PK Sound Enters the World of Theatre with a Bass Rumble

(Photo by Aldona B Photography)

It is opening night, and a lone dancer languidly moves on stage, swallowed by equal parts light and darkness. A bass sound rises as if from another dimension and wraps the audience in its warm audio blanket.

This is Hiroaki Umeda’s Intensional Particle/ split flow, the first performance in Theatre Junction’s 25^th anniversary season and the first time PK sound’s new Trinity Sound system has animated a contemporary live art performance. It would be hard to imagine a better art outing for PK’s new system than Umeda’s swirling and immersive world of body movement, digital light and sound.

“It is one thing to hear music; it is another to experience it,” reads the PA companies site.

The companies Trinity System, lauded as being one of the most transparent and intelligible PAs on the market, will be bolstering the stimulation of Umeda’s four-show performance, from October 12-15. The 3-d contouring capabilities of the system will shape the sound specifically to audience seating – reducing noise and reverb.

Known for having a strong presence at musical venues, tours and festivals worldwide, the theatre environment might seem an odd one for PK Sound. “We really try to diversify into many arts oriented endeavors,” Arlen Cormack replies over the phone from his Calgary office. Umeda’s previous performances at Art and Technology festivals like Convergence at the Banff Centre of Arts and Creativity and Mutek, also piqued the company’s interest. “The motion capture as well as the interesting musical production makes it a good fit for the culture that follows us,” iterates McCormack. “It is [also] great for us to be showcased in different artistic scenes.”

Watching Umeda’s work – a multimedia accomplishment of movement and light, it is only befitting that the sound be just as enveloping and PK Sound is up for the challenge. “One of things we pride our selves on is not just being able to hear sound but being able to experience it,” McCormack adds in conclusion. “So you feel not only enveloped by the visuals but that the sound is equally part of that fully enveloping experience – the warm coziness that allows you to have that extra sensory experience.”

For more information and tickets, visit www.theatrejunction.com.

Tagged as: calgary theatre, live art, Theatre Junction Grand