Barry G. Funderburg
Each year, Milwaukee Rep’s production of A Christmas Carol brings with it many beloved traditions for not only audiences, but also the theater artists that gather to fill the Pabst Theater with music, dancing and festive magic.
Since 1998, award-winning sound designer Barry G. Funderburg’s work has carried this grand tradition forward for multiple stage adaptations of this classic story. As sound designer, Barry is responsible for creating the aural atmosphere of Charles Dickens’ London and conjuring the special effects that give Scrooge’s ghostly visitors their distinct character and textures.
We had a chance to sit down with Barry as he celebrates his 25th A Christmas Carol at Milwaukee Rep. Read on as he shares some of his history with “ACC,” the inspiration for the sounds and effects that you’ll hear, and a special holiday message as we approach the opening of our 2023 production.
1. For 25 years, generations of Milwaukee audiences have been entertained by a Barry G. Funderburg sound design at A Christmas Carol. Could you give some background on how you came to be a part of this annual holiday celebration and your approach to designing this current adaptation by Mark Clements?
In 1998 Milwaukee Rep created a new adaptation of A Christmas Carol, by artistic director Joe Hanreddy and associate artistic director Edward Morgan. At the time I was just beginning to branch out from designing mostly in Chicago, and was hired for a few Rep shows that season, including the new production of "ACC," as we nickname it. That script was revamped/redesigned again in 2003 and I continued on as designer for that version as well. I was thrilled to be asked to stay on for Mark's adaptation in 2016, and to continue to be part of the Rep/Pabst tradition. My approach to designing Mark's adaptation is three-fold: to help Mark create the environment of the "ghost story" that he's envisioned, while also providing the space so that John Tanner's amazing score can bring both the spooky and the heart of this Christmas story. Finally, I strive to reinforce the actors' performances by making their dialog and singing as intelligible and impactful as I can.
2. The world of A Christmas Carol transports us to not only Dickensian London but also into a realm of magic and delight as the ghosts transport Scrooge through his redemptive journey. What sort of atmosphere/feeling were you striving for through your sound design for this iteration, which adds so much to creating the world of the play?
Well as I said, we definitely wanted to bring the spooky to Scrooge. The Ghosts also exert a lot of force on Scrooge, directing both his body and his attention so that he can truly hear the warnings they're bringing him. Each Ghost has their own palette of sounds: Marley's is full of drone-y dread and chains; Past's is full of wind, chimes, and Tibetan singing bowl-like tones; Present's is full of warm music and whooshes from his torch; and Future's palette is almost devoid of music and is accompanied by booms, drones, pulses, and the grinding of giant slabs of stone drug across stone and earth, as we move from location to location. Scrooge's voice is also enhanced with a hollow reverb throughout Future, hopefully giving the impression of him inhabiting a dark void all alone with these visions. Once we return back to Scrooge's bedroom and the streets of London, I step aside for John's score full of warm Victorian renditions of classic English Christmas carols.
3. On your website, you mention that you "believe in blurring the lines between music and sound design." Could you elaborate on what you mean by this, and how your design informs/relates to the music in this adaptation of A Christmas Carol – a production that presents many timeless, well-known traditional songs?
Well, that blurring of lines is certainly true, or simpler, on productions where I'm both sound designer and composer. On A Christmas Carol I work hand-in-hand with composer John Tanner. In the initial seasons of this adaptation, we worked intensely with Mark to figure out where we wanted "sound design" and where we wanted "score." Ultimately you want them to work together like one piece, not competing. Sometimes that's simultaneous, as in Marley's visit, where I have beds of ambience working along with John's underscore. Sometimes it's about feeling a rhythm from the music and leading into it or following it up with sound effects or ambience. In Future, some of the drones or ambiences were provided by me, and some by John. In the end you just want it to all feel seamless and from the same world. As a musician and composer myself, even my sound effects have a tendency to have a musical or rhythmic quality or drive to them...so that each effect has a point of view. It's how I hear the world. But as collaborators, John and I have been working together on this and other productions since I joined in 1998, so we've learned to "play well" together as both artists and friends!
4. With 25 years of A Christmas Carol under your belt, I think that it's fair to say that you're a bit of an expert on the subject. Thinking through your time with the show, from 1998 to present day, has your outlook on what this show is changed or evolved? What does A Christmas Carol mean to you?
I think that the impact and importance of Dickens' story has not changed much for me over the decades. I've loved this story since early childhood. What has changed for me is the impact of how our production is cast and embodied. The attention Milwaukee Rep pays to casting the show to look like our modern community, instead of trying to recreate Victorian England, gives me immense pride. I think the theater has strived to do that all along, but for the last few years I've really felt the impact of what that kind of storytelling means to a community and the universality of this story. Looking around at Family Preview and seeing kids from underrepresented communities see themselves onstage has a deep impact, and tells them that their voices and humanity are equally important, and hopefully helps them see that they too can pursue their dreams if they want to participate with a career in theatre or other arts, or in their wider community beyond the arts.
One thing that really has evolved for me over time is technology. Over 25 years, technology has changed greatly, allowing the transition from an analog, manually mixed, and not-vocally-reinforced production to a digital, computer automated, and vocally-reinforced one. I don't think it's changed my overall aesthetic much, but certainly how I design/build cues and what I can accomplish in creating an environment has changed quite a bit, due to the improved and highly detailed tools I have at my disposal.
5. In addition to A Christmas Carol, you've worked on many productions here at Milwaukee Rep. When you look back over the years, what's your favorite show that you've designed and why?
That's a hard one to answer. I've designed and/or composed on 85 very diverse productions, across the Pabst, Powerhouse, Stiemke Studio, and Stackner Cabaret spaces. It's hard to pick just one. I would say career highlights, beyond Carol, include my first production, 1997's Angels in America, in addition to 1999's Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, 2000's Work Song, 2003's Mary Stuart, 2012's Othello, and 2020's Hedwig and the Angry Inch. In there you've got an American classic, a world premiere, a very beautifully told political story, an imaginative take on Shakespeare, and a glitzy rock musical. I don't know if I can narrow it down more than that.
6. Is there a holiday message that you'd like to send out to our audience here in Milwaukee as they get ready to experience the 48th annual A Christmas Carol?
I hope everyone has blessed and loving times with friends and family this holiday season, and that everyone realizes the deep interconnectedness we all have as humans inhabiting the same planet. Our lives affect the lives of those around us more deeply than we realize, and the impact we each have, either positive or negative, goes much further than we can even imagine. Everyone is precious and valuable, and as Tiny Tim said, "God bless us every one!"
To learn more or purchase tickets to A Christmas Carol click here.