I was very excited to return to Guildhall School of Music and Drama to sound design my first ever Sondheim musical.
Having designed the classic Broadway musical Fiddler on the Roof the previous year it was great to return, this time on a big band show.
Student, Sound operator Eleanor Coxall had also mixed Fiddler, it was a great opportunity to expand on what we'd learnt from last year and pick up from where we left off.
But first, how did we get to here:
The process of sound designing a musical is one of many layers and it was a great opportunity to teach the students each part of this exciting journey.
I submitted my speaker placement and signal schematic to the the students and talked through my choices and how we document them.
DESIGNS:
Turning paper into reality. Building the show:
Maxim, our production engineer spent some time at Loh Humm stores learning how to prep equipment.
Getting some hands-on experience behind the console and programming the show from scratch was a good exercise that taught the team about the Digico T-Software and signal flow.
Installing the system into the Silk Street Theatre:
A the start of tech a professional sound engineer comes onboard to teach and work with the radio mic team. They begin preparing, fitting and maintaining radio microphones. They are taught various techniques to ensure the most ideal positions are achieved as well as the day-to-day runnings on a musical theatre production.
Tech Begins:
It is great to work with each member of the sound team during technical rehearsal to put the skills and techniques they have learnt into practice and push them to the highest standard.
Sitzprobe:
Bringing together the cast and orchestra for the first time. Moving into the concert hall for the Sitzprobe was a great morning and exciting part of the production process.
Orchestra into the pit:
For more information on Merrily We Roll Along's pit read our 'Merrily's Pit Goes Digital' here:
Sound joins in:
Dress Rehearsals:
For more information on the Merrily We Roll Along including it's team and production photos please visit: