On Golden Pond
Book By: Ernest Thompson
Director: Ricky Oliver
Scenic Designer: Matthew S. Crane
Costume Designer: Allison Pugh
Lighting Designer: Ethan Jones
Sound Designer: Dylan G Bollinger
Monomoy Theatre
Photo Credit: Michael & Suz Karchmer
On Golden Pond focuses on the impact that youth has on relationships and family. The sound design for the show executes the following:
Tracking the relationship between Ethel and Norman.
Showing the impact youth has on their relationship.
Enhancing the environment of the show through ambient sound.
The preshow seeks to capture the relationship Ethel and Norman had when they were young and fell in love. The songs selected are songs they listened to when they first started dating.
Following the preshow, the audience enters into the world of On Golden Pond. A song to clue the audience into the man they'd know as Norman starts the show.
Act I Scene I focuses on setting the tone for the show. Ambient sound is incorporated throughout the scene to create a believable environment.
At the end of the scene, Ethel gets tired of Norman talking about his imminent death. The ends the scene with Ethel's sigh after calling him an, "old poop" many times. The transition songs captures the events that transpired in the first scene.
Act I Scene II takes place during the same time of day as the previous scene. The ambience carries over. However a new character, Charlie, enters the picture. Directional sound is used to show his arrival via boat.
As the scene draws to a close, Norman confesses that his memory is slipping, and he is afraid. He is comforted by his wife and best friend. The song that takes the audience out of the scene reminds us that those we love will stand by our side regardless of circumstance or hardship.
Scene III takes place in the evening. The insects, and frogs have cranked up their activity. The ambience intensifies in activity to authenticate the time change. Ethel and Norman's daughter arrives with a new boyfriend and his son, Billy. The boy is the shot of life Norman needs to feel young again. As the scene ends Norman has regained his sense of sarcastic humor, and jokes with his wife, "Nah, I was just bullshitting you."
The intermission represents the bond that Norman and Billy form over their time spent together. An eclectic mix of music represents them bonding over music during the summer.
At the top of Act II, the audience is clued back into the environment with the call of the loon. Following the call, the scene takes place from dawn to mid-morning. The ambient sound follows a progression to facilitate the passage of time.
As Ethel looks off into the pond, she hears Norman's boat, and waves to them as he and Billy go off to fish.
The scene finishes with an uplifting moment between Ethel and her daughter. They bond over their love of Camp Koochakiyi. As they sing the scene fades, and the audience listens to a group of girls singing. This uplifting moment transitions to an upbeat song that helps Ethel while she is packing at the start of Act II Scene II.
Act II Scene II concludes another summer on Golden Pond. The same ambience in the beginning occurs at the final scene to represent coming full circle. As Norman and Ethel exit, we hear the final call of the loons saying good bye before the curtain call.
The Curtain Call and Post Show represent a new life that Norman and Ethel have discovered as a result of Billy's influence on their life.