Matilda the Musical
Roald Dahl's Matilda The Musical by Tim Minchin & Dennis Kelly
Candlelight Dinner Playhouse - Johnstown, CO - 2026
Directed By Steve Wilson
Choreography by Carrie Colton
Music Direction by Zerek Dodson
Scenic Design by Renae Selmeyer
Lighting Design by Vance Mckenzie
Costume Design by Charlotte Campbell
Projection Design by El Armstrong
Prop Design by Rachel Ross
Photography by Cohagen Wilkinson
Sound Design by Joshua Moore
Assistant Sound Design Cohagen Wilkinson
A1 Joshua Moore & Chandler Webb
Matilda the Musical is a play about a brilliant young girl named Matilda who overcomes her age, her obnoxious family and a formidable headmistress dead set on her downfall. She fights to set things right and is not afraid to help others in need. With the help of her teacher Ms. Honey and a little bit of magic, she faces her family and Mrs. Trunchbull, and proves that being a kid doesn't stop her from fighting for good.
As a child everything we feel, seems so much bigger and more dramatic. My sound design emphasised this with larger than life moments and comedic sound effects. To a kid Crunchem Hall would feel like prison, so we introduce it with an sweeping thunder storm and a creaking school gate. When Trunchbull summons her array of Chokeys, there are mechanical movements throughout the space.
The show is performed by a live 7 piece band that is set onstage beside the scenic walls. This differed from the space's typical pit orientation but was a challenge we adapted to for a dynamic and dramatic mix. The script is divided into 130 scenes and mixed with 12 DCA faders on a Yamaha DM7. Advancing scenes also played QLAB sound effects so control is limited to one trigger. The young professional tracks were split between two casts. While the performers shared microphones, they have individual channel processing using the DM7s Actor Library function, saving eq and dynamics to each performers profile. The candlelights surround sound system, with 2 side fills on each wall, allowed me to build expansive and immersive sound effects that filled the space. The Chokeys grand entrance had 32 sound files layered together playing from all directions.
Sound Effects
This sound effect played as Bruce is sent to be punished in Chokey at the end of Act 1. I wanted the chokeys to feel like a steampunk mechanism that is running through the walls. Gears turning combined with screeching metal and a huge slam made for an intimidating ending to the 1st Act.
"A whole array of Chokeys! One for each and every one of you!" Trunchbull's grand machine needed to feel imposing and is the loudest moment of the show. The effect was created using 32 layered sound files, with gears turning behind the audience, and metal mechanicals booming onstage.
As part of my design I wanted crunchem hall to feel like a child walking into prison. The song School Song started with a dark thunderstorm and featured a gate opening sound effect to match the scenery.
Being a dinner theatre, Candlelight has a system of announcements to help guide the dinner portion of the evening. To fit with the show, we designed the announcements as if they were over the school intercom, and recorded Patric Case performing them as Mrs. Trunchbull.