Is there sound amplification on Broadway stage ?

[siny]

Posted: 5/12/07 at 11:05pm

I have never given it much thought but do they carry hidden mics or something ? Otherwise how could they be heard in such a large theater ?

[Julian2]

Posted: 5/12/07 at 11:07pm

"do they carry hidden mics or something ?"

Yes.

"Otherwise how could they be heard in such a large theater ?"

Oh, I don't know, project!?

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 5/12/07 at 11:07pm

Actors have microphones hidden in their wigs/costumes. Other instances, there are floor mics.

In the cast of Julia Roberts, they amplified everything on that damn stage.

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 5/12/07 at 11:09pm

When I saw Sweeney in the front rwo, I saw that the actors not only had mikes, but the edge of the stage was lined with them as well.

[ljay889]

Posted: 5/12/07 at 11:10pm

You really weren't sure if Broadway used mics?

Wow.
Updated On: 5/12/07 at 11:10 PM

[Becoz_i_knew_you21]

Posted: 5/12/07 at 11:12pm

Ljay, my thoughts exactly.

[Dover]

Posted: 5/12/07 at 11:18pm

"In the cast of Julia Roberts, they amplified everything on that damn stage."

Really? I didn't get a chance to see it. I can understand movie stars needing some subtle help, but it doesn't seem like the whole show should need it in a relatively small house. Was it really that bad?

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 5/12/07 at 11:20pm

Actually, that was one of the rampant rumors (that I believe did prove true). Early on in previews (when I saw it), Jules couldn't be heard beyond the 5th row. I saw it SRO and was able to get a few words here and there. The director spent the entire show with his head in his hands.

[misschung]

Posted: 5/12/07 at 11:26pm

"Otherwise how could they be heard in such a large theater ? "

Well I dont think they used to in the old days of theater, or maybe they did to a smaller extent, but now everything is mic'd.

I didnt know about the mic in the wig trick until very recently tho, I always just thought it was on the stage, hanging, etc

[LuPonatic]

Posted: 5/12/07 at 11:26pm

"Oh, I don't know, project!?"

you mean scream, right?

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 5/12/07 at 11:27pm

Well, not all actors have mics in their wigs. I know in Sweeney, Patti has a mic in her wig, Mano had one in his headband, and everyone else's was put someway on the sides of their heads.

[siny]

Posted: 5/12/07 at 11:30pm

"You really weren't sure if Broadway used mics?

Wow. "

I never thought about it before. But then I went to see an off-Broadway show and I am pretty sure there is no sound amplification there so it got me to thinking if they use it on Broadway.

Thanks everyone for replying.

[D2]

Posted: 5/12/07 at 11:36pm

"Oh, I don't know, project!?"

you mean scream, right?

No, dear, project. Using proper breath support to lift the sound up from your diaphragm so that it carries effortlessly without harm to the vocal cords.

[Becoz_i_knew_you21]

Posted: 5/12/07 at 11:38pm

Many Off-Broadway shows still have mics.

[courtnyj]

Posted: 5/12/07 at 11:39pm

Um, most mics aren't even that well hidden. I guess if you only sat in the rear mezzanine then you wouldn't notice.....I hate the body mics, they're often so obvious that they become distracting...but I guess that's only a problem if you're sitting in the first few rows.

[siny]

Posted: 5/12/07 at 11:40pm

"Many Off-Broadway shows still have mics."

Not The Fantasticks, right ? I looked. Not that I know where to look, but I tried :)

[ashbash1990]

Posted: 5/12/07 at 11:42pm

"Otherwise how could they be heard in such a large theater ? "
Opera singers can project to the whole house, no mics...

Just out of curiosity, Siny, have you never seen one of those little mics on an actor?



Its just under her wig, at the top of her forehead...

[D2]

Posted: 5/12/07 at 11:42pm

Haven't you seen RENT? Those mics are visible from Mars!

[siny]

Posted: 5/12/07 at 11:46pm

I just never thought to look for them and my eyes aren't that good anyway. I'll make sure to look for them next time.

[LuPonatic]

Posted: 5/12/07 at 11:46pm

"No, dear, project. Using proper breath support to lift the sound up from your diaphragm so that it carries effortlessly without harm to the vocal cords."

I did not know our diaphragms were like speakers and that was where the sound came from....I guess you learn something new every day. I always thought air passing through the vocal chords vibrated at certain frequencies, and the way you can be heard in a large theatre is to alter your timbre to manipulate the first and second formant because those are the ones that carry over orchestras and far distances, but you're right, I guess you just get that sound out of that diaphragm!

It is less about how loud you are and more about how you are singing Updated On: 5/12/07 at 11:46 PM

[courtnyj]

Posted: 5/12/07 at 11:46pm

" 'Many Off-Broadway shows still have mics.'

Not The Fantasticks, right ? I looked. Not that I know where to look, but I tried :)"


The "theatre" where The Fantasticks is performed is really more like a room than a theatre.

Updated On: 5/12/07 at 11:46 PM

[misschung]

Posted: 5/12/07 at 11:47pm

yeah but the cast of Rent wears headsets, thats different. You cant see the wig mics if you're sitting farther away.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 5/13/07 at 1:06am

The RENT mics are like that on purpose to make you feel more like you're at a rock concert. They also do the rock concert "thing" where if a mic goes out a stage hand will give the actor a hand heald mic. I've seen it happen before during "Your Eyes".

[B3TA07]

Posted: 5/13/07 at 1:37am

ashbash1990 - I thought that was the mark of AEA that all Broadway actors are branded with! Silly me.

[bwaylvsong]

Posted: 5/13/07 at 11:18am

Those hairline mics HURT!!!!! And they do leave marks!

In my production of "Pirates of Penzance", we're not using mics of any kind, and we have to be heard over an orchestra in a big, greek-style theater (it's actually just like the Vivian Beaumont). However, it's not as difficult as one would think, even though we are high school students. As somebody else said, it's called PROJECTION.