Acknowledgments

I’ve been putting off writing these acknowledgments for pretty much the whole time I’ve been writing this book. When it takes your entire life to write a book, you leave behind an incredibly long trail of people to whom you are deeply indebted. I don’t want to leave anyone out, but this section too, must have a finite length. Regrettably, I will not be able to mention everyone to whom I am deeply indebted. Instead, I’ll try to make sure I cover everyone in groups, and just hope no one is too offended that I didn’t have space to name them personally.

First, let me thank the people who specifically helped my make this book: Al Pounders for his lovely cover art; Matt Booty for his awesome foreword; Carnegie Mellon sound design professor, Joe Pino; and my dear lifelong friend and collaborator, Carrie Newcomer, for their endless patience and endurance in reading this book in its formative stages and providing so many helpful comments and suggestions along the way. Thanks also to my Honors 499 class who helped me test this version of the book in spring 2017, and to the Honors College for funding the project. These were brilliant students never afraid to tell me when they thought I was off my rocker, or really needed to explain something better, and I think the book is much better for that. Many thanks to Robert Meitus, who helped me navigate all the legal hurdles that one has to leap to get a book published. I also need to acknowledge the many specialists in their own respective fields, who actually made most of the discoveries revealed in this book. Hopefully, I have gotten their conclusions right. Finally, thanks to the good people at Routledge, who’ve shown incredible faith in my work and ability to bring this project to fruition.

Let me also thank my colleagues.

First, thanks to the many mentors who have helped me shape my theatre aesthetic over these many years, especially Van Phillips, Jim O’Connor, Dale Miller, Joel Fink, Dick Forsythe, Caryl Matthews, Abe Jacob and especially my dear friend Maurie Mogridge, who, after 40 years of “Tuesdays with Maurie” lunches, still provides wonderful insights and inspiration.

This book is partly autobiographical, but doesn’t overtly reflect what I’ve learned and the great companionship I’ve shared with so many composers and sound designers, engineers and technicians over the years. They’ve influenced this book more than they will ever know. I met these wonderful people through the many theatres and universities in which I’ve worked and visited, and some extraordinary organizations: The United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT), not just the Sound Commission, but especially the believers in the organization whose primary discipline was not sound, but understood its importance nevertheless. They empowered my career and our field by believing that sound design and music composition was an important art form. I am indebted to the International Organization of Scenographers, Theatre Architects and Technicians (OISTAT) and the amazing friends and family I’ve found and cherish there from all over the world; my friends and colleagues in the National Theatre Conference (NTC) who have allowed me to pontificate and explore the function of sound and music in theatre beyond the confines of design and technology; and the newly founded Theatrical Sound Designers and Composers Association (TSDCA). Another group of colleagues that has been indispensable to both my own personal development and the field of sound design for the theatre are the many manufacturers and other professional organizations who have assisted my work, become great friends, and with whom I have had the great privilege to collaborate over these many years.

Let me take time to thank Purdue University, which actively embraces its role as a Research One institution, and has supported my research and creative endeavor for over 40 years. From top to bottom, I could not have found a more wonderful place to spend my career. The Dean’s Office, particularly our current Dean David Reingold and Associate Deans Joel Ebarb and Melissa Remis, made this book possible through two sabbaticals and subvention funds for image acquisition, for when a picture really could say a thousand words. The head of our Patti and Rusty Rueff School of Visual and Performing Arts and Harry Bulow, who has unfailingly supported my work even when it seemed destined to fly off the deep end. I’ve had the tremendous pleasure of working with many great faculty and staff from departments, schools and colleges all over campus in deep and meaningful ways: my many friends and colleagues in the Music and Dance Divisions and the Art and Design Department; my long-standing collaborations with Hall of Music Productions and Steve Hall; WBAA, Film and Visual Studies, the Electrical and Computer Engineering and Multidisciplinary Engineering programs in the College of Engineering; the Purdue Polytechnic Institute, especially the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Technology. But especially, I want to thank my second family, the faculty and staff of Purdue University Theatre. Like any family, we love, fight and challenge each other on a daily basis, but I wouldn’t trade them for the world. My deep appreciation to our staff, who routinely go so far out of their way to accommodate my seemingly harebrained ideas. This incredible group of colleagues has helped to make me a better artist and person. They are a family like no other, and I cherish the time we’ve spent together.

I’m blessed to have so many friends, and I want to thank all of them, but especially the ones who held my hand through the last two years of this arduous book-making process: Carrie Newcomer and Robert Meitus, Maurie Mogridge, Al Pounders and Loren Olson, my dear friends Larry and Rita Smeyak, and my concert buddies, Alex Chorosevic and John Hermes. And, as long as I’m mentioning my friends, I must thank the roommates I’ve had over the many years, who taught me valuable life lessons, and became a lifelong friend thereafter.

Finally, I am deeply indebted to my family whom I love so dearly. In their own way, they’ve helped make possible the production of this book: Buz and Judy, Tom and Bonnie, Jay and Tammy, TJ and Leah. Finally, I must never forget my mom and dad, Harry and Lillian, who sacrificed everything to build one of the most wonderful families in the world.