For our production of Pericles, our director David Ian Lee was very interested in creating the various cultures that Pericles visits from the ground up, in much the way that Lord of the Rings has very unique cultures. This meant that all of the design areas, while taking inspiration from different real and fantasy sources, were attempting to create brand new cultures.

            One of the main elements that we were very interested in highlighting was the “dumb shows.” We decided that an epic, orchestral underscore was needed for all of them. We were lucky enough to be able to use the song “To Valhalla” by Antti Martikainen. In concert with the lighting and acting, we created an amazing storytelling device that depicted all of the major sailing sequences.

I have included sounds from:

• Antioch (which was mountainous and war-like, so their music and effects felt very tribal in nature). To this end, I used drumming on found objects and a didgeridoo to create an unusual, unsettling feel. The effects were very heavy and grating in their feelings.

• The Storm/Dumb Show (music, into the storm and moment where the boat breaks apart, into the calm after the storm).

• Tarsus (which was very down-trodden and poor, with dry wind effects and little music). To the design team, this reminded us of the Dust Bowl. I thus had little to no music, and many dry, piercing wind effects.