The Mystery of Irma Vep A Penny Dreadful

(Thumbnail / header photograph by Robertson Photography)

Asst. Stage Managing, Electrics Apprentice, and Sound Designing

• For the first effect I want to showcase, I was tasked with designing the sounds of an offstage animal attack on one of the main characters. The result was an outlandish fistfight between a werewolf and the grounds-keeper, that ends in the man loosing his leg (thrown on stage by a props artisan).

• The next sound effect was the equally unrealistic sound of power tools being used to screw a leg back into place. As with most sounds in this show, the extremity deliberately leans into the farcical wit of playwright Charles Ludlam.

• These next two ambient effects were part of the setting of the second Act, where two of the characters travel to Egypt. With almost no set constructed for this act, the location was established mainly by the lights and sound. The first is a hollow cave deep among the tombs of the pharaohs, the second is the bustle of a bazaar in the daytime.

The final two sound effects I pulled were two of my favorite iterations of our footstep sounds. Since they needed to be edited heavily throughout the rehearsal process, instead of using a regular audio file I programmed a virtual instrument that allowed me perform and edit the timing of each file manually, allowing ultimate control of both timing and timbre. It is a method I will certainly be using in the future!

As assistant stage manager to SM Avi Littky, I got to work through some detailed paperwork and line notes. However, the one document I took the most pride in working on was our entrance and exit tracking sheet. It’s a large color coded grid to help track the entrance and exit points (which is critical when notating a two-hander with 6 ‘characters’ to quick-change between!)

Irma Vep – Entrance and Exit Tracking – Oliver Coffman

Additionally, I was able to step in and assist John G and other overhire who were working on the light plot (designed by Chris Wood) in the time I had during the day after working on Sound. Though I do not remember what lights I hung specifically, I will point out that it was only a small amount of the overall plot since most of my efforts were focused elsewhere.

Show: The Mystery of Irma Vep A Penny Dreadful
Lighting Designer: Chris Wood
Sound Designer and Resident Electrician: John Gibilisco
Scene Designer: Matthew Hamel
Guest Composer: Tim Vallier
Director: Jim McKain
Stage Manager: Avi Littky

This show was a major project in my career. Not only was I able to Assistant Stage Manage with Avi Littky, I was also given creative control over the sound design along side John Gibilisco, having been involved in rehearsal processes for weeks in advance. I designed sound effects such as werewolf encounters, offstage prosthetic leg antics, and sarcophagus reveal sequences, all while working the compositions of Tim Vallier into a unified, well-structured cue list.