Jason “Blue” Herbert is a freelance sound designer whose work centers on immersive sound effects and programming for theatre. With experience spanning theatre, ballet, concerts, and even circus, Blue brings to each production a deep, interdisciplinary understanding of how sound shapes space, story, and emotional impact.
Currently, Blue is collaborating with Swift Creek Mill Theatre (South Chesterfield, Virginia) on The Miracle Worker, reuniting with director John Moon after their earlier work on Holmes and Watson. The script presents the challenge of creating an enveloping soundscape that places the audience inside the sensory world of Annie Sullivan, who has limited sight. With recurring aural flashbacks, the design relies on sound to blur memory, perception, and reality.
Blue describes himself as an easy designer to work with, prioritizing a director’s vision and remaining flexible throughout the process. One of his most meaningful collaborations was his first time working with Patrick Du Laney on The Woman in Black at Theatre Cedar Rapids. The two quickly developed a shared creative language that allowed Blue to reimagine ideas from a previous production of the show and respond quickly and clearly to feedback such as “I like it, keep it”, “that doesn’t work, cut it”, or “I don’t know, keep it for now, and we’ll see”.
“I judge success by how I emotionally feel after the show opens. Did the creative team get along? Is this a group of people I’ll want to work with in the future? How stressed was I during the process? This production of The Woman in Black was a raging success,” says Blue.
Blue credits much of his growth to experience and community rather than a single mentor. Over decades in entertainment, he’s picked up techniques and perspectives from everyone around him. One piece of advice has stayed with him for over twenty-five years: “Just make it sound good,” casually offered by a front-of-house concert tech named Rob Ross. “It’s such a simple phrase, but to me it’s impactful,” says Blue. His own advice is rooted in curiosity and being present. “Be curious. Ask questions at the right time. Listen more than you talk. Do what you can to just ‘be in the room’. If you have the availability to be at a tech, do so. You can learn how decisions are made, and why.”
Blue is open about how identity and background shape creative work. He believes that anyone who claims otherwise is ignoring the truth. His own influences show in his use of low-end drones and surround sound, inspired by his love of cinema and the power of sound: how sound can move across a room, behind an audience member’s head, or even beneath their seat. “Accentuation can be magical,” he says.
He continues to train his ear to better understand frequencies and is learning the importance of always having a field recorder close at hand. Blue states, “There are more times than I want to admit that I hear something and go ‘ohhhh I could use that for a show, ‘ and (I) only have my phone with me.”
Whilst Blue is new to TSDCA, he values the sense of community it provides. “There are others that have the same successes and challenges that I do, and as a group, we can resolve them. (We can all) post a win and be celebrated — share a challenge and be lifted up — or be offered a solution”.
Blue’s Picks
- Go-To Tech Snack: usually some sandwich crackers and bite-sized candy bars, but more recently something heartier like a protein bar and water
- Pet Peeves: when not saying “ sound” before playing something, and “everyone” feels like they have to mention it, even if rehearsal wrapped 10 minutes ago, and they are just hanging in the space chatting
- Recent Favorite Music: Danse Macabre, Cowboy Mouth, Better than Ezra, Everclear, Sister Hazel, and Protomen’s newest album “Act III: This City Made Us”
- Programs/Tools Open on Computer: Acid Pro 10, Audacity, QLab, Chrome
- Technology that changed the way he works: QLab, when he started out everything was with CD Players
- Alternate Non-Theatre Career: Yarn Store, he is an avid knitter and loves the fiber arts community
- Question From Blue to You: What is your favorite sound cue or sequence and why?
Interviewed by Erica Fox and Aaron Harris Woodstein