Workshops & Training

I run a number of workshops and seminars across a range of topics. I’ve led workshops for: National Theatre Directors Course | Sadlers Wells Big Intensive | Complicité | Mousetrap Theatre Projects | National Student Drama Festival | Central School of Speech and Drama | JMK award | Prague Quadrenniel | Birkbeck | RADA | Clod Ensemble. I’ve also run workshops for a range of corporate clients exploring how to use sound, from advertising companies to podcast production companies.

The courses I run include:

• Sound design and Storytelling

• Beginner’s guide to VR, AR, 360, ambisonic and binaural technologies

• Binaural sound, for theatre, radio, or for XR, VR, AR, 360 media.

• Devising strategies - creating material for devised theatre

• Using Ableton Live for Theatre

• QLab

• The future of sound design

• Business advice for students entering the theatre sound industry

Though I’m happy to create a seminar that matches your bespoke training needs.

If you’re interested in me running a workshop for you, please feel free to email me. If you’re interested in attending one of my workshops you can sign up using the form below.

Email me if you are interested in me running a workshop for your organisation. These can happen in real life, or online using Zoom.
Class sizes are typically 5 to 25 people.

If you’re interested in attending a workshop the next time I run one that’s open to the public, you can sign up using this form.

Sound Design and Storytelling

The most popular workshop I run is for directors, writers and performers, though sound practitioners and students will equally benefit from it. The workshop focuses on the use of sound and music as a means of creative storytelling, using practical exercises to explore low-fi ways of making sounds to create emotion and space. Workshops can vary in duration from a couple of hours, to a day or two.

This seminar will typically cover how we hear and perceive the world, how our imagination affects what we think we hear and how this can be used in theatre making. The workshop is ideal for directors, writers, performers, sound designers, engineers, educators and anyone with an interest!

Depending on the length of the workshop, I aim to cover the following topics, using a mix of discussion, Q&A, practical exercises, film clips, demonstrations and hands-on experience:

• How we hear the world - the differences between what we hear, what we pay attention to; and how our brain consciously and unconsciously chooses what to listen to..

• How this relates to sound design - creating a sense of the world as we experience rather than how it actually is, or how a character experiences it.

• Language and concepts of sound – Ways of talking about sound and music

• How we can use naturalistic sound

• How we can create and use abstracted sounds, and sounds that have a musical nature.

• How we use recorded vs live music, and how we can integrate it into live performance

• The balance of pre-recorded and live sound

• How sound design is used in film, showing sound design in the context of performance

• The relationship between playwriting and sound design, and how that has evolved over time

• The performer’s voice and sound - manipulation, amplification and reinforcement

• What’s the difference between a designer, composer, engineer and operator, and how do they work together

• Copyright law for using music in shows (c)

2023

Birkbeck directors course

Sound design and storytelling workshop

How Writers Can Shape the Future of Immersive Storytelling

I took part in this seminar with the director Sacha Wares and playwright Ella Hickson for Creative Folkestone.

2022

Birkbeck directors course

Sound design and storytelling workshop

Logic Pro for Theatre

I ran a seminar on how to use Logic Pro in a theatre setting.

Negotiating Contracts, Fees, Salaries, And Rates

I moderated three panel discussions, looking at touring, West End work, production engineering, casual work, sound design and composition, and how terms of work and pay work in these different sectors of the industry.

2021

Accessing New Technologies course for Young Vic

introduction to dramatic possibilities of spatial sound

Complicité and Glad Theatre

3 day workshop in Copenhagen

Donmar Future Forms

Introduction to binaural, ambisonic and spatial sound for VR, Xr, 360 and audio drama

Birkbeck directors course

Sound design and storytelling workshop

Storyfutures workshop

I ran a workshop for several authors on using binaural sound in audio dramas and podcasts.

Mountview talk

I did a talk for students from Mountview drama school about my work in the industry.

Ableton Live for Performance seminar

I led a 2 hour workshop for the Association of Sound Designers on using Ableton Live for live events and performances.

Adapting to the new world seminar

I chaired a seminar discussion on how we adapt our skill sets to pandemic and lockdown circumstances, with Anna Clock and Rob Bentall.

2020

Clod Ensemble seminar - sound design for performance makers

I took part in a panel discussion for Clod Ensemble, for performers, directors, writers, musicians, composers and dancers interested in using sound design in their work.

Sound Design and Storytelling

for MA Opera Directing course for RWCMD

Binaural sound workshop for StoryFutures

Birkbeck directors course

Sound design and storytelling workshop

Introduction to Binaural, Ambisonic and Spatialised Audio for 360, AR, VR and XR technologies

I ran a 3 hour course for the Association of Sound Designers, introducing the various technologies and techniques behind spatialised audio and how these are being used in 360 Films, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Mixed Reality and Extended Reality. I taught this course online using a mix of YouTube Live Streaming with a mix of pre-recorded segments and live Q&A sessions.

