A Christmas Carol: An Audio Drama
Adapted by William Leach
Directed by Michael Perlman
Adapted by William Leach
Directed by Michael Perlman
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PlayMakers Repertory Company Streamed On PRC's Website. December 14th - December 27th, 2020 Sound Design / Mix / Recording Engineer / Dialogue Editing: Brandon Reed Stage Manager: Charles K Bayang Assistant Stage Manager: Elizabeth Ray Cast: Ebenezer Scrooge: Ray Dooley |
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As part of the virtual 2020-2021 season for PlayMakers Repertory Company, we decided to do an audio drama. When deciding what production would be perfect for the occasion, the artistic team decided to do a "restaging" of a previous production of A Christmas Carol. In this production, it was all performed as a one-man show starting ensemble member Ray Dooley. The design elements were noticeably stripped of having too much "design elements" and focused on letting Ray tell the story.
In this context I was an outsider as the only person on the production team who was not involved with the original production. My job became to help translate the original production to an audio only format. With this in mind, I took a very bare-bones approach in not having too many heightened design elements. However, unique to this format, I did add some new design elements to each Ghost segment to help make them feel unique. Otherwise minimal soundscapes were used to help tell identify location, and convolution reverb was used in excess to help Ray feel as if he was in a unique space with each shift in character.
This production was recorded almost entirely remotely, except for Ray and myself. I would help setup a mobile recording kit in Ray's office, while the director and stage management were on Zoom. A recording interface allowed Ray's microphone to be in both Zoom as well as record directly into a DAW on the same computer at the exact same time. I monitored the recordings from Zoom in my own office since the microphone feed was the exact same as was being recorded directly into the DAW. After a week of recording, I assembled a vocal only assembly edit, that allowed the director, Ray, and stage management to offer input on which take was the best. I then performed some audio cleanup, and added sound design and underscoring. Afterwards we did two weeks of mix, sound design, and underscoring notes till we were happy with the final product.
In this context I was an outsider as the only person on the production team who was not involved with the original production. My job became to help translate the original production to an audio only format. With this in mind, I took a very bare-bones approach in not having too many heightened design elements. However, unique to this format, I did add some new design elements to each Ghost segment to help make them feel unique. Otherwise minimal soundscapes were used to help tell identify location, and convolution reverb was used in excess to help Ray feel as if he was in a unique space with each shift in character.
This production was recorded almost entirely remotely, except for Ray and myself. I would help setup a mobile recording kit in Ray's office, while the director and stage management were on Zoom. A recording interface allowed Ray's microphone to be in both Zoom as well as record directly into a DAW on the same computer at the exact same time. I monitored the recordings from Zoom in my own office since the microphone feed was the exact same as was being recorded directly into the DAW. After a week of recording, I assembled a vocal only assembly edit, that allowed the director, Ray, and stage management to offer input on which take was the best. I then performed some audio cleanup, and added sound design and underscoring. Afterwards we did two weeks of mix, sound design, and underscoring notes till we were happy with the final product.
Marley's HauntingThe haunting of Marley is the first time we establish that the ghosts bring a unique quality to them when they interact with Scrooge. This section establishes the conventions that would follow for the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future. To help Ray's performance as Marley feel more unique and otherworldly, a haunting reverb is used for Marley while Scrooge is placed inside of large mansion. To make the bell moment more ethereal and unique, I layered several different bells ringing together processed with different qualities of delay. Several subtle layers of drones, and chains dragging are used to help build tension till Marley emerges through the door culminating into a dramatic whoosh.
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Marley SpeaksHaving emerged from the door, Marley speaks to Scrooge explaining how he will soon be haunted by three ghosts. Hopefully leading to his redemption as a human being. This section is unique in that it shows how several takes edited together can create a more believable performance. Other than a subtle drone and some reverb effects this an incredibly strong vocal performance from Ray thanks to the power of dialogue editing.
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Marley LeavesHaving conveyed the visitation of the three ghosts of Christmas, Marley decides to leave. However, Scrooge decides to chase after Marley not wanting to be away from his long lost partner. However, he gets a glimpse at an unsightly setting of phantoms moaning and haunting all over town. Clearly causing Scrooge much disarray. This moment was fun blend of combining a low drone to keep tension while playing with panning and delay effects of several atmospheric ghost haunting effects.
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GraveyardHaving seen his past and the present, Scrooge demands that the Ghost of Christmas Future take him to his place of work so that he may learn of his future as a person and business if he keeps on the path that he is on. The spirit takes him to a graveyard to learn the truth. This moment being the climax, I wanted it to feel unique, powerful, and moving, but not distract from Ray's performance. Therefore, I used several layers of drones and texture that build on each other till he emerges awake from his dream.
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Visiting HomesScrooge is taken on a journey as he sees the homes and families of those in the present. He gets a glimpse of what his family, work partners, and associated parties think of him and his current wicked attitude. To help make each family Scrooge and the Ghost of Christmas Present visit unique, I played with having different soundscapes subtly in the background to help make them feel different from each other while not distracting from Ray's performance.
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