GIANNA BURLINI
NICO ROWLAND
Sound Designer and Engineer
BFA Theatre Design and Technology
njrowland@bsu.edu (317)410-6888
Nico is a Cuban-American theatre artist. Nico has worked as a technician in theatre in Massachusetts, as an assistant sound designer in California, and has worked as designer and technician for both music and theatre in Indianapolis.
Why do you do theatre?
Theatre sound design was the niche of my passions in IT, music, and theatre. I happened into theatre through my computer repair classes when the theatre director contacted the IT teacher for an opportunity to work tech for our production. In the spirit of adding to my tool kit of technology I found myself in a collaborative space to create worlds that we only imagined. I would have missed my instruments had I gone into another field and have gotten to explore so much in music and recording that I find fascinating.
Why sound?
Music skipped a generation in my family but I started playing young. I started with piano through a group that came to my school and took lessons for 5 years then was a part of jazz groups for the following two years. During those two years of jazz I also learned trumpet for a year and started on baritone. I spent two years with baritone, then did two years of tuba, and one of trombone all in classical settings. This has been integral for my music recording experience. Over the past four years I have found doing live recordings to get my sound effects for shows ambiences an integral portion of my sound designs. I used this method to get sounds for shows like Borrowed Babies, The Wolves, and Dutchman. I take pride in my paperwork and detail work as a designer, assistant, and technician.
How did you adjust to COVID?
I took the summer to spend time at home in Indianapolis and focused on personal growth. I relearned how to play guitar from the ground up, worked on music mixing and mastering projects, and worked on weight loss. I have since done two productions, Dutchman and She Kills Monsters: Virtual Realms. With the effects of COVID-19 theatre has been forced to change. Online productions have created a need for theatre to break the internet barrier that has long restricted it in its audiences. I expect a new wave of theatre creation to break out of the loosening of theatre structure during this pandemic. I hope that online productions continue to grow as a form of making theatre more accessible and giving audiences options for consumption both inside of and outside of the theatre.