 | | | | | | | | |  |  |   | |  | | | | | | | | | | A variety of sounds is essential for holding the listeners' attention and engaging their interest. This variety can be achieved by altering the length of sequences, the number of people speaking, the pace of the dialogue and location of action.
The contrast between a noisy sequence with a number of voices and effects, and a quiet passage of interior monologue (the actor thinking aloud to himself or herself) is very effective. There is also a good contrast to be achieved between an indoor setting and an outside setting.
"For my play The Uncertainty Principle - imagining life in New York in the year 2099 - I had to think how wacky the world could be without becoming totally incoherent. So I did little things - I had microchips in frying pans and in neckties; I had the record racks in a record shop talking to the consumers. Also, with regard to how you might use music in a play - I began my play about the future with an old song because the play turns out to be an elegy for all the cultural things we've lost by 2099."
Marcy Kahan
"Music can give an atmosphere to a piece of work. Writers should ask themselves - how are people going to feel after this play stops? What are they going to take away with them?"
Mike Walker
Sound Effects
These should be used sparingly and effectively. They can be used functionally, e.g. door opening, or to create a mood, e.g. dogs barking in the distance on waste-land. If used to excess they become tedious and pointless.
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