Research Photos

Bethany

Warren

Andrew 

The Sandman

Sounds on Soundcloud

https://soundcloud.com/karli-blalock-1/sets/velvetsky

Visit the link above to listen to the sounds on my soundcloud. It will open in a separate window, so you can read the explanations of each sound clip below. 

Lullaby 1

·      I wrote this lullaby first, and it inspired the rest of the sounds. It is extremely simple and intentionally dissonant. The bass note is meant to sound like a clock chiming, to imply that Andrew’s birthday is quickly approaching. An extended version of this lullaby might be ideal preshow music; it can bring us into Bethany’s restless mind filled with simple fears.

The Sandman Lullaby

·      This is the tune to the lullaby Bethany is singing in the opening scene. This is obviously just the tune, and will be preferably sung by the actress. However, this will recur throughout the rest of the play. *The cut off is intentional, as suggested by the playwright.

Late Late Late Movie

·      I thought it would be interesting to have Bethany be watching an old Disney movie (I obviously have all the copyrights…). These movies are simple, yet so easily traumatizing for young minds. Bethany references Sleeping Beauty a few times, and in this particular clip, Aurora is talking about dreaming. Her life really is like a nightmarish fairy tale.

Urgent Underscoring

·      On page 15, the script calls for urgent underscoring mixed with city sounds, bringing us immediately into Bethany’s interaction with the “Demon Policeman.” The actual music is in the very beginning stages of being written; however, the simplicity is intentional. It should sound like a Disney-esque cartoon. The bangs on the piano are the takes of the “Demon Policeman.” The third take (in which he is a human again) is a simple tri-tone, to imply that it was only her imagination.

The Transitions: The script called for smooth and clear transitions. I wanted to bring in some ideas for these transitions. I came up with smooth, rather slow transitions that can occur while action is still happening on stage:

Wind Transition

·      On page 9, immediately after Warren and Andrew leave the house, Bethany moves towards the window. In this sound, it is as if she opened the window, allowing wind to rush through. This smoothly transitions us to the busy streets of New York City.

Bus Transition

·      On page 10, the story takes us from Andrew on the city streets to Bethany on a bus ride into the city. In this transition, a bus passing Andrew on the streets turns into a bus idling. 

Dino Transition

·      Here, I believe Bethany has slipped into a state of dreaming, and I wanted to portray that with the ethereal tone. She begins to hallucinate when she sees Mugger Man as the Sandman, and I’m assuming, loses consciousness and dreams about the dinosaur, which then transports us to the museum with Warren.

Bookstore Scene

·      Bethany moves into another state of dreaming in the bookstore scene (the end of my half of the design) when she hears the voices of Warren and The Sandman. This transition is to represent that fade out of consciousness. The Sandman Lullaby is referenced in both the scene and the sound. You’ll hear both a ‘melting’ version of the Sandman Lullaby and the same ethereal tone which previously indicated dreaming.

Concept Statement

In Velvet Sky by Roberto Aguirre Sacasa, Bethany attaches herself to such innocent concepts: the sandman, lullabies, and children’s stories. In my design, I want to use simple melodies and musical gestures to move through the story and in and out of Bethany’s dreams. The audience should question whether what they are experiencing is dream or reality. 

In my reading of the play: 

 - It is told entirely from Bethany’s perspective. 

 - Bethany drifts in and out of consciousness. 

 - Her mind allows her to travel between not only reality and dreamscape but also from location to location quickly like through a wind tunnel. 

 - Fairytales and children's stories are her reality

*I chose to design the first half of Velvet Sky. From the very beginning to page 26, to end on Bookstore Man's like, "Hey, it's your psychosis; I'm just living in it."