The Theatre Question Amnesty Thread

Also as a side effect of it being smoke tight and substantial enough to be fire proof it is also light tight and pretty sound proof so having it down in the interval means you can turn on all the working light on the stage and shout up to the fly floor etc which makes big interval changes easier.

If you see a show on tour on its last night in a venue the safety curtain might well get dropped pretty quickly at the end of the show so the set can start being dismantled before the audience has even left the auditorium.

It is a bit of a weird regulation which effectively makes the audience fire inspectors but it is effective as the safety curtains all work and aren't chained up to stop them dropping everytime the fire alarm is tested. I don't think that is always the case in other countries where they might require workong safety curtains in the regulations but don't make the theatre prove it works every show.

A fair few questions about sound here that I'll try and answer:



First is "why put a mic where". It's basically a question of loudness and aesthetic. The closer you put a mic to the sound source (eg a mouth) the louder you can make that microphone before you get feedback. Also remember that a microphone picks up all noise, it doesn't know what you want to amplify, so if you have a loud band or a lot of people, you might opt to go for mics at the corner of the mouth (called boom mics) compared to mics mounted on the forehead or poking out just over the ear. Having a boom mic also helps if characters wear hats as a hairline mic may well get smothered. But booms are a lot more on show and requires a greater suspension of disbelief, so they tend to only be used on shows that really justify them. I suspect Steve that the lead performers' mic rigs on Waitress do have two heads, but one will be a say a DPA 4066 and the other a 6061, meaning the back up is a lot smaller (and cheated behind the main mic capsule) to help with the aesthetic. Price wise top end booms are more expensive than top end hairlines, because the metal frame that sits over the ears is well over £100. But an expensive mic through a badly set up/or low end sound system will sound worse compared to a cheeper mic well treated. 

The mics cutting out or missing the start of a line is very common, particularly early in a show's life. What most don't realise is that you only switch on the microphone(s) you need at that moment. If you didn't, you'd get a load of background noise, and the soundwave distorts so it sounds thin and weird (imagine if you have 16 ears spread randomly over a stage, the sound reaches them all at slightly different times, creating a sonic mess). So the Sound Number One, or whoever on the team is mixing that night, is basically raising and dropping the levels of microphones to keep everything tidy, clean and clear. But this does mean that when you've only had a few goes at it you miss a few starts or clip an end when you think a line is done but isn't. Understudies with different timing, and diversions from the script by actors can also play a part, but usually it is just an operator learning. See here for a video of line mixing a musical (not my vid): 

Every musical of any decent scale will tour their own radio mics, along with PA, sound desk, band mics, sound effect playback machines and a sound team for mixing, fitting microphones, tuning the PA etc. 

Jon, the microphones are ostensibly the same as the lapel mics you see on TV shows, with the only difference usually being the colour (as rarely will a jet black line along someones neck blend well). So why do TV presenters go for wearing it on the chest, and theatre on the head? Well, the chest is convenient, easy to attach, kept out of the way, and the transmitter can be chucked in a jacket pocket and the presenter live in seconds. But the chest is a) quite far from the mouth, b) when someone turns their head the sound levels change, and c) you get a lot of muddy bass and a lot less top end. When transmitting for broadcast this doesn't matter as they can put extreme compression and EQ to fix it but such things on a live PA would result in feedback. If you mount on a boom or on the hairline, the distance stays the same throughout the show, you get no chest resonance, and you have time to fit the transmitter under costumes or into wigs which means costumes can be changed midshow without it affecting the microphone. 





Oh, and a note on irons. My favourite i've encounted through touring is the Kings, Southsea which proclaims the theatre to have "computer lighting" and "laser sound". I did enquire what the latter actually meant, nobody seemed to know. 

The Wheel, the BBC One gameshow presented by Michael McIntyre has both head mics and lapel mics but the head mics are only used by Michael and the celebrities while the contestants have lapel mics which I thought was weird but I wonder if that's due to the studio setup rather than a stylistic choice. 

This may be another one for you firefingers, so I apologise if you feel like you're the only one currently doing any work.

Touring the Lawrence Batley Theatre yesterday, our quide said something along the lines of the auditorium having an acoustic rating of 96. (She may have used a percentage.) If that's out of 100, I presume it must be very good, but what does it mean in layman's terms?

They just have a different Cromwell every night…people are crying out to be on the stage. I believe that they are working through the male cast of TOWIE before starting on the Love Island lot. They have to share the wig though.

What's the difference between a producer and an associate producer please?

A general question about microphones in plays rather than musicals. Obviously actors always wear them in musicals (exception being at places like The Union) but at places like the National Theatre for 'straight' plays it seems to be more or less universal; may be understandable in The Olivier and Lyttelton but I think also most of the time in The Dorfman. I'm sure 20 or so years ago this was not the case even in The Olivier - I'm sure it wasn't the case even 10 years ago so when did this start to happen? It also seems to be prevalent at larger small theatres (if you see what I mean) like Hampstead and the Almeida.

Thank you. So a "gofer" in other words?

Traditionally, plays have not used microphones on actors, at least not body-mics, and it has always been a matter of personal pride for stage actors to be able to project their voices out into a full house without amplification.

However, as technology has improved and acting styles have changed, it seems silly at times not to take advantage of such aids. A play which relies on a more subtle, intimate style of acting may not lend well to the technique of loud voices and large gestures for example. The increased amount of plays in recent years that fit this brief may be one reason for it. Also, many modern plays nowadays are far more advanced in their sound design than they used to be. Loud music, pulsing lights, increased sound effects etc need actors to be able to match them vocally in contrast to the quieter drawing room comedies of the old days. I imagine a show like Curious Incident is mic'd for this reason, but I could be wrong. Is it?

I like plays that are mic'd. It makes the performance more accessible for the audience and puts less strain on the actors' voices. 

Question about opera and mics.
I've always heard that opera singers are not miced and just project their voice. But is this true?
It's amazing if they can project their voice but can they really project to an audience of 2000 like at the ENO.
I could hear perfectly at a recent performance even with a large orchestra so amazed if true.
I've been to musicals before when the mic has dropped out and the singer carries on but you can't hear a word.
Les Dennis was on TV this morning talking about HMS Pinafore which he is in later this month and said he won't have a mic.

Seat filling and comps are usually given out via agencies or to the staff of the theatre/producers/friends and family of actors etc. It would be difficult to choose from an audience who gets the upgrade and who doesn't. If you've paid £20 for a restricted view and get moved down next to someone who has paid £150 it can create an awkward situation.

What often happens when shows are quieter, is that the top level of the theatre, the grand or balcony, are closed, and patrons are sent to the box office where they are moved to the dress or stalls, but usually not to premium seats.