Standard disclaimer: these are just some notes that I accumulated over the course of the last few months, when I was too "busy" to document them here.
Friday April 27 - the Friday Night Performance
I remember waking up that morning feeling strange. I had already arranged to take the day off from work...but I didn't have to rush to school. Without rehearsal, I literally didn't need to get there until sometime late in the afternoon. I had time to do whatever I wanted to do! It was a weird feeling. So I did exactly what everyone else would do in this situation: I jumped on Google to see if I could somehow figure out another way to place the microphones to the performers.
And as is true with most trips to Google-land...somebody else had the solution and had posted it. There were really a couple of solutions, however buying new mini headsets wasn't really an option, so I moved on. The best solution appeared to be attaching the microphone to the actor's cheek, running the wire up and over their ear, and then down the back. If attached to their right cheek, the trick was to have the actor cock their head as far to the left as possible and that would be the maximum amount of slack wire that needed to appear above their collar. Attaching the cable was where there was a little division. One solution appeared to be the use of clear latex, which could be painted on and literally molded the wire to the skin. Covered with makeup, this would make it virtually invisible. The downside was the time needed to put it on. It took about 20 minutes or so for the latex to set up and there would need to be at least two coats, plus time for drying before makeup. We had a couple of actors who had to share mics, so they would have to have their mics set during the show. So latex didn't seem like a viable option. I then happened on to a site that recommended the use of a medical adhesive tape, the kind used to tape ankles and splints to fingers. It was waterproof, so sweating it off wasn't a problem. It would take make up so it could be made more "invisible" (it was clear to begin with). This was the solution. I ran over to Walgreens and picked up a couple of rolls [note to self: need to get the exact name, for posterity]. It was cheap and readily available...a perfect combination.
I zipped over to the School and actually ran into Erica in the hallway. We sat down and talked about things...it was nice. With one performance under our belt and the fact that it went pretty well, we both could have a civil conversation about tweaks...and smile and laugh. I talked through my idea about the mics and she did express concern but was willing to see. I could tell she wasn't sold. I also set out to put up 2 additional choir mics and wrapped up Brandon's rogue transmitter. I was pretty convinced his problems were from a bad connection between the mic and the transmitter. So I wrapped it up in tape and hoped for the best. Testing it demonstrated a marked improvement, so I was satisfied with these two improvements. On to taping the mics....
I remember when we first moved the mics up into the hair during Joseph. The sound was better and the range of movement was unbelievable. In testing the taped on mics, I got that same revolutionary feeling and then some. The sound was actually better than I had ever heard from these mics. No more worrying about hats. And from back where I was standing, it
didn't look that bad. But there were two very doubtful directors, Sharon and Erica. And neither was sold. Up close (like a couple of feet) it did look goofy. Unfortunately, the School was "blessed" with lav mics that were black, so the actual mic was a little black piece of licorice on the side of the cheek. Then a black wire snaked up the side of the face, covered with milky white tape. They were completely distressed that the look would not be desireable and wanted a compromise: Instead of down on the cheek, couldn't we keep the mic up closer to the ear? I tested it and while it worked, it didn't sound as good. (I was hyper-critical of the sound today...) The two test subjects, Kaylee, who played the lead, Marion and Brian, playing another major part, Marcellus were both fighting miserable head colds and both sounded all nasally with the mic up high...but down low it sounded pretty darn good. The other guys who tested it sounded absolutely fantastic. But we were at an em passe. Then an unlikely mediator stepped in...and closed the deal.
Steven was in the auditorium sprucing things up. Apparently, a parent had complained to the powers that be that the general appearance of the School were less than desirable. There were lights out in the theater. Trash in the aisles. The bathrooms were merely "clean" but hardly shiny. So he got his rear-end chewed, so he and his crew were working like bees to get the place straightened up. He was replacing bulbs in the ceiling of the theater using his crazy 30 foot pole that had a suction cup on the end. Better him than me.... These bulbs had been out for months...I even had a count of them from last summer. But today, he decided that they needed replacing. And I'm glad he was there. Steven is many things, but he ain't no dummy. He could instantly hear the difference in the sound and just got up and told Erica & Sharon that they were going to be where I had originally placed them. They were so busy that they hadn't been present for the sound tests, they were just vetoing them based upon how they looked up close. I was so broken that I actually would've taped them to their backs if that's what Erica & Sharon wanted, so I was glad that I had some "reinforcements". So we taped everybody up and had a bunch of spare tape in case somebody's came undone. Erica helped out and had no animosity about the stuff...she just wanted a good show. This stuff was so water/sweat proof that most kids had red marks on their faces when we pulled the tape off at 10PM that night! It was a success.
