Years ago, the question of whether theater was dead was constantly brought up by detractors on every front. And if live theater remained trapped in the genre of stodgy parlor dramas, any predictions of its demise would have seemed credible. However, today, quite the opposite is true, and the application of advanced technologies in staging, lighting, visual effects and high performance sound systems have done much to keep theater not only alive but growing.
Meanwhile, savvy performing arts centers and theater venues have upgraded (or were built from the ground up) to accommodate modern audio systems that deliver the clean, articulate, intelligible and powerful sound that audiences have learned to expect. And with that in mind, we examine some recent examples that reflect the state of the art.
Orpheum Theater, New Orleans, LA
A grand palace in the Beaux Arts style, the Orpheum Theater opened as a vaudeville venue in 1921 and was soon converted for use as a cinema. As with many other lavish urban movie palaces, the Orpheum declined in later years and was slated for demolition in 1983. The New Orleans Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra saved the venue — and its prized acoustics — with a $3 million renovation, but that orchestra later disbanded, in 1991. Members of the New Orleans Philharmonic regrouped as the Louisiana Philharmonic, and they performed again at the venue before another major setback hit in late August 2005 — the Orpheum was among the jewels of New Orleans devastated by failed levees during Hurricane Katrina.
The theater’s current owner purchased the venue in Feb. 2014, and after a $13 million renovation, this historic venue reopened as a multi-use facility in August 2015 with a performance by the Louisiana Philharmonic, which now stands as the historic venue’s anchor tenant. Enhancements include an expanded lobby, six permanent bars and an auditorium floor that can be raised when seating is removed for standing room concerts, parties, corporate functions and catered affairs. In addition, the hall now boasts a modern lighting array, large movie screen and a Martin Audio MLA system to reinforce live sound without adversely impacting the venue’s celebrated natural acoustics.
When the current owners bought the theater, the Orpheum had been vacant since prior to Katrina. “The intent was to make it into a multi-purpose facility that wouldn’t have to rely solely on concert performances, but also generate revenue streams in between those shows to sustain the theater going forward,” says general manager Kristin Shannon. “We also refabricated the existing shell frames to create a new acoustic shell, which worked out wonderfully; it looks beautiful and sounds amazing. That’s why the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra is returning to what once was their hall. It’s the final piece of the process.”
Originally a vaudeville house with no audio system, the theater is narrow and steep, so audiences in the topmost seats could hear what was being said onstage. The selection of a sound system was in collaboration with installer Don Drucker of New Orleans-based Pyramid Audio Productions. “Several manufacturers submitted designs for the site,” says Drucker. “We knew the system had to be of the highest sound quality, very controllable, aesthetically friendly and compatible to the space while the response and articulation had to cover every seat in the house. We didn’t want to upset the hall’s acoustics and felt Martin Audio’s MLA would have the best fit into the theater’s acoustic atmosphere.”
The sound system starts with 12 MLA Compact hangs per side with four ground-stacked, double-18 DSX subwoofers that are used for certain rock shows. Some 30 DD6 dual differential dispersion speakers are deployed under the two sets of balconies and used as front fills at the front edge of the stage. Martin Audio C6.8T and C8.1T Ceiling Series speakers are mounted in the lobby areas and bathrooms to achieve a consistent sound throughout. Martin Audio is also used for stage monitoring and power.
Other system components include a PRO6 console for FOH and a PRO6 for monitors; Shure wireless mics; Telefunken, Shure and Audio-Technica wired mics; Radial direct boxes; a Merlin processor; Lenntech for remote control of power; and a BSS Blu system for additional mid-range control in different areas of the house.
“The Martin Audio system has been showcased in many different scenarios and has been amazingly strong,” Shannon concludes. “So from the opening party to Allen Toussaint’s funeral [Nov. 20, 2015] and concerts by Dwight Yoakam, Wilco and Billy Gibbons, the system has sounded great. We believe we have the premier facility in the state of Louisiana and an important piece of that is how this building sounds for all of the performances.”
