Join Gareth Fry for an updated version of this ever popular subject.

Ableton Live For Theatre - Part 2 

Friday 13th February 2026 
10am - 12.30pm 
Online 

These sessions will explore both how Ableton can be used as a creative sound design tool and for show playback and live processing, with unqiue features to manipulate sound in a musical and flexible fashion. We will explore how you can incorporate Ableton into rehearsals and into a show to give the user more control than a simple Go button allows.  We will look at Ableton's ability to vamp complex musical cues, it's use with Novation Launchpad and other control surfaces to allow complex hot-key triggering and the live mixing of recorded multi-track music, it's ability to loop live inputs, amongst other features.

This session will cover using Ableton:

- as an effects processor for live performance, looking at the effects available, how to manage "presets" and use chains.

- its Looping tools, both in a musical and non-musical manner.

- for music playback, from needle-drop music playback, to multi-track click tracks.

About Gareth

Gareth Fry is a sound designer, best known for his cutting-edge work in theatre. His work includes productions for Complicité, National Theatre of Scotland, at the National Theatre, Bridge Theatre, in the West End and many more. He has also designed numerous exhibitions, such as the V&A’s David Bowie Is, Alice: Curiouser and Curiouser and Diva exhibitions, and events such as the Opening Ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games.He is a specialist in the use of spatial and binaural sound, used in Donmar Warehouse’s Macbeth, Complicité’s The Encounter, the BBC’s The Dark Is Rising, numerous VR experiences, podcasts and advertising campaigns, including for Bose, Volvo and Land Rover. His work in VR has been featured at the Tribeca, Vienna, Sundance and London Film festivals.He is a founder of, and spent 6 years as the chair of the Association of Sound Designers (now the ASDP), a charity that works to support people working in, and entering the UK theatre sound industry. Gareth is an honorary fellow of the RoyalCentral School of Speech and Drama. He is the author of Sound Design for the Stage, published in 2019 by Crowood Press. Awards include three Olivier Awards, two Tony Awards, two Drama Desk Awards, two Helpmann Awards, one WhatsOnStage award, and an Evening Standard award.

Please note, the ASDP reserves the right to make changes to the programme without prior notice. Such alterations may occasionally be necessary due to circumstances beyond our control.

All events will be filmed and photographed - your presence confirms your permission for the ASDP to use any images or recordings of you in our publicity materials and seminar archive.

The ASDP does not accept responsibility for anyone acting as a result of information or views expressed on its training courses including course material. Opinions expressed are those of individual trainers and not necessarily those of the ASDP. Participants should take professional advice when dealing with specific situations.