The Beep Lab Ensemble is a collective of performer-technologists. With the goal of live-performance, the members of the ensemble will build their own instruments and bring them onto the theater stage to perform. Students will be guided through the hands-on engineering process of designing a series of physical, electronic sound-making devices. Then students will improvise and compose new sound explorations and performance pieces. Topics will include basic electronic circuitry , basic coding, sound design and electronic performance practice. Students will make the holistic connection between the engineering design cycle, the control of sound parameters (e.g. tone, volume, rhythm), and usability in practice. This semester-long learning experience will culminate in a public presentation of new live-electronic performance with new devices that go “Beep”. Students can take home their work and have the knowledge to teach others to make more Beep devices. This course will be taught with the assumption of zero experience with circuit design and coding. Theatrical/Musical performance experience required. Requirements for the course: Personal laptop (Mac or PC), $60 purchase of electronic components.