Luck of the Irish
Huntington Theatre Company, 2012 (world premiere)
Director Melia Bensussen sought to blur transitions between scenes, past and present, for this story of racial and economic aspirations in a Boston suburb. Harp and cello harmonics accompany the unmeasured rhythms of winds and breezes throughout this play.
Finish Line: A Documentary Play about the 2013 Boston Marathon
Boston Theater Company at Shubert Theatre, 2017 (world premiere)
Director/Co-Creator Joey Frangieh wanted to avoid direct aural references to the events of the 2013 Boston Marathon in this theatrical presentation of witness and survivor interviews. I composed preshow music to convey a hopeful feel, using sections of it as transitional elements within the play. Joey described my effort as “musical running,” and played it as his own soundtrack when he ran the 2017 Boston Marathon.
Stop All the Clocks
Brandeis Theater Company/Susan Dibble Ensemble, 2015 (world premiere)
Choreographer Susan Dibble explores the cycle of life in her dance story inspired by W.H. Auden poems. This score montage includes excerpts from Moto Perpetuo, The Dog Beneath the Skin, Rocking Chair Reverie, and Finale (Dance of Death).
Prelude to a Kiss
Huntington Theatre Company, 2010
Director Peter Dubois envisioned Prelude’s world as “sparkly.” Starting with harp accompaniment, I developed the Main Theme as the source for the rest of the score.
Year Zero
Merrimack Repertory Theatre, 2014
Director Kyle Fabel and I discussed contemporary-sounding music with “traditional” elements for this story of first-generation Cambodian-Americans in Long Beach, CA. Starting with hip-hop beats and electronic instruments, I incorporated Asian instruments into the mix.
Before I Leave You
Huntington Theatre Company, 2011 (world premiere)
Director Jonathan Silverstein wanted to move energetically through this play’s many scenes. A jazz suite seemed right for this story of Cantabrigians facing life-changing circumstances.
These Shining Lives
Stoneham Theatre, 2013
Vibraphone and viola were my instrumental inspirations to accompany a young woman's story of her work and subsequent demise in a 1920s radium watch factory.
Ryan Landry's 'M'
Huntington Theatre Company, 2013 (world premiere)
IRNE Award for Sound Design
This Pirandellian stage adaptation of the classic film "M" imagines Hans Beckert (aka "M") as a tortured playwright whose characters discover that their reality is his imagination. My moody chamber pieces underscored M's early shadowy appearances.
In the Next Room (or the vibrator play)
Dartmouth College, 2014
This is the second of three piano pieces that are played by one of the characters in this play about technology at the dawn of the Electrical Age.
Othello
Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, 2010
A guitar piece for Othello’s and Desdemona’s unspoken top-of-show vows for director Steven Maler’s production on Boston Common.
Antony & Cleopatra
Actors Shakespeare Project, 2011
I heard electric guitars for the Roman war machine, an idea which director Adrianne Krstansky embraced.
The Provok’d Wife
American Repertory Theatre, 2004
Director Mark Wing-Davey asked me to compose minuets, song settings, and transitions encompassing music from the Baroque to the contemporary.
Enrico IV - Gloria
American Repertory Theatre, 2001
The cast improvised chant fragments which I recorded and arranged. Lead vocal by David Patrick Kelly.
A Question of Mercy
ART Institute for Advanced Theatre Training, 2000
From the production directed by Daniel Jáquez. I used ostinati patterns, a recurring harp motif, and a sparse instrumental palette.