The Lady with the Dog
Produced in April 2023 at the Central Academy of Drama.
An official selection of the 10th Wuzhen Theatre Festival in 2023, presented by the Youth Art Troupe of the Central Academy of Drama.
On tour at Beijing's Gulou West Theater from November 30 to December 3, 2023.
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Original Author: Anton Pavlovich Chekhov
Director: Weifeng Fu
Stage Design: Liu Xinglin
Lighting Design: Qu Ming
Sound Designer: Siliang Du
Associate Sound Designer & Drafter: Scarlett Shi​
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Trailer
The entire play consists of fourteen scenes with a duration of
1 hour and 40 minutes, performed at the Black Box Theatre of the Central Academy of Drama from March 28 to April 2, 2023. The director's approach is highly symbolic, with minimal stage design featuring only two steps placed in the corners and a wooden floor to differentiate performance areas. No specific scenes are designed, and real elements are applied very cautiously. Through the protagonist's narration, the stage space can transform into various settings like homes, parks, seashores, or hotels.
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Therefore, the sound design style must match this, collaborating with lighting, visuals, and other elements to distinguish different stage spaces while propelling the actors' emotions and interpreting the ambiguous emotions between the main characters.
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The sound design, particularly the sound of waves as a recurring motif throughout the play, accomplishes several crucial tasks. A wide range of instruments are used to recognize different characters. Additionally, the play's use of real sound effects is handled carefully. A multichannel surround sound playback system is implemented to reproduce the environment.
Reverb on Vocal
(1) . Regarding Microphones
Based on the acoustics conditions at the Black Box Theater, human voices do not need to be amplified.
However, we have fixed three DPA 4017b Shotgun Microphones on the apron, strategically positioned according to the actors' placement when special effects are required. This positioning allows for maximum gain by having the microphones closest to the actors.
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(2). Regarding Loudspeakers
According to the sound design for this production, I designed and installed a four-channel surround sound playback system. I selected four Meyer Sound UP-Junior loudspeakers, placing them at the four corners of the Black Box Theatre, with two positioned in the front catwalk of the audience seating and two in the rear catwalk.​
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With the configuration shown in the diagram, we can select which speakers to output sound from by triggering 1 and 2 for the front two speakers or 3 and 4 for all four speakers in QLab routing. Additionally, separating WAVE and MUSIC into two separate paths allows us to control their balance ratio during mixing.
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Therefore, atmospherical music and sound effects aiming to break the traditional audience-performer relationship and create a sense of envelopment and immersion can be played through all four speakers simultaneously. For impactful music and sound effects that contain specific information, such as the solitary sound of waves, they can be played through only the front two speakers. The rear speakers are overall attenuated by 4dB compared to the front speakers. This design significantly expands the stage space, creating an immersive auditory environment.
Utilizing Sea and Waves-Scene Construction
Utilizing Sea and Waves-Enhancing Emotions
Waves, as a recurring motif throughout the entire play, have accomplished several crucial tasks in sound design. So, how did we distill the imagery of waves?
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(1) About the Sea and Waves
Objectively, considering that Gurov and Anna first meet in Yalta, a coastal city, and later have a travel date in Oryol, where they engage in water activities like diving, the presence of seawater as an objective sonic backdrop is seamless. Therefore, choosing seawater as a sound element helps distinguish indoor and outdoor scenes.
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On another note, seawater can symbolize freedom, grandeur, and the emotions of entanglement, longing, and tug-of-war in love. It can enhance emotional expression throughout the performance, consistently threading through the main characters' proactive emotions and emotional complexities. Therefore, we chose the sound of waves as a motif to weave through the main character's emotions.
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In sound design, there are two ways to use the sound of seawater:
1. Broad seawater sound effects - used to construct the objective environment.
2. Point-triggered waves - used to enhance the impact.
Using Instruments to Represent Protagonist-Gurov-Trumpet
Using Instruments to Represent Protagonist-Anna-
Piano
(2) Correspondence of Male and Female Protagonist Instrument
I matched instruments that suit the temperament of the male and female leads for their respective stories or symbolic scenes in the play.
In sound design, the corresponding instruments for the male and female leads are:
1. Gurov - Trumpet
2. Anna - Piano
Limited Realistic Sound Effects
During the initial rehearsals, we proposed using soundscapes to recreate each new scene, an idea that the director initially rejected. He wanted to avoid excess realistic elements that might limit the audience's imagination. Through communication, we reached a consensus that all realistic sound effects in the play must be carefully considered. Following the minimalist principle, any sound effect introduced should have a clear and indispensable meaning.
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For instance, we once suggested using the actual sounds of a live puppy to represent the dog Anna owns, symbolizing the only vitality in Anna's life. However, the director rejected this proposal. The reason is that such sound material must consider various factors. If the puppy represents vitality in Anna's life, the director must decide to establish the emotional thread of "the puppy as vitality." It would require integrating the image of the puppy throughout the entire narrative, making it a comprehensive element rather than just adding a simple sound effect.
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Therefore, after careful consideration, we agreed to use only three specific sound effects in the play: the ship's whistle, seagulls, and train whistles.
Three Versions of Shostakovich's Second Waltz Music
During the rehearsal period of the play, I have been working in the rehearsal room with the director. We listened to a large amount of music during rehearsals and ultimately selected 24 pieces for appropriate scenes. The school took care of resolving the music copyright issues.
As Anna is represented by the piano and Golov by the trumpet, the musical style is predominantly classical with original instruments. The composers whose works we primarily used were Jeroen van Veen and Zbigniew Preisner. We also incorporated music from film and television soundtracks, preferring to use multiple tracks from a single album to maintain coherence and unity in musical style.
For some scenes, the director first rehearsed the actors' movements and emotions, describing to me the atmosphere and feelings of the scenes. I then searched for suitable music, and after a discussion with the director, he modified the actors' performances to integrate them with the mood and key points of the chosen music. In some scenes, such as Shostakovich's Second Waltz, the director had a specific musical vision, and I only needed to edit the music according to the director's choreography.
Engaging in creative discussions with the director and actors was very interesting. We came up with creative ideas, such as having Anna intentionally use her heels to create rhythmic sounds as she walked onto the stage, adding unique and amusing sound effects.
