orchestra

I recently did a major musical, and when I say recently I mean it closes tomorrow.  Well to save money, we decided to not hire any musicians and rent the computer genterated track from real-time music solutions.  Sinfonia. Oh the bain of my life for the last 4 weeks.

Sinfonia is what i call Sibalus for beginners, only you can't program the music into the computer. Sure you can control tempo's and keys and even repeats and vamps. You can also control individual volumes on instruments as well as muting them. Sinfonia is supose to be a orchestra suppliment, meaning you have 3 or 4 musicians in your pit and the computer plays along with them. We didnt do that.

I'm glad we didn't. While the orchestrations are nice, the issue was volume with the tracks themselves. Example, when you open the program for the first time all instruments are at 100. If you think of it like a soundboard 100 actually is 0, 0 would really be -100 and 200 would be +100, Understand.

So lets start the first song.

Oh thats sounds nice, wait where did the music go?, Oh there it is, HOLY CRAP WHY IS IS SO LOUD.

No joke that was the first 2 minutes of the first number. Now imagine having to sit down and edit every song and every point where the music could be at a more constant level. I'm not talking equal volume the whole show, I mean barely anything showing up on the sound board sensors to everything peaking in the matter of a measure. 

So for 2 weeks I edited and fixed and worked on everything. Then load in occured and we went into the theatre.

Everything I had mixed and edited was trash, but the problem was the show didnt sound right at all. I called Sinfonia and they didnt know what the problem was, in fact they still don't.

While our audience likes the orchestrations and they sound good, my suggestion, ude at your own risk first. It may make your life a lot harder as a sound designer.  I didnt get a decently sounding run thru until the night before opening, and after rehearsals it would be the director and myself in the parking lot working on 2 to 3 hours of notes on just sinfonia.

The sound guy's case

What is in my sound case?

First wig or toupee clips

I use these in alteration with bobby pins to attach a cable to someone.


Next would be Tagaderm tape and medical tape.

Tagaderm or medical tape is super useful to get microphone cables to attach to a person's body.  The great thing about Tagaderm is that is it super hard core and doesn't come off easily. The bad thing about Tagaderm is that it is super hardcore and doesn't come off easily.  It leaves a residue on the cable that is hard to get off. But I have a remedy for that too.

Isoporpyl Alcohol this can sanitize a surface but also can take tape residue off a mic cable.

Floral wire

#30 to be exact.

Its small and can be bent and moved easily.  If I am using a wig line mic on someones face I wrap the floral wire with it about 3 inches from the end then take the wire down to the edge about 1/4 to 1/2 an inch from the head of the microphone. wrap it around the cable once then bend down just before you come to the head.  This allows sweat to drip off the mic without damaging the physical mic. 

For one show I had 8 lapel mics and needed head mics (it was RENT) and so I made head contraptions out of small gauge electrical cable (single style) and attached the mic to the cable using spike tape.  If the cable was blue, orange tape was used. Pink/ green... so on and so on.

There was a sound blog that actually suggested a certain kind of marker in different colors as well as finger nail polish and nail polish remover to repaint the cable to hide in peoples hair and skin tone better. I don't do this but I have thought about trying it.

The Tech Week Sickness

Tech week is a long process, the last year I have only had one show where it truly was a "hell week" but then you are talking about a MASSIVE show that I had been working on for 9 months.  It never fails that when you reach tech week on a show, the tech week sickness starts around the cast and crew. My tech week sickness is generally after tech week is over.  I think that this sickness comes from the lack of sleep and the lack of proper nutrition and food during the long week.

For a tech person, the sickness comes from where you are working. Theatre's are a dusty, dirty, contaminated public space. No matter how clean you keep your tech booth the rest of the theatre will still be dirty. That seat that you have by your board, how many people have sat in it and when was the last time the arms were sanitized. Door knobs are handled by how many people? Even the seats for audience members… think about those.  There are a lot of people that come in and out of the space, wood it cut in and around the space, things are painted, hairspray is sprayed. So there are many fine particulate that are floating around in the space. I worked in one space that in the 9 months I designed for them, they never once changed the air filters, thats not only a health hazard its a fire hazard.

