Theatrical Sound Design and Production. Contents

Transcription

1 Theatrical Sound Design and Production Sound and music in a play can help set the mood, focus the attention of the audience, describe the location, and be part of the action. Ideas for sound design come from the script, talking to the director, watching rehearsals and your imagination. When a sound is played in a show is determined by stage directions in the script, artistic choices of the sound designer and the director, and practical choices of the stage manager. The actual sounds and music come from the TWS collection, personal collections, internet sites and online stores. Most sounds and music will be edited for length, volume or special effects (e.g. echo). Edited sounds are collected into computer audio files. The audio files are linked to the theatre s sound system by a computer program. During a show, the sound operator uses the computer program to play the audio files in their predetermined order through the speakers in the auditorium. Contents 1 The Role of Sound in a Show 2 Sound Design for a Play 3 Acquiring Sounds and Music 4 Editing Sound 5 Structuring Sounds into a Sequence of Cues 6 Building the Show in a Computer Application (QLab) 7 Operating the Sound System and Running a Show 7.1 Mainstage 7.2 Cattell 8 Contacts 9 References 7.3 Running a Show 7.4 Auxiliary Equipment 8.1 Sound Annual Chair 8.2 Sound Technician 8.3 Technical Director 8.4 Technical Assistant 9.1 freesound.org 9.2 You Tube 9.3 Ben Fallon s qlab Demos 9.4 itunes

2 The Role of Sound in a Show Sound and music in a play can help set the mood, focus the attention of the audience, describe the location, and be part of the action. I recall waiting for a rehearsal of a tragic to begin. The actors were in the house chatting and joking around. The sound designer began to play some very somber music he was planning to use in the show. In a few minutes the mood of the cast had completely changed and we were all sitting in silence. Music is often played between scenes of a play while the props crew changes set pieces, the actors change costumes, and the time of the play jumps ahead. Using fast tempo music can make the transition seem shorter and help keep the audience s attention on the stage. Sound can be a nice way to set the stage for a scene. In one play a brief scene takes place in a bar. While the lights were down, props brought on two bar stools and a high table. In the dark we played the background chatter and noise of a bar. Before the lights came up, the audience was picturing a busy crowded bar in their minds and our sparse set was sufficient for playing the scene. Doorbells, telephone rings, and gun shots can change the direction of a play. At the end of Henry Miller s All My Sons a depressed and guilt ridden Joe walks off stage. A moment later we heard a gunshot that really hits us in the gut. Sound Design for a Play To design sound for a show you need to read the script and note what sound effects and music are written in as stage directions. For an example, I ll use the play, Leading Ladies. The script indicates a number places where a telephone rings, a doorbell rings, or a gunshot is heard. A script may indicate when and where the play takes place. Leading Ladies is set in the 1950s in York, Pennsylvania. The play is a romantic comedy, so, much of the music in the show was love ballads and dance music from the 1950s. Talk to the director and find out what particular sound effects and music he may want. One scene in Leading Ladies takes place on a moving train. The director wanted the sound of a train horn from a second train passing the first. The director liked jazz, so, much of the dance music was Big Band music instead of Rock and Roll. Both types of music were popular in the 1950s. The sound design for a show has a structure. Typically, there is: Walk-in music, which is played before the play begins as the audience enters the auditorium (about 30 minutes long). the sound effects and music in the first act. Transition music between the scenes in the first act. Music played during intermission (about 15 minutes long). the sound effects and music in the second act.

3 Transition music between the scenes in the second act. Curtain call music. Walk-out music, which is played after the play ends as the audience leaves the auditorium (about 15 minutes long). Acquiring Sounds and Music TWS has a large collection of music and sound effects on CDs. These CDs are stored in the Cattell booth and are shown below. The green metal filing boxes contains sound effects CDs You may also want to use music from your personnel collection of CDs or stored on our smart phone, ipod, tablet or personal computer. Music and sounds can also be downloaded from the internet, purchased online or recorded live.

