Our High school is doing Seussical for my senior year. I've never helped run sound to the level that i will be for this show being the go to lighting guy. From what I see in the script there are no scene changes. If anyone can give me some advice on how to make a bunch of high school actors switch mics in between imagined scenes i would be very greatful.
Wireless Seussical The Musical, switching RF mics
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bishopthomas
Well-Known Member
gcpsoundlight
Active Member
More Detail is required, but as a basic idea you need someone backstage to manage the switches.
Having done the show myself, there are scenes, but they just go into each other.
You will have fun on this show, promise you!
EDIT: See below for more info....
Having done the show myself, there are scenes, but they just go into each other.
You will have fun on this show, promise you!
EDIT: See below for more info....
Last edited:
gcpsoundlight
Active Member
Here is the basic information we would need to give you a thorough answer:
1: How many mics
2: How many actors
3: How many changes
You should have a mic plot. If you don't, make one. This is the magic peice of paper that knows all. It should have one column for each mic, and one row for each scene, then at the intersecions, put in the characters name AND THE ACTORS NAME. too many times some actors forget who they are playing.... I know, odd, but trust me, you can call out "Bird Number 3" for as long as you like, but calling out "Mary S." will have much better results.
I would be very reluctant to have the cast change there own mics, so many times I have seen cast drop, pull, bent etc. $500 capsuals. The only issue you may have getting someone else to change them is the school may say that you have to have a male and female fitter for male and female cast respectively.
In regards to the show itself, a lot of the cast, depending on the way the set is laid out, do actually go off stage for a few minuits at a time. It depends, as I said before who is being miked.
If you want some more in-depth help, feel free to email me - [email protected] - as I know the show very well, and I would be more than happy to help you out.
1: How many mics
2: How many actors
3: How many changes
You should have a mic plot. If you don't, make one. This is the magic peice of paper that knows all. It should have one column for each mic, and one row for each scene, then at the intersecions, put in the characters name AND THE ACTORS NAME. too many times some actors forget who they are playing.... I know, odd, but trust me, you can call out "Bird Number 3" for as long as you like, but calling out "Mary S." will have much better results.
I would be very reluctant to have the cast change there own mics, so many times I have seen cast drop, pull, bent etc. $500 capsuals. The only issue you may have getting someone else to change them is the school may say that you have to have a male and female fitter for male and female cast respectively.
In regards to the show itself, a lot of the cast, depending on the way the set is laid out, do actually go off stage for a few minuits at a time. It depends, as I said before who is being miked.
If you want some more in-depth help, feel free to email me - [email protected] - as I know the show very well, and I would be more than happy to help you out.
We did seussical recently and the most I can say for certain is characters like Horton and Cat have to have their own mics because they are on stage most of the time. For other characters, we alternated jungle with whos. Be sure to have at least one person on either side of the stage changing mics and if possible, try to get more microphones then receivers so when you change mics, just unplug and move the transmitter. It can go much faster because you aren't trying to tape and un-tape mics from people or feed it through clothes.
Which version of Seussical are you doing? (full, TYA, jr.?) We just closed and didn't use any mics because the acoustics in our venue don't require any.
You would need (for the TYA version) one for each of the principles (JoJo, Cat, Horton, Gertrude, Mayzie & Sour Kangaroo) The Bird Girls are on stage with everybody at one time or another so they might need their own, or careful blocking and area mics. Mr. Mayor & Mrs. Mayor have a duet and might be able to swap off with Mayzie and Sour Kangaroo. Review the entrances/exits and time between to know for sure. Not sure what to do about the Wickersham brothers (Monkey Around) since their number almost immediately transitions to something with most of the principles on stage. I'm not sure I'd mic the chorus (jungle/whos) individually unless I had a big budget, since they are all on stage for Horton's trial.
The thing to do is french scene the songs, review the entrances/exits and offstage time carefully to see who can free up what for whom, and plan accordingly. The opening, finale, and trial scene are going to screw up any sharing.
You would need (for the TYA version) one for each of the principles (JoJo, Cat, Horton, Gertrude, Mayzie & Sour Kangaroo) The Bird Girls are on stage with everybody at one time or another so they might need their own, or careful blocking and area mics. Mr. Mayor & Mrs. Mayor have a duet and might be able to swap off with Mayzie and Sour Kangaroo. Review the entrances/exits and time between to know for sure. Not sure what to do about the Wickersham brothers (Monkey Around) since their number almost immediately transitions to something with most of the principles on stage. I'm not sure I'd mic the chorus (jungle/whos) individually unless I had a big budget, since they are all on stage for Horton's trial.
The thing to do is french scene the songs, review the entrances/exits and offstage time carefully to see who can free up what for whom, and plan accordingly. The opening, finale, and trial scene are going to screw up any sharing.
I just meant like trading characters in the jungle who needed mics with characters who needed it in whos. At least the few who do need mics. I would never try to mic the entire ensemble with wireless personally. (I don't need to hear about people who have) That would get way to complicated. (for me)
I was waiting to see if anyone would bring up that term.
As others have said, one needn't wait for a scene change to move microphones. Once a character exits, his* mic is fair game, depending on how long until his next entrance. This is all evidenced in the mic plot, which tells you at a glance who can share and who cannot.
*I intentionally did not say his/her, as it's probably best not to go changing mics between genders (not only because of the A2 of the same gender requirements, but also) because there are likely significantly different EQ settings for male and female voices. Just one more thing to consider.
Good point and level variations between performers can also be relevant since you won't be using scenes. You may want to have cues that relate to when you should cut specific mics, make any setting changes and then bring them back up. Those can then also be followed by the A2(s) handling the actual mic changes so they don't start making changes on live mics and can signal the SM when things are ready.
What kind of mixer are you using? The only time I have done a show with switching was when I was mixing on a digital mixer (DM1000) and I was able to program EQ and compression changes with the scene recall. I will also echo someone else's suggestion that you see about getting extra elements and then just swapping the packs themselves around. If you can't do that, make sure you have elements that are relatively easy to place consistently. I normally spec and use Countryman B3s or DPA 4061s as my elements for theatre shows but I used Countryman E2s for the people who needed elements to be placed and removed by an A2 instead of myself. I don't really have a problem with swapping between actors of different genders and I have never had a female cast member who was uncomfortable with me micing them but I also have never mixed a high school show.
Alot of what you guys are saying makes sense. I don't have my own script yet but I got to look at one.
We are using an Allen and Heath 24 channel anoalog mixer into our house system they installed last year. There is also only one other guy I trust with mic assignment and switching having a dying crew.
There are 5 hanging mics i can use to pick up general chorus.
We are using an Allen and Heath 24 channel anoalog mixer into our house system they installed last year. There is also only one other guy I trust with mic assignment and switching having a dying crew.
There are 5 hanging mics i can use to pick up general chorus.
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