The Orpheum Theater
- Capacity: 1,500 to 1,800, depending on event requirements
- Key Components: Martin Audio MLA Compact line array
- Integrator: Pyramid Audio Productions
- Designer: Don Drucker
Elsie C. Brackett Theatre, University of Oklahoma
The only public university in the United States with a school of musical theatre, the University of Oklahoma is also home to one of the nation’s oldest drama schools, second only to Yale in terms of longevity. So when the Norman, Oklahoma campus revealed that it was renovating the main 570-seat theater at its Rupel J. Jones Fine Arts Center, AVL project coordinator BOLD-Multimedia turned to Oklahoma City-based Skylark AV to help recommend a house sound system for the newly dubbed Elsie C. Brackett Theatre, which frequently hosts musicals, drama, dance and opera.
“The Brackett’s previous system needed to be replaced for three reasons: aesthetics, poor coverage and outdated technology,” notes Skylark AV’s Steele Beaty. “The university uses the venue not only as a place to hold shows and performances, but as a learning center for students who are looking to build a career in the field of live production, so it was their goal to implement the latest in audio technology. Our task was to specify a product that not only sounded great but also had perfect audience coverage and aesthetically blended into the remodel. Kiva was the right fit for all of their criteria.”
Skylark/BOLD’s solution deployed left and right arrays, each with six compact L-Acoustics Kiva enclosures flown under a single SB15m sub per side — plus a center hang of an ARCS Focus over an ARCS Wide, which is used solely as an effects system. Four coaxial 12XTi’s, flown inside the stage, provide performer monitoring, and the entire system is driven by one LA8 and two LA4X amplified controllers.
“Although we felt an L-Acoustics system would be the best fit for the room, ultimately it was the school that made the decision to go with the brand,” Beaty continues. “They were extremely familiar with the product and thought it was a better choice than the other competitive systems. We agree. Kiva delivers an extremely even frequency response from the front row to the back of the room. And form factor versus performance is another reason why the product was chosen. With a total array height of only five feet, it perfectly fit into the space while reaching incredible SPL for its size.”
The Brackett Theatre first fired up the new L-Acoustics system last October with several performances of the technically demanding, Tony Award-winning musical, Ragtime. Since then, the venue has hosted a wide array of productions — from Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show to The Nutcracker — all of which drew plaudits for sound quality in the newly remodeled space.
“Once the Kiva system was turned on, we quickly realized how special it was to be a part of this project,” adds Beaty. “The significance of the upgrade to this historic venue elicited tears from some of the University of Oklahoma staff commenting, ‘It’s the best sound we’ve ever had.’”
The Elsie C. Brackett Theatre
- Capacity: Up to 570
- Key Components: L-Acoustics Kiva
- Integrator: Skylark AV
- Designer: BOLD Multimedia/Skylark AV
Berkeley Repertory Peet’s Theatre
Located in the downtown area of Berkeley, CA and long known for its artistic innovation, Berkeley Repertory Theatre has recently taken a step forward in advancing theatrical technologies with its installation of a Meyer Sound Constellation variable acoustic system.
Built in 1980, the facility’s smaller Thrust Theatre stage reopened in January 2016 as the rechristened Peet’s Theatre, becoming the first North American venue designed principally for dramatic presentations using the sonic advantages of Constellation. The system can instantly transform the acoustics of a performance space, enabling a venue to enfold audiences in a host of different ambient sonic characteristics.
According to Peter Dean, production manager at Berkeley Rep, Constellation’s enhanced intelligibility will allow greater freedom for directors and actors to block and play scenes. “This is a 270-degree thrust stage, which means that actors are directly facing only a third of the audience at any given time,” Dean says. “Without Constellation, the actor has to be acutely aware of projecting out to the audience. We’re now eliminating some of that complexity, which makes it easier for the actor to react to the emotions in the scene.”
James Ballen, Berkeley Rep’s sound supervisor, expects that Constellation will also benefit older patrons with marginal hearing loss. “We will still offer the mandated ALS systems, but with Constellation’s enhanced intelligibility, some patrons with borderline problems may find they no longer need to wear headsets.”
