Sound Designer
"When sound isn't focused, it's just noise."
Jonathan Deans, one of the most sought-after sound designers in the musical theatre world, is the man behind the changing sound environments of Corteo, his seventh sound design project for Cirque du Soleil. Having produced the soundscapes of Saltimbanco, "O", Mystère, La Nouba, ZUMANITY and KÀ, Jonathan finds Cirque's "work-in-progress" and team-oriented creative approach very stimulating.
A successful child actor, Jonathan was fascinated by electronics at an early age. At 15, he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company, where his keen interest in sound began to blend with a theatrical context. After a spell as a sound engineer in the music industry, notably at Morgan Studios where he brushed shoulders with famous artists such as Cat Stevens, Paul Simon and Rick Wakeman, he made his way back to the theater to mix the sound for the musical comedy A Chorus Line. One success soon followed another and he became the sound recording operator for many productions including Evita, Cats, Bugsy Malone and The Sound of Music.
As soon as the West End caught wind of Jonathan's success, he was hired as sound designer on the musical Marilyn. This was followed by work on shows including Time, Les Misérables, Mutiny, Jean Seberg and then on Broadway with Ragtime, Fosse, King David, Damn Yankees, Taboo and Brooklyn, to mention a few.
His numerous achievements as sound designer have garnered him plenty of prizes. In 1998, for instance, while putting the finishing touches on the soundscape of La Nouba, he received the Entertainment Design Award for Production of the Year for his contribution to "O".
For Jonathan Deans, Cirque's permanent theatres and its Grand Chaapiteau are two quite different worlds when it comes to sound design. He finds that the beauty of the Grand Chapiteau is in the proximity between the artists and the audience, which creates an intimacy that is the foundation of the entire entertainment experience.
A successful child actor, Jonathan was fascinated by electronics at an early age. At 15, he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company, where his keen interest in sound began to blend with a theatrical context. After a spell as a sound engineer in the music industry, notably at Morgan Studios where he brushed shoulders with famous artists such as Cat Stevens, Paul Simon and Rick Wakeman, he made his way back to the theater to mix the sound for the musical comedy A Chorus Line. One success soon followed another and he became the sound recording operator for many productions including Evita, Cats, Bugsy Malone and The Sound of Music.
As soon as the West End caught wind of Jonathan's success, he was hired as sound designer on the musical Marilyn. This was followed by work on shows including Time, Les Misérables, Mutiny, Jean Seberg and then on Broadway with Ragtime, Fosse, King David, Damn Yankees, Taboo and Brooklyn, to mention a few.
His numerous achievements as sound designer have garnered him plenty of prizes. In 1998, for instance, while putting the finishing touches on the soundscape of La Nouba, he received the Entertainment Design Award for Production of the Year for his contribution to "O".
For Jonathan Deans, Cirque's permanent theatres and its Grand Chaapiteau are two quite different worlds when it comes to sound design. He finds that the beauty of the Grand Chapiteau is in the proximity between the artists and the audience, which creates an intimacy that is the foundation of the entire entertainment experience.
The innovative staging of Corteo posed a real challenge for Deans because the set, the performance space and the audience are split in two with a 360-degree seating plan. He had to ensure that the general sound is in perspective to what each section of the audience is viewing—and that called upon all his skills and experience.
Jonathan Deans was born 1954, in England.
