Rick Thomas Publications
2013 Theatrical Design and Production
J Michael Gillette's Classic Introductory Textbook contains a number of my drawings and documents related to sound design. Available from Amazon.
2010 Sound: A Reader in Theatre Practice
Ross Brown's excellent book contains a chapter I wrote about the temporal nature of sound in theatre. Available on Amazon.
2010 Tuning In to the Crystal Ball
An article for Professional Sound Magazine, in which we once again peer into the future and attempt to imagine how sound might progress...
2009 Hair Today, Hear Tomorrow
A report on Abe Jacob's 2008-2009 production of Hair for the Arizona Theatre Company.
2008 The Designs of Abe Jacob
A biography of legendary Broadway sound designer, Abe Jacob.
Available on Amazon.
2007 Sound at the 2007 Prague Quadrennial
A report on the 2007 Prague Quadrennial which featured our pro-
auction of Labcoats on Clouds.
2003 Time Marches Into the Prague Quadrennial
A report on our introduction of sound into the Prague Quadrennial which included both the first US and international exhibitions of sound.
2003 Sound Related Programs in Higher Education
A conversation I had with Chicago sound designer and composer Rob Milburn about the challenges of getting a sound education.
2001 The Function of the Soundscape
My 2001 Journal article for USITT won the Herbert D. Greggs Award
for Outstanding Article
1999 The Long Road Home
A brief article I wrote on the way home from the 1999 USITT
National Conference about the state of Sound Design in Theatre
1998 Sound Score Playback Options Part I
By 1998 the days of the 1/4" reel-to-reel tape recorder were numbered
and a whole new breed of sound playback devices appeared
1998 Sound Score Playback Options Part II
...but there were now so many options available that it took two
articles to cover them all--few are still in production!
1996 Mid-Side Recording and Playback Techniques
A discussion of how Tom Mardike's reversed M-S microphone
techniques for a more spacious sound playback
1995 Using Computers to Create Sound Scores
The transition from tape recorder to digital audio was underway,
and this article examined basic techniques for preparing cues.
1995 Theatre Sound Cue Sheets
Techniques to create Sound Cue Sheets, much of which I still use
today!
1995 The Dramatic Auditory Space
Richmond Sound Design's Ken Bell and I explore techniques for
manipulating sound in space.
1995 Music as a Key
An unpublished article about using music to help actors find the
inner life of their characters
1995 Music as a Key
An unpublished article about using music to help actors find the
inner life of their characters
1989 Sound Systems for Educational Theatre
The Audio Engineering Society invited me to lecture at its international
conference on criteria for sounds systems in educational theatre.
1988 The Use of Copyrighted Materials in Live Theatre Productions
The legalities of using previously copyrighted material in theatre
1987 The Need for Union Representation for Theatre Sound Designers
Early efforts with Abe Jacob and Jack Shearing to organize Sound Designers
1985 The Present and Future of Audio in Theatre
Originally presented as "The Midied Theatre" at the 12th International Congress on Acoustics for the Acoustical Society of America
1982 Approaching Sound Design for Period Plays
My very first published article for Theatre Crafts Magazine