Constellation employs a combination of patented algorithms, advanced digital processing and miniature transducer technology to replace cumbersome mechanical methods of creating variable acoustics. Peet’s Theatre has a dual-zone Constellation system dedicated to both enhancing early reflections from actors on stage and creating reverberation characteristics appropriate for any production. Digital processing is via the D-Mitri digital audio platform, hosting Meyer’s VRAS acoustical algorithm. This works in conjunction with 24 microphones and 23 HMS-5 surround loudspeakers, 11 MM-4XP and six MM-4XPD self-powered loudspeakers, 18 UP-4XP and 12 UP-JuniorXP VariO loudspeakers and eight UMS-1XP subwoofers.
Once programmed, Constellation’s acoustical environments can be changed instantly with the push of a touchscreen button. Constellation will be pre-loaded with a number of presets for different acoustical environments, with others custom programmable for each production. “Even though you are sitting in a relatively small, enclosed room, we can make it sound like a castle or concert hall,” says Dean. When required, direct sound reinforcement is supplied by a separate system of six Meyer Sound loudspeakers suspended over the stage.
Constellation’s loudspeakers can also double as a sophisticated surround sound system. “This will revolutionize the way we think of sound design in drama for regional theater,” says Ballen. “With the comprehensive loudspeaker coverage provided by Constellation, the possibilities are practically limitless.”
Berkeley Repertory’s Peet’s Theatre
- Capacity: 401
- Key Components: Meyer Sound Constellation System
- Integrator: Berkeley Rep and Meyer Sound
- Designer: Meyer Sound
The Hemmens Cultural Center, Elgin, IL
Located in the Center City area along the banks of the Fox River in Elgin, IL, the Hemmens Cultural Center has long been the cornerstone of the town’s growing arts community. Since 1969, audiences in this not-for-profit community building and auditorium have been treated to such names as the late B.B. King, Bob Newhart, Phil Vassar, Garrison Keillor, Blue Oyster Cult and many more.
Attending a performance at the 1,200-seat Hemmens is an experience, with clear sightlines and wide aisles providing an enjoyable concert and theatre-going experience with no seat farther than 87 feet from the stage.
Gand Sound Installations (GSI) of Elk Grove Village, IL, recently installed a NEXO GEO S12 line array speaker system, two RS18 install Ray Subs, two RS18 tour Ray Subs, four NX4x4 amplifiers, along with a Yamaha CL5 digital console, two Rio3224-D input/output Dante boxes and one Rio1608-D input/output Dante box.
Gand chose a left and right array of eight GEO S1210 and one GEO S1230 line array and a center array of one GEO S1210 and three GEO S1230. The RS18 install subs are flown above the acoustic clouds, and the RS18 tour subs were brought in for extra low end when required and set on stage.
“We chose the GEO S12 system for the fidelity, clarity, flexibility, pattern control, ease of installation and power,” says owner Gary Gand. “The CL5 was chosen due to its user-friendliness and the ease of communication with Dante, accessible throughout the system from the Shure ULXD wireless mics and all the way through to the NEXO amplifier outputs.”
“One of the tricky parts was to make the entire rig easy to move so it could be hidden for the Elgin Symphony concert dates when the system is not required,” adds Gand’s JoJo Clark.
The Hemmens Cultural Center
- Capacity: 1,200
- Key Components: NEXO GEO S12; Yamaha CL5
- Integrator: Gand Sound
- Designer: Gand Sound
Claude Debussy Theatre, Cannes, France
The Palais des Festivals, home to the Cannes Film Festival, is one of Europe’s leading conference and entertainment venues. The complex features five main auditoriums as well as numerous committee rooms and administrative offices.
An association between Adamson and Palais des Festivals began 15 years ago when DV2 (Adamson’s distributor in France) designed a sound reinforcement system featuring Adamson Y10 line arrays for the Auditorium Louis Lumiere. The system, which is still in use today, continues to receive compliments from those that perform in the space.
Recently DV2 was called upon to design another system for the Claude Debussy Theatre, the second largest theater, with a seating capacity of 1,068. DV2 designed a system featuring the new Adamson S Series line arrays. Dushow, one of the biggest rental and installation companies in France, was responsible for the installation of the new system.
