power in the hands of a worker. . .

Occasionally, my job is just sitting in my office and listening to music. For Many hours.  This may seem awesome, and in some ways it really is, but man.  When you're not getting what you want it will make you weep like a recently abandoned puppy.  For those who don't understand or even know what I do, besides teaching sound design for the theatre, I design as many as 10 shows a year.  One of the parts of that process that few understand  (including many designers) is that the music that is heard pre-show, as underscoring, or even as you leave the theatre is not just some crap that you throw together, or, as some people have asked, written into the script.  I spend a great deal of time reading and re-reading a play and finding the themes that I want to explore musically, and then either finding, or in some cases (very rare for me) composing the music that is needed.  Listening to a piece of music and being able to understand the "emotional content" of the music and attach it to a scene, or even just the broad feeling of an entire play is a daunting task, especially when coupled with the period, style, and locale for that particular production.  A play set in the 20's rarely is improved by your inclusion of some awesome song by a modern grrl rocker or bumpin' techno beat.  So today I am searching for the perfect piece of music to communicate the empowerment of some developmentally disabled guys living together in an apartment.  I'll get there, but I like to think that what makes me good at this is that I am very picky.  I see action and emotion in every piece of music that I listen to.  I like to think of it as my particular version of synesthesia.  Then I get to figure out a way to have a kitchen timer tick away in the kitchen of the set, and have it "ding!" at exactly the correct moment, no matter how the actors decide to pace the scene each night.  All while sounding like a real kitchen timer actually in that location on the set.  Oh and we should probably be able to see it count down too.  And to think, there are people in cubicles right now. Wahahahahahahahaha!  YOU FOOLS!