Live Design: When we tracked down in-demand sound designer Jessica Paz, she had multiple projects in different stages of production: The regional musical comedy Kiss My Aztec, directed by John Leguizamo and Tony Taccone, was just about to move south from Berkeley Rep to the La Jolla Playhouse. Sound for a new off-Broadway production of Little Shop of Horrors, directed by Michael Mayer, was in development. And about to open was Disney’s Hercules at New York City’s outdoor Delacorte Theater, for which she created the system design.
4 comments:
I want to be like Jessica Paz. Period. Not only has she worked on amazing shows, such as Dear Evan Hansen and Bandstand, BUT she is the first women to be nominated for a Tony in Sound Design for her work on Hadestown. The best part is, is that she is still going. I find it incredible that she is designing or assisting in designing three different shows across New York City. I was really excited that the interviewer asked a question about what software she uses for her designs and signal processing/synthesis. I am proud to say that I also use Ableton Live and Logic for most of my projects and was so glad that she does too. I'm using software that professionals use! Anyway, I also found that design for Kiss My Aztec used voice modulation in post, rather than using a lavalier mic. It was a pretty cool way to get the sound that the show demanded in that moment. Loved this article!
Okay... how insanely cool is this??! I think it's so incredible that Jessica Paz is making this kind of history on Broadway and really paving the way for other young girls to feel like they can do this for a living! My favorite part (like Emily) was when Paz was talking about her personal setup/equipment. First of all, I think it's hilarious that her studio is in her kitchen, a true testament to the life of a New Yorker. Second, I was really fascinated by the Le Sound plug-ins she talked about. I don't know if I fully grasped what she was saying, if I'm being honest, but it really piqued my interest:
"Say you need to score film with Foley footsteps: They have a plug-in called AudioSteps. You can tell what kind of shoe the person is wearing and what kind of material they’re walking on, and you can just play an instrument to create those Foley sounds. They have another plug-in called AudioRain, and another called AudioMotors where you can create all different kinds of cars—starting, driving, turning, speeding up."
I looked up the AudioMotors plug-in, and essentially, you get to simulate driving the car to create the effects you need! That is ridiculously cool, and super useful for post-production foley (as Paz mentioned). This article has got me really excited for learning about all these different things, because admittedly, I don't know much!
Paz is a really amazing individual. Not only has she done really impressive work for some of the biggest shows on Broadway, but she was also the first female to be nominated for a Tony in sound design. It is very rare to see female sound designers get any credit for their hard work and their talent. I feel like there is this idea that runs through the industry that women are somehow less capable of the more technical theatre positions. While I do still think this is a problem, I am glad that the stigma is starting to maybe end from the top down. I think that Paz winning the Tony opened up the floodgates and helped pave the way for women to get more credit for their talent, because they are just as capable as men. It is important for gender stereotypes to be knocked down and I think a great way to do it is to set the standard at a very high level like the Tonys.
I love Jessica Paz. I think the work she does is incredible and she has such a cool vibe to her. I have seen many of the productions she has worked on and the sound design is always great. This is why it was no surprise that she won the tony for Hadestown. Also it is no surprise that she is working on at least three projects. I am sure she has many more that are in development or havnt been announced yet. Her design for Hadestown was great. Her design was able to being you the erie vibe of the underworld while balancing with folk type music while all the singers have such difference voices. My favorite part of her design was figuring out the three fates. All three of them have such different voices but she was able to blend them and create such a cool sound when they sing.
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