Jinling Duan
I am a sound designer and composer pursuing my MFA in Sound Design at Yale School of Drama. My experience working with sound across film, installations, and games eventually led me to theater, where I discovered a deeper connection to storytelling and the opportunity to play a more active role in shaping how stories are told.
My design process usually starts with research. I immerse myself into the specific play and brainstorm what the world might sound like before creating individual sounds. My process involves exploring its historical period and location across arts such as photographs, architecture and music. Understanding the play through the lens of the people who live in that world is also a crucial part of the process. I want to understand how people live in this world, what their environment sounds like, and what kind of music they listen to. This research helps me build the ambience of the production.
I am especially drawn to the naturalness of sounds and the way they can become part of the environment without calling attention to themselves. I want the audience to experience sound as a natural part of the world, space and mood rather than as recognizable sound cues. My system design is also part of creating this experience. I enjoy designing immersive systems that wrap around the audience, as well as using onstage speakers in proscenium theaters to bring localized sound imagery onto the stage. I want all these elements to work together to create a cohesive sound environment.
When I read a play, I naturally empathize with its characters and try to understand the world through their perspectives. One of the questions I often start with is: whose perspective are we experiencing the story through? To me, sound can communicate not only where we are and what is happening around us, but also how a character feels and experiences the world. I want to use sound to bring the audience closer to that character’s experiences and help them understand the emotions that may not always be expressed through words.
I see theater as a deeply collaborative process. I value bringing my own ideas into a production while staying open to the perspectives of others. I enjoy building strong relationships with the people I work with, supporting one another, and finding inspiration in the different perspectives of directors, designers, actors, and other collaborators.