Mic is on the list of prescribed practitioners for AQA examinations in Drama and Theatre at AS and A Level as a sound designer.
This page links to resources which may be of interest to students studying this course and for students in further education, researching contemporary theatre sound and projection design practice.
For exam questions relating to The 39 Steps you can download the education pack here.
My interview is on p21.
The 39 Steps Education Pack
My current thoughts on theatre sound practice are comprehensively explored here.
Mic Pool in conversation with George Rodosthenous
Your library may be able to obtain a much shorter peer reviewed version of this interview in Studies in Musical Theatre, Volume 10, Number 2, June 2016, pp. 243-251,
WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION
SOUND DESIGN STUDY GUIDE
Witness for the Prosecution is a site specific production of Agatha Christie’s classic play, which opened in London’s County Hall in 2017.
The production features extensive abstract soundscapes, a large sound installation including over 120 loudspeakers, and complex sound reinforcement arrangements, using wired and wireless microphones, delayed to many different audience zones
As a long running play in the centre of London, it’s an ideal production for sound design students to study in detail. These notes detail the design decisions, that informed the creation of the soundscapes, and the sound equipment selected and installed for the production.
I created what was probably the first self-published online resource for student sound designers in 1994.
Although the technology has changed dramatically in the intervening years, the underlying descriptions of the craft and art of sound design are still useful today, and these articles are still on many course reading lists.
The two main articles can be accessed by clicking the links below:
A feature article by Alfred Hickling on my work which appeared in the Yorkshire Post in 1993, provides some historical perspective on sound design for plays towards the end of the last century. (Click anywhere on the article to view full size)
If your educational institution subscribes to Digital Theatre Plus, a recent 20-minute interview can be found here.
Digital Theatre+ Interview with Mic Pool
The QLab Cook Book
Mic Pool created The QLab Cook Book in 2015, and authored and edited all its original content, prior to its acquisition by Figure53 in 2018. The content has been revised, and the most up to date version, including new chapters, is available on the Figure53 website at:
Mic Pool 