Making sound for theater show

Theatre Guild
Experiments in science and time
The final production for the 2007
season of the University of Adelaide
Theatre Guild promises to be its
most fascinating play of the year.
An Experiment with an Air Pump
by British playwright Shelagh
Stephenson is a highly intelligent,
engaging and witty exploration of
science, ethics, family and the role
of women over the ages.
Set in the same house over two
time periods – 1799 and 1999 – An
Experiment with an Air Pump plays
with the audience’s expectations
as easily as it mixes the shifts
between time.
Stephenson’s award-winning
work was inspired by the 1768
painting by Joseph Wright of Derby,
An Experiment on a Bird in the Air
Pump, which depicted a scientific
subject as though it were a scene of
historical or religious significance.
In its fi rst known production in
Australia, An Experiment with an Air
Pump is directed by Geoff Brittain,
designed by Ole Wiebkin, and stars
Ben Brooker, Cheryl Douglas, Amy
Hutchinson, Chris Leech, Aldo
Longobardi, Sharon Malujlo and
Alison Sharber, who play dual roles
across the two time periods.
“There’s a link between 1999 and
1799, not just in the science or in
the depiction of women’s roles,
but also in the plot. The different
time periods come together very
well and are equally fascinating to
watch,” said assistant director
Bill Ramsay.
An important part of the blending
of these two time periods is the
use of music and sound effects,
being created by Music Technology
student Maria Fava. Ms Fava, from
Italy, recently moved to Adelaide, and she is
currently based in the University of
Adelaide’s Electronic Music Unit.
She said Beethoven’s famous
Sonata played a central role in the
music for the production.
“It is played in a classical way for
one time period, and for the other
time period it is remixed with other
elements, including a female voice,”
Ms Fava said. “This gives a match
between the two eras, and also is
a match of technology, science and
humanity. So in the music itself
there is a mirror of the concept of
the show.”
An Experiment with an Air Pump will
play at the Little Theatre (University of
Adelaide Cloisters, off Victoria Drive) at
7.30pm on 13 October, 16-20 October
and 23-27 October.
Tickets are $25/$20 concession and
$15 for current University of Adelaide
students and staff for Tuesdays only,
available from the Theatre Guild
on (08) 8303 5999, online at
www.adelaide.edu.au/theatreguild
or from BASS on 131 246.