That's a tough one... mainly because unless you do it right, you shouldn't do it. Poor sound is worse than no sound. Without knowing the size of your auditorium and the size of your audience, I can only make some broad suggestions:

1) Have the ushers seat people and make sure they are as close to the stage as possible. Roping off the seats behind where the sound fades out is also an option.

2) Contact your local theatrical supply house and find out who is doing sound in your area. Perhaps someone would be willing to supply equipment and run the sound board as a one time donation in exchange for publicity. Sound reinforcement is a complex job and really should be handled by a pro.

3) Do not make the mistake of using expertise and equipment of someone who runs sound for local bands unless they also have experience doing theater... band sound is very different from theatrical sound. You don't want your audience sitting there with their hair blown back like a Memorex commercial.

Good luck

I have a different take than other posters. Sound can be simple.

First a little perspective. Sophisticated sound people might think in terms of putting wireless mics on every actor and carefully placing standing mics for optimal sound ? certainly the best way to do it ?right?, but perfection is not in the cards for a no budget school production. There are much simpler good enoughs.

The second point is that only a little sound reinforcement is needed -so that people in the back can hear ? which is the main objective.  Too many inexperienced people, including some very bright engineers, think in terms of running the sound level up to the max and nearly blasting people out of their seats. But that is not the requirement. You really need just a little more so the people in back can hear. They want to hear the actors, not the sound equipment

If done right, it may not even be apparent that you have amplified the sound, but the actors are clearly heard.

Here?s my simple plan. Get two or three wide omnidirectional microphones (or four - dependingon your stage width). Of course quality matters but don?t be too fussy.  The omnidirectional part is the most important thing.  That means that they are evenly sensitive in all directions (mostly). The other type, unidirectional mics, cost more and are intended for specialized usage. They strongly favor sound from one direction. Often singers will have a uni on a mic stand so it will pick them up but not pick up the sound from the instruments or any on-stage monitors, but your need is different. You want general wide-angle pickup for this plan.

Put your omnidirectional mics on mic stands in front of your stage or platform a few feet back. Imagine if they were naked light bulbs; what would be the effect of their lighting be on the front line of actors? Too close and you?d have hot spots. Just right and they will create a mostly-even spread of light, too far and you?ll only loose light.  Place the mics at the just-right spots.  If you have the luxury of long wires, then hang them from overhead, about at a 45 degree angle above the actors heads and out in front, if on mic stands, maybe at knee level to the actors so they aren?t in the way visually but pick up all the sound. Don?t put them directly on the stage floor unless you want to hear all the footsteps..

Now place your speakers, not in front but about half-way back in the hall at the sides of the audience and aim them toward the back half of the audience.

During rehearsal, sit in the back while your assistant adjusts the sound level during a rehearsal. Use thumbs up or down to change level. When you can clearly hear in the back without being particularly aware that there is any amplification, that?s the ideal level, with one proviso.  When you have an audience, all that clothing will absorb sound and all those people will create background noise just by breathing, so the right level for a performance will be a little bit higher.  If you can, you or your trained assistant can adjust the sound in gradual steps once the performance starts, with the same hand signals, to compensate for the difference.

Now where to get 2, 3, or 4 mics, a mixing amplifier and two speakers plus mic cables and speaker wire is something you will have to deal with locally, but this is probably the simplest and least expensive system you could have and make a real difference.   It can probably be put together with borrowed equipment, even from bands (also try churches, town government, local business and anyone who has meetings). If you are mixing differnt brands of mics, you'll first have to adjust the levels for the mics individually, then make over-all level adjustments with the master gain. Once the mics are balanced, only change the master gain to fit the hall.

Final words:

Watch out for too loud, it?s worse than too soft. You just need clarity in back, not intensity. And don?t put the speakers in the front, the front half doesn?t need help in your situation.

Bill

william_bliss@hotmail.com

Bill, I like the concept, but I'd be real skittish trying it without help from a pro to set it up and dial it in... particularly not knowing anything about the production or the performance hall. On the other hand, lacking options, it is certainly a way to go that's low cost and fairly easy, provided you have time to experiment. Be sure to have someone to ride herd on the sound board... Actors' volumes vary and perfect sound level for one actor can scare the audience out of their seats from another.

I agree with Doug, that would make a nice article. Bill, can take that piece, look over it, add what you think needs to be added, maybe throw in a couple sketches and send it over to me? I'd love to have something on reinforcement for the Green Room. Thanks.

mikepolo@communitytheater.org

Bill --

Contact me via email (mikepolo@communitytheater.org) regarding articles. Other articles can be found off of the Green Room main page (www.communitytheater.org).

I want to emphatically agree with John's post, floor mics in this situation are the way to go.  We installed a new sound system at a local community theater with all the bells and whistles.  On a recent play, I used 4 floor mics only.  Once the system was set up (easily) it required no controlling. As long as the speakers are far enough away from the mics, you'll never have feedback. Several floor mics were on a built up platform and had very little problem with footsteps even when just in front of the mics. 
Before I had the CAD floor mics, I used unidirectional condenser mics, cheap ones, and laid them on small carpet pieces about 3" x 6" so the mic hung over the edge of the carpet as close as I could get it to the floor without touching it.  Omni mics will pick up all around and as long as they are not near the speakers that's OK.

You certainly don't need much in a speaker system to reinforce voices for a small room.

Try it and play with it.