4 Regardless on the source, the music and sound effects end up as audio files on the sound computer. There are two basic routes for getting sound onto the computer: 1. Music stored on your smart phone, ipod, tablet or PC is in audio files. You would download these files onto a flash drive. Then take the flash drive to the theatre and transfer the files onto the sound computer. (Please note, the port for flash drives is on the underside of the keyboard of the sound computer.) 2. You can bring your device or CD to the theatre and play music through the mixer. There is a CD player at the theatre. Software on the sound computer named Audacity can record the music into audio files. For live recording a microphone is plugged into the mixer. Below is a picture of the mixer in the mainstage booth. At the bottom of the picture are 2 blue sliders labeled ipod CD with white tape. These are used to control the volume of the music played from an ipod or a CD. The ipod or CD player plugs into the back of the mixer. Mixer in TWS Mainstage Booth

5 There is more information on the mixer in section 7 Operating the Sound System and Running a Show. Editing Sound The sound effects and music that have been acquired for the show and stored on the sound computer will probably need some editing. Typically, they will be edited for length, volume or special effects (e.g. echo). Audacity is the software that is used for sound editing. Below is a screenshot showing an audio file that has been opened with Audacity. The file is a sound effect named Rhythm of the Rails Tail. It is the sound of the clickity clank of a railroad train. The sound was originally recorded at a low volume level. For our shows we want all your audio files to have high levels. (This makes it easier to adjust the final sound levels in the auditorium.) In the next screenshot you can see how the volume has been maximized.

6 This sound clip is about 13 seconds long. Let s say we want the clip to play for about 7 seconds and then to fade out to silence in about 2 seconds. In the next screenshot the clip has been edited down to about 9 seconds. The last screenshot shows the final edit of the audio file with a 2-second fade out.

7 Other possible sound effects include echo, reverb and distortion. As well, the high pitched or low pitched parts of the sound can be accentuated or attenuated. Sounds can also be layered. We could layer the sound of crowd noise over the clickity clank of a train.

8 Structuring Sounds into a Sequence of Cues The actors could just walk out on stage say their lines and act out the play. However, the use of the many technical elements in a play require coordination between the actors and the tech crews. That coordination is laid out in a cue sheet and directed by the stage manager during the show. Sound is one of those technical elements. When a sound is played in a show is determined by stage directions in the script, artistic choices of the sound designer and the director, and practical choices of the stage manager. There is a meeting about two weeks before opening night the purpose of which is to create a cue sheet. The principals for this meeting are the director, the stage manager, the lighting designer, and the sound designer. Costumes and props might have an interest in the meeting, but attend only infrequently. Going into this meeting the sound designer should have his sound design laid out in detail. On paper, the design would list each piece of music and each sound effect. They would be named specifically and where they occur in the script would be noted. Of course, the sound designer should consult the director before the cue meeting to get his input on music, sound effects, and their timing. Cues for any show begin before the curtain goes up, but the group starts at the beginning of the script and identifies, in order, all the events which trigger something in tech. These triggers are primarily lines in dialogue, but they also include events like exits, pratfalls or gestures. These triggers are cues; they are numbered and assembled in a single document called a cue sheet (see the sample cue sheet on the next page.) Cue 9 in the sample cue sheet is executed when the character, Sophie, says, and you can t put a price tag on that. What happens when Cue 9 is executed, is that the Curtain Call Music fades in. The intent of the cue meeting is to create a complete cue sheet. However, over the next week, the cues are revised and elaborated as omissions and mistakes are discovered. The cue sheet is an abstraction; the director and designers need to see and hear the technical elements as an integral part of the play. This begins with a rehearsal called Dry Tech, a cue-to-cue rehearsal (i.e., all cues on the cue sheet are executed in order) that excludes actors in favor of discovering if the tech functions as anticipated. Dry Tech and the following rehearsals is a prime time for the sound designer to train his crew. The first tweaking of tech occurs here. Dry Tech is followed by a Wet Tech rehearsal at which, for the first time, the sound and light cues will be executed while the actors run through the play. This is often a long rehearsal and although the intent is to run through the whole play there usually is a lot of stop-and-go. The cue sheet, and its subsequent revisions, is distributed to at least the director, lighting and sound designers, and the assistant stage managers. If costumes and/or props have specific cues they, too, need copies. This is to facilitate identifying cues by number instead of a verbal description, which can be ambiguous. Once created, the cue sheet is mostly a communications tool.

