On Thursday, January 9, the Spring Semester begins. Back in October I took over a playwriting class, and it was an incredible experience. I’ve always wanted to teach playwriting, and now I can mark that off the bucket list of dream classes. With the Spring Semester looming, I can teach another dream class—Sound Design for Theatre.
For those unaware, prior to attending graduate school and following the path of education as a career, I worked as a sound designer and engineer for several years. My favorite aspect of that time was when I taught and guided interns—aspiring designers and engineers. This is where I fell in love with teaching. Being able to have a formal class with a small group of students is both terrifying and exciting.
As I work on my syllabus, I wonder just how effective I will be. Oh, I’m knowledgeable in sound engineering and design, but I’ve struggled on the explaining front—the lecturing side. I learned how to design and engineer by being thrown into the lion’s den. Need to route a new speaker placement? Figure it out. Cue not firing correctly in Q-Lab? Troubleshoot it and retrace your steps. Horrible screeching on a mic? Do an EQ sweep. Don’t know what an EQ sweep is? Well, time to learn!
I ask myself, do I throw my students into it with the same expectations? Or is there another path to take?
The obvious answer is… It’s somewhere in the middle. What that middle looks like, I’m unsure. My mentors always expected me to know—or, at the very least, know where to go. Can I expect that of ten students who may or may not be interested in a career in sound design? I’m not sure I have an answer on that…
But, with my first time teaching this class, I get to experiment and find a common ground as the semester moves on. We’ll see where it all ends up at semesters end.
Jesús M. Rivera 