Sound Design, Projections Design & Mixing

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The Burn Vote, a new musical by Chris Cragin-Day with music and lyrics by Don and Lori Chaffer, had its world premiere at River & Rail Theatre Co. in April 2024. The musical follows the true story of Harry T Burn, who cast the final vote which ratified the 19th Amendment, and his mother Febb Burn, who wrote him the letter that changed his mind. 

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This production was staged in the Old City Performing Arts Center, an over 100 year old building that was once an ice factory, but has since been renovated into a theatrical space. I was not only the sound designer for this musical, but also the projections designer and mixer. Due to the nature of this company, I also did all system setup, microphone maintenence, and console programming. This show featured a 10 person cast as well as a three piece, close miked band which was stationed upstage. 

 

As the director only wanted projections in one musical number, I was asked to additionally design projections later on in the creative process. In the song “Waiting for a Long Time,” a fictionalized Lizzie Crozier French leads the female cast in recognizing the work of numerous feminists and suffragists that came before her. We decided that we not only wanted to hear the names of these women aloud, but see their faces. Because we only wanted the projections for a short time, I came up with the idea that the projection screen be a “Votes for Women” banner than would be unfurled during the song, and later dropped off of the upper platform. The women appear on the banner in time with their names in the song, atop a yellow rose, the symbol of the Women’s Suffrage movement.