9 Sample Cue Sheet Directors' Workshop April, 2016 Cue Sheet version 5 Cue Number 0 L&S 1 L&S 2 L&S 3 Who What When Page Number power up, check sound and light cues House lights & warmers up Walk-in music Fade out Walk-in, House lights to half/ follow to announcer light cue deleted Sound Notes 60 minutes to top of show place, test & mute mic, House opening 30 minutes to top of show/ Ed's cue SM call Jazz and Classical 4 L&S Lights to blackout Fade in Top of Show Music Announcer starts off Cello Play 1 Trafficked 5 L Area up for partial light, Actors on Tina behind flat 6 S 7 L 8 L 8.5 L Fade out Top of Show Music/ lights to full Lights transition to blue Lights transition from blue to amber Lights transition from amber to blue CLARE, ABBIE, SOPHIE: "My Life" ABBIE: " work on the streets for him." ABBIE: " my mother pushed me on to the back seat" ABBIE: "I knew immediately L 9 L & S Lights transition from blue to amber Lights quick fade to black/ fade in curtain call music "auto continue" to intermission music SOPHIE: " Erion, let me tell her when I think the moment is right." 22 SOPHIE: " you can't put a price tag on that." + 1 sec 26 Fargo part 3 will play out follow by intermission music Jazz and pop upbeat

10 Building the Show in a Computer Application (QLab) The computer program, QLab, serves as the interface between the sound files and the sound equipment (e.g. amplifiers and speakers) that reproduce the sounds in the auditorium. In QLab you will build a virtual cue sheet containing only the sound cues. As you click through the list of cues in QLab, the sounds will play in the auditorium. The most commonly used cues in QLab are: Audio Fade Group These cues are used along with are a few common parameters including: The volume level at which a sound is played, The length of time over which a sound fades in or out, A wait time can be added before or after a cue is executed, an auto-continue that directs the next cue to be executed simultaneously with current cue and an auto-follow directs the next cue to be executed immediately after with current cue finishes executing. Most of the cue list of a show is built with these few cues and parameters. The screenshot on the next page shows a QLab cue list. The cue list is for the play Trafficked, which was part of a Directors Workshop that was staged in April, This cue list is a translation of the cue sheet from the preceding page. (Note that the cue list only contains sound cues). For this play we played: Walk-in Music, Top of Show Music, Curtain Call Music and Intermission Music. There were no sound effects in the play. On the right in the screenshot is a folder labeled DW Apr In this folder were collected the audio files that were played during the show. The Walk-in Music is in the subfolder, labeled Walk-in. Cue 1 plays the Walk-in music. Cue 1 was created by selecting a Group cue, which is denoted by square icon in the first column. The purple box encloses all the cues within the group, which in this case are Audio cues. The Audio cues were added to the Group by opening the Walk-in subfolder and dragging the audio files into QLab. You can see the audio filenames in the Group (e.g. Arizona Skies.wav, 10 Bouree.wav, etc.).

