Broadway Microphones- Page 2

[SpellingBeeFan4Ever]

Posted: 7/9/08 at 6:46pm

Miss Gaiken can't sing for ****.

[DefyGravity777]

Posted: 7/9/08 at 6:58pm

I was watching Wicked from the front row and I took notice that whomever plays Elphaba wears 3 mics. One on her forehead,one right by her ear and one on her hat(which only makes it's apperance during Dancing Through Life) I remember when Shoshona Bean knocked her hat off during Defying Gravity and the sound cut out completely.

[BwayBoundJoe]

Posted: 7/9/08 at 7:10pm

"I would assume it was on her nose"
i felt so bad but i litterally laughed out loud....

"Miss Gaiken can't sing for ****. "
i would say cant ACT....she can sing, give credit where credit is due....but let her stay away from broadway

[Cartwheel]

Posted: 7/9/08 at 8:02pm

"i would say cant ACT.."

Really? When have you seen him act? Was it at the same time SpellingBeeFan4Ever heard him sing, as in never?

Updated On: 7/9/08 at 08:02 PM

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 7/9/08 at 8:15pm

I still feel bad for Josh Strickland for having to have the actual mic pack under his wig. I still don't quite understand how that was achieved. Was it strapped down somehow or did he balance it?

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 7/9/08 at 10:29pm

Christina Applegate also had her mic pack underneath her wig (hence the no wires taped to the back of her neck, etc.), which added a nice poof/bulk to the back of the wig.

[morosco]

Posted: 7/9/08 at 10:44pm

"So you want to know how to attach a microphone to an actors head, and make it invisible? Where are the mics? It seems to be the most frequently asked question, next to could you turn it down, or could you turn it up. Here’s a little guide that may help you understand how mic rigs are built and used."
Microphone Placement Techniques for Theatre

[legally_popular]

Posted: 7/10/08 at 12:03am

I’ve always wondered that too. It’s quiet easy to see it when you’re close enough.

Also on the topic of mics… I’ve never fully understood how mics get turned on and off during the show. Are they ALWAYS on? Or only on for an actor’s lines? Is this the person’s job in the soundboard to control that? I ask this because of stuff like…
1) I’ve heard mic issues before. An actor would be saying a line and their mic would go on too early or too late (or not at all).

2) Say some actors are talking amongst themselves in the background on stage.. Are they really talking to each other with their mics turned off or are they just mouthing words? I thought they are really talking, but sometimes it looks like they’re just “pretending”. Sometimes I can hear them if I’m close enough or if the mic is still on. Same with ad-libbing. On the Legally Blonde MTV broadcast, for example, LBB and Annaleigh ad-libbed a bit and you can hear them above everyone else even though you’re not supposed to.

Sorry for all the questions, LOL, but I always wondered…

[PSLove302]

Posted: 7/10/08 at 12:08am

there are people, who do the sound, for a reason

why would they leave a mic on the entire show

common sense is the answer to your question

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 7/10/08 at 12:10am

Common sense would also tell you...

If their mic was ALWAYS on, those poor souls would have to be awfully quiet whenever they weren't on stage, huh?

[legally_popular]

Posted: 7/10/08 at 12:16am

Oh, thanks… lol. I was just confused because I don’t know about any of that stuff at all (obviously, lol) and I have heard ad-libs when their mic was supposed to be off.

[ko74612]

Posted: 7/10/08 at 12:16am

I have an idea!

lets be completely revolutionary and hire people who have actual singing ability! People whose voices can fill the stage space!

and then...
*cliche drum roll please*

we could do a show UNMIKED!

yes... I know. Seems scary. Whatever will we do without voice amplification!?

we might... be able to tell where on stage the voice is coming from. Or be spared from digitally altered high notes that have a piercing, ear-drum spliting like quality to them.

just a thought... :)

[morosco]

Posted: 7/10/08 at 12:20am

Microphones each have different frequencies and each actor is assigned to their own fader on the soundboard (mixer). The microphone is turned on throughout the performance (and constantly broadcasts to the sound board) but the technician at the sound board turns their fader down or off.

[defyingravity07]

Posted: 7/10/08 at 12:23am

Hey Cartwheel have you ever heard of a bootleg? They are quite common on Broadway, but of course you wouldn't know that as you only pop up when Gaiken is mentioned.

[Cartwheel]

Posted: 7/10/08 at 12:36am

"Hey Cartwheel have you ever heard of a bootleg? "

Has BwayBoundJoe seen any Clay Aiken bootlegs? Which ones?

Updated On: 7/10/08 at 12:36 AM

[defyingravity07]

Posted: 7/10/08 at 12:43am

I don't know Joe's list of Bootlegs. It isn't hard to aquire one.

[ko74612]

Posted: 7/10/08 at 12:46am

ew to clay aiken bootlegs.

are there people who actually go to the trouble to aquire those?

[Cartwheel]

Posted: 7/10/08 at 1:03am

"are there people who actually go to the trouble to aquire those?"

Yes. They are called fans.

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 7/10/08 at 1:14am

ko74612, if only we could do away with mics..but we live in a world with air conditioning, complex scene changes, electronic orchestras and audiences who can barely sit still anymore.

btw, i do remember christina applegate used to have a mic coming from her left cheek as well as from her forehead. And am I wrong, but doesn't A Chorus Line stick a lot of the guys mic packs in the front of their pants?

Let me also commend Spring Awakening because even from the onstage seats, they did a nice job of hiding most of the mics.

Updated On: 7/10/08 at 01:14 AM

[BwayBoundJoe]

Posted: 7/10/08 at 1:17am

since when was i brought in about the bootlegs???

[defyingravity07]

Posted: 7/10/08 at 1:19am

She said you never saw Gaiken's acting, I said there are bootlegs with him to watch.

[ko74612]

Posted: 7/10/08 at 1:40am

"Yes. They are called fans."

ah yes...

the same people who voted for him when he was on American Idol and propelled him to stardom. Now that's a sad commentary on our times.

you know it all goes back to miking. Call me Elaine Stritch but I do not agree with miking. No longer do we have real preformers on-stage. People with the capabilities to project their voices to fill the room.

They can and do put anyone on stage so long as they sell the tickets. THat's how we end up paying $150 to see Clay aiken in spamalot.

Obviously I'm feeling disillusioned, cynical and maybe a tad sardonic but The american musical is seeing a decline and I have a list of 1000 reasons why.

again... just saying... :)

[mr.scribble]

Posted: 7/10/08 at 1:52am

i hate microphones in theatre it hurts like hell to get them off, it always leaves dirty excess tape of the back of your neck that makes you look like you've been stabbed, and pulls and pulls on the little hairs on the back of ur neck, but i do like mike checks those are fun

[Cartwheel]

Posted: 7/10/08 at 8:08am

"the same people who voted for him when he was on American Idol and propelled him to stardom. Now that's a sad commentary on our times. "
Is there something wrong with voting for a singer on a singing competition? That's what it is there for.

And you obviously did not pay to see Clay in Spamalot, and have no idea how he did in the role, so WTF are you bitching about?

[wicked_beast4]

Posted: 7/10/08 at 8:19am

Classic Cartwheel. Next he/she will start blaming gays for all of her little queenie's problems. So, let the carnage continue.