My tech week sickness this time around came the week before tech week, and the week before I even loaded into the theatre. I was on spring break for school, and let me tell you this thing knocked me out. It lasted 18 days total.  It was terrible. It woke me up and made me start taking vitamins again.

FInding a theatre

A few weeks back I started a contract for Spring Awakening the musical. I have really loved this show for a long time. The story is something that still rings true even though it was written in the 1890's. The show deals with a few issues, that of sex, abuse, and suicide. Though the musical itself somewhat follows the storyline of the original pal, Duncan Sheik wrote the score with Steven Sater writing the book. In 2008 Spring Awakening won the Tony Award for Best musical, best orchestrations, and best original score, and a Grammy for Best Musical Show Album. 

The company this show is with doesn't have a permanent home or theatre, so rehearsals are held wherever they can get a place to do them, and performances are always at different theatre's and spaces.  I think its a great concept but in our area its a hard one to do.  Lets look at the list of theatre spaces available in the area. 

Barter Theatre- Abingdon, VA- 2 spaces both in constant rep with the equity shows. I won't go into the details for this space cause no one can rent it.

Theatre Bristol-Bristol, TN- a 99 seat proscenium space that runs maybe 5 shows a year, but doesn't currently have any full time staff and is run part time by the board. Leprechaun 1500 or 1600 board with 24 dimmers one of which is constantly on. 

Paramount Center- Bristol, TN- a 756 seat fully equipped proscenium space that acts as a local touring house, also brining in its own season ticketed shows. ETC Express with 96+ dimmers, no movers or LEDS, but has 4 scrollers in house.

Cameo Theatre- Bristol, VA- a shabby movie theatre/ vaudeville house that was run by a christian radio station. It currently is in need of MAJOR repairs as the basement floods because its part of a creek bed. The building is currently for sale. no lighting or sound installed in building 

Kingsprt Theatre Guild at the Renaissance Center- Kingsport, TN- this is a 200 to 300 seat theatre with out of date 2 pin patch panel with analogue light board and out of code rigging that attempts to put on shows. I attempted to design one show with them 3 years ago, the budget $0, my pay $0, the show Little Shop of Horrors. Needless to say I never went back after the initial meeting. 

Toy F. Reid Employee Center- Owned by Eastman Chemical Co- Kingsport, TN- i have never been in this space, heard it is massive and awesome. unknown lighting and sound 

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   Wellmont Theatre at Northeast State Community College- I took a tour of this building just before it opened, other then not having movers or LEDS it was pretty decent. For a theatre built in the last 5 years I would expect something other than an ETC Express at the lighting helm.

   
   

   Milligan College Theatre- Milligan College is a Christian College with a 4 year old amazing theatre, scene shop located off the stage deck, plenty of fly space, and awesome lighting. No movers. It also has a ETC Express for a light board, but because the theatre is used for worship services, lectures, shows, and more it is attached to a server that can hold multiple shows at the same time. Kinda cool, but why use the Express?

   
   

   Johnson City Community Theatre- a 100 year old community theatre that has been continuously producing shows for 60 years in the same space. This is a converted church located in a interesting part of town. The board of directors has been making improvements over the last 2 years. First, there is a newer sound system in place, new sound board, new computer and new wiring. The 170 seat thrust stage is unique that its a wood deck in need of repairs and a good homisote (forgive my spelling on this one) and masonite revamp. There is a TV monitor system to watch the shows downstairs in the dressing room, scene shop, storage, ext areas. They are fundraising for a new lighting system, a ETC Element with LED fixtures to supplement their current 3 dimmer packs on 3 pin multiplex , if all dimmers were working they would have 24, then have 18 with a Leprechaun 624 15' ceiling heights 

   
   

   Blue Moon Dinner Theatre- Johnson City, TN- its amazing what 2 to 3 blocks can do because Blue Moon is located in the heart of Downtown JC. This used to be a dinner theatre, then a gay bar, then another theatre, and now is Blue moon. They constantly have a show running. No idea the lighting or sound system. no fly space though. 

