...and the prize goes to...

The best kind of stage director for a sound designer to work with is one who:

1) Has a clear vision of what he or she wants, but

2) Is open to fresh ideas,

3) Wants original compositions — lots of them, and

4) Trusts you to go about your business.

Frank Licato is one such.

Frank directed a revival of Arthurs Miller’s View from the Bridge last year and commissioned me to underscore a bunch of scenes. In the pivotal scene, protagonist Eddie rats on his wife’s illegal immigrant cousins. He sneaks off to a phone booth to place a call. His line: “Give me the number of the Immigration Bureau. Thanks.”

I got carried away and wrote 2 minutes worth of music. I suggested to the Julia, the women on the boards, “Just fade it at ‘Thanks.’”

When I came to see the performance and that scene come up, John Fedele, playing Eddie, approached the phone, hesitated, reached for it, pulled back, paced around, reached again, grasped the receiver, froze for a moment, slammed it back, paced, again reached and held the receiver, froze, then slowly dialed (1954-style rotary), hung up, froze, reached again, dialed again, and delivered the line.

Afterwards, I cornered John. “Man that was so moving how you played that scene. Breathtaking. Brilliant.”

John said, “I was just riffing to you music.”

You can keep you shiny Best Score Oscar. Responses like John’s are prize aplenty for me.