‘Stomp’ director is all ears

MANILA, Philippines - Co-creator/director of Stomp Steve McNicholas has always had a special set of ears. Others might overlook the sound of plastic plumbing tubes or the click of cigarette lighters, but he always felt there were patterns out there speaking to us. Back in the ‘80s he and fellow Stomp creator Luke Cresswell, a drummer who made his way busking, looked around and heard a secret language in rhythm.

“I think everybody listens for sounds around them, like when you look at clouds and see a face or an animal in the sky. I think we do that with sound as well — look for patterns and breaks in the patterns.

“Like the classic phone ring — brrrrring, brrrring — is deliberately in a 5/4 pattern, because we don’t expect it, so it kind of breaks the rhythm a little. But smartphones have musical rings and so you actually sometimes don’t notice it in the background.”

Developing Stomp was a gradual process, almost by accident. “Luke and I played in a band in the early ‘80s. We did street performance, but it was very theatrical. Luke used to have to improvise; I’d play violin, guitar and sing, but we’d move around and grab people. Luke had a snare around his waist on a belt, so once he was mobile, he was free. If there was a dustbin, he’d play the dustbin; if it was a bicycle, he’d play the bicycle. If a policeman came along, he’d play off his hat. That became popular, and it grew out of that.”

Filipinos are known as soulful singers, but McNicholas notes many are gifted at rhythm as well. “We’ve had a lot of Filipino performers over the years, some of our top performers. I don’t know what it is about the Philippines, but it produces great Stompers.” He expects Filipino Andres Fernandez performer to more than fit the bill. “Andre will play multiple roles in Manila. He’s one of the only performers who can do it all.” Another longtime Filipino Stomper was Rory Flores, who was in the troupe for about 10 years; he died of cancer. “He was here touring and he met a girl, got married. It was a very emotional time when he passed away.”

Not everything with Stomp goes as planned, as McNicholas recalls from the 1996 Oscars broadcast. “We had this bit with Marilyn Monroe coming off a train from Some Like it Hot, getting the jet of steam blown at her skirt. We were supposed to use a fire extinguisher, everything was set up onstage, and some technician had done a safety check and put the safety catch on, so it wouldn’t blast on cue. Nobody really noticed, but I noticed it!”

Since launching Stomp, McNicholas and Cresswell have branched out to sound designing for films, particularly a series of IMAX productions documenting the ocean depths. It’s a far cry from the West End stage, but typically, McNicholas still has his ear to the ground. “We’re still working on a snow shovel bit for Stomp,” he intimates. “The sound is fantastic.”