“Natali Merrill’s sound design volleys between pastoral nature and foreboding anxiety, becoming almost an expression of the characters’ inner turmoil.” – Cameron Kelsall, Broad Street Review

The entirety of Walden takes place outside. The show explores our relationship with climate, the environment, and family ties. My design aimed to capture the feelings of nature, using layered sounds of birds and crickets throughout the show. I focused on creating a full and realistic soundscape, often morphing over scenes twenty minutes long, to show an oncoming storm or passage of time. In collaboration with lighting designer Lindsay Stevens, I created three short time transitions, which set us up for the large, year-long leap forward near the end of the play. You can listen to versions of those transitions below.