The Sounds Of The Humans

The Humans photo by Joan Marcus

Sound designer Fitz Patton uses 80 sound cues for the Off-Broadway production of The Humans, which features lighting by Justin Townsend, sets by David Zinn, and costumes by Sarah Laux. According to The New York Timeswhile other shows include over 500 cues, Patton's cues for this particular play range from imposing to everyday nuisances, all to increase the anxiety.

Patton obtained the sounds from various places in New York, including his apartment, such as when he placed a handheld recorder near his foot, which he then stomped on the wooden floor of his daughter's bedroom. The New York Times makes a discreet note that "Patton made the recording without clothes on to avoid the rustle of fabric."

Other sounds include a "pulse" taken from a boiler in his apartment building's laundry room; a grinding noise made from a trash compactor working hard to compress its contents; and a 20-minute "dull roar" recording heard through a Manhattan window that loops through five times during the play.

The Humans will move from the Laura Pels Theatre of the Roundabout Theatre Company to Broadway at the Helen Hayes Theatre in January 2016.

To hear the audio recordings, visit The New York Times article.