Fast help needed with mic'ing an entire auditorium & cast

[Gabby]

Hi there, we recently upgraded from a scabby stage in a dinner hall to an expensive new theatre at our high school (fly rail, 600 seater auditorium etc, the full whack!) We never had to use microphones in our school musicals as we only had around 200 seats at a push.

We're putting on a show of Oliver the musical this spring and we have serious sound problems. We now have 600 seats and a stage & orchestra pit. The problem is we cannot hear the singers over our orchestra at all, and the performers cannot hear themselves singing over the orchestra, it's impossible to hear at the back of the auditorium, so we're grounded for now. (we obviously have speakers etc etc)

We are all stumped as we have never had to deal with such major sound issues in musical theatre, my question is, what microphones do we need to buy? I have done some research into them, but found there to be many different alternatives, the thought of hairline microphones seemed good but there is a large cast & chorus and giving each one an individual headset mic will be expensive, how do we allow the performers to hear themselves better on stage? Is mic'ing the orchestra better as we can mix the singing & sound better? We need urgent help with a 'beginners' plan to mic'ing a musical in a large auditorium, any help would be extremely appreciated, thank you!

We feel like we have bitten off more than we can chew with this whole sound issue and planned to eliminate the orchestra completely. However we are a specialist performing arts high school and do have large budgets for our shows, and backstage equipment.

 

[John Yoerger]

Honestly, it depends on your budget. What you can, and what you are willing to spend.

I'd recommend first investing in Floor Mics. Essentially they are "Area" microphones. Put one or two on the Aprin or edge of the stage before the drop to the orchestra pit. You can pick up ensemble and general sound with that.

Really it would depend on the theatre itself. If its all new, then you are gonna need to re-tune a few things.

Then you are going to want to get some Lavalier Microphones which mic the actors themselves. Really, I would get 4 or 5 to start out with. They are expensive, but generally needed. Then you can upgrade down into the future. Mainly you want to mic the actors that are on stage the most, or have a key importance in the show. They can always trade off during the show. It's important to remember also if you purchase these, that they are VERY sensitive and delicate. But simple to use. Getting these, will make you need Mic Tape too (3M surgical tape is the easiest and works great), a few square pieces one on the cheek, one on the neck and one on the back would be good.

Probably another good investment would be mic packs, but the units can always be placed in pockets and usually have clips.
It depends on how much you want the audience to see, there are also lavaliers that come in tan colors to blend more with the skin.

There's really a lot of variables involved in it. A technical view map of your house and stage would be cool if you posted it. Some can probably do a sound design from it. Also what type of materials are in the theatre, which can help with how much of what you will need and what absorbs sound and so on?

And while giving the orchestra microphones, instrument microphones are a whole different thing, and regular microphones might help to an extent. Really though, giving them microphones can only make them louder, not change make them softer as their base sound is already being projected.

Something to tell the actors: Project!
And really, something that is likely to happen if/when you mic them, is they will start to not project. It's important to remember that The board can only amplify what you give it

 

[museav]

I agree that budget is likely to be a definite factor. The production itself and the sound design for it are also likely to be significant factors.

I also agree that this may actually be a great opportunity to get the performers to learn to project before they even have a chance to get into bad habits of relying too much on reinforcement.

Part of me wonders how you got a new 600 seat theatre with a pit, speaker system, etc. and no microphones, but I have actually had projects where budgets forced an "all portable equipment/anything not nailed down is Owner Furnished" approach to be applied. It does make me wonder if the same may apply to any stage monitors, which is how the performers would hear anything when they are on stage.

If you have never dealt with a production effort like this or even with multiple microphones on stage you may really benefit from getting someone with relevant experience to help you through a production or two.

 

[chausman]

My first thought is to find another local school and see if they have someone on staff to come help you get started. After that, some hanging choir/area miss and some floor mics are where I'd go next. If you've never done it before and don't have people with experience to help, I think adding a bunch of wireless mics is way to complicated.


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[museav]

After that, some hanging choir/area miss and some floor mics are where I'd go next.

Which may get into the additional factor of what the system will support in terms of connectivity, number and type of inputs, etc.

One potential issue with any area mics is that if the performers cannot hear themselves over the orchestra then that suggests fairly high orchestra levels on stage and thus a chance that area mics could end up reinforcing the orchestra as much as or even more than the perfomers on stage. If you did use area microphones you might want to try to select and orient them so as to try to maximize the pickup of the stage and minimize the pickup of the orchestra.

 

[Aman121]

one option may be hiring an outside company to provide any associated equipment and an operator, this would not only solve the problem now,it will give you an idea of how to do it yourself for future productions. Even if you can get the mics mentioned above, would you have a trained operator to run everything? Would you need additional equipment besides the mics such as stage monitors to solve all of the mentioned problems? With a problem as complex as this, we cant really do much to solve the problem without more details and an understanding of your resources. This leads me to say that getting a professional company in to set everything up and provide the equipment may be a good idea for you. I do know that we have a few members that operate across the pond, maybe they can chime in and offer their advice.

 

[mozsey]

Go to another local school and ask for help and equipment. Usually, they won't just lend their stuff out. But if you ask for their assistance, give them a title of power, and give them a stipend for helping out you could probably use their gear.