11 Sample QLab screen in show mode

12 The Audio cues are denoted by the loudspeaker icon in the first column. When Cue 1 is executed the audio files in the group are played in sequence using auto-follows. An auto-follow is denoted by the circle with downward pointing arrow and is seen in the far right column for each sound cue in the group. Cue 2 fades out the Walk-in music. Fade cues are denoted by the faders icon. Fader cues have targets, which designate the audio file to fade. You can see the target for cue 2 is cue 1, which is the group containing all of the Walk-in music. (The targets are shown in the fourth column.) Cue 4 starts the Top of Show music and has two parts, an Audio cue and a Fade cue. Note the downward pointing arrow in the far right column for cue 4. This is an autocontinue and causes the two parts of cue 4 to be executed at the same time. When executed Cue 4 will start the Top Show music and fade in its volume from silence to listening level in one second. The sixth column on the cue list is labeled Action. This is the playing time of a piece of music or the time to fade in or out a piece of music. A wait can be added before or after a cue. Its time is shown in column 5 or 7. The screenshot on the next page shows the cue list in a different format. The list is in the edit mode. All the different types of cues are shown on the left. A cue can be added to the list by dragging one of the cue icons on the left into the list. The device and levels tab has been opened at the bottom of the list and the audio file Arizona Skies.wav is highlighted in the cue list. You can see the sound levels for ArizonaSkies.wav have been set to -16 for channels 1 and 2. There is a lot of information that can be gleaned by looking at the levels. First of all, -16 refers to -16 decibels. This is a relative term for the loudness (or volume level) at which the music will be played. At zero decibels, QLab would pass on Arizona Skies to the sound system at the level the music was recorded. By trial and error, we know -16 is a good level at which to listen to music in the auditorium. -16 to -25 are good listening levels. -26 to -35 are quiet. Below -35 sounds become inaudible. +10 to zero is offensively loud. -1 to -15 is loud. Secondly, there is a master and channels 1 through 8. Channels 1 through 8 direct the sound to speakers 1 through 8 in the auditorium. The mainstage auditorium has 8 speakers permanently mounted. The Cattell auditorium has 4 speakers and for this play we were using 2 speakers, the front left and right. With the master you can change all the channel levels at once. So, if you had the levels set to where you had a nicely balanced sound but you want to raise the general level throughout the auditorium, then you could use the master.

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14 Thirdly, there is a pulldown menu for Audio Output Patch. The first choice is AudioFire12 (1448). AudioFire12 is a piece of hardware know as an audio interface. The sound computer sends a digital signal to this interface and the interface converts it to an analogue signal. The analogue signal leaves the interface and goes into the amplifiers, which boosts the signal and sends it to the speakers. Long story short, if you don t have AudioFire12 checked in the menu, no sound will come out of the speakers. The second option, Built-in Output will the allow the sound to be played only in the booth. The screenshot on the next page shows the Time & Loops tab in QLab. Again, the audio file Arizona Skies.wav is highlighted in the cue list. In this tab we see the playing time is 2: (minutes: seconds. thousandths of seconds). To the right we see the wave form. The duration of the sound is represented by the horizontal length and volume of the sound is represented vertical height. Some editing of the audio file can be done here that won t affect the original file. The vertical yellow line on the left indicates the file will stop play at that point. In this case, a few seconds of silence has been cut off from the end of the file. To the left we see play count set to 1. This means the cue will play the audio file once. An audio file containing back ground noise maybe play multiple times, if the noise is to heard throughout a long scene (say 5 minutes) but the audio is short (say 45 seconds). In this case, the play count would be set to 7.

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16 Operating the Sound System and Running a Show Mainstage Setup and Turning on the Sound System The sound system is operated from the booth. For the mainstage the booth is located in the back of the auditorium and is accessed through the lobby. As you enter the booth the sound station is on the right. (See the photo below.) In front of the sound operator s chair is a keyboard, mouse and monitor. The sound computer is the small silver box next to the keyboard. On top of the computer is a small black CD/DVD player. To the right of the computer is the mixer (or soundboard). Beyond the mixer is a stack of components known as the audio rack. Sound Operator s Station in Mainstage booth

17 The mainstage uses 4 boundary microphones (see the photo on the next page) at the foot of the stage. There are outlets for the microphones on the 2-foot high wall at the edge of the stage, right in front of the first row seats. Plug in the microphones before turning on the sound system. Boundary Microphone

18 The boundary microphones are stored in a white bin under the counter to the left of the sound operator s station. See the picture below. Storage for microphones in Mainstage booth

19 After the boundary mics are plugged in, turn on the sound system by switching on following components in the following sequence: 1. The sound computer. (The switch is located on the back right corner of the computer.), 2. Mixer (the button is on the back of the board, in line with channel 11 and next the power cord.), Back of mixer, note on/off button in the lower right next to the Mains (power) Input.

20 3. Audio rack (single switch on the power strip under the rack) The power strip is attached to one of the legs of the platform on which the rack sits.

21 4. Main power amps (switch under the patch panel, to left of the sound station, opposite the door.) The amps themselves are located in the room behind the stage. Patch panel mainstage booth The sound system is turned off by repeating the procedure in reverse order.

