animal farm

atyp teacher resources – sound design

2012

This has been an unusual production in that it has no script. What has that been like

for you as a composer?

This has been a collaborative work. As a creative team we have been in the

rehearsal room watching the creation and adding our layers as they can be.

What is the process you use to create music for a theatrical piece – for example do

you start with one idea, words or specific rhythms? Have you used that same process

for this show?

I start with finding the scale I wish to use. For this I have worked with the Russian scale.

Then I create a pool of sounds that can be worked together and can be drawn upon

when I create the final scape.

Describe the effect you are hoping for with the music you’ve composed.

I have created more ambience than melodies with this work. This work got under my

skin and my scape reflects that.

What advice would you give to young musicians who are interested in composing for

theatre or film?

Start. Find a moment you can play with and see what you can do with one moment,

how many ways you can play with it. You will know when you have chanced upon

the combination that works best.

danielle o’keefe – sound designer

OBSERVE

WATCH the following footage from a rehearsal of Animal Farm.

https://vimeo.com/41679353

WHAT do you notice? What seems to be easy for the cast? What is

difficult for them?

HOW does the rehearsal compare with what you saw in the actual

performance?

PRACTICAL

READ through the song from the novel as a whole class. Find the

rhythm and beat within the words.

REPEAT the song several times until you establish the beat.

ADD layers to the sound by tapping “found” rhythms in your classroom.

For example, you may like to tap your pencil on the desk, squeak your

chair or open and close a window.

CONTINUE to sing/speak until you sense that everyone is joining in.

FIND an ending together. See if you can stop without someone

directing you.

Beasts of England

Beasts of England, beasts of Ireland, beasts of every land and clime,

Hearken to my joyful tidings of the golden future time.

Soon or late the day is coming, tyrant man shall be o’erthrown,

And the fruitful fields of England shall be trod by beasts alone.

Rings shall vanish from our noses, and the harness from our back,

Bit and spur shall rust forever, cruel whips no more shall crack.

Riches more than mind can picture, wheat and barley, oats and hay,

Clover, beans and mangel-wurzels, shall be ours upon that day.

Bright will shine the fields of England, purer shall its waters be,

Sweeter yet shall blow its breezes on the day that sets us free.

For that day we all must labour, though we die before it break;

Cows and horses, geese and turkeys, all must toil for freedom’s sake.

Beasts of England, beasts of Ireland, beasts of every land and clime,

Hearken to my joyful tidings of the golden future time.

REFLECTION:

We don’t often sing together in our society unless you attend a religious

service, a football match or a national event. There is something quite

rousing about singing in unison, particularly when it has to do with a strong

belief or cause.

HOW did you feel singing the above anthem as a group?

WHY do you think political parties and regimes of the past used music?

classroom activity