   
   

   Bud Frank Theatre at ETSU- this 250 seat proscenium space is nice. no fly space, 2 48 ETC tour racks, backstage, a Express 48/96, new sound system, LEDs in inventory. 

   
   

   VA Memorial Theatre- Mountain Home, TN- this 112 year old theatre needs help, ETSU was renting it from the VA until 2 years ago when a store came thru and destroyed the dressing rooms and the room, flooding part of the building. ETSU had provided the lighting and sound for the building and when they stopped the lease they stripped the building down to nothing and took it to the Bud Frank (thus why there are 2 tour racks there). This theatre has a hemp rigging system that maybe 1/2 of them work. 

   
   

   Niscwonger Performing Arts Center- I have never been in this space, its large and constantly in use, larger tours come in and out all the time.

   
   

   
   

   So those are the theatre's of the area. What would you decide on? I was pulling for The Bud Frank, because their schedule seemed to work best for the week we needed for tech and load in/out. We ended up getting Johnson City Community.  I may not be ecstatic about it, but it works. I wish that their new lighting system would be installed as I find their current light board a pain to work with, there are also major dark spots on the stage because of the lack of fixtures and dimmers. But Mark your calendars, March 21, 22, and 23 there will be a show.

   
   

   
   

   
   

   
   

Welcome

Welcome to the first post of my new blog. I'm a senior theatre design major with a focus on Scenic, Lighting, and Sound. Last semester I was the lighting and Tech director for Shrek the Musical and Scenic and Sound designer for Other Desert Cities. I'm currently the on call TD for Jonesburough Repertory Theatre, basically anytime they need tech questions or a last minute designer or help with something I come in and do what I can.  Over spring break this semester I will be lighting designer for Spring Awakening with Glasgow Theatre Company. This past week has been a busy week on the phone with the JRT and with a friend in Florida who just bought the same board that JRT had purchased over the summer.

I think its a beautiful board called the Behringer x32. A completely digital board with automated sliders.  The x32 has the ability to take in 32 inputs and output a lot more than that.  At the JRT I have it set to take 14 wireless mics, 2 keyboards, guitar, and a bass. The Outs are set as L and R mains and mono stage monitors hung inside the upstage side of the proscenium. With a full band on stage I have 3 more monitors on stage digitally patched to take the same feed as the stage monitors.  The awesome thing about this board is that with it entirely digital setting up each of these is a a 5 minute job. Just plug and patch and play.

The x32 has a lot of interesting features that makes it much more user friendly.  There is an iPhone, iPad, and iPod app. This app actually runs the bus sends which is how I set up my monitors and what I have spent the majority of my time working with this week.  With a bass, guitar, and 2 keyboards sent to bus send 1, its a routing or patch to whatever output I need it to be at be that a 1/4 inch cable or a XLR cable.

The x32 also has many effects built into the board.  It has a massive processor built in that you can patch into each individual channel or on a bus send and route each channel to send to that bus send.  During Shrek and USO I had 3 different processors running at one time on separate bus sends. The board also has the ability to record directly from the board, so you can save a version of your mix to use later or record a cue to hold for use in a show later. It can play each one back but I wasn't a fan of the interface to do that. Instead I use MultiPlay software.

The best and easiest feature that I found wad the cue system Behringer has created. The ability to save levels and patching and mutes and even labels on each fader, the board can hold 100 cues, but you can save more on a flash drive and load a new show on the flash drive. You can also run the board from a computer mess with levels and save all from the computer. This is one of my favorite boards to use. However the only big complaint that I have is that I wish it was available in a full size instead of the compact version were only 16 of the 32 channels can be seen at a time.

-photo credit from the Behringer website-