22 With the system on, logon (the password is Mozart4384) to the sound computer and open up the show in QLab. (The current show will be on the computer desktop. Click on it.) The table below lists the pieces of equipment in the audio rack. If you are using a piece of equipment that is rarely used (e.g. the Effects Processor), you may have to turn on the power switch on the piece of equipment itself. Leave it switched on for the run of the show. Mainstage Audio Rack Equipment piece top to bottom Brand Name When in use Digital Analog interface AudioFire12 Always Effects Processor M350 T.C. Electronics Rarely 2-Channel Equalizer Ultragraph Always Wireless Microphone Receiver Shure Occasionally Wireless Microphone Receiver Shure Occasionally Power Amplifier for Hearing Loop Crown D-45 Always Signal Processor for Hearing Loop Ampetronic Always CD Player Philips Rarely

23 Cattell Setup and Turning on the Sound System The sound system is operated from the booth. For the Cattell auditorium the booth is located in the front of the auditorium and is accessed through the Children s Theatre office. Take the stairs up from the Cattell lobby. The door to the booth is straight across from the top of the stairs. Once you enter the booth, the sound station is the station furthest from the door. (See the photo below.) In front of the sound operator s chair is a keyboard, mouse, computer and monitor. The second monitor to the left is for a video feed. (Since the booth is in the front of the auditorium, the booth s windows are blacked out and kept shut during a show. The video feed shows the action on stage.) The sound computer is the small silver box next to the keyboard. On top of the computer is a small black CD/DVD player. To the right of the computer is the mixer (or soundboard). Beyond the mixer to right is a stack of components known as the audio rack (see photo on next page). The Sound Operator s Station in Cattell Booth

24 The Audio Rack in Cattell Booth

25 Turn on the sound system by switching on following components in the following sequence: 1. The sound computer. (The switch is located on the back right corner of the computer.), 2. Audio rack. There is a switch box at the top of the audio rack with 8 red switches in a row. Turn on all these switches in sequence 1 through 8. (This will in turn switch on all the other components: mixer, power amp, etc.) 3. Turn on the monitor for the video feed. (the switch in on the lower right in the back) The system is turned off by repeating the procedure in reverse order. With the system on, logon (Password is Mozart4384) to the computer and open up the show in QLab. (The current show will be on the computer desktop. Click on it.) The table below lists the pieces of equipment in the audio rack. If you are using a piece of equipment that is rarely used (e.g. the CD player), you may have to turn on the power switch on the piece of equipment itself. Leave it switched on for the run of the show. Cattell Audio Rack Equipment piece top to bottom Brand Name When in use 8-Switch ON/OFF Power Center (No name) Always Power Amplifier Carvin Always 2-Channel Equalizer Ultragraph Always Digital Analog Interface AudioFire12 Always CD Player Denon Rarely Wireless Microphone Receiver Shure Occasionally

26 Running a Show The sound designer recruits, trains and schedules a crew. During the run of the show the crew must dress in all black. Turn on the sound system is described in the previous sections. Open the windows in front of the sound station and run through the cues in the show to make sure they can be heard in the auditorium. Click once on a cue in the cue list to arm the cue (see Sample QLab screen in show mode). Click on the square marked GO in QLab to execute a que. Press the escape key on the computer keyboard to stop all cues. While checking the sound cues there is no need to play all the way through every piece of music. Stop the music playing with the escape key when you are satisfied that the music is playing correctly. Click on every individual cue. When you are satisfied the cues are executing correctly, arm cue 1. Single click on cue 1 to arm it. Cue 1 will now execute when you click on the square marked GO. You are ready to run the show. Put on your headphone and tell the stage manager that sound is ready to go. In the mainstage, the headphones are stored on a hook under the counter at the sound operator s station. In Cattell, the headphones are stored in the bottom of the audio rack. The stage manager will be calling the show. This is the process of telling the tech crew (i.e. lighting and sound operators) when to execute each cue. For each cue, the tech crew needs both a warning and a telling. Further, the stage manager needs to keep track of the context of each cue within the script to minimize problems if a cue fails or if actors drop lines. Instead of using a cue sheet, all the warnings and cues are transcribed onto a clean copy of the script. This is known as a cue script. At about one half hour before curtain (i.e. the time at which the play is scheduled to start) the stage manager will tell lights and sound to go into cue 1. She might say, ready on cue 1, then pause a while and the say, cue 1 go. When she says, go, you click the square marked GO and cue 1 will execute. Cue 1 typically starts the walk-in music which will play for about 30 minutes. This is the basic sequence for running the show. After you executed cue 1 the next cue in sequence will automatically be armed by QLab. The stage manager will say something like Warning on cue 2. wait for the exact right time and then say Cue 2 go. Not all cues will be for sound. In the example of the play Trafficked, the sound cues were numbers: 1, 2, 4, 6 and 9 (see Sample QLab screen in show mode). The sound cues may have to be executed in quick succession or you may have to wait for a long time before executing a cue. For the play Trafficked, cues 2, 4 and 6 are executed in the first few minutes of the play, while cue 9 isn t executed until the end of the play. The last sound cues of a play are typically for curtain call music and then walk-out music. After the last show there is strike. At strike, put away any auxiliary sound equipment used in the show and archive audio files on the sound computer. Take the show s QLab cue list off the sound computer s desktop and archive it.

