Chance Bone On Scoring Mimesophobia (Part 1)

Chance Bone, musician and actor -- Chance was actually in our last production, Cooperstown -- talks to us about creating the score for Mimesophobia. He had a lot to say, so this is just part one of two. Check back in a few days to see the rest of his thoughts!

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Walk us through your process. How on earth do you go about writing music for a play? What's step one? Heck, what's step two?

Step one is reading the play 3 times. I take notes along the way of what moments really affected me as a reader/audience member. That could be anything from dialogue to stage direction--absolutely everything. I try to realize what my thought process was when I was reading the play, or some of the questions I asked myself as I read it, and write that down too. Thirdly, I read the play as if it were an opera. I mean, like music it has its melodies and harmonies (main and minor characters), the movement of the story towards its climax and post climax, the rhythms in speech. Once I have this giant list in front of me, I start digging into my memory banks of my own experiences with music. I try to think about what instruments best represent a particular thought. I'm a very psychological composer, I think less about what notes I'm playing and more about the feelings that get tossed around by playing a note an interesting way or putting it in an interesting place in time.

I really was very economical when it came to writing compositions for Mimes. My 'mission statement' was, "How can I say a lot by using as little note choice as possible?" I don't always work like that. But, I think if you try to say too much, then you don't give room to your audience to fill in the space with their own thought and connection to the music.

Though I used a metronome with this music because I was lucky enough to be working with Miles in designing the sounds you hear in the play, I usually mark time in music with my own breathing. Not a hippy. Breath is a result of being alive, and that's what I like in music, and something I try to exercise.


Why does this show demand music? What do you think the music will add?

Music is a powerful thing, there is no denying that whatsoever. With this particular play, the music really helps support the scenes where the character's thought processes are cranking out ideas.

More and more a days, it seems like there is an actual soundtrack to our lives (iPods, the playing of music in nearly every establishment you walk in to). But the use of music in a play can really bring a sense of otherworldment or fantasy, which is how it is used in this play. I think this play actually demands more silence than music. I wrote the music with the mindset of not trying to disturb that silence, almost like trying to practice a tuba in an apartment complex at 3 in the morning.

To get a feel for some of Chance's music, check out his Myspace.