Tom Mardikes, professor of theatre sound design at UMKC, surrounded by 40 wall-mounted speakers in an earlier version of the Sound Mandala he created in a small studio next to his office on campus. (photo by Jim Barcus)
This summer, Sound Mandala, the unique sonic experience that made its public debut at the 2024 Fringe Festival, presents three immersive audio shows, including the project’s first incorporation of a visual component, at Unicorn Theatre. Sound Mandala features a custom-built array of 100 independent loudspeakers surrounding audiences on all sides — above them, beside them, moving through them.
“This is an experience that simply cannot be duplicated anywhere else,” said creator and founder Tom Mardikes. “To experience it, you have to be there.”
The first program, Signal & Soul, a collision of original music, theatrical performance, beatboxing, spoken word, and unexpected reinvention, compiles work from KC artists Krizz Kaliko, Vanessa Severo, beatboxer Luke “Skippy” Harbur, Rev. Dwight Frizzell and others, plus a reimagining of The Beatles’ Tomorrow Never Knows. It runs from June 10 to Aug. 1.
Program two, Indie Spotlight from Challenger Artists, presents five bands each highlighted with two original multi-track recordings mixed into an immersive system. Artists include Mini Trees (LA-based songwriter Lexi Vega’s project), Brooklyn duo TOLEDO, Valley Boy, Midwest four-piece Post Sex Nachos and Chicago’s Capital Soiree. It runs from June 20 to Aug. 1.
The last program, The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari, a 1920 German Expressionist landmark film, screens from June 26 to Aug. 1 with a new live score by Kansas City composer Thomas Newby and psychedelic chamber pop innovators The Green Zoo. For more information and tickets, www.soundmandala.org/experience.