27 Auxiliary Equipment For the simplest shows, music and sound effects come from computer audio files and are played through the permanently mounted speakers in the auditorium. However, music and sound can be enhanced through the use of: live microphones, electronic musical instruments, remote speakers, prerecorded dialogue, wireless microphones and electronic sound effects applied to live vocals or to live music. These enhancements require the use of auxiliary sound equipment. Live Microphones Live microphones were used for the Broadway review, Passport to Broadway Two. The soloists would sing into the microphone to be better heard. The microphones were wired and were plugged into the outlets usually used for the boundary microphones (see Boundary Microphone). Wired microphones and microphone accessories are stored in white bins across from the sound operator s station in the Cattell booth (see the picture on the next page). Electronic Musical Instruments Also for Passport to Broadway Two, the musical director accompanied the cast on electronic keyboard. The keyboard was plugged into a DI Box which in turn was plugged into one of the outlets usually used for the boundary microphones (see Boundary Microphone). The DI Box is basically an adaptor so the keyboard could plug into a microphone outlet. The microphones and the keyboard were fed into mainstage the mixer s channels 1 through 4 (see Mixer in TWS Mainstage Booth). Remote Speakers Remote speakers are used to make sound emanate from a specific location. For the play, Dinner with Friends, one of the characters is listening to a radio in her kitchen while she is preparing a meal. A remote speaker was placed under the stage near the radio, so it sounded like the broadcast was coming from the radio. The broadcast included a DJ and some music. The dialogue of the DJ was prerecorded. This show was done in the Cattell theatre. The wire to power the speaker ran from the output of an amplifier, out the window of the booth, down behind the scenery and under the stage.

28 The mainstage has 6 permanently wired outlets for remote speakers on the stage. As well, there are 4 permanently mounted speakers in the back of the auditorium and 2 speakers in the lobby (see Patch panel mainstage booth). The mainstage sound system is set up with 8 output channels or buses. Channels 1 and 2 are hardwired into main speakers mounted stage left and stage right. Channels 3 through 8 can be directed to a selection of 12 remote outlets and speakers using the patch panel. These includ: 1. Stage right remote 1 2. Stage right remote 2 3. Stage left remote 3 4. Stage left remote 4 5. Stage right monitor 1&2 6. Stage left monitor 1&2 7. House left speaker 8. House left-center speaker 9. House right-center speaker 10. House right speaker 11. Lobby north speaker 12. Lobby north speaker In the picture, Patch panel mainstage booth, the patch panel is set up for the play, Leading Ladies. Channels 5 through 8 are patched into the house speakers which are located in the back of the auditorium. These speakers were used for one cue in which the Hallelujah chorus was sung. The music to the house speakers was slightly delayed to give the effect of music reverberating in a large cathedral. Some sound designers will use the house speakers to supplement the main speakers and play all the music for the show through both the main and house speakers. Channel 4 is patched into stage left remote 3. A remote speaker was plugged into this outlet and was placed behind the scenery near a set of French doors. These doors supposedly lead into the garden where a party was going on. The sounds associated with the party were played through this remote speaker. Stage monitors are meant to help musicians and singers on stage. The Broadway review, Passport to Broadway Two, had microphones for the singers and an electronic keyboard for the accompanist routed into the mixer. These signals were sent to the main speakers for the audience to hear. A special mix of these signals was sent independently to the Stage left monitor 1&2 outlet. A small speaker was plugged in here and set near the accompanist. The special mix allowed the accompanist to heard the singers and his keyboard easily, even though some of the singers were on the opposite side of the stage. The sound designer worked with the accompanist to get a mix of vocals and keyboard that worked best for the accompanist.

