New Five College sound designer wins Obie award

Robert Kaplowitz, who begins a three-year position as the Five College Visiting Lecturer in Sound Design this fall, has received an Obie Award from The Village Voice.

Kaplowitz received the award for Sustained Excellence in Sound Design on May 21 at the 52nd annual ceremony. He was one of three designers honored for a body of work instead of a specific production, and the only person in the sound design category.

The Obie Awards are given annually to recognize the best in off-Broadway theater.

Kaplowitz was appointed Five College Visiting Lecturer in Sound Design in April, a position created this year with the approval of the Five College deans. “All of us from the Five College theater departments who interviewed sound designers this spring are thrilled to have recruited someone like Rob Kaplowitz, who is at the very top of his profession,” said Mark Dean, general manager of the Department of Theater.

Staring this fall, Kaplowitz will teach two courses a year on a rotating basis at all five campuses and design one production a year. His position will be hosted by the Department of Theater but shared among all five departments. During the fall, Kaplowitz will forgo designing a production to spend time getting to know faculty and staff as well as the shops and theater spaces.

Kaplowitz is currently the sound designer for Neil LaBute’s off-Broadway work, “In a Dark, Dark House” at the Lucille Lortel Theater, working in cooperation with alumnus and lighting designer Ben Stanton. Kaplowitz was the first professional sound designer for the Eugene O’Neill Playwright’s Conference from 2000-04 and was an artist-in-residence at Sundance. He teaches sound design at New York University and is the producing artistic director for the Relentless Theater Company.

June 27, 2007.

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