The workshop covered these topics:

• What is XR? What’s the difference between 360, AR, VR, MR and XR? Static VR vs Room Scale VR?

• How are these technologies being used?

360 Films

• How to record audio for 360 films, which format to use

• Post-production techniques for 360 films

• Browser support for spatial audio

• Q & A

VR, AR, MR, XR

• The difference in approach for these techniques

• Introduction to Game Engines: walk round of Unity Audio

• Introduction to Spatial Audio plug-ins: walk round of Steam Audio

• Introduction to Middleware: Walk round of FMod

• Looking at the VR & MR headsets available and their different abilities

• Headphones, haptics and accessibility

• What do you need to develop for these technologies

• Q & A

Using these technologies in a live environment / Showcases

• Bose Formula 1 Garage Experience / Draw Me Close / All Kinds of Limbo

• Using consumer technology in a professional environment.

• Live audio inputs / lip sync / latency. 

• Show control systems. 

• Incorporating live performance and XR. 

• Workflow of creating a projects / Working with programmers  / how to sound check

• Q&A

Devising Strategies workshop for Central School

I ran a 3 hour course for the sound students on the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama theatre sound course, focusing on Devising Strategies, looking at how to create material for devised theatre, from optimal workflows to using limitations to stimulate creativity.

2019

The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama made a short video about me, to promote their BA Theatre Sound course.

Sound design workshops for NSDF

I ran a 1 hour seminar on using sound design for storytelling for writers, directors and performers at NSDF

I also ran a 1 hour course on how to have a career in theatre sound for attendees interested in pursing that.

Birkbeck directors course

Sound design and storytelling workshop

Rose Bruford Summer Symposium

I ran a 1 hour seminar looking at the dramatic possibilities of binaural sound

Stellar Quines M*****classes sound design workshop

I ran a one-day workshop for Stellar Quines as an introduction to their excellent m*****classes sound design artist development scheme, supporting women looking to move into theatre sound design.

2018

Sound Design open workshop for Complicité

I ran a two day workshop on sound design for Complicité, for a group of directors, writers, performers, musicians, dancers, curators and sound designers, from all over the world.

Clod Ensemble workshops

I ran two workshops in 2018 for Clod Ensemble, for performers, directors, writers, musicians, composers and dancers.

Birkbeck directors course

Sound design workshop

OISTAT workshop

I ran a workshop on sound design at the OISTAT conference in Cardiff

2017

Digital Theatre interview

I took part in an interview with Digital Theatre, talking about getting into sound design, my process and experiences. You can view it here: 

 https://www.digitaltheatre.com/education/collections/digital-theatre/practitioners-on-practice-gareth-fry-on-sound-design

Winter School

I produced a week long series of 19 seminars for the Association of Sound Designers, as well as hosting panel discussions throughout the week.

CSSD Workshop for CDT course

Sound for VR - NT ISS

I ran a 1/2 day course in sound for VR, AR and 360 films, for writers, directors and makers, looking at what each format offers and how they differ

HearNow Festival

I was the keynote speaker for the HearNow festival in Kansas.

Birkbeck directors course

Sound design workshop

Sennheiser Pro Talk interview

Sennheiser Pro did a 7 part interview with myself and Colin Pink

Teaching seminar for RADA sound students

2016

Binaural Sound and Recording Workshop

Ann Arbor District Library Downtown Secret Lab

Birkbeck directors course

Sound design workshop

CSSD Workshop for CDT course

Sound design and Storytelling workshop 

For SDUK directors

Nature & Scientific American Podcasts 

Workshop on sound design

Dulwich College seminars

I was a Keynote speaker for their Upper School Symposium 2016

“Life in 3D” symposium

Gareth spoke about intimacy and inclusion through binaural sound

2015

Birkbeck directors course

Sound design workshop

Prague Quadrennial

Sound design workshop

NT Studio Directors course

Sound design workshop

EIF Symposium Series

Gareth spoke about The Encounter for the EIF series of symposiums

2014

Sound & Storytelling workshop with Simon McBurney and Gareth Fry

Sao Paulo, Brazil

Birkbeck directors course

Sound design workshop

Winter School

I produced a week long series of 15 seminars for the Association of Sound Designers, as well as hosting panel discussions throughout the week.

CSSD Workshop for CDT course

2013

Ableton Live for Theatre

1 day workshop for the Association of Sound Designers

Advanced QLab seminar

1/2 day workshop for the Association of Sound Designers

Creative manipulation of sound seminar

for PLASA Leeds

Birkbeck directors course

Sound design workshop

CSSD Sound Colloqium

CSSD Workshop for CDT course