Foley Artistry and Fringe

S2 E12 of What the Fringe?!

For many Fringe artists, the focus is on script, staging, and performance. But there is another tool that can elevate your show and surprise your audience: sound. Foley artistry, the live creation of sound effects using everyday objects, can transform a performance, adding dimension and energy in ways that lighting or props alone cannot achieve.

Ted Wenskus, Atlanta Fringe Audio Award Coordinator, performing as a foley artist.

Ted Wenskus has built a career around this often-overlooked craft. A playwright, voice actor, sound designer, and Award Coordinator of Atlanta Fringe Audio, Ted has worked on more than 100 audio dramas and countless live radio plays. His path into Foley did not begin in a studio but with simple curiosity, tapping shoes, experimenting with old tools, and scouring flea markets for objects that “auditioned” well. For Fringe artists, that same sense of exploration can open new creative doors.

Start with What You Have

Shoes, wrenches, buckets, and hinges are your starting point. Tap a heel on different surfaces to find the perfect footstep. Rattle an old wrench to create tension. Sometimes, the most mundane object becomes the most memorable sound on stage. The key is not realism but recognition. The sound does not have to be perfect; it only needs to spark the audience’s imagination.

You don’t need a professional studio to begin experimenting with sound. Start small, test what you already have around the house, and then expand as needed. Here are a few practical items to get you going:

• Shoes – Different soles on different surfaces create footsteps. Keep a hard-soled shoe, a sneaker, and a boot for variety.

• Gloves and Fabric – Rubbing fabric together or handling gloves can suggest movement, clothing, or even eerie effects.

• Metal Tools – Wrenches, hammers, and hinges can squeak, clang, or rattle to create tension.

• Buckets or Tins – Drop objects inside to mimic coins, echoes, or distant bangs.

• Water Bottle or Small Container – Shake for sloshing sounds or drip water for rain.

• Wood Blocks – Knock them together for doors closing or generic thuds.

• Paper and Plastic – Crumple for fire crackling, rustling leaves, or general background noise.

• Desk Bell or Small Chime – Perfect for phones, service counters, or comic accents.

• Handmade Wind Effect – A strip of thin fabric or a small fan can provide simple atmospheric sounds.

Building Devices

Not every effect can be found in your basement. Some you may need to make. For one show, Ted built a traditional wind machine: a hand-cranked barrel covered in fabric that creates a gusty whoosh. In another case, he engineered a working “payphone” sound using a metal bucket, a coin chute, and a desk bell. These inventions take effort, but when they succeed, they become highlights of the performance.

Live Foley carries risk, which is part of its charm. During a Frankenstein radio play, Ted unveiled a “glass crasher” designed to break glass safely inside a box. On opening night, it clinked but refused to shatter, twice. On the third try, the crash finally landed, creating an accidental but oddly effective rhythm. His takeaway: sometimes failure adds to the drama, and sometimes the rule of three saves the day.

Foley Art at the Fringe

Incorporating visible Foley into your Fringe show can give audiences both the story and the behind-the-scenes magic at the same time. Audiences are drawn to the Foley table. Actors may carry the script, but when a Foley artist cranks a wind machine or crashes a pane of glass, eyes inevitably shift. For Fringe artists looking to push boundaries, sound offers nearly unlimited possibilities. With a little curiosity, a willingness to experiment, and maybe a trip to the flea market, you can create moments that stick in the audience’s memory long after the lights go down.

Atlanta Fringe Audio

Fringe Audio is the podcast network of the Atlanta Fringe Festival, the only festival in the Fringe circuit to offer a platform for audio artists. Featuring everything over the years, from children’s shows, true crime, audio drama, musicals, comedy, biographies, old-time radio, and uncategorizable weirdness. Atlanta Fringe Audio gives creators an innovative space to experiment with sound and storytelling, and provides listeners a portal into the strange, the brilliant, and the beautifully bizarre. Experienced audio drama makers and novices alike can apply to be part of the festival. Each year, the Audio Festival offers one show a grand prize and entry into the prestigious Signal Awards.

Learn more and listen to the incredible shows that have been a part of Atlanta Fringe Audio HERE.

This blog post was inspired by S2 E12 of the What the Fringe?! podcast, and was written utilizing AI technology, in conjunction with human oversight and editing. 

Watch the full episode here!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c35lcfRZfFY