29 All the outlets for remote speakers shown on the patch panel are intended for passive speakers. This type of speaker is designed to receive an amplified signal coming from a power amp. TWS does have some speakers with their own internal amplifiers. These active speakers must be plugged into a regular power outlet and can take in a signal directly from the mixer or from an electronic musical instrument. Active speakers can t take a signal coming from a power amplifier. If they did, they would be subject to overload. Passive and active speakers, which are not permanently mounted, are stored in the Cattell booth on the bottom shelf opposite the sound operator s station (see picture on next page).

30 Remote speakers on bottom self in the Cattell booth

31 Prerecorded Dialogue Prerecorded dialogue is used for such things as voices heard offstage, the voice of an announcer or the voice of a narrator. The script may indicate that a voice is coming from offstage. Arrange with the director to have the voice actors come to the theatre to do the recording. Basically a microphone is set up in the booth and plugged into the mixer. The signal in routed from the sound board to the sound computer. The Audacity software records the voices and creates an audio file. The audio files become another sound cue in the show. Recordings can be made in either booth. The wired microphones and the mic stands are stored in the Cattell booth (see pictures on next two pages).

32 Wired Microphone and Accessories stored in the Cattell booth

33 Mic Stands in Cattell Booth

34 Wireless Microphones Wireless microphones were used extensively in the musical, Little Shop of Horrors. They are handy in Cattell where there no outlets on the stage in which to plug a wired microphone. Another good use for them is when a microphone has to be brought on and off stage during a show. There are wireless hand held microphones stored in both the mainstage and Cattell booths. (See Boundary Microphone for the storage location in the mainstage booth.) The wireless microphones send a signal to a receiver in the audio rack. The signal goes out of the receiver and into the mixer. The mainstage mixer uses channels 17 and 18 for wireless microphones. See the information on adjusting Gain, (i.e. volume) on the next page. This information come from the users guide for the mainstage mixer. The channels also have mute buttons. The sound operator should mute a microphone when it is not in use. This prevents unwanted noise from being picked up by the sound system. The wireless microphones rely on batteries for the power. The battery status should be checked before each show and rehearsal. The microphones and the receivers have battery-status lights on them. Spare batteries are stored in the mainstage booth in a cabinet on the wall (see the picture of the cabinet two pages ahead.)

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36 Spare batteries stored in main stage booth

37 Electronic Sound Effects Applied to Live Vocals or to Live Music Electronic sound effects were applied to the voice of the Tralfamadorian character in the play, Slaughterhouse-Five. The Tralfamadorian was an alien from a very distant planet. The actor playing the part spoke off-stage into a microphone. The signal from the microphone was routed into the mixer. The signal went out of the mixer into the effects processor and back into the mixer. A reverb effect was added to the voice by the effects processor. This gave the voice a strange not-from-this-world sound. A variety of other effects can be applied by the processor including: delay, chorus, and tremolo. This effects can also be applied to electronic musical instruments whose output is routed through the mixer.

38 If you are interested in working on a sound crew, designing sound for a show or just want to know more about theatrical sound design and production, feel free to contact one of the persons listed below. Contacts: 1. Sound Annual Chair Jack Calvert Trevlac1@aol.com 2. Sound Technician Pat Politano Politano@UIC.edu 3. Technical Director Thad Hallstein td@theatrewesternsprings.com 4. Technical Assistant Ben Fallon ta@theatrewesternsprings.com References: 1. Freesound 2. You Tube 3. Ben Fallon s qlab Demos 4. itunes