Explore a world of sound with Rob Witmer
A feature on a Seattle-based sound designer, love is lost (or not) at Seattle Shakespeare, and a Seattle native takes the stage at The Paramount in a national tour.
Musician, composer, and sound designer Rob Witmer has been thinking about the interaction between sound and live theatre for 20 years, introducing effects, transitions, and original music that add layers of mood and emotion for productions at venues as large as the 3,000-seat McCaw Hall for Seattle Opera or as cozy as a 40-seat black box space for a fledgling theatre company, and everything in between.
“Sound is so important because of how it interacts and intertwines with the human voice and storytelling,” said Witmer over coffee and pastries at a bakery and café near his home in Seattle’s Madison Valley neighborhood. The occasion was a rare break for Witmer, who typically works on 15 to 20 productions per year and plays the accordion in the performance-art band Awesome, the Weimar Era-inspired band The Love Markets, and the alt-country group Carrie Clark and the Lonesome Lovers. “When sound blends smoothly with a singer, when a piece of underscoring runs beneath someone’s monologue and is in sync, the actor and the sound designer are riding the same wave.”
“A sound should be unique, even if it’s just a door knock. Is the person in a hurry? Are they angry? Are they drunk? It’s always specific.”
On the Stage
Whether you’re in the mood for the classical language of Shakespeare, the flying arias of Elphaba, the legal jargon of Elle Woods, or the holiday sounds of Hawai’i, we have something to keep you busy this week.
Love’s Labor’s Lost
Theatre | Seattle Shakespeare Company
Now – November 17 | Tickets
Intent on intellectual study for himself and his companions, King Navarre proclaims three years of all work and no play – including no romance. On cue, a princess and her ladies arrive at court on a diplomatic mission, and the men can’t help falling head over heels.
More Events
- Wicked | Broadway at The Paramount | Now – December 1 | View the Program
- Legally Blonde | Village Theatre Issaquah | Now – December 22 | View the Program
- Mahler Symphony No. 1 | Seattle Symphony | November 14 – 16
- Jake Shimabukuro | Tacoma Arts Live | November 16
Next Line
Catch a local performer coming home to the big stage, stake your claim on a theatre seat, and don’t miss an extended performance...
- Seattle native Caden Brauch is returning to the city as Marty McFly. Bauch grew up performing at local theatres like 5th Avenue Theatre and Village Theatre before traveling in the national tour of Back to the Future. The DeLorean will land at the Paramount Theatre on December 10 to 22.
- Taproot Theatre Company has announced they will stage Lewis and Tolkien in the Isaac Studio Theatre on January 22 to February 22, 2025. The intimate play will take place in Isaac Studio as the seats in the Jewell Mainstage Theatre are replaced. The production also coincides with the 15th anniversary of the reopening of Taproot after an October 2009 arson on its property. Claim your own seat today by donating for the seat-replacement effort.
- Additional dates added for Seattle Rep’s Primary Trust. Due to popular demand, Seattle Rep has announced additional dates for the 2024 Pulitzer Prize-winning play, now playing through November 27.
