Design completed for Magnolia Musical Theatre's 2025 production of The SpongeBob Musical in Bee Cave, TX.
Design completed for Magnolia Musical Theatre's 2025 production of The SpongeBob Musical in Bee Cave, TX.
Best Sound Design of a Play or Musical - Nominated
BroadwayWorld Austin Awards 2025 (voting open until 12/31/25)
Director: Rick Roemer
Music Director: Susan Finnigan
Choreographer: Matthew Kennedy
Stage Manager: Faith Castaneda
Scenic Designer: Desi Roybal
Lighting Designer: Josh Harvey
Costume Designer: Teresa Carson
Hair & Make-Up Designer: Tara Cooper
The SpongeBob Musical is, of course, based on the cartoon created by Stephen Hillenburg. The musical carries over the themes of friendship and believing yourself from the cartoon, but adds well-executed commentary on xenophobia and fear-mongering. The music is truly rocking as well, but the highlight of the show for me is the live foley artist who brings the sounds of the cartoon to life from onstage. This show is equal parts F-U-N and important moral messaging. Frankly, it's a blast.
Create a world where cartoon logic is fun and convincing while also keeping the stakes of the volcano real.
Give the foley artist the tools he needs to play with both the cast and the audience to create a truly unique experience for everyone.
Stay true to the spirit of the cartoon by incorporating a multitude of sound effects inspired by the original cartoon.
Photo by Emily Cannata
One of the unique aspects of this show is that there is a live foley artist onstage who performs almost all of the sound effects. To accomplish this, I provided our foley artist (Dawson MacLeod) with an array of toys, including but not limited to:
MIDI keyboard
Hand-crank air raid siren
Kazoo
Slide whistle
Gong
Squeaky dog toy
Clave
Clown horn
Photos by Emily Cannata
*Headphones recommended
Foghorn Alarm: The classic foghorn that wakes Spongebob up in the morning.
Teddy Squeak: The sound Spongebob makes when he is hit by various objects (couch, boulder, etc.)
Photos by Emily Cannata
Dolphin Profanity: The sound used as a censor for bad words at the end of the show.