Another issue that remained for the performance was Seth's cueing of the actors...and all I could do there was to coach him and suggest that he really pay attention. Plus Kelly stepped up and helped him out. There weren't many people around that knew that play as well as Kelly so it was a perfect fit...and it really made her feel needed. We also had a lot of help from Steven in the booth that night which was a great blessing. He showed Seth some tricks and that was great.
We also decided that we would slowly unmute each of the salesmen's mics, one at a time, while the overture was playing. We told the guys that they would have live mics and to keep it down. This prevented the initial opening sound problem.
For as much a problem as the mics were the first night, that's how much better things were the second. We still had a little mix problem on the quartet, but between Seth, Kelly and Steven they balanced it out as good as it could. Seth missed a couple of unmute cues, but was much more on the ball. Our major problem was that the clav (electric piano) kept cutting out. Our poor old clav had been moved more in the last couple of weeks than it probably should've been moved in it's life. It had taken at least one complete topple in the last few days and was generally regarded as being on it's last leg. So naturally, during the performance it's output stopped working and could only be heard through it's own on-board speaker....and it was tough for it to compete with the live horns and the synthesizer being pumped through the mains. But we made due and the person most offended by the situation was the clav player herself...the principal of the School. Maybe now she'll scrounge up some budget money to buy a new one....
The second performance was really a smooth one and the stage crew was now working with such efficiency that they were no longer the delay. It was now taking so much time to get 75 plus kids through our tiny backstage onto our tiny stage. But that's what I had always hoped for and all the stagecrew shined brightly on their 2nd to the last night. And on the microphones? I actually had a couple of people ask me where we got those headset mics...like you see on TV or on Broadway. They were totally blown away when I described our MacGiver like set up. My thought always was that everyone knew that the actors were mic'd....it was no big deal. And I truly believe that's how it ended up.
Friday April 27 - the Friday Night Performance
I remember waking up that morning feeling strange. I had already arranged to take the day off from work...but I didn't have to rush to school. Without rehearsal, I literally didn't need to get there until sometime late in the afternoon. I had time to do whatever I wanted to do! It was a weird feeling. So I did exactly what everyone else would do in this situation: I jumped on Google to see if I could somehow figure out another way to place the microphones to the performers.
And as is true with most trips to Google-land...somebody else had the solution and had posted it. There were really a couple of solutions, however buying new mini headsets wasn't really an option, so I moved on. The best solution appeared to be attaching the microphone to the actor's cheek, running the wire up and over their ear, and then down the back. If attached to their right cheek, the trick was to have the actor cock their head as far to the left as possible and that would be the maximum amount of slack wire that needed to appear above their collar. Attaching the cable was where there was a little division. One solution appeared to be the use of clear latex, which could be painted on and literally molded the wire to the skin. Covered with makeup, this would make it virtually invisible. The downside was the time needed to put it on. It took about 20 minutes or so for the latex to set up and there would need to be at least two coats, plus time for drying before makeup. We had a couple of actors who had to share mics, so they would have to have their mics set during the show. So latex didn't seem like a viable option. I then happened on to a site that recommended the use of a medical adhesive tape, the kind used to tape ankles and splints to fingers. It was waterproof, so sweating it off wasn't a problem. It would take make up so it could be made more "invisible" (it was clear to begin with). This was the solution. I ran over to Walgreens and picked up a couple of rolls [note to self: need to get the exact name, for posterity]. It was cheap and readily available...a perfect combination.
I zipped over to the School and actually ran into Erica in the hallway. We sat down and talked about things...it was nice. With one performance under our belt and the fact that it went pretty well, we both could have a civil conversation about tweaks...and smile and laugh. I talked through my idea about the mics and she did express concern but was willing to see. I could tell she wasn't sold. I also set out to put up 2 additional choir mics and wrapped up Brandon's rogue transmitter. I was pretty convinced his problems were from a bad connection between the mic and the transmitter. So I wrapped it up in tape and hoped for the best. Testing it demonstrated a marked improvement, so I was satisfied with these two improvements. On to taping the mics....
