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Ten Sound Tips from the Pros
Start by making sure you’re prepared—technically and otherwise
By Jean Schiffman
Sound design is still given short shrift in most theaters. It's not uncommon even now,
bemoans one professional freelance sound designer, for a producer to say, "Oh, I'll just have my box
office person make the tapes from her boom box."
Yet the fragile illusion of a play can be broken by poor sound design. If tweeting birds end
up sounding like Hitchcock moved in next door, says another sound designer, your play's in
trouble. And while a production can survive a light that doesn't come up right, it's a bit harder to
deal with a telephone that doesn't ring on cue.
Moreover, advances in audio technology have made the audiences of the nineties more
sophisticated: When you have a complete, digital sound system in your living room, you have high
expectations when you go to the theater.
Meanwhile, those responsible for a play's sound often must deal with lack of adequate
rehearsal time, a limited budget, rudimentary equipment, and a sense that their craft is taken for
granted. Frequently, they have to make the most out of scant resources and precious tech time.
We asked eight theater sound pros to share their hard-won knowledge about what they've
learned, and we've condensed it into 10 helpful hints. Our thanks to these generous experts: Michael
V. Halley, sound engineer for Broadway, TV, and commercial theater. James LeBrecht, freelance
film/multimedia/theater sound designer and resident sound designer at Berkeley Repertory Theatre
for ten years; Stephen Elspas, technical director at San Francisco's Lamplighters Musical
Theatre; Stephen LeGrand, resident sound designer at San Francisco's American Conservatory
Theater; Pam Emerson, audio supervisor at Los Angeles' Huntington Theatre; Scott Kou, Shari
Bethel, and Michael Allen, freelance sound designers.
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1. Be prepared. Technically speaking, get as much done ahead of time as possible. Make
sure your cue sheets are ready to go. Do a sound check before every rehearsal. Make sure volume
levels, amplifiers, etc. are set. If you're working with an orchestra, check their monitors first-unhappy musicians can be more difficult to deal with than unhappy actors. Label every cable, every
input, every output.
Artistically speaking, know the work from a dramaturgical standpoint. As one designer says,
there's more to this business than watts and ohms. Another designer consults with the director to
make sure her work fits in with the entire concept of the play, including costumes, lighting, and set.
Yet another researches the period of the play in depth.
2. Know your space. And know your loudspeakers. Or at least make an educated guess. But
keep in mind that a sound that is wonderful in your studio may sound like a chicken frying in
the theater if the EQ (equalization) is not correct. If you have cues with speech in them mixed with
music, don't premix them. Either work from two different sources so you can rebalance them in the
theater or at least have them on separate channels; what sounded good on your headphones at home
may work differently at the theater.
Be sure to sit in the audience during previews and really listen, because the levels will sound
10 to 20 percent lower than they sounded during tech. People absorb sound. You may be able to
equalize your house system by putting on a good CD--it doesn't matter if it's classical or punk rock.
Remember that fabric on the walls helps to absorb sound if the house is too reverberant. Putting in
hard surfaces at different angles from the original wall will change how sound moves in the space.
3. Keep It Simple. Don't use too much equipment, too many speakers, too much power for
the size of the room. In other words, make life easier for everyone by not overdesigning. If you're
not running the show yourself, know your sound operator's experience and capabilities, know who
will be calling the show. One sound designer, early in his career, watched his burly, football
player-sized sound operator burst into tears after three days of trying to execute his complicated
design. Another designer comments that it's hard to predict who will make a good sound op; a fine
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technician may have a hard time with sound cues while a non-technician might function like a
computer.
4. Look for ways to save time. Although production and design meetings and dry techs can
be tedious, they can prove to be time-saving strategies. It takes several tech run-throughs to
accomplish what you could accomplish in one dry tech. The reason is simple: a dry tech involves
fewer people and thus fewer distractions. Dry tech first; then bring in the actors and crew.
If possible, do the lights and sound separately, because sound always drives everyone crazy,
says one designer. Besides, during lighting tech, it's always dark in the theater and the sound
designer can't work. One designer goes to a pre-tech run-through with a stopwatch and times each
cue as well as scene-change music, which saves loads of time during tech, she says.
5. Get the details. If a director says, "Give me thunder," ask whether it should be rolling
thunder or a sharp blast, and how long it should last. If the director wants a train, ask what type of
train and from what period. (Steam trains went out in the 1950s, for example.) If an offstage crash
is requested, find out if the director wants the sound of boxes falling or glass breaking. You can save
yourself lots of time and frustration this way.
6. Prepare recorded cues for rehearsals. Just like rehearsal props, rehearsal sound cues
are extremely helpful. Just put them on a cassette to be played on a boom box during rehearsals.
That way, actors will be accustomed to them by tech rehearsal, which will save time for everyone at
this often hectic time.
7. Beg, borrow, or steal. Well, don't steal. And don't rent, either--that's almost never
financially worthwhile with sound equipment. If you can't afford to buy good equipment, barter.
Trade with other theaters, but be sure to return items promptly and in pristine condition. (Theaters
have been known to circulate black lists.) If you must buy, check the music section of the local
classified flea market newspaper. Also, develop a friendly relationship with your local professional
audio store and ask for a 10 to 30 percent discount off list price on standard items that have been out
on the floor for a year or two. If they won't give you a discount, go elsewhere.
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Get as many library cards as you can. First, many libraries have sound effects CDs. Second,
the library is ideal for research. To find out what music was popular in 1978, for example, check the
Billboard website. Plow through the disk logs and the card catalogues to see who carries the CDs
you need, or just to get ideas.) Contact your local college radio station to borrow equipment or
recordings.
8. Things you should have on hand. A home stereo system you can record from is good,
but a computer with music editing software works best. Audacity is a great one, and it’s free to
download from the web.
9. Some cheap (and easy) tricks. If you want reverb on a voice, it's better to put the voice
on one channel and then record the reverb on the other channel. Then, when you're in the theater,
you can adjust the amount of reverb without having to have an adjustable reverb unit in the theatre.
If you're using microphones, you may know that PCC (phase constant cardioid) mics cost
more than PZMs (pressure zone mics) but also sound better. The PZM consists of a condenser mike
mounted on a small plate which collects sound reflections. Both are often placed on the floor. If
you're going to use PZMs, however, buy them at Radio Shack; they are the same as the high-end
PZMs sold (much more expensively) elsewhere. But avoid Radio Shack's inexpensive sound
mixers, our experts say; they are noisy.
You can suspend mikes overhead on cables and, combined with the floor mikes, produce a
smoother sound. If you are using wireless mikes, beware of inexpensive ones.
10. Finally, some assorted words of wisdom. Rather than one hint, here is a potpourri of
tidbits to keep in mind from our panel of professionals.
One or two really good-sounding effects are better than a lot of mediocre effects. . . . . Live
sound is better than anything you can record. . . . Make a visual flow chart of cues for yourself, then
give it to the sound operator. This is especially helpful for beginning sound operators. . . . For the
sound of a scary monster, slow down the sound of a dog barking. . . . If you can't attend rehearsals,
ask the technical director to be your go-between. . . . Underscoring an emotion with music, the way
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films do, rarely works in the theater. . . . Your sound is only as good as your speakers. . . . And don't
forget: The sounds of silence are important, too.
[A version of this story first appeared in Stage Directions magazine]
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