Daniel Herten

​Composer, Sound and Video Designer

Daniel Herten (he/they) is a composer, sound designer, video designer, and creative technologist specialising in live performance and interactive media. They lived in China, Thailand and Fiji before moving on to Gadigal land in Australia, where they now work on independent and mainstages both nationally and internationally. Their work explores the way audiences interface with stories, with a focus on how emerging real time technologies can be integrated to enhance the two-way discussion between art and audience.

As a composer and sound designer, Daniel’s work includes: for Belvoir Theatre Company, GRIEF IS THE THING WITH FEATHERS sound design, FURIOUS MATTRESS composition;  for Griffin Theatre Company, THE LEWIS TRILOGY, SISTREN, FLAT EARTHERS: THE MUSICAL sound design (with Hayes Theatre Co); for Hayes Theatre Company, RIDE THE CYCLONE sound design, THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE sound design, MURDER FOR TWO sound design; for Ensemble Theatre Company, FLY GIRL, THE HALF-LIFE OF MARIE CURIE; for Force Majeure, GARDENER’S APPRENTICE sound design; for National Theatre Of Parramatta, FADE; for Darlinghurst Theatre Company, sound design for LET THE RIGHT ONE IN sound design; for ERTH, ARC, SHARK DIVE; for Sydney Festival, SET PIECE sound design, WILLIAM YANG: MILESTONE; for Sport For Jove, A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM; for Sydney Opera House, CALAMITY JANE sound design; for Grey Gum Productions and Tinderbox Productions with QPAC, BLACK BOX; for Clockfire Theatre Co with Sydney Fringe Festival, PLENTY OF FISH IN THE SEA; for Essential Workers, COLLAPSIBLE. 

As a video designer, Daniel’s work includes: for Hayes Theatre Company, RIDE THE CYCLONE, FLAT EARTHERS: THE MUSICAL; for Sydney Festival, WILLIAM YANG: MILESTONE; for Force Majeure, GARDENER’S APPRENTICE; for National Theatre Of Parramatta, FADE for Darlinghurst Theatre Company, LET THE RIGHT ONE IN; for Essential Workers, COLLAPSIBLE; for Redline Productions, THE CHAIRS; for sandpaperplane, DELTA SIERRA JULIET. 

Associate / realiser credits for sound design include: for Sydney Theatre Company, THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY (with Michael Cassel Group), CIRCLE MIRROR TRANSFORMATION, RULES FOR LIVING; for Griffin Theatre Company, SEX MAGICK, GREEN PARK, PONY, WHITEFELLA YELLA TREE, WHEREVER SHE WANDERS; for Bell Shakespeare, TWELFTH NIGHT; for ATYP, THE DEB. Associate / realiser credits for video design include: for ATG, 9 TO 5 THE MUSICAL; for Ensemble Theatre Company, IS THERE SOMETHING WRONG WITH THAT LADY?; for Blush Opera, CHOP CHEF.

As a creative technologist, Daniel has collaborated on various projects that incorporate real-time technology in performance, including special audio, generative video design, VR experiences, live cinema, and interactive branching narratives. Recent live performance projects using headphones to tell stories include: BLACK BOX THE MUSICAL, GREEN PARK, DRIVE and DELTA SIERRA JULIET. In 2023 Daniel co-created COLLAPSIBLE, where the team used motion tracking and Unreal Engine to generate a real-time video design that responded to the solo performer’s body movements. Daniel also collaborates closely with NIDA’s Futures Center to advise the university on real-time technologies and strengthen connections with emerging practitioners and technologies. In 2025, they were a technologist for IMAGINITIVE RESTORATION, a collaboration between NIDA, NSFA and ANU School Of Cybernetics that used generative AI and stable diffusion to transform recovered film footage.

Daniel was nominated for a Sydney Theatre Award for Best Sound Design and Composition of a Mainstage Production for his work on THE LEWIS TRILOGY. Daniel was the Australian sound associate for the Olivier and Tony Award® and THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY on Broadway where the production received a total of six Tony Award® nominations. 

Daniel holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Technical Theatre and Stage Management) degree from the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA).

View Daniel's work at danielherten.com.