 

[NZM]

Most head-worn mics (hair-line or over-ear boom type) are omni-directional and do not lend themselves to allowing performers to hear themselves in foldback/monitor speakers on stage. Sending headset mics to monitors means you greatly increase the risk of feedback through the monitors, especially as actors tend to move around the stage a great deal by virtue of their performance roles. It can be done, and when I need to do it, I run the monitor send post-fade so the mics are not in the monitors when the actor's mic is not up in the FOH mix 9saves embarrassing conversations from backstage ending up in the monitors ). Its more common to need to include the actors mics in the orchestra/band monitors as they will take their queues from the actors lines and often need to follow the singer's lead rather than vice versa.

In musical theatre work I do, we try to ensure the music (backing tracks or live orchestra depending on the show) volume is low enough on stage for the performers to be able to hear themselves acoustically without the need for sending their vocals to the stage monitors. This often requires "negotiation" with the music/orchestra director to adjust their acoustic levels and provide assurance that the orchestra will be heard by the audience and performers by micing appropriately.

If using individual wireless microphones, then you need to decide on the priorities. The priority for our theatre work is hearing the performers and less influence on clear faces. So we generally use headset mics (tan colour) that position the omni mic capsule to the side of the mouth. This facilitates getting them on and off quickly - we often have two casts and change 20+ headsets between consecutive shows with about 30 mins available time for mic changes, make-up and costume changes! We do try to minimise changes during a show and only at intermission if it is necessary. The headset mics certainly can be seen and are not unobtrusive as may be the case with hairline mics. But we are working mostly with children and the priority is that they can he heard and the headsets position the mic capsule in a good position for that, even with "little" voices. We find we are often running 24-26 headset mics with an overall cast of say 40. So there is still going to be plenty of people in the ensemble/chorus that won't be miced. For a 600 seat auditorium, you may still want to have something to pick up the ensemble, such as shotguns, overhead or boundary mics.

We use a lot of Mipro MU-55HNS microphones. They are not the smallest or least conspicuous, but they are affordable and reasonably robust as far as headset mics go. Here are a few pics of my kids wearing them (from Guys and Dolls). First is my son and daughter, second is my daughter and another actor in the show. Thirds is Joseph and Pharaoh (from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat)



But there is a significant investment in the wireless receivers/transmitters. For a 600 seat auditorium, you are going to need something to get the voices over the orchestra. Without limiting the orchestra levels, any ambient type mics covering the stage area (shotguns, hanging/overhead, boundary mics etc) are going to be pick up just as much orchestra noise as actors vocals. Unless your actors have great projection, you will most likely need to look into wireless microphone systems with either headsets or hairline microphones. This can even be the case for a smaller venue, such as shown here (about 300 seat auditorium):

 

[museav]

NZM's post made me think of the fact that this is probably also a new experience for your orchestra so there may indeed be a need to work with them, especially if the orchestra levels are too high in general.

 

[pmolsonmus]

I wouldn't disagree with much that has already been said, but will dovetail on museav's point. One of the easiest ways to help with balance is to deaden the pit. We regularly use old curtains, fiberglass gobos, sound panels and a drum shield to keep levels down. Once their level is set you can begin on amplifying the stage.
As someone who has done live audio for many years, I would recommend hiring out a pro, paying attention, taking notes and digital pictures of the gozintas and levels before dropping any money on equipment.

Phil

 

[Ric]

Hi Gabby,
What is your role in this? Are you a teacher, Theatre tech, musician in the band, or a member of cast?
This sounds like a many fold problem; new venue with limited equipment, novice, or lack of, dedicated theatre staff, student band, student cast.

Sound levels of the band should fall back directly on the Conductor/Musical Director, and this is the most common issue with any school band & musical performance.
They don't know how to balance a band in a pit with a live performance, as they're just used to playing as a band in a room.
Most commonly you shoudn't have to re-inforce the sound coming from a pt unless there is a clear need. i.e. Can't hear flutes, then spot mic that band section and balance with the acoustic volume of the rest. Keeping the band volume down in a pit is key !!!
If the band is quieter then your perfromers are likely to be able to hear themselves on stage. Giving them foldback speakers to hear themselves is adding to the increasing volume onstage and is generally a recipe for feedback issues, not solving the real problem of too loud a band!
Summarized; turn your band down & don't amplify things through your main sound system from the pit unless they can't be heard naturally

The other issue is with a new venue; Can the performers be heard clearly when no band is playing? If not then you either have issues with the room acoustics, room size and/or ability of the students to project their voices. A stage voice should carry throughout a 600 seat theatre, but students aren't trained usually to do this. This is where you'll need a sound engineer who has some idea of working with musicals to mic your performers so that they can be hear through your sound system.
This is a critical role!! It is just as important as the lead cast members, directors, choregraphers and set designers !
Summarized: Mics for performers are highly likely needed to make sure they're heard throughout the theatre, but need skilled operation by someone with experience doing musicals

If your musical director doesn't want to turn things down let them know that sound levels are also a Health & Safety issue, so you really need to make sure that levels for the band in the pit, and performers onstage are not too loud for too long.

 

[TimmyP1955]

Big bucks: DPA omni headsets.

Medium bucks: Countryman E6 omni headsets.

Medium bucks: Microphone Madness omni headsets (request the extra stiff ear loops.

Wireless: The SLX-D four channel units seem to offer good bang for the buck. Any Sennheiser is good, as are the Shure UR series.

IME floor mics won't be of much utility if you have an orchestra blasting away right in front of the stage.