To Mic or Not To Mic . . .
Printed From: Community Theater Green Room
Category: Producing Theater
Forum Name: Lights and Sound
Forum Discription: Technical discussion
URL: http://www.communitytheater.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=1516
Printed Date: 5/09/25 at 9:31am
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 8.05 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: To Mic or Not To Mic . . .
Posted By: emro
Subject: To Mic or Not To Mic . . .
Date Posted: 8/05/05 at 1:23pm
So, I have a dilemma. The local middle school has practically no
fine arts opportunities for their kids, so my best friend graciously
mentioned my name to the principle. One thing led to another; I
can't say 'no' to anyone, and WHAM! Here I am in charge of a fall
production. Anyway, the stage is in the gym, and I can't decide
whether or not I should try to mic it. I have throughly examined
the situation, and there isn't really an echo to speak of, but the
sound is a tiny bit muddy--not so muddy you can't understand someone
who knows how to project, just not quite crisp. However, this
being a middle school, most of my kids have probably never been on
stage and won't know how to
project. There is no existing sound system, so I would have to bring
everything in, and there is no budget, so all equipment and labor (Damn
it, Jim! I'm a playwright, not a sound-man!) would be
volunteer. And while I am not looking a gift-horse in the mouth,
charity mics don't sound so good to me (no pun intended). So, do
I take my chances with the kids and drill them with volume and diction
or do I try to mic?  ------------- Cucumber sandwiches? Watercress sandwiches? The whole scene would stand or fall on his ultimate decision. -- Instant Lives & More: Oscar Wilde |
Replies:
Posted By: casey05
Date Posted: 8/05/05 at 8:35pm
| You're probably safest trying to mic them. If you're having trouble obtaining microphones, try just having a few general coverage mics along the apron of the stage, or hanging from under the proscenium. |
Posted By: dougb
Date Posted: 8/06/05 at 12:19pm
|
I don't think you should go for mikes. It complicates things a
whole lot. It takes a lot of experience and skill to locate mikes
and speakers and all the other stuff involved. If you do it
wrong, you will have hot spots on stage, the potential for feedback and
of couse picking up unwanted noise (like kids moving and talking off
stage or kids shuffling their feet on stage). The kids need to learn the volume thing someday, why not now? Each day sit a row further back and keep yelling "louder" - they'll get the idea. If I am having volume trouble I get everyone attending the rehearsal to sit in the back row. The actors catch on very quickly that they need to be heard back there. |
Posted By: tblan
Date Posted: 8/10/05 at 9:38pm
| I would agree with doug. Without previous experience at sound, you are best off teaching your actors to project. |
Posted By: Aimee
Date Posted: 8/17/05 at 7:29pm
|
Amen to that one! Projection is a major issue with my high school kids. As the Tech director, I don't work with the actors until very late into the production. Very frustating to tell them not to depend on the mics when they have no idea HOW to project. Teach them now, you'll be better off later on. Good luck! ------------- Aimee |
Posted By: emro
Date Posted: 8/17/05 at 9:17pm
Thanks guys! I needed someone to decide me. My kids will sound au natural. 
------------- Cucumber sandwiches? Watercress sandwiches? The whole scene would stand or fall on his ultimate decision. -- Instant Lives & More: Oscar Wilde |
Posted By: Juliet
Date Posted: 8/22/05 at 10:30am
|
I don't know....working with middle and elementary school kids for a number of years, a LOT of them will not know how to project properly. And it is difficult to get them to project and keep projecting. Let's hope there's no singing too. If there's singing, definitely get mics. I don't think that there'll be many Ethel Mermans in that middle school.
|
Posted By: Thespian_4_ever
Date Posted: 9/16/05 at 6:52pm
|
I my middle school we use a gym and mics in front of the stage and it was loud but with the feedback and the echos we took it all down before opening night! ------------- |
Posted By: Thespian_4_ever
Date Posted: 3/24/06 at 5:56pm
|
I wouldn't mic... ------------- |
Posted By: swizzle
Date Posted: 11/11/06 at 4:46pm
|
I wouldnt mic, you could be suprised at how much you can make things clearer by changing the acoustics in the gym. You mentioned that the sound can be a little bit muddy. Try a large curtain hanging on the back wall to stop the sound bouncing back to the stage. |
Posted By: eagle10
Date Posted: 4/18/07 at 9:54pm
|
Actually not having mics is the simplest solution because it involves some technical problems that you may not have time to deal with being the person taking care of so many things already. Having the students do the projection themselves is ideal and from some people's posts it is viable.
However, if you do have access to some amplification equipment then I would recommend you use it only if it is really necessary like their projection just doesn't work or your audience is just going to be so large that the sound will be absorbed. It's a pity for people to come and not hear what the students have tried so hard to remember. The sound equipment could be placed in places where the kids are likely to stand or sit or arrange the blocking such that they would have a mic in the vicinity of where they are...
|
Posted By: red diva
Date Posted: 4/23/07 at 1:58pm
|
I guess I'm of the old school....I remember opera at the Met where the voices were trained to carry over the orchestra to the last row of the balcony....WITHOUT mics! I think it's part of the necessary training for young performers to learn how to project, and it's the director's job (or if you're lucky, the school music or drama teacher's) to teach them how to do that! Besides, getting good, even sound quality without an expert sound tech is nearly impossible. I've adjudicated numerous excerpts at festivals that have the mics set for different levels, some mics that just quit working in the middle of the cutting, feedback issues, and it just ruined the group's chances to advance to the next level of competition, even though the rest of the excerpt might have been of high quality. I wouldn't mic. If the acoustics in your venue are muddy, perhaps you can get the custodian, shop teacher and students, or parents to help you construct some sort of a sound baffle (is that the right term?)to put behind the performers to "scoop" the sound out towards the audience. The rear curtain idea previously mentioned is a possibility too. ------------- "I've worked long and hard to earn the right to be called Diva!" |