The configuration, similar to the Auditorium Louis Lumière, is made up of left-right line arrays and a center cluster. The left and right arrays each consist of ten S10 enclosures with two S119 subwoofers, at the top of each hang, with six S10’s in the center cluster. Two additional E219 subs are ground stacked. Four Adamson two-way Point 12 loudspeakers are used as front fills and outfills for additional coverage.
“This design has delivered exceptionally well for 15 years in the Auditorium Louis Lumière,” explains Didier Dal Fitto, DV2 technical director. “As a result, the Palais’ sound crew used the same concept for the Debussy. Dushow installed two of the new S119 subwoofers at the top of the left and right arrays, which gives enough subwoofer pressure to cover conferences applications. A complement of two E219 stacked subwoofers and Point 12’s are added for more solid music programs.”
Seven D120:4L amplifiers provide power to the main P.A. and subs, while two D80:4Ls power the ZX101’s. A Dante digital network is the backbone of the system along with a Cisco SG300-20 20-port gigabit managed switch.
Visiting and in-house FOH engineers mix on an AVID Profile 48/24, and an outboard rack loaded with Avalon 737s, Klark Teknik DN504 EQ, Yamaha SPX 2000 FX and a Lexicon PCM 2000 reverb. Sennheiser, Shure, AKG, beyerdynamic, Neumann, Accusound and PZM microphones are also available.
The Claude Debussy Theatre
- Capacity: 1,068
- Key Components: Adamson S10
- Integrator: Dushow
- Designer: DV2
Music Box Theatre, Mount Lawley, Australia
The Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) is a successful and renowned arts training institution. Based at the Mount Lawley Campus of Edith Cowan University, WAAPA is home to a variety of performance studios and theatre spaces including the newly refurbished Music Box Theatre — a space which received a new VUE Audiotechnik system designed by Amber Technology and installed by Sinclair Communications The PA system includes al-4 Subcompact Line Arrays, al-4SB Flying Subwoofer Systems and V4i System Engines.
Formerly a lecture hall, the new Music Box Theatre is used for contemporary jazz and rock performances. The limitations of the existing space — caused in part by its proximity to adjacent lecture spaces — and the need for high-quality sound reproduction presented several challenges in the sound system design. Due to a steep rake in the seating area and the addition of a false ceiling, space to fly a P.A. had restrictions. Additionally, special consideration had to be given to a large rear wall projector screen and existing lighting bars.
Owen Ironside of Amber Technology, chose VUE al-class scalable line arrays for the project. To determine the optimal placement of the arrays to overcome the physical challenges of the space, Ironside and his team employed EASE Focus 3D Acoustic Modeling software to determine optimal coverage and the best hang points for the arrays.
“Using the VUE al-4s, the system easily overcame the issue of varied sound distribution,” Ironside reveals. “Concerns regarding transmission of noise to the lecture theater directly above the venue were alleviated by carefully focusing the arrays mounted in the frames.” To increase isolation and further control acoustic reflections, the room was then heavily treated with acoustic panels.
Four al-4 Subcompact Line Array Systems and one al-4SB Flying Subwoofer System were flown per side above the front edge of the performance area. Amplification with built-in DSP and networking is supplied by two VUE V4i Installation System Engines, each capable of generating two channels at 1,600 watts for the LF plus two channels at 550 watts for the high-frequency components.
Since the opening, the venue has been solidly booked with concerts and ensemble rehearsals.” So far, the VUE system has performed flawlessly under this rigorous schedule and has drawn enthusiastic comments from both audiences and staff alike. “Our VUE al-4 line array provides remarkable performance for its compact size and delivers a massive decibel level,” says Gwyn Hewson of WAAPA. “Its low profile and streamline looks were certainly a deciding factor.”
“The seamless coverage in the room is fantastic,” adds WAAPA’s Tim Landauer.
The Music Box Theatre
- Capacity: 140
- Key Components: VUE Audiotechnik al-4 line arrays
- Integrator: Sinclair Communications
- Designer: Amber Technology
