Sound Designer

The Kentucky Cycle follows three Kentucky families through 200 years of American history from 1775 to 1975. Each generation adds obstacles for their descendents. The Rowens, Talberts and Biggs must all find a way to survive in the ever-changing, unforgiving environment of the Appalachian Mountains.

This sweeping epic begins with the settlement of land taken brutally and unjustly from the Cherokee. This is followed by death plots against spouse, father and neighbors; the trauma caused by the American Civil War; the raping of land for mineral rights; and the rise and fall of mining unions. Part II closes the show in 1975 with the restoration of hope for the future of the land and the human spirit.

Part One is set between 1775 and The Civil War. The Rowen family is established in America and continues to be prosperous amassing large swaths of land through deciet, deception and murder. It is these elemnts that will be the family's downfall and the downfall of the beauty of Kentucky.

It was necessary to show the proserity of the Family and the land in Part One. In order to do this I showed the life and lushness of the land, bird song, the wind the the trees, running streams and other natural sounds. As the story progresses, and the Rowens cause more damage to themslelves and others, nature becomes perverted and twisted. By the time the United States is embroiled in The Civil War, the soft sound of nature are replaced by the harsh sound of the fires of war and the crows of death Continued in Part Two.

Part Two resumes after The Civil War. The Rowen family still has a lot of land, but are quickly swindled out of it by the shrewd coal company. The land is quickly devastated and left barren while the the citizens are repressed and dependant upon the company for survival. A union organizer arrives into town and starts trouble for the company. Again, violence and betrayal shape the future of the Rowen family ultimately leading to the formation of a union and the hope for prosperity.

Part Two starts with the restoration of the sounds of nature; but are quickly oppresed and eliminated by the vast emptyness that the coal mining has created. The sounds that would have come from nature were replaced by the harsh mechanical sounds of mining and the barren emptyness where lush forests and rolling hills used to be found. Stand out moments include the sound of the interior of a coal mine and a mine explosion, as well as an attack on a union camp by rail car and the bombing of the coal mine. The cycle completes when the final Rowen discoveres the remains of a Native American baby (the reamins of one of his ancessotors). It is only when he decideds to return the baby to its grave and refuses to shoot a wolf and allows it to remain on his land is the Rowen Family freed from a 200 year cycle of violence and distruction. After the cycle is broken, life returns to the land and hope for the future is restored. The soft sounds of nature and life return in a vast swell that enveloped the audience and ended The Kentucky Cycle.