Sound Design

About

Since 2001, Scotty Iseri has provided original music and SFX for theatre, radio and film. His credits include work with Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Geva Theatre Center (Rochester, NY), Depaul University, Portland State University, The Neo-Futurists, and others. Additionally he has produced short form audio and written music for WBEZ, Chicago Public Radio and Vocalo 89.5 FM

Kid Simple:

Reina Hardy, Inside Online: Foley artist Scotty Iseri nearly steals the show. Boyish and capable, Iseri supplies near constant sound effects without breaking a sweat. Director Damon Kiely should, if possible, give him even more to do. It's a play about sound, after all, and there are few things more compelling on stage than seeing a practitioner of an unusual art working to the limit.

Hedy Weiss, Chicago Sun-Times: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED The show -- impeccably directed and filled with fanciful touches by Damon Kiely -- also is worth catching for its wizardly special effects alone. Sound maestro Lindsay Jones, along with set magician John Musial, lighting ace Ben Spicer, projections poohbah Mike Tutaj and costume maven Amy Gabbart have worked endless wonders. And stage manager Dan Michel and his crew -- who oversee hundreds of sound and light cues at each performance -- must surely be in a state of near meltdown nightly. So must the actors who so seamlessly interact with these cues while Scotty Iseri (a show in himself) rules over the Foley table, producing the kind of live sound effects perfected during the golden age of radio drama.

Tom Williams, ChicagoCritic.com: Kid-Simple is highly stylized, fresh adult fairy tale that innovatively combines traditional theatrical conventions with state-of-the-art audio visuals to create a sensory laden story that entrances, engages and entertains. I liked this ambitious show that kept me wondering what will happen next and how will they do it? We read the overhead signs, listen to the narrator, focus on center stage with the players, all the while glancing (and hearing) the Foley sound effects (deftly produced by Scotty Iseri). We hear over 300 sounds including “hair gel being smoothed back,” “tail wagging in thought,” and “cogs turning in Moll’s head.”

Rick Reed: Windy City Times: Technically ingenious. Gee-Whiz sound effects.

Dan Zeff, Copley News Service, Suburban Chicago News: The ATC production certainly gives Kid-Simple (the name of the invention) a solid production. The technical elements are often creative and funny. A double-sided blackboard contributes a sequence of clever chalk drawings. A sound effects man in the radio booth injects countless sound effects and music cues with pinpoint precision. The most heroic contribution of the night comes from the ever busy Scotty Iseri as the sound effects technician.

The Long Christmas Ride Home:

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: This trim 75-minute play mixes its tones in a stimulating way. The production does, too. Director Jason Loewith draws fully felt performances from his ensemble. The sound and music design by Scotty Iseri, who accompanies the action live, helps the mood without smothering it.

Christopher Piatt, TimeOut Chicago: Christmas Ride uses unorthodox storytelling techniques for an otherwise straight-ahead dysfunctional family drama: Japanese puppets, narrative story-theater style, and live guitar accompaniment (performed by the offstage-but-excellent Scotty Iseri, who also designed the show's subtle soundscape of muffled music from other rooms). But while the cumulative effect has a gusty chill, Vogel's heart—a heart that wants nothing more than to find the safety of riding in your parents' back seat—will keep you warm all winter. The Long Christmas Ride Home, which, for all its fine production values, might be most memorable for Scott Iseri’s delicate, scraping live-guitar score and gently muffled soundscapes.

Rick Reed, Windy City Times: Director Jason Loewith marries all the disparate cultural elements with grace and intelligence. He is blessed with a dream design team who has the taste and sensitivity to bring Vogel’s story to mesmerizing life...there’s an aural landscape ( with evocative and spot-on guitar music from Scotty Iseri ) that wraps around and envelopes Vogel’s rhythmic and poetic dialogue.

Recent Tragic Events:

Nina Metz, Chicago Tribune, Metromix: In the world of TV news, where tragic events are reduced to a series of vexing images, looped and repeated ad nauseam, a certain metaphysical dilemma arises: If a catastrophe doesn't have its televised moment, did it really happen? Craig Wright, who spent the past few years writing for the HBO series "Six Feet Under," knows a thing or two about the intertwining of television and misfortune. Look no further than his 2002 play, "Recent Tragic Events" —currently in an excellent staging by Uma Productions...

(The pop tunes emanating from Waverly's stereo suddenly take on new meaning — Tom Petty's "Free Falling" and Dave Matthews' "Crash" — in an amusing combination of bad taste and black humor from sound designer Scotty Iseri.)

Flattering Reviews

Awards

Finalist NEA/TCG Emerging Designers Grant

2005 After Dark Award: Outstanding Performance, Kid Simple

ACTF Certificate of Merit, Composition and Sound Design

Other Reviews

Orange Lemon Egg Canary: Time Out Chicago

Way Off Loop: Best of 2005

Our Town:

Rochester City Newspaper

Audio Work on the Web

Sound Medicine: WFYI 90.1 FM