Adult Education at Jack Straw

Intro to Podcasting
Three-hour class (Zoom)
Instructor: Tom Stiles

Learn the basics of creating and maintaining a podcast, from concept to planning to production to distribution. We will focus especially on tools for capturing and producing quality audio recordings on a budget. No previous audio production experience necessary, but we will also accommodate those who have begun and want help.

Intro to Digital Audio Editing
Three-hour class (Zoom)
Instructor: Tom Stiles

Learn the basic skills of recording and editing sound with audio editing software. We’ll learn two different programs, both free or affordable, and see the advantages and disadvantages of each. Audacity is open-source free-download software used for audio and video production; GarageBand is a very affordable recording and music production program from Apple. Learn to record, edit, and process sounds in each environment, for interview, story, video, and music applications. Followup intensive instruction available also.

Basic Field Recording
Instructor: Tom Stiles

Learn techniques for high quality field recording of music, ambience, sound effects, and voice with portable equipment. Useful for radio and TV producers, as well as sound artists and engineers. Students will practice field recording and listen to their work.

Note: in the current format for this workshop, initial instruction and closing discussion will take place online via Zoom meeting. Students will be invited to an outdoor field recording exercise between online sessions, with equipment provided. Students may choose to record on their own at another location instead.

Microphone Workshop
Instructor: Tom Stiles

A detailed look at microphone types, pickup patterns, placement and use, both for live and studio applications. Students participate in extensive listening and recording exercises with live music. All experience levels are welcome; we’ll cover some basics of theory and history but mostly be engaged in interactive mic use and comparison.

Basic Studio Recording
Instructor: Tom Stiles

An introduction to sound recording with focus on studio equipment and techniques. This class will cover acoustics, the recording signal chain, recording formats, and production planning. Students will do a group recording project in class. Basic working knowledge of digital audio workstations is recommended but not required.

Pro Tools:

Beginning Pro Tools
Three-hour class (Zoom)
Instructor: Tom Stiles

Introduction to the recording studio industry’s most popular digital audio production system. Students will learn basic commands and procedures for recording, editing, and outputting finished audio with Pro Tools, and can work on a project of their own as a class exercise. Students need access to a computer with Pro Tools installed for the hands-on exercise. Instructor demonstrates on a Mac, but PC users welcome.

Intermediate Pro Tools
Instructor: Tom Stiles

For those with a basic working knowledge of the Pro Tools digital audio workstation, this is a hands-on workshop to expand your creative skills in digital audio production. Topics will include mixing techniques, the use of signal processing plug-ins, signal routing, use of MIDI, and audio for video. We’ll begin by analyzing existing sessions created at Jack Straw, and then you’ll work on a project of your own.

Vocal Training for Writers
Instructor: Alyssa Keene

Help your words come off the page clearly, dynamically, and authentically. Working with a vocal coach and audio engineer, students will first get comfortable using a microphone for studio recordings and live readings. Next, they’ll practice reading material in front of a microphone and learns tips for scoring their text and using their voices in a way that helps their stories come to life. At the end of the three-hour session, students will walk away with a recording of their individual coaching sessions.

Instructor Bios

Tom Stiles specializes in live performance sound and recording, and he has worked with hundreds of performers from around the world in concert, festival, and studio settings. He has used the Pro Tools digital audio system for recording, editing, and sound design since 1993, and taught classes in Pro Tools since 1996. Tom is a member of the Audio Engineering Society.

Alyssa Keene is an actor, voice and dialect coach, and teaching artist who has been working with Jack Straw Cultural Center for over a decade. She has coached and acted with Seattle Repertory Theatre, Intiman Theatre, ACT, 5th Avenue Theater, Sound Theatre Co., Strawberry Theatre Workshop, Seattle Shakespeare Co., Village Theatre, Book-It Repertory, and many of Seattle’s fringe theaters. Alyssa is a Mazen Award winner with the 14/48 Projects and has been featured in Encore Magazine and ArtZone. She is also an affiliate artist at Seattle Children’s Theatre and a member of the faculty at Seattle Film Institute and Freehold Theatre Lab.