There’s definitely an upswing of interest in live theater and performing arts centers, both in terms of new construction, renovations of historical buildings and transformations of existing structures into new venues. Along the same lines, facilities have also seen the benefits of upgrading sound systems to meet increasingly higher standards set by audiences who expect hi-def clarity, vocal intelligibility and punch from live music and theatrical presentations. With that in mind, we looked into a number of interesting new projects and found a range of successful approaches designed for both production flexibility and great sound — in venues of all sizes.
Paramount Hotel Theater, New York, NY
Located on 47th Avenue, just steps from Times Square, the Paramount Hotel has long been a New York institution. From 1938 through 1951, the Diamond Horseshoe in the Paramount’s basement offered vaudeville-style entertainment and top entertainers. Now, some 75 years later, after a $20 million renovation, the hotel’s 6,000-square-foot Diamond Horseshoe ballroom is back, with a gala New Year’s Eve opening of its premiere performance of Queen of the Night. Very loosely based on Mozart’s Magic Flute, the show combines a bit of opera, a lot of rock ‘n’ roll, plenty of circus and magic with hefty servings of food and drink — interwoven with a series of sacred and profane rituals.
Queen of the Night takes place in a series of rooms, many of which have interactive experiences with audience members and performers. The rooms are designed scenically and sonically for individual characters, with Nexo speakers interwoven among the set pieces, such as PS8’s surrounded by coral, GEO S boxes next to neon sculptures, etc.
Owing to its multi-room approach, the audience capacity for Queen of the Night is around 235; this expands to approximately 550 when the space is used as a nightclub or event hosting. Therefore, noted sound designers Charles Coes and Darron L. West met the challenge of creating a very flexible sound system for the venue.
“The system in the main room is very flexible: we can cover the room in three ways: as a proscenium stage or as an elevated stage in the center of the room where the majority of the show takes place (this can also be removed and turned into a nightclub-style with a dance floor) and there is a full surround system,” Coes explains. “We can address all of this in several ways — we can delay it so the sound images back to the proscenium or back to the center stage — at the push of a button.”
Masque Sound supplied the gear for the installation, which included an all-Nexo main rig comprised of 10 GEO S805’s line arrays as mains, two GEO S830 downfills, six PS-10’s in a center ring and eight PS8’s as surrounds. Four CD12’s and two RS80’s lay down the bottom end. Powering is via six NXamp 4×1’s and a NXamp 4×4 — all under Dante control.
A Yamaha CL3 digital console handles FOH duties, fed from a RIO 3224 — stage box, a RIO 1608 used to input RF mics, an RI 8 to input architectural wired mics and three RO 8’s outputting to the analog amplifiers. Processing is via two outboard Digital Mixing Engines DME 64N with My16-AUD input cards and MY8-DA96 96kHz output cards. Due to the multi-room layout, two Yamaha MPS3’s near field speakers offer monitoring at the mix position which translates to the house rig.
Speaking about the production, “I would almost describe the show as Cirque de Soleil and Sleep No More meet a really good dinner in New York,” says Coes. “The show is visually stunning and the goal that [scenic designer] Christine Jones set for all of us was to make it an overwhelming experience for the audience. We try to put people into a completely different world as they walk down the staircase and into this place — everything is heightened, and luxurious and over the top. The core of this show is profoundly different than what you’d experience in any other theatre in Manhattan. The technology we brought on board is to serve that and I think it’s been a great success.”
Mark and Stephanie Medoff Theatre, NMSU, Las Cruces, NM
Located on New Mexico State University’s campus in La Cruces, the Mark and Stephanie Medoff Theatre has allowed the campus to consolidate its arts programs in a single performance/lecture/film screening space, while supporting the thriving arts community in the surrounding area.
Designed by Acoustic Dimensions and installed by Audio Video Resources (AVR Phoenix), the 464-seat theatre’s sound system has an LCR rig featuring Tannoy VQ speakers front and center, with one VQ 60 and one VQ 85DF for downfill covering the middle of the balcony, mezzanine and orchestra levels.
Hung roughly 30-feet high — just inside the venue’s acoustic baffle — the Tannoy VQ’s provide speech, recorded and live music reinforcement for theatre and dance productions and performances by local and regional artists. Commenting on the Tannoys, “They’re extremely accurate and, in a theatrical application, the kind of transparency they provide works perfectly,” says Chris Estes, AVR field engineer and lead technician on the project.
The remainder of the system — left, right and surround elements — is comprised of EAW loudspeakers, explains Matt Reynolds, NMSU theatre manager/resident lighting and sound designer, who primarily uses the Tannoy cluster to centralize sound during performances. “With the left and right arrays together the sound feels all-encompassing, so I use the Tannoy cluster to focus the center and make the sound more directional. For instance, we have James and the Giant Peach running right now, and I’m using the VQs to support the overall sound, but also by themselves to pull the audio image to the center when James climbs into the peach and we hear his voice echoing from inside it.”
The system is powered by Lab.gruppen Contractor Series amplifiers — three C16:4s for delay and surround elements, three C28:4s for specials, one C68:4 for the subs and one C48:4 driving the Tannoy VQ cluster. “The Lab amplifiers are also very transparent products and provide very quiet, very discreet power,” Estes says.
So far, the response to the theatre from the University and La Cruces arts community has been overwhelmingly positive. “It’s unlike any other venue in this town,” Reynolds says; “a different type of theatre than the community is used to, but far more in keeping with other 21st Century regional and university theatres nationwide.”
Empress Theatre, Vallejo, CA
Located in the bayside town of Vallejo (just north of San Francisco), the Empress Theatre was built in 1911 in the Beaux Arts style. Later, in 1930, when the talkies were the rage, the interior was given a Fox West Coast remodeling, while its magnificent Skouras ceiling and scrollwork arrived during a 1952 renovation.
