Taking His Talents to the East Coast

Palisadian Erik Cereghino Gears Up for Carnegie Mellon University’s ‘Godspell’

By KARINA EID | Intern

His first pull toward musical theater audio design began during his time at Marquez Charter Elementary School.

Now, Erik Cereghino, a third-year graduate student at Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Drama, shared that he is currently assisting with sound design in the university’s performance of “Godspell”—an award-winning musical based on the Gospel of Matthew—for spring 2023.

Cereghino told the Palisadian-Post he grew up on Haverford Avenue, just a few blocks away from Palisades Charter High School.

His graduating fifth-grade class at Marquez performed an annual show for its culmination, and Cereghino chose to work on the stage crew. His time spent on the soundboard eventually guided him to pursue this throughout the rest of his academic career.

At Paul Revere Charter Middle School, he continued learning the art of sound engineering with the help of his woodshop teacher, Robert Grossman. Later, as a student at Pali High, he had the freedom to expand upon his theater production skills.

Cereghino then graduated from Loyola Marymount University in 2014, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in English with a concentration in creative writing. While at LMU, he continued to contribute to sound engineering for theater productions.

Years later, after taking a brief hiatus from sound design following graduation, he began attending courses at Santa Monica College in 2017. About one year later, he moved to New York City to pursue his passion for sound design.

“It was always somewhere I wanted to move to,” he said to the Post.

Once Cereghino “realized it was possible to build the career” he wanted, he began to research graduate programs. And although a master’s degree was not required, Cereghino expressed how it would be a “faster, cleaner” route than immediately entering the workforce. He enrolled at CMU.

At the university, he most recently assisted with the sound design of shows such as “Godspell,” “Kinky Boots,” “The Drowsy Chaperone,” “A Chorus Line” and “Sister Act.”

Following CMU’s 50th anniversary celebration of “Godspell” last year, the university is already preparing for its next performance of the show in 2023.

“Godspell” originated at CMU 51 years ago as playwright John-Michael Tebelak’s master thesis project. Alongside Tebelak was composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz.

Cereghino recently had the opportunity to meet with Schwartz, also known for his work on musicals such as “Wicked” and “Pippin.”

“He brought a lot of clarity to the show,” Cereghino said of Schwartz.

Apart from “Godpsell,” Cereghino has explored sound design in a variety of mediums. He recently collaborated with two media designers to create a surround sound exhibit at Frame Gallery, a space dedicated to hosting CMU student artwork.

One feature of the “immersive” exhibit employed microphones to pick up the viewers’ footsteps as soon as they walked in.

“It was an installation that tried to capture the ‘modular electronic monster of the internal component of media,’” Cereghino said.

While Cereghino said he enjoyed tinkering with surround sound in this exhibit, he plans to continue working primarily in theater. Some of his larger goals for the future include sound designing for larger venues, such as Broadway and Cirque du Soleil.

In closing, Cereghino compared theater to Thanksgiving dinner. Once the whole team has been “stuck in a kitchen together” during months of intense preparation, there is a moment of relief as soon as everyone sits down for opening night.

“It’s beautiful when it all comes together,” he concluded.