Theatre is a deeply collaborative medium that draws upon a wide range of disciplines. While the conventional theatrical production model prioritizes specialization in terms of area of expertise, contemporary new work increasingly showcases the contributions of transdisciplinary theatre artists with more broadly defined creative roles. Many sound designers working in this contemporary context are embracing a hybrid role as composer, sound designer, and performer. Experimenting at the intersection of music, technology, and performance, these practitioners are uniquely positioned to combine these elements in a synergistic fashion to unlock new creative possibilities. This hybrid approach at its best can synthesize this range of skills into a single, holistic sonic practice. Reflecting on my own experience at UCSD and in the professional world, I will explore the unique advantages and innovative potential of this developing practice.

As spatial sound technology becomes more accessible, interest among theatrical sound designers and composers continues to steadily grow. Techniques range from properly delaying a speaker system to sonically image to the stage to creating virtual sound sources moving around a space in continuous patterns. This thesis presents a methodology to create spatial sound systems, explains how a number of spatial sound techniques are implemented, provides best practices on utilizing spatial algorithms, and explores example use cases. Example use cases range from a small theater production to a spatial sound-based cellphone application. In addition to the technical side, I explore spatial audio as an artistic medium for expression.

ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS

Creative Connectivity: Defining a Practice in the Arts

by

Ethan Eldred

Master of Fine Arts in Theatre and Dance (Design)University of California San Diego, 2024 Professor Bobby McElver, Chair

In this thesis, I’ll propose a model of practice in the arts centered on my concept of Creative Connectivity, for use as a rubric and tool in observing and evaluating creative work. Where connectivity is commonly conceptualized as only relating to information technology, my Creative Connectivity model is inspired by technological connectivity and expands to define three categories of connectivity. Curiosity, community, and cognition are used as concepts to observe connections created in an artistic work, respectively: connections among ideas and knowledge, people and populations, and the mind and senses.In individual chapters with case-study examples, I examine how each of the categories of connectivity can be used to observe my own artistic work in three different aspects: the process, the product, and the artist’s practice. The three categories of connectivity and the three aspects of a work combine to form my Creative Connectivity Matrix, a rubric for observing artistic work.

In a case study of a culminating production experience at UCSD, Alistair McDowall’s X, directed by Rosie Glen-Lambert, I examine the production through the lens of this model of practice, exploring the impact of each kind of connectivity on process, product and practice, as well as ways in which the categories of connectivity overlap to form new forms of connection.In final reflections, I propose this model of practice as a useful tool in my own practice and pedagogy of theatrical design, supporting a healthy, fulfilling, and sustainable practice over time.