Jesse Peter Ash

Aural Histories: Monument

Public sound installation  ·  Kings Square, Saint John NB  ·  2012

Creator and Sound Designer: Jesse Ash  ·  Hosted by Third Space Gallery  ·  Supported by ArtsNB and CALQ

A site-specific public sound installation distributed across Kings Square, Saint John NB, developed through a residency with Third Space Gallery. An early and formative experiment in augmented reality using available technology to layer composed sound over physical space, transforming a familiar environment into something haunting and unfamiliar.

Drawing on acoustic ecology, the work combined field recordings gathered on-site with entirely fabricated sounds representing things that could not be captured or existed only in imagination. The result was a fragmented soundscape designed to infiltrate the subconscious — drifting between near-silence and moments of sudden clarity and rooted in the layered history of a familiar place.

The piece marks the beginning of an ongoing inquiry into locative sound, place, and memory that continues to drive current research today.

Coup de Feu

Sound walk  ·  Montréal  ·  2014

In collaboration with Kathryne Radburn and Sophie Croteau  ·  Co-produced by Montreal Fringe

A site-specific sound walk through Montréal, using the city itself as compositional space. Sound design and original music composed in collaboration with Kathryne Radburn and Sophie Croteau, with listeners navigating the piece through the physical environment rather than a fixed seat. An early exploration of locative sound as narrative and compositional form.

MOB

The Centaur Theatre Company (English-Language Premiere)

Written by Catherine-Anne Toupin
Translation by Chris Campbell
Directed by Andrew Shaver
With Susan Bain, Matthew Kabwe and Adrianne Richards

Set and Costume Designer: James Lavoie
Lighting Designer: Martin Sirois
Sound Designer: Jesse Ash
Fight Director: Robert Montcalm
Stage Manager: Merissa Tordjman
Apprentice Stage Manager: Trevor Barrette

The Centaur Theatre production of MOB was nominated for 8 META awards.

Often the Process of creating a Sound Design begins with the composition of a few pieces that speak to the themes, moods and atmospheres of the overall piece. These can then be broken down into their constituent parts and transitions, underscore, and framing can be constructed from them. For MOB I was inspired by the work of Susumo Yokota for its dreamy quality and early Aphex Twin for its atmosphere and frenetic, dark energy. The Soundscape for Mob was creating with this work in mind.

en attendant godot

Théâtre du Nouveau Monde

Written by Samuel Beckett
Mise en Scène de Francois Girard
With Benoit Brière, Alexis Martin, Pierre Lebeau, Emmanuel Schwartz and Mounia Zahzam

Assistance à la mise en scène et régie:
ELAINE NORMANDEAU
Décor: FRANÇOIS SÉGUIN
Costumes: RENÉE APRIL
Éclairages: DAVID FINN
Conception sonore: JESSE PETER ASH
Accessoires: CÉDRIC LORD
Conseiller en mouvement et techniques de combat:
JEAN-FRANÇOIS GAGNON

Time and the dichotomy of night and day are central to the framing of this classic existential examination and were literally given centre stage in this production. With a thin stream of sand dropping from the ceiling, evoking the dead playing space as an hourglass and a massive celestial deus ex machina sun and moon as backdrop; particular attention was given to not only the transition between night and day, but what might transpire at night. What happens when the lights are out and the characters sleep, resetting for yet another day? This imagined night was meant to greet the audience in every moment between the the action. A rich soundscape of strange nocturnal activity greeted the audience not only before the show in the theatre itself, but outside in the street, in the café and bar before and after, even on the phone while on hold with the box office; complete immersion in a strangely twisted and wild nightlife.

Sherlock Holmes

Segal Centre for the Arts/ Starvox Entertainment

Written by
Directed by
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