Sound Designer | Audio Engineer
About Me
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Hello! I'm Levi, and I'm a freelance sound designer/engineer working in the DMV area (that's DC/Maryland/Virginia for anyone who might not be from there!).
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My first introduction to theatre was as a sophomore in high school. After initially only taking a Technical Theatre class for the arts credit, I fell in love with the craft and have been doing it ever since.
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After graduating from Missouri State University with my BFA in Design/Technology/Stage Management, I moved around quite a bit for work! From Missouri to Montana to California, I was just happy to be creating. Eventually, my partner and I moved to DC in ​2022, and I've been working in the area (and sometimes traveling) ever since.
When not in the theater, I enjoy wandering around and looking at buildings, standup paddle boarding wherever I can, and enjoying a good walk in the woods.​
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My Approach
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I had a professor in college who used to say "designers direct and directors design." With every show I do, the truth in those words becomes just a little more clear.
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I believe in a cohesive vision for every story. It's the job of a designer to hear the director's vision and convey it through their medium (hence directors design). In doing so, we as designers can create a world where our disciplines give, take, and interact with the action of the text (hence designers direct!). It is this collaboration that makes this art form so unique. After all, theatre is really just a bunch of people sitting in a room having a conversation.
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Sound is a special design element. Its power to influence us runs deep, and we've been hearing for millions of years. When I'm designing, I constantly hear the "sound is a character" line, and as a character sound can interrupt, support, respond, command, and any other number of verbs! As a designer, it's my challenge to make sure the sound can ebb and flow with the narrative action.
There is no such thing as a "small design." Sound is always around us and we are always unconsciously reacting to it. So, even with a relatively small cast there will always be sound in the space. This, in concert with the idea of sound being a character, is what ultimately informs that phrase - "designers direct and directors design." Sound is such an important element it can walk the line between being a part of "the world" and acting within the world.