Stage Directions: Tony Meola poured heart, soul and sound into Lysistrata Jones. For three decades as a sound designer, Tony Meola has traveled across America and Europe working on dramas and musicals alike, lending his special sonic stamp to everything from Anything Goes to Smoky Joe’s Cafe to The Lion King. In fact, he was the subject of this journalist’s first sound design column back in mid-2004, offering his insight into working on a modest little Broadway show called Wicked. In recent years, Meola has preferred to work on more mid-sized productions, and he recently lent his talents to the comic musical Lysistrata Jones. While the peppy reinvention of the famous Greek play Lysistrata by Aristophanes—focusing here on college cheerleaders who withhold sex until their constantly losing basketball-playing boyfriends gain self-respect and start winning—only lasted a few weeks on Broadway, it was a passion project for Meola, who also jumped into a producing role for the first time.
Sunday, April 08, 2012
Rocking Lysistrata Jones
Stage Directions: Tony Meola poured heart, soul and sound into Lysistrata Jones. For three decades as a sound designer, Tony Meola has traveled across America and Europe working on dramas and musicals alike, lending his special sonic stamp to everything from Anything Goes to Smoky Joe’s Cafe to The Lion King. In fact, he was the subject of this journalist’s first sound design column back in mid-2004, offering his insight into working on a modest little Broadway show called Wicked. In recent years, Meola has preferred to work on more mid-sized productions, and he recently lent his talents to the comic musical Lysistrata Jones. While the peppy reinvention of the famous Greek play Lysistrata by Aristophanes—focusing here on college cheerleaders who withhold sex until their constantly losing basketball-playing boyfriends gain self-respect and start winning—only lasted a few weeks on Broadway, it was a passion project for Meola, who also jumped into a producing role for the first time.
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2 comments:
This is good coverage of sound design issues in a magazine that is widely read by people in other disciplines within theatre production. A lot of folks don't realize that good mixers work on a line-by-line basis, or how the sound system design approach varies show to show. That said, it is interesting to compare what Mr. Meola is doing on this show to what he's done on previous productions; the elements and the loudspeaker system are the same as they were for Wicked.
As for producing, it seems like madness for a designer to be involved with that, although I suppose he's semi-retired and rather financially comfy since there are a bunch of productions of Wicked out there that are paying him royalties.
I for one am not adept in understanding all the technology that was mentioned in this article, but find the elements that must be taken into consideration for mixing an interesting aspect I had never really thought about. Capturing sound with moving, high pitched and varying vocals is a difficult task, and highlighting those voices to the best of there ability comes only secondary to actually making sounds audible and clear. On top of that, sound design needs to be considered. I give alot of credit to Mr. Meola, he sounds like he's a master at what he's doing, my only wish would be to understand his methods even more!
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