Mackenzie Adamick on Composing Theatrical Soundscapes
Featured Interview with Terry Bryne, The Boston Globe
June 27, 2024
Composing, says award-winning theatrical sound designer Mackenzie Adamick, “is the art of storytelling.” An eerie musical motif can generate goosebumps as much as any dialogue, while a melodic fanfare can inspire joy. The challenge for a theatrical sound designer is understanding the director’s vision and creating a soundscape that supports that vision without drowning it out. “When I meet with a director, the first question I ask is ‘Why this play now?’” says Adamick. “I read the script so that I understand the emotional arc of the play, but each director chooses a play for a specific reason, and my music needs to serve that.”
“Each production has its own challenges,” she says, “but after getting a sense of what a director is trying to accomplish, I develop a couple of short musical pieces with chord progressions, textures, and timbres that I present to them. And then there’s a constant back and forth as we revise and refine.”
“I can sit down at my piano at home and start composing,” she says. “I work on one theme at a time, and the process is pretty free form. I like to start developing motifs based on sonic colors. Introducing live sound is another element and allows even more creativity.”
As for her own composing style and preference, Adamick says, “I like strings and some dark synthesizers. I love some grit.”
Current and Upcoming Productions
TARTUFFE
The Hub Theatre Company
Sound Designer
Written by Molière
Directed by Bryn Boice
November 9 - 24, 2024
BCA Plaza Theatre
539 Tremont St, Boston, MA 02116
A CHRISTMAS CAROL
Lean Ensemble Theater
Sound Designer
Adapted by Matt Mundy from Charles Dickens
Directed by Blake White
December 12 - 22, 2024
HHPS Main Street Theater
3000 Main St, Hilton Head Island, SC 29926
SUMMER, 1976
Lean Ensemble Theater
Sound Designer
Written by David Auburn
Directed by Maggie Kettering
January 16 - 26, 2025
HHPS Main Street Theater
3000 Main St, Hilton Head Island, SC 29926
FLORA & ULYSSES
Wheelock Family Theatre
Composer and Sound Designer
Written by John Glore
Directed by Joshua Streeter
February 15 - March 9, 2025
Wheelock Family Theatre
180 Riverway, Boston, MA 02215
A MIDSUMMER
NIGHT’S DREAM
Actors’ Shakespeare Project
Sound Designer
Written by William Shakespeare
Directed by Maurice Emmanuel Parent
April 12 - May 11, 2025
The Mosesian Center for the Arts
321 Arsenal St, Watertown, MA 02472
MACBETH
Commonwealth Shakespeare Company
Sound Designer
Written by William Shakespeare
Directed by Bryn Boice
May 8 - 16, 2025
The Strand Theatre
543 Columbia Rd, Boston, MA 02125