"I want to make sure that the audience know they are entering a different space and time with no references to their own world."

Jonathan Deans, one of the most sought-after sound designers in the musical theatre world, is the man behind the sound environments of OVO. Having created the soundscapes of Saltimbanco, Mystère, “O”, La Nouba, ZUMANITY, KÀ, Corteo, LOVE, KOOZA, Wintuk and, most recently, CRISS ANGEL Believe. Jonathan finds Cirque’s work-in-progress and team-oriented creative approach highly stimulating.

Jonathan was fascinated by electronics at an early age. At 15, he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company as an actor where his keen interest in sound began to blend with a theatrical context. Several years later, after a spell as a sound engineer in the music industry, notably at Morgan Studios where he brushed shoulders with artists such as Cat Stevens, Paul Simon and Rick Wakeman, he made his way back to the theatre via the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden and later went on to mix the sound for the musical A Chorus Line. One success soon followed another and he became the sound mixing engineer for over a dozen productions including Evita, Cats, Bugsy Malone and The Sound of Music.

Jonathan’s success as a mixing sound engineer led to him being hired as sound designer on the musical Marilyn. This was followed by work on other West End shows including Time, Les Misérables, Mutiny, Jean Seberg and then on Broadway, Ragtime, Fosse, King David, Damn Yankees, Taboo, Brooklyn, Lestat, Pirate Queen and Young Frankenstein.

For Jonathan Deans, Cirque’s permanent theatres and its big top are two quite different worlds when it comes to sound design. “There are different technical demands, but as far as the texture and the layering of the music and sound are concerned, it’s the same,” he says. “My work is to create a unique environment for every production. And whatever the environment is, I need to make sure that sonically the audience members know they are entering a different world.”

Jonathan Deans was born in England and lives in the New York Area.