Before it gets to the
point of having to swap a mic out during a show, make sure you're doing everything in your
power to prevent microphones from breaking in the first place. There will always be that actor who sweats out a
microphone once in a while, or an RF hit on an odd night, but you can definitely minimize your issues with a few steps.
First, fresh batteries in every
microphone every night.
Second, once the fresh batteries are on, take your microphones to
FOH and crack each
channel open at the
console to make sure the
microphone is working.
Play with the
connector and the entire
wire on the
element to make sure there are no shorts in the
microphone connection
Third, reinforce every microphones
strain relief if at all possible. Some manufacturers microphones come with better
strain relief systems than others. For example DPA's microphones typical
point of failure is right at the
connector, while Countryman's
point of failure is right behind the ear on the ones that have the removable
bit up there.
When a
microphone does
drop during a show, figure out what the issue is. Did the actor sweat out? Can blowing the mic out with some canned air fix the problem in a quick manner? Is there a short in the
microphone? RF Hits? Once you go through a few bad mics you'll learn how to assess the situation quickly. If it's an RF issue, you know to simply swap the transmitter. If it's a short in the
connector you know to just swap the
microphone element. If it's sweat, the first thing I'd do is to blast it with some air, if that's no good then replace the entire
element.
If RF hits are a repeat thing over many nights, especially in a stationary show, you need to look at a re-evaluation of your wireless coordination, and perhaps
call a service or
purchase a license to something like IAS and find out how to get intermod to a minimum.
For getting actors attention -- do the actors not exit
stage at regular intervals during this show? If the scenes are short enough, I typically
mute the
channel and ride out the scene, trying to cross-mic if the scene permits. If you have a
play like A Chorus
Line, where you have 45 minutes of not a single entrance or exit, that's a
bit harder...the method I have used before is a large Dry Erase Board, you write the name of the actor who needs to be swapped, and you stand in the
wing in their
line of sight. When they see it, they know to make a graceful exit. The other method I use (if you know your show fairly well), is to have an actor about to enter deliver the message to whoever has to exit and get a mic swap.
I would strongly persuade you to NOT even consider using the
laser suggestion. If you want to be responsible for blinding someone, that's on you.
Knowing what exactly is wrong on your setup will greatly reduce the time it takes to fix things -- especially if it's just a transmitter swap. An
element swap always takes a lot longer, especially if you have it pinned through a hairline. If I only have 30 seconds to swap a mic and it's mounted under a
wing/through a hairline/
etc I have a quick pack prepared, I find the transmitter, unplug the old mic and let it hang, and have a new mic with an elastic band halo and simply slap that on an actors head,
plug in the mic, and
send them on their way. I'll clean up their entire setup the next time they are offstage.
