‘ROOTS’

Performed at: Theatre Peckham

April - May Twenty-Twenty-Six (2026)

Credits:

Writer and Producer: José Socrates Delos Reyes

Production Stage Manager: Rio Tanchuling

Director: Tara Jamora Oppen

Dramaturg: Dominique La Victoria

Poster and Programme Designer: Marianne Therese Cadiz

Set and Costume Designer: Louise Pimentel

Lighting Designer and Operator: bhaqti

Sound Designer, Operator and PSE: EJ Walker

Performers:

Corazon: Rose Charmaine Camacho

Alon: Mikki Villa

Bobby: Amar Atienza

Poster Design: Marianne Therese Cadiz

A song I associate with this project:

‘Ninuno’ - Bullet Dumas

EJ’s summary of this project:

‘A sixty (60) minute memory play centring the experiences of first and second-generation Filipino immigrants to England, with a non-linear structure and dream-like quality. We follow three (3) members of the Mendoza Family: Corazon (Cora), her father, Alonzo (Alon), and his father, the deceased Roberto (Bobby). As Cora and Alon travel back to The Philippines to bury Bobby and face all the memories this brings up, they must also come to terms with their differing, subjective viewpoints of themselves, their family ties, and their socio-political positions.’

What did EJ contribute to this project?

Roles: Sound Designer, Sound Operator, PSE

Development

This being a memory play that plays with its non-linearity, focalisation/ perspective shifts and dream-like qualities/ states of being, I wanted to fully lean into that with my sound design. While sound was quite sparse because quite a lot of the script spoke for itself, I wanted it to pack a punch when it was needed.

Example Rehearsal Drop-In Notes:

As you can see, a lot of my initial ideas and discussions with the director shifted when the blocking and such was figured out. Some of the panning ideas also did not come to fruition because of the venue’s tech spec.

In the above rehearsal notes, I mention having two drafts of the QLab file. I’ll show you the same scene from both.

QLab Drafts:

First Draft:

Final Draft:

The primary difference between the two drafts, and how we slimmed the show down complexity-wise, was the addition of a soundscape running underneath all ‘memory’ scenes. This stayed in the final piece, but was cut from a lot of the scenes it was originally in, in order to accentuate the moments in which it did appear.

This cue sheet is from the same scene, and while there are a few differences, it should align for the most part with the final draft QLab.

Cue Sheet:

The Final Product

Here’s a compiled version of the drone I had running throughout the piece. It is comprised of four distinct parts, which I would then select from and mix together in QLab for each corresponding section: A bass rumbly drone, an inverted, tinnitus-like pedal, some overlapping bells, which were made by pitching down a MIDI glockenspiel sound and applying effects, and some rainstorm ambience.

AUDIO SAMPLES