Running through February 22nd
Sound designer Rick Sims joins us today to talk about hopelessness in horror, avoiding cliches, and What Scares Him.
1) Do you consider yourself a horror fan?
I don’t consider myself a horror fan per se but more of a suspense/thriller fan. Think Alfred Hitchcocks “The Birds” or “Jaws”. Also really dig films like “Rosemary’s Baby” and “The Omen”
2 ) What was your introduction to horror?
I was introduced to a lot of Vincent Price films in my childhood. My local TV station had a show called Tales Of Terror where they’d play horror movies on Friday nights. “Evil Dead” also made an impression on me. The amount of blood, gore and hopelessness was overwhelming.
3) Zombies: Fast or Slow?
Slow. Like Lava oozing down the edge of a volcano.
4) How is design for horror different than for other genres of storytelling? What lessons have you learned from this project that you’re excited to use in the future?
A) My job as sound designer wasn’t all that different for Revenants than any other play. My sound and music needed to serve the story and evoke a feeling/emotion. For instance, the show needed the sound of zombies overtaking the house or it wouldn’t have made sense. Musically, I had to cover scene transitions which is what I would do for any other play. The main challenge was to not get tripped up by the devices of the horror film genre and just do my thing.
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.
B) A real gun always sounds better than a recorded gun, avoid cliches, think out of the box and don’t be afraid to be counter-intuitive.
5) What Scares You?
Waking up at 3am to go pee when I’m sleeping at an old house. Intellectually I understand there’s no such thing as paranormal activity but……..
All weekend long, you can use the code word “sherman” for $10 off full priced tickets, and tickets are just $12 with a valid student I.D.! Join us for Scott T. Barsotti’s The Revenants at The Athenaeum Theater!
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.~T~