Theatre Sound Education: Collaboration and Community
In this article, I wanted to explore how Higher Education institutions teaching Theatre Sound are working to move towards programmes that are outward looking, building community, and sharing knowledge. I am currently a Lecturer of Sound on the BA Production, Technology and Management at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and so I draw upon my teaching experiences over the last ten years or so in several diverse settings.
Who is influencing future industry professionals?
In recent decades, increasing numbers of early career theatre Sound practitioners start their journey in a formal education setting. Many of us older folk did not have the opportunity to benefit from a selection of school qualifications as diverse as to include Music Technology, Graphic Communication and Computer Science, all of which feed into supporting young people gain a broad skill set that helps feed into an Arts career. Despite the Conservative government’s asserted efforts to diminish the type of arts qualifications available, such as BTEC awards and National Progression Awards, recently there is anecdotal evidence that there has been an increase in apprenticeships and mentored roles.
National theatre companies such as the National Theatre of Scotland, Donmar Warehouse and the Royal Shakespeare Company have created roles for training on the job, all feeding a highly positive wider path into the Sound industry. On the other hand, worryingly, with further Arts funding cuts, this might be temporary resolve to increasing opportunities for future professionals.
I’m keen to express that some of the best learning opportunities come from ‘doing the job’. The general feeling amongst professionals is that this is the best way to pick up skills but often overlooked, are the social aspects that an educational institution can offer. Social development skills, that were so badly affected during the Covid years, communication and self management are, in my opinion, of equal weighting and arguably, the biggest factor in a student gaining access to workplace opportunities is the ability to confidently explain foldback to a cast member or show up to calls on time. Who would want to employ someone who couldn’t confidently explain these concepts or didn’t show up on time?
In my opinion, a Sound student shouldn’t only receive influence or training from one narrow reference but be encouraged to reach out and be a part of a wider community that can offer a richer range of experiences and opportunities. Higher Education can offer spaces to make mistakes in a safe, supportive environment that would be too risky in a professional environment.
It takes a village to raise a… Theatre Sound Engineer?
Many modern undergraduate curriculums in Theatre Sound Design embrace a constructivist model. Students tend to be encouraged to reflect, question, and practice self-motivated learning. Despite the stubborn conception that students attend Higher Education to be vessels to receive information, programme designers are working hard to find more inclusive ways of working. This includes greater collaboration with sister programmes (such as music, musical theatre, and traditional music) and community outreach work.
One way that the Sound section of the Production Technology Management course at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland has found to increase industry-valid collaboration opportunities with the students is by seeking new collaborations with programmes that haven’t traditionally been included in the course. Looking for short, often one-day events has led to a wider variety of Sound experiences for the students. Recently, the second-year Sound specialists teamed up with first-year traditional music students to do the Sound for their first public concert.
The second-year Sound students needed to contact the Creative Programmer and lecturer, Jenn Butterworth, to arrange the load-in, Sound checks, and IO list. Jenn herself is a highly awarded acoustic folk guitarist, playing with Kinnaris Quintet as well as being recognised as an accomplished teacher. Access to expert practitioners beyond the immediate Sound community is vital in developing collaborative skills. Needless to say, not all experts beyond the safe spaces of educational institutions are as forgiving as maybe they could be.
A Sound Community
Further to the Constructivist model of education, the term ‘learning communities’ is used in higher education to describe a group of learners with similar learning goals who meet, collaborate, and study together. Arguably, in the niche world of Theatre Sound, access to the ‘community’ is central to any learning opportunity. This can be achieved through several routes, not limited to the five below:
1. Digital Communities
Examples of these range from casual interest groups on social media to more specific groups that denote members by paid membership or characteristics such as location or specialism within the Audio Industry. Digital Audio Ecofeminism (DA’EF), as coined by Dr. Eddie Dobson (2012), is used to describe groups that have ‘glocal’ impact on all-female communities in audio.
2. Professional Networking
Examples include past and present colleagues, as well as informal and formal social gatherings. The ASDP runs social events across the UK several times a year for members, and sometimes non-members, to meet up and share ideas.
3. Formal Education
As highlighted earlier, formal education, at school, Further Education, or Higher Education level, can help build networks and support for learning. The people that you study with, particularly later in life, are often those offering you work or vice versa.
4. Friends and Family
Friends and family can play a pivotal and encouraging role in informing an early-stage career path. Family and friends who themselves work in the industry can give insights and support with work placements. Despite nepotism often being seen as negatively impacting fair access to the profession, a supportive home network is pivotal in assisting early career individuals to take a brave leap into an industry that could feel out of reach to some members of society. Support such as this can help ensure resilience when faced with challenges.
5. Hobby Groups
Amateur dramatic and youth groups play a key part in providing opportunities. Practical experience is difficult to simulate for Sound Design beyond the walls of a theatre, and these groups often allow participants to access material that would otherwise be difficult to replicate.
The Evolving Collaborative Environment
Higher Education institutions are slowly evolving with social shifts in a greater understanding around equality and inclusion. Whether this is in response to, or in partnership with, industry is debatable depending on who you speak to. Some of the measures that have been written into policy include updated Dignity at Work and Study Guidelines. This shift could be seen because of a generation who is far more likely to be involved in social justice than previous generations. Caring for the planet, equal opportunities, and a far greater awareness of injustices means that increasingly, educational institutions have needed to respond with new policies and codes of behaviour.
Some Questions
A few final questions to ponder: Is our industry leading education, or is education leading our industry? What matters more, education or experience? In times of unprecedented economic pressures, is it better to learn in the workplace or at a university with all the associated costs?
From my point of view as an educator, the answer lies within the individual. We need to move on from historical, dusty preconceptions of Higher Education for Theatre Sound being about didactic teaching and move more towards the reality of how our institutions function today. Student-centred learning, with an abundance of real-world opportunities alongside current professionals who have a growth mindset and an understanding that we are all learning together, all the time.
Students learn best from their peers when they feel comfortable making mistakes and are supported to realise where their passions might lie. In an ideal learning environment, there would be little way to tell who is a student and who is a facilitator, with collaboration and respect working together synonymously.
By Clare Hibberd Clare’s pronouns are she/her
The ASDP is committed to support and empower its members to work freely and creatively, in environments in which everyone can be themselves, respected, valued, and feel that their voices are heard.
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