Sound is an important parts of musicals, not so much in straight plays, but definitely in musicals.
Sound designers and operators have three basic types of mics, shotgun, stage mics, and body mics.
Shotgun mics are usually placed along the front or side of the stage and used to help pick up the chorus, special care must be taken as for the actors not to step on them. The operator must also be careful to kill the mic if a large dance number or stomping takes place.
Stage mics, despite the name, are rarely used in musical theater. Stage mics are your standard microphone that you'd find on a stand during any concert. You don't see these much because they require the actor to get very close to it and break the fourth wall. Very few shows use these and they are almost all in character (If you really wanted you could use one in Bye Bye Birdie because Conrad is a rock star) but Rent uses them quite readily in the original Broadway show, the carolers sing into one, and in the song Life Support by Gordon (Roger on the other hand uses a body mic).
Body mics are the heart and soul of theatrical sound. They allow the actor to sing over the music for solos and can aid in lines if you want them to. They consist of the parts, the mic, the wire, and box. The box is usually put into the pocket or waistband of an actors pants. In the event of that being difficult or impossible (The actor is wearing a dress, no pants, or "skimpy" clothing) It will sometimes be tucked into a bra if it is an actress (9 times outta 10 that's the case) or sometimes taped to the lower back. The wire is usually run up through clothing and secured with special mic tape. The mic itself is usually hidden just above the ear and is flesh toned.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Friday, January 14, 2011
Backstage Roles Part 2 of 3: Stage Lighting
Theatrical lighting is an aspect of theater I hold near and dear to my heart. Before I got back into acting, I was a lighting operator and designer for several years and still have an active role in it.
Theatrical lighting is different for every show, for example, Still Life With Iris (Which holds the distinction of being my LEAST favorite show ever) is a highly imaginative show that allows the designer to incorporate many unrealistic elements, such as purple light. Now when I designed the lights for a production of Still Life With Iris I was limited to 18 lights. Most of those lights were area lights (Such as fresnels which can't be focused and are general area lights) and several Source 4s (Which come in different degrees which measure how wide the light is at 100 feet) most of which were used as "specials". A "special" is a light that is focused on one area that is supposed to have the attention draw to it. An example of that was the Still Life which had to be lit up by a Source 4 every time Iris touched a button.
(As I stated Still Life With Iris is my LEAST favorite show, I can't stress that enough, I may dedicate a post to how bad that show is in detail. If you can avoid it, DO NOT SEE THAT SHOW!)
Their are several mottoes, quotes, and jokes withing lighting. Most are at the actors expense but several are inappropriate for this blog.
You have now been victim to one of my favorite techie jokes. Lighting is one of the toughest jobs in theater but remember without them you'd be dancing in the dark.
Theatrical lighting is different for every show, for example, Still Life With Iris (Which holds the distinction of being my LEAST favorite show ever) is a highly imaginative show that allows the designer to incorporate many unrealistic elements, such as purple light. Now when I designed the lights for a production of Still Life With Iris I was limited to 18 lights. Most of those lights were area lights (Such as fresnels which can't be focused and are general area lights) and several Source 4s (Which come in different degrees which measure how wide the light is at 100 feet) most of which were used as "specials". A "special" is a light that is focused on one area that is supposed to have the attention draw to it. An example of that was the Still Life which had to be lit up by a Source 4 every time Iris touched a button.
(As I stated Still Life With Iris is my LEAST favorite show, I can't stress that enough, I may dedicate a post to how bad that show is in detail. If you can avoid it, DO NOT SEE THAT SHOW!)
Their are several mottoes, quotes, and jokes withing lighting. Most are at the actors expense but several are inappropriate for this blog.
Q: How many actors does it take to change a light bulb? A: None. Complain to the director at notes.
You have now been victim to one of my favorite techie jokes. Lighting is one of the toughest jobs in theater but remember without them you'd be dancing in the dark.