Ricky the Itch
On the show:
In our R+D phase (ricky and development), we started with sampling a lot from old horror movies and creating horrific sounds ourselves. The homemade stuff really stuck. We went through a lot of ideas in what to include, but we ended with the following key words: Grungy, folky, cartoonish.
This show was given the space to grow organically in the end, with me and writer-director-performer Audrey Cook creating the piece as we went, riffing lines for villagers while Audrey explored the key ideas they wanted to tackle; exploring queer identity in relationship to horror and creatures, exploring how they related more to Disney’s villains, goblins and demons more than prince or princess charming.
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I became the narrator, fusing Plankton (that one) and verbose announcers to create this campy companion to Ricky, these lines were recorded and fired via qlab. Aided with on-the-nose exposition and a variety of musical styles, sound became key in creating a cartoon-like pace in the 45 minute production, moving across all of Stockton and beyond while Ricky prowled around our set (a large Bin). This was my first use of AI- isolating vocals to remix pop songs into creepy renditions and cabaret appropriate intensities.
Note on live recorded voicover: This is best done directed by the performer and director, so each line is tailored to the intentions of the performer. This may feel tough for the voicover artiste, but it means the performer is intimately aware of the appropriate delivery to elicit the correct voicover reaction, and the performer has it their way, rather than the other way around.
Notes from process
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