• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • IEEE.org
  • IEEE Xplore
  • IEEE Standards
  • IEEE Spectrum
  • More Sites

WIE Magazine

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Features
  • Columns/Departments
  • Multimedia
  • Contact
  • Awards

Live on Stage: STEM: Shumate Dives into Theatrical Sound

December 1, 2019 by Katianne Williams

SHUMATE DIVES INTO THEATRICAL SOUND

In 2014, when Margaret Shumate’s Dallas–Fort Worth middle school produced the rock musical Next to Normal, Shumate was introduced to the student sound designer, Declan Kunkel, in preparation for running sound for the school’s upcoming production of Cinderella Meets the Wolfman. She was blown away by the rock musical about a suburban family struggling with a mother’s worsening bipolar disorder, and today, it is still one of her favorites. Shumate, called to fill in for the regular sound engineer, was blown away by what she describes as “all the pretty lights and switches on the sound board.” Shumate knew then that she wanted to work in theater, and since that time, she continued to develop a unique skill set that combines theater with science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

Shumate’s father, an audiophile who works in the electronics industry, has been a big influence. As Shumate delved further into the world of theatrical sound, he taught her the technical side of things—the physics of sound and how waves and acoustics work—that would serve to set her apart from her peers. This practical background was invaluable, especially in an environment where the show must go on. When something—say, a piano amplifier—breaks, she can fix it.

Read more about it on IEEE Xplore Digital Library.

Filed Under: Past Features

Primary Sidebar

Current Issue

Get the entire issue now

About the Magazine

IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine is the first magazine to focus on issues facing women who study or work in IEEE’s fields of interest.

IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine strives to recognize women’s outstanding achievements in electrical and electronics engineering as well as enhance networking and to promote membership in IEEE Women in Engineering.

The publication also advocates for women in leadership roles and career advancement for women in STEM professions, and it facilitates the development of programs and activities that promote the entry into and retention of women in engineering programs.

POPULAR ARTICLES

Engineering the Magic

When the Enchanted Tiki Room opened at Disney-land in Anaheim, Calif., in 1963, it was, by all accounts, thrilling. Inside were dozens of talking flowers, totem poles, and birds-colorful macaws, toucans, and cockatoos-and together they per-formed a musical show by dancing and singing along to tunes like the “Hawaiian War Chant.” Huge crowds visited the attraction, excited to get a look at these early Audio-Animatronics-“audio” meaning that sound triggered a series of mechanisms, like cams and levers, that caused a pneumatic valve to open and close, moving an eye, a beak, or part of the body in time with the music. People loved them.

Read More

Search

Past Issues

Footer

IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine is published quarterly by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. Headquarters: 3 Park Avenue, 17th Floor, New York, NY 10016-5997 USA.

The magazine is archived in IEEE Xplore, and articles from all issues are available for download.

Home | Sitemap | Contact & Support | Accessibility | Nondiscrimination Policy | IEEE Ethics Reporting | IEEE Privacy Policy | Terms

© Copyright 2022 IEEE - All rights reserved. A not-for-profit organization, IEEE is the world's largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity.