Eavesdropping tales~

[MillburyAuditorium]

Hello everyone,


Okay, don't even tell me that all of you haven't at one point soloed a wireless mic before and listened in on the holders conversations before

Any funny tales of what you heard?

The most random thing I heard was two girls and a somewhat girly guy talking about cupcake recipes. xD

 

[cprted]

I only do it for mic checks at the top of the acts. I really don't care what actors talk about in the dressing rooms. I also think its pretty unprofessional to listen to what actors assume are private conversations.

 

[DaveySimps]

I also think its pretty unprofessional to listen to what actors assume are private conversations.

I couldn't agree more. It also does not contribute to the trust that tech staff should have with actors. It is an issue of respect.

~Dave

 

[rochem]

I also think its pretty unprofessional to listen to what actors assume are private conversations.

I couldn't agree more with both of the above posts. As techs, we are frequently put into positions where other people don't normally find themselves: an actress doing a quick costume change right in front of you, being able to listen in on people's "private" conversations, being personally responsible for not dropping a set piece on your leading actor's head, the list goes on. As soon as we violate the trust actors have in us, we have lost the ability to work as efficiently as we once could. Imagine what would happen if some actors found out you were listening in on their conversations. Do you think they'd just never talk about anything private while wearing mics? No, they'd just turn off their mics briefly so they could talk in private, and then walk on stage 10 minutes later having totally forgotten to turn it back on. Not to mention that it's highly unprofessional and an extreme violation of privacy.

In the course of normal duties (verifying a mic works when I'm getting strange readings, mic check), I have heard some very private and embarrassing things about some of my peers. But rather than laugh about it and tell everyone I know, I simply ignore it and move on. If you're doing sound so you can listen in on people's private conversations, it's time you find another hobby.

 

[avkid]

Okay, don't even tell me that all of you haven't at one point soloed a wireless mic before and listened in on the holders conversations before

I think it's fair to say that almost everyone has done this either by accident or on purpose.

Those of us with ethics respect the privacy of any parties involved and keep what we hear to ourselves.

 

[NashvilleTechie]

I will admit that on occasion I've listened in on conversations intentionally, but with good reason. I work for a school, and the administration frequently feels the need to just not tell us about important details, so when we're doing an event and the higher-ups have their mics on, I'll pull them up and listen in if I see them talking to each other, just so I know what's actually going on during the event so they don't pull any surprises on us.

Other than that, I'll listen in enough to make sure that the pack has good enough signal strength and quality, but I don't really listen to what I'm hearing.


All that said, I did catch our senior vice president jokingly picking on a student he knew once. That's about it.

 

[kiwitechgirl]

Listening in on people has one inevitable result: you will hear someone saying things about you - usually, nothing nice. As others have said, occasionally you will hear things not meant for your ears when you're checking mics; if you want to get anywhere in the world, learn to never mention it. And if you ever deliberately listen in on my watch, you can bet that it's a can of worms you don't want to open.

 

[Eboy87]

I only do it for mic checks at the top of the acts. I really don't care what actors talk about in the dressing rooms. I also think its pretty unprofessional to listen to what actors assume are private conversations.

+1

and extraneous comment

 

[3dB]

Any funny tales of what you heard?

Hmmmm. I think what Millbury meant was ... "what was the funniest or most embarrassing thing you've ever broadcast to the audience by accident?" Wasn't that what you meant ... Mill?

Regards,
Mark

 

[lighthouse]

Hmmmm. I think what Millbury meant was ... "what was the funniest or most embarrassing thing you've ever broadcast to the audience by accident?" Was that what you meant, Mill?

Regards,
Mark

You mean like when the bodypack was SUPPOSED to be on the actor who just entered, but it was still on the previous actor who is now flushing the toilet?

That's why I always listen long enough to recognize which actor is wearing a given mic at any time! (But I could care less what they say)

 

[3dB]

...That's why I always listen long enough to recognize which actor is wearing a given mic at any time! (But I could care less what they say)

Not the usage being inferred by the original post, I think...

 

[lighthouse]

Not the usage being inferred by the original post I think...

Agreed. There's a big difference between "eavesdropping" and "monitoring" (or whatever you want to call listening to make sure you don't screw up). Actors get reminded about "monitoring", especially if they are first-timers, but never repeat what you hear.

 

[cprted]

Hmmmm. I think what Millbury meant was ... "what was the funniest or most embarrassing thing you've ever broadcast to the audience by accident?" Wasn't that what you meant ... Mill?

Regards,
Mark

Well in that case, I've got a good one ...

Cast your minds back to the mid 90s when cprted was still a young impressionable high-schooler. During the run of a show, Annie maybe (that I wasn't mixing), a mic got left on after an actor exited. Miraculously he stayed quiet until he hit the drama room/co-ed dressing room downstairs ...

Off-stage actor: "I see breasts!"
Next line in the play: "Dear God I hope so."

There were no monitors so the actors didn't hear the off stage line and couldn't figure out why the audience was in stitches.

 

[3dB]

I'll play...

The scene: Annual Children’s Play – Auditorium filled with elementary-aged kids accompanied by their respective teachers.
The talent: Student sound tech and jokester actress
The act: Student tech goes backstage to change out a bodypak battery – leaves mic channel ON - Tech swaps battery, turns bodypak ON and begins clipping bp onto actress’ waistline – I walk into rear-of-theater sound booth to check on tech – Actress' voice booms LOUD over mains (in the voice of her character, no less); “GET YOUR HANDS OUT OF MY PANTS!”

Instant silence ….

Initiate slow-motion sequence --- --- NOW!: I …. dive … for … fa-der. El-e-ment-a-ry … teach-ers … heads … spin … round … toward … booth … in … time … to … see … me … stand … up … be-hind … mix-er … prompt-ing … them… to … im-med-iat-ly … de-liv-er … look … of … death. They … want … to … kill … me. Is … my … ca-reer … over? … I … shrug … like … I … don’t … know … what … just … hap-pened. Teach-ers … dig-ging … in … purs-es … for … mace. Will … the … col-lege … be … sued???

Restore real-time motion --- --- NOW!: Student tech (oblivious of what has just happened) pops back into booth with big smile and says; “Hey, how’s it goin’! I got all the batteries swapped out and we’re good to go!!! … … … … … ... ... ... ... ...

 

[Eboy87]

Ok, with the new topic, I've got one. It's the end of a scene at a Saturday matinee, and the scene ended unexpectedly about a page from where it should (read: they forgot a line. Several in fact). Lead actress exits while I'm trying to figure out what the hell is going on, and I miss the exit. The actress realized her mistake, and before I went to the next scene, she comes out with this gem, still at show level: "Oh f*** me in..." I hit recall next before she finished. Still, all the bluehairs were giving me the look of death.

Lesson: If there's a screw up, watch the stage before you figure out what snapshot you should be in.

Then there was the time an elderly actress grabbed the wrong bodypack, but that's probably a story best left for the bar.

Mods, feel free to delete if you think it's a little too risque.

 

[rwhealey]

Ok, with the new topic, I've got one. It's the end of a scene at a Saturday matinee, and the scene ended unexpectedly about a page from where it should (read: they forgot a line. Several in fact). Lead actress exits while I'm trying to figure out what the hell is going on, and I miss the exit. The actress realized her mistake, and before I went to the next scene, she comes out with this gem, still at show level: "Oh f*** me in..." I hit recall next before she finished. Still, all the bluehairs were giving me the look of death.

Lesson: If there's a screw up, watch the stage before you figure out what snapshot you should be in.

Oh man, that happened to us once. Screw-up within the scene, actress leaves at an odd time, says "oh s___" after she gets off stage. I wasn't running the board, but the operator felt really bad. It wasn't really his fault, though... We (and the audience) laughed it off.

I've also gotten the toilet flushing- but that time I was on cue and the actress wasn't. She was supposed to come in with the mic hot, but was in the restroom. Fortunately, I think I was the only one who realized exactly what the sound was.

As to listening in, I pretend not to hear things I accidentally overhear. We had a tech once who really disliked the stage manager, so he set her monitor to prefade when somebody started talking bad about her. It wasn't a pretty fight...

 

[epimetheus]

While I completely agree that it's very unprofessional to eavesdrop on somebody wearing a wireless mic, the person wearing the mic should be aware of the fact that they are wearing a mic. It's not like they don't know they're wired. The talent has a responsibility to maintain decorum just as the sound tech does. Should something go wrong, and the wrong mic go hot, it's a much better situation for the overall production if the conversation is benign.

Moral of the story, if I'm wearing a mic or near a mic, I'm sure as heck going to watch what I say. I don't think it's too much to ask for others to do the same.

Edit: My funny wireless mic story - while it didn't occur in a theater, several of my prof's in college used wireless lapels, and more than once they'd forget to turn them off before a restroom break. Quite hysterical for the class, and occasionally gross...

 

[Eboy87]

We had a tech once who really disliked the stage manager, so he set her monitor to prefade when somebody started talking bad about her. It wasn't a pretty fight...

If it's at Keating, at least they don't have to sit next to each other. That would've been a long second act for whoever was on lights.

 

[MillburyAuditorium]

Im sorry if I worded my post wrongly.

I don't mean I just sit there all evening listing to people talk. I just flip on a solo now and then to see if anything funny is going on, because it started when I was checking if people had the correct mics, because a lot of high school actors tend to think they can just take any beltpack and not listen to us.
Of course I don't go tell the world, or anyone what I hear, and usually its just either, nothing, or someone asking for a prop. And its no more than say 5 seconds, not like I sit and listen to a 10 minute conversation.

 

[rwhealey]

That would've been a long second act for whoever was on lights.

Yeah, but it almost came to fisticuffs at intermission

These two shouldn't have been working together at all, but I guess everything worked out. At least all the cues were in the right spots. I was running lights once when the two got into it over Telex. The original conversation wasn't pretty, but I got to hear what the stage manager said after she turned the talk button off on the headset. A bit awkward, to say the least...