Voice Amplification: a Broadway Pestilence- Page 2

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 2/27/15 at 4:38am

This entire thread is essentially what I would have put into a single post and everyone seems to be absolutely accurate.
You also have to remember that hearing and listening is not a skill set aside for the theatre. Theatre can not train an audience on how to listen when we have our day filled with headphones, amplified tv, blasting movies, etc etc.
The white noise of HVAC, intelligent lighting instruments, automation, etc are also dangerous to try to sing over. The reason white noise helps some people sleep is that it drones out everything else unless you blare it loudly.
Microphones also allow greater freedom not only for blocking, but the soundscape and effects that can be created.
One other point not touched on in the orchestration posts, all of which are absolutely accurate, is that architecture has also changed, as has scenic designs, and it is very common for at least SOME of the orchestra not to be located in the actual pit. Many orchestra pits have actually been reduced in size over the years to allow for more seating, then sometimes trap doors require some pit space, etc.. When the orchestra is spread over two or more rooms, you have no choice but to amplify the orchestra and, in turn, the actors.
Great sound design does exist, though it is more rare than anyone would like. It is not a matter of "turn up the volume". Sound coverage in a theatre that is clear and uniform and balanced is incredibly hard. Yes, the designer and associates SHOULD sit in every location and check clarity.. The good ones do. Some theatres will just always have a dead spot or two. And sometimes a speaker or a cluster can fail just before / during a show. They DO check every microphone and speaker before a performance.

I can tell you that MANY straight plays use amplification, but it is often far more subtle. There have been times where the only reason I could tell amplification happened was because I was told.
Area mics are often far more common in plays, so you will not spot them on actors and often, miss them on the set, unless they are along the apron.. But again, sometimes that is hidden well too.

Tours are always at a disadvantage because you have to have a system versatile enough to adapt to a variety of houses as best as possible and they only have a one hour sound check before the first show in a venue to get it as right as possible.

I DO know that Mary Martin wore a body mic in Peter Pan in 1954 at the Winter Garden because when she was in the air, she was often in locations where the stage would just swallow her voice and prevent it from traveling into the house and it was the ONLY fix.

[NYC4Life]

Posted: 2/27/15 at 12:02pm

"I'll also point out that everything at the Met is not completely natural. They have on occasion used body mics and have been discreetly using area mics for some time now. True it's a more subtle amplification than what we have become used to hearing in the world of musical theatre, but it's still there."

Don't make stuff up, listen to rumors, or over exaggerate. The only time the Met Opera uses mics for amplification are in operas that composers ask for mics (John Adam' Nixion In China, Doctor Atomic) and for speaking lines in operettas (Merry Widow, Die Fledermaus). Any other mics used on that stage are for recording for radio or hd broadcast, NOT for amplification. I know this for a FACT.

[newintown]

Posted: 2/27/15 at 12:31pm

"And, yes, Newintown, the posters before you were correct: (1) singers--even Ethel Merman--sang almost everything (ballad or up-tempo) downstage and center before microphones..."

There's significant archival video footage that serves to document the fact that not all songs were delivered down center before the advent of amplification. Saying every solo number in musical theatre before 1960 was delivered that way is pointlessly hyperbolic.

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 2/27/15 at 12:43pm

If the MET were using general amplification, I can guarantee you that opera purists would burn it to the ground.

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 2/27/15 at 1:12pm

There are a lot of purists who have wanted to do that since Peter Gelb took over anyway.

[Mattbrain]

Posted: 2/27/15 at 2:19pm

"There are a lot of purists who have wanted to do that since Peter Gelb took over anyway.

Ugh, I hate purists for ANYTHING.

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 2/27/15 at 2:35pm

Scattered opinions:

I don't the acoustics are that great in the balcony at Carnegie. I've seen two concerts there, a Stephanie J. Block/Andrew Rannells concert with the NY Pops and Not the Messiah. Both the soloists had moments during the first concert where their voices sounded oddly distorted and thin and the NY Pops sounded very weak for a group that size on a couple on the scores they played. On the other hand, that huge chorus for Not the Messiah sounded fantastic and I think they did a better job with the mics for the soloists.

As for the balance between musicians and performers, I often find that the drummers are determined to drown everyone out.

Generally, sound quality is not an issue for me in Broadway productions. It's more in the concerts and short-run shows that I notice something off in the sound.

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 2/27/15 at 3:12pm

AEA & Matt,
SO true!

Now, I am just loving this thread.

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 2/27/15 at 4:41pm

"There's significant archival video footage that serves to document the fact that not all songs were delivered down center before the advent of amplification. Saying every solo number in musical theatre before 1960 was delivered that way is pointlessly hyperbolic."

Link, please.

And who is being hyperbolic here? I said "almost everything"; you changed it to "everything".

[Charley Kringas Inc]

Posted: 2/27/15 at 7:55pm

It's not even just a Broadway pestilence, I've been to way too many community/college productions with amplifications. Is it really necessary for a 250-person theater to have everyone booming over gigantic speakers? One production of A Little Night Music I saw was performed in a converted dance room, and the little four-piece ensemble behind the scrim was mic'd so loud they were distorted, and then naturally the actors had to be mic'd over THAT, and it was just ridiculous.

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 2/27/15 at 9:01pm

Charley,
I will not disagree with your opinion, but I will say your frustration is misplaced. The problem is not microphones on actors there. The problem is bad sound design.
And yes, in a college setting, sometimes they are very necessary. Not for every show. Of course, but learning how to work with a microphone is a very very necessary skill. You have to learn how.

[Charley Kringas Inc]

Posted: 2/27/15 at 11:56pm

I understand and encourage learning how to mic and mix a live show, but Chekhov does not need to rock the audience like a Metallica concert.