Patricia Helsel
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy:
A Radio Play, Performed as a "Live Broadcast"
Given the strength of Michigan Tech's audio programs, each year we offer a production with primary emphasis on on sound. My role, as a director was to stage the actors in an interesting, yet utilitarian formation. We incorporated platforms and a very minimalistic lighting design that enabled us to draw focus to characters at the appropriate time(s). The Audio Creative Lab class performed multiple roles in designing the sound including original musical composition, spot effects, speaker playback design, and live mixing of voices. Each performance was also recorded and mixed by an audio engineering major. I coached the actors with dialects and vocal qualities, the greatest challenge being to help the actors to learn microphone techniques. One actor had a very large theatrical voice, but was coached to telling the story in more "hushed" tones, conveying a greater sense of excitement.
