Inherit the Wind is an explosive Tennessean drama inspired by the Scopes Monkey Trial (considered the most important trial of the 20th century), where freedom of thought is questioned in the court of law. The concept of this production was to tell the story through a timeless lens that relates to today. The system design of this proscenium-style play featured a main house system of 4 mains, 5 delays/centers, 2 subs, 8 surrounds, 6 on stage FX speakers, and 1 bluetooth (for an organ grinder). This allowed the sound to have a central image, while also allowing immersion for our Tennessean mountain atmospheric sounds. There were 10 area mics strategically placed around the set, along with 1 radio mic with live distortion to make it sound generations older.

Through some detailed conversations with the director, the idea came up to have the transition music start out traditional and grow more modern as we went along in the story. Since the story is set in a small Tennesseean town, Appalachian bluegrass and folk music were our research focal point. Appalachian folk music with its common use of banjo, fiddle, acoustic guitar, upright bass, and spare percussion (if any), has a very natural and improvised feel to it. Due to budget and my want for flexibility, my approach to the composing quickly became sample-based. All music is a combination of found percussion and guitar loops with VST upright bass, banjo, and viola. Though most of it is synthetic, I worked hard to make each instrument sound real and rich.