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.”

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Current and Upcoming Productions

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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

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Written by William Shakespeare
Directed by Bryn Boice

May 8 - 16, 2025

The Strand Theatre
543 Columbia Rd, Boston, MA 02125

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Santa Cruz Shakespeare

Composer and Sound Designer
Written by William Shakespeare
Directed by Charles Pasternak

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DeLaveaga Park
501 Upper Park Rd, Santa Cruz, CA 95065

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Santa Cruz Shakespeare

Composer and Sound Designer
Written by William Shakespeare
Directed by Paul Mullins

Summer 2025

DeLaveaga Park
501 Upper Park Rd, Santa Cruz, CA 95065