I remember when we first moved the mics up into the hair during Joseph. The sound was better and the range of movement was unbelievable. In testing the taped on mics, I got that same revolutionary feeling and then some. The sound was actually better than I had ever heard from these mics. No more worrying about hats. And from back where I was standing, it
didn't look that bad. But there were two very doubtful directors, Sharon and Erica. And neither was sold. Up close (like a couple of feet) it did look goofy. Unfortunately, the School was "blessed" with lav mics that were black, so the actual mic was a little black piece of licorice on the side of the cheek. Then a black wire snaked up the side of the face, covered with milky white tape. They were completely distressed that the look would not be desireable and wanted a compromise: Instead of down on the cheek, couldn't we keep the mic up closer to the ear? I tested it and while it worked, it didn't sound as good. (I was hyper-critical of the sound today...) The two test subjects, Kaylee, who played the lead, Marion and Brian, playing another major part, Marcellus were both fighting miserable head colds and both sounded all nasally with the mic up high...but down low it sounded pretty darn good. The other guys who tested it sounded absolutely fantastic. But we were at an em passe. Then an unlikely mediator stepped in...and closed the deal.Steven was in the auditorium sprucing things up. Apparently, a parent had complained to the powers that be that the general appearance of the School were less than desirable. There were lights out in the theater. Trash in the aisles. The bathrooms were merely "clean" but hardly shiny. So he got his rear-end chewed, so he and his crew were working like bees to get the place straightened up. He was replacing bulbs in the ceiling of the theater using his crazy 30 foot pole that had a suction cup on the end. Better him than me.... These bulbs had been out for months...I even had a count of them from last summer. But today, he decided that they needed replacing. And I'm glad he was there. Steven is many things, but he ain't no dummy. He could instantly hear the difference in the sound and just got up and told Erica & Sharon that they were going to be where I had originally placed them. They were so busy that they hadn't been present for the sound tests, they were just vetoing them based upon how they looked up close. I was so broken that I actually would've taped them to their backs if that's what Erica & Sharon wanted, so I was glad that I had some "reinforcements". So we taped everybody up and had a bunch of spare tape in case somebody's came undone. Erica helped out and had no animosity about the stuff...she just wanted a good show. This stuff was so water/sweat proof that most kids had red marks on their faces when we pulled the tape off at 10PM that night! It was a success.
Another issue that remained for the performance was Seth's cueing of the actors...and all I could do there was to coach him and suggest that he really pay attention. Plus Kelly stepped up and helped him out. There weren't many people around that knew that play as well as Kelly so it was a perfect fit...and it really made her feel needed. We also had a lot of help from Steven in the booth that night which was a great blessing. He showed Seth some tricks and that was great.
We also decided that we would slowly unmute each of the salesmen's mics, one at a time, while the overture was playing. We told the guys that they would have live mics and to keep it down. This prevented the initial opening sound problem.
For as much a problem as the mics were the first night, that's how much better things were the second. We still had a little mix problem on the quartet, but between Seth, Kelly and Steven they balanced it out as good as it could. Seth missed a couple of unmute cues, but was much more on the ball. Our major problem was that the clav (electric piano) kept cutting out. Our poor old clav had been moved more in the last couple of weeks than it probably should've been moved in it's life. It had taken at least one complete topple in the last few days and was generally regarded as being on it's last leg. So naturally, during the performance it's output stopped working and could only be heard through it's own on-board speaker....and it was tough for it to compete with the live horns and the synthesizer being pumped through the mains. But we made due and the person most offended by the situation was the clav player herself...the principal of the School. Maybe now she'll scrounge up some budget money to buy a new one....
The second performance was really a smooth one and the stage crew was now working with such efficiency that they were no longer the delay. It was now taking so much time to get 75 plus kids through our tiny backstage onto our tiny stage. But that's what I had always hoped for and all the stagecrew shined brightly on their 2nd to the last night. And on the microphones? I actually had a couple of people ask me where we got those headset mics...like you see on TV or on Broadway. They were totally blown away when I described our MacGiver like set up. My thought always was that everyone knew that the actors were mic'd....it was no big deal. And I truly believe that's how it ended up.