Like so many other downtown theatres, the Empress went through several owners over its life, eventually laying derelict for nearly 20 years. Finally, it was purchased through a combination of private and public funds and after a long-term restoration project, reopened in 2008. Now with noted pro audio figure (and acclaimed bassist) Don Bassey onboard as theatre manager and with growing community support, the Empress has reborn as a thriving cultural center and important link in the revitalization of the downtown area, even finding success in a popular mid-week series of “Wednesday Night Rambles” jams that spotlight local and regional talent.
Recently, the 468-seat venue upgraded its sound system with new mains consisting of Tectonic Audio Labs flat-panel Distributed Mode Loudspeakers, in two left/right hangs of three Tectonic Plates on either side of the 44-foot stage, driven by three Lab.gruppen C 68:4 amplifiers and augmented by two Meyer Sound 700-HP subwoofers.
Whether for rock or more quiet material, the difference with the Plates is dramatic, according to Bassey. “The soundstage and instrument separation in the mix is more defined. Now, when I hear acoustic music in this room, I’m in heaven. The imaging — especially at a low volume — is really more defined now,” he adds. “But it’s not all about my ears. We just put the system in and I’ve done some exit polling of audience members after the shows and the reaction has been overwhelming positive. It’s stunning.”
Renfro Valley Entertainment Center, Renfro Valley, KY
Founded in 1939, this 55-acre destination complex in south central Kentucky celebrates its 75th anniversary in 2014. And every year, from March through December, great classic country, southern gospel and mountain bluegrass music rings from the rafters of Renfro Valley Entertainment Center’s unique show theaters. Recently, Branham Productions from nearby Pikeville, KY came in to upgrade the sound system with a new dB Technologies/RCF rig in Renfro’s largest venue, the 1,700-seat New Barn.
“The whole Renfro Valley complex is country-themed and they have a couple old tobacco barns that were used for decades for entertainment. The New Barn is a modern entertainment complex, with headliner concerts all summer long,” says Branham Productions’ owner/engineer Jeff Branham.
“The venue had an older trap box system and a lot of the artists’ engineers refused to use it. One good thing about his rig is that RCF has such a good name that when you advance these shows, and mention we have a dB rig in there, people accept it. And then once they get in here and hear it, a lot of those engineers who are so picky about the sound suddenly get relaxed and go back to the bus, knowing it’s going to be a good show.”
The new rig is comprised of 16 dB Technologies DVA T-12 active 3-way line array enclosures for the mains, six RCF HDL20-A line arrays for side wraps and eight dB Technologies DVA-S30N subs.
“When I first heard the DVA T-12’s, I was impressed,” Branham adds. “The clarity, the richness and the depth — all the things you try to get in the room or at an outdoor show — were there. When Renfro Valley heard my rig, they wanted that for their venue and they’ve been really pleased with them.”
Ángeles Espinosa Yglesias Fine Arts Center, Mexico City, Mexico
Located in Mexico City, the American School Foundation is an international, university preparatory school that — to support its arts programs — recently completed the Ángeles Espinosa Yglesias Fine Arts Center, which includes a 650-seat theater with box seats and a balcony.
Showco SA de CV was selected to design the system. “We decided to install an Adamson Metrix line array,” explains Showco’s Mauricio Alva. “It’s flexible enough to accommodate the variety of performances the venue will host and provides more than enough SPL for the venue size, with excellent vocal clarity and a smooth frequency response.”
Alva, along with Francisco Rojas Showco Technical support, designed a left/right line array system consisting of two double-15 Metrix-i Subs on the top, followed by eight Metrix-i 2-way active speakers and four Metrix-i W’s (with their wider vertical coverage) handling downfill. Four additional Metrix-i W’s were hung separately for front fill.
“We designed the system using Adamson’s Shooter and Blue Print software — which was very accurate,” adds Alva. “We needed specific, precise coverage in the vertical plane, as we could not add any more boxes to the arrays. The software was a key component in ensuring the system design would do what the school required.” In addition to the standard simulation features found in Shooter, Blueprint also includes more advanced features such as 3-D mapping, multiple virtual mic locations for examining frequency response throughout the venue and multiple source setups.
System powering is via Powersoft K3 DSP+AESOP amplifiers. Alva notes that “we have absolute control of all the amps and DSP and monitor gain structure and can do impedance tests to the transducers of the line array without having to take down the system. It’s terrific.” A Yamaha LS9 digital console and Audio-Technica 5000 Series wireless mics round out the package, which was installed by Teletec de Mexico SA de CV. The Teletec team hung the line arrays utilizing Adamson’s optional EIR Plate System, a reduced cost and weight solution ideal for permanent installations.
“The new system is exactly what we were looking for,” explains The American School Foundation’s Hugo Cabrera. “Now we can do any kind of production without any compromise of SPL, frequency response or headroom.”
Lyric Theater, Miami, FL
Built in 1913, the 400-seat Lyric Theater was a major entertainment center for Miami’s black community. Located in the city’s Overtown neighborhood, the Lyric played host to a long lineup of performers, such as Count Basie, Sam Cooke, Aretha Franklin, B.B. King, Patti LaBelle, Ella Fitzgerald, Redd Foxx and Mary Wells. Frequently, black entertainers who performed in Miami Beach were barred from staying overnight due to restrictive social practices and racial segregation laws, and after their performances, would often do late-evening shows in Overtown establishments, including the Lyric Theater.
After years of neglect, the Lyric Theater completed its first phase of restoration, reopening in 2000. A second phase in 2004 added an expanded lobby, admin offices and concessions