Peter McBoyle is ready to have a chat about life in the theatre when oldest daughter Ella appears at his office door. She's heading out on this glorious Saturday afternoon. McBoyle smiles. “Have fun. Have a Great Adventure.”

 

Like father like daughter …

 

As Stratford's Resident Sound Designer, Peter McBoyle, has had many Great Adventures working across North America, from perfecting the melodies of Ole Blue Eyes' on Broadway to working with one of the most distinctive voices in theatre history. Now in his 17th season, McBoyle is sound designer for four productions, musicals 42nd Street and You're a Good Man Charlie Brown, Shakespeare's Henry V, and Christopher Plummer's literary love letter, A Word or Two.

 

McBoyle's creative foray began in Toronto, opting for his high school arts program. He loved the trumpet, playing in bands while dabbling in music writing and composing, but he also had an avid interest in music recording and engineering. At Montreal’s McGill University, McBoyle got his Bachelor of Music, qualifying him for a two year Masters Program in Sound Recording.

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Peter McBoyle: “McGill offered a world renown program for people who wanted to do recording and engineering and there were only four or five people accepted into it each year. The training is so solid that it is really is portable as far as where you wanted to take it. I was always thinking of music and making records and maybe working in film. (As many theatre opportunities began coming his way, McBoyle delighted in this “undiscovered country”) I really enjoyed mixing the live element of theatrical presentation, the collaborative art form aspect, and the camaraderie of all the people backstage. I always say that I never found theatre – theatre found me.”

 

McBoyle made his auspicious Stratford Festival debut in 1996, as Sound Designer on Little Foxes, Assistant Sound Designer on The Music Man, Associate Sound Designer for A Fitting Confusion, in addition to being Sound Coordinator for all Festival productions. And thanks to his strong understanding of emerging sound technologies, McBoyle proved instrumental in the implementation of the Stratford Festival's sound evolution from the use of analog tape machines for playback of sound cues, to the integration of computerized digital editors which built sound cues at the push of a button.

 

What is the role of the sound designer and how does the process actually work?

 

Peter McBoyle: “With all the advances in technology, sound design in theatre is morphing into something that is becoming more defined everyday, because it has come from a place much like lighting design was at 30 or 40 years ago. Sound design is one of the most confused and abused terms in theatre because I think it encompasses a lot of jobs at a lot of different levels of theatre. Ultimately, the sound designer is responsible for every aspect pertaining to the overall sound of the show, from layering it all in and figuring out how it all fits, from composed music and sound effects to miking the actors etc. It's all dependent on the acoustics of the space from large scale productions like Henry V or something smaller like Barrymore.”

 

Speaking of …. You are currently working with Christopher Plummer as Sound Designer for a Word or Two. Does he have much input?

 

Peter McBoyle: (laughing) Yes! He has ultimate input. Word or Two is Chris' show so we're all really just helping Chris to achieve what his show is. If he wants to change something or if he does not think it is right, there is no convincing him otherwise and none of us are interested in trying to convince him otherwise. Even (director) Des (McAnuff) understands that this is Chris' show. It's Chris up onstage so Des is really trying to bring a director's vision to it and will give comments back to him. But we are really all trying to support what Chris is doing. And this is a beautiful show. (McBoyle has also worked with Plummer as sound designer for King Lear, The Tempest, and Barrymore). Chris is unbelievably talented and focused. He is one of those people, not alike Seana McKenna or many people that I have worked with over the years, who works at such a level that you want to work at the same level. Not that you don't ever want to do a good job but you just rise to it because you see the work he is doing. The first time I worked with Chris I was blown away at his ethic, his ability and the level that he plays the game at. So you could say I have to be working at the same level that he is working at and bring that level of game to it. Chris is certainly an amazing guy.”

 

McBoyle cites other “benchmark” productions are Orpheus Decsending, (Stratford, MTC, Toronto), The House of Martin Guerre (Canadian Stage), Barrymore (Stratford, Broadway, tour) and Broadway's Come Fly Away.

 

Twyla Tharp's Broadway show Come Fly Away, is now touring in Japan and Asia. Why does this remain one of your all time favorite shows?

 

Peter McBoyle: “The original musical supervisor was (Winnipeg's legendary North American music coordinator) Sam Lutfiyya. Sam was the driving force behind the music and he and I had worked together on a bunch of projects. He always liked the results of my work, and was adamant that I work on Come Fly Away because he knew I was as a trumpet player, with a strong background in big band music. Sam ran a company out of Winnipeg called Music Services International and got involved with (choreographer) Twyla Tharp through the national tour of Movin' Out, a musical revue based on the songs of Billy Joel.

 

Come Fly Away features Frank's Sinatra's vocal recordings, a 15 to 18 piece live big band playing along, and great dance numbers with unbelievable choreography from Twyla Tharp. She's a real genius and it was a thrill to work with her. I think I am one of a handful of Canadian sound designers who has ever worked on a Broadway musical, if not the first. And for that, I am forever thankful to Sam Lutfiyya.” (Sadly, Lutfiyya passed away in 2010 never to experience Come Fly Away's Broadway Debut.) Come Fly Away will always be special to me because this show really represented me branching out, introducing me to a different theatre community that I had not had exposure to before on this kind of a level. I love working on new shows – going into that undiscovered country, so there is a real draw for me to try and get more opportunities in NY. On the other hand, working and seeing shows down there, reaffirms what great work we do here in Stratford.

 

What do you like best about living in Stratford compared to Montreal or Toronto?

 

Peter McBoyle: “There's an amazing balance, because Stratford has the benefit of being a small town with a real cosmopolitan flavour because the restaurants, the shops and the kind of artists that live here. I think we are so fortunate to have things like the Chef's School, Gallery Stratford, the Garlic Festival, ... things that your average small town does not necessary have in a population of 32,000. Meghan and I have a nice place to raise our kids, the additional benefit being that Meghan's family is here because Stratford is where she grew up. (Callan Books!) It's a crazy thing trying to have a family in this crazy business. It's really great because Meghan's made a step up to stage manager (for Charlie Brown in addition to ASM for Wanderlust) and I am still flying all over the place all of the time. So having the support and help of Meghan's family means a lot.”

 

(McBoyle and Callan usually vacation in the winter months, loving little day trips to Bayfield, Goderich, and Blue Mountain, or popping into TO to see Peter's family. When Callan was ASM for Jesus Christ Superstar at La Jolla Playhouse, the family spent a month in San Francisco!)

 

Are Beatrice and Ella following in your and Meghan's theatrical footsteps?

 

Peter McBoyle: “They are real characters. Ella plays violin and they both have a great musicality and theatricality about them, doing voices and playing pretend. I think it's really interesting to expose kids to life in the theatre and I think they really benefit from our connection, like being able to go backstage and see how things are put together, sit and watch the show from the orchestra pit, or go up in the booth where Meghan is calling the show. They can attend opening nights, with our friends and colleagues who also have different lifestyles so they know it's not just their Dad who is always away. Maybe I am wrong. (he laughs) Maybe they will be in therapy 30 years from now complaining about how it was such a terrible life growing up. But I think being a theatre brat is probably pretty great.”

 

….Because Ella and Beatrice get to experience more of Peter McBoyle and Meghan Callan's Great Theatre Adventures yet to come!