
explained how his sounds were created and more importantly, why they were created.
The designer’s presentation to the judges plays a role in the process
as well.
"I was really nervous,” recalls Roberts, who has served as sound
designer for five productions at Lawrence. “The judges were pretty
intimidating. They really know their stuff. You have to thoroughly explain
exactly why
you did everything in your design. I was so impressed with their comprehensive
knowledge. I learned a tremendous amount about sound and theatre design in
a very short time.”
Thanks to support from the ACTF, Roberts was able to travel to the Kennedy
Center in April to attend masterclasses and design workshops, despite not
being selected as the national winner.
“Just getting to the national finals is a win,” says Troy.