Stage monitors placement

Jon Majors

Active Member
Specifically for a play or musical, where do you place your feedback stage monitors? On stands at the corners of the proscenium, evenly spread out across the front of the apron, hidden within set pieces? Bonus points for recommendations on monitors for a school with a stage 57' x 37', variety of performances from musicals, choir concerts, plays, rock concerts, etc.
 
Specifically for a play or musical, where do you place your feedback stage monitors? On stands at the corners of the proscenium, evenly spread out across the front of the apron, hidden within set pieces? Bonus points for recommendations on monitors for a school with a stage 57' x 37', variety of performances from musicals, choir concerts, plays, rock concerts, etc.
Flown in the wings, two or three per side: A DS pair, MS pair & US pair.
More speakers = Shorter throw distance to ears, optimistically = greater gain / level at ears, less prone to feed back.
Also keeps the floor and wings clear for rolling sets, wagons, cast members + being high means they're less likely to be blocked by set pieces about to be rolled on stage and more likely won't need to be struck between productions.
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard
 
There's no one-size-fits-all answer to this question. There are so many factors to where Foldback needs to go - however @RonHebbard's comment is spot on for what works in a lot of situations, especially when you mention you're at a school. Closer to the performers ears is better, more is [usually] better. Don't go crazy, and try to never put vocals into them. If you're doing the DS/MS/US pairs deal I either hang them on the top of lighting booms (if they exist) or the bottom of lighting ladders (if they exist) with just enough room that the largest set piece can get by so my speaker is the lowest it can be. Head height is ideal.

Here are scenarios for other kinds of Foldback:

Lining the Proscenium Edge: I do this when I'm doing theater in the round or outdoor theater. For every Frontfill Speaker I have facing the audience, I have a Foldback at floor height facing towards the stage.

On stands at the Corners of Prosceniums: Never the first placement, but every now and again I end up tossing stuff here at the request of performers. Usually you get enough blowback off the PA that it isn't too necessary but in certain times this is a useful spot. The danger here is that if your performers request it and they are center stage your Foldback may actually be loud enough the audience hears it and we typically don't like this.

Hidden within set pieces: Yep, very common. In commercial theater you might bury a ton of small foldback speakers throughout the stage deck of a show and split the floor into a dozen zones so foldback is localized and you can get star performers specific requests handled with efficiency.
 
Absolutely matters what you're using your monitors for.
If it's a musical and there's an orchestra in the pit, I prefer the foldback monitors that only have orchestra in them for the actors to hear to be in line or close-ish with the pit. This alleviates delay and allows you to make them much louder because it don't screw up imaging for the audience.
Also agree with Ron on monitors in the wings in other situations.
I've also flown them on the electrics and point them straight down-ish.
It just depends on what you're doing.

Also echoing Ron - more speakers is better and maybe for your multi-purposes, you can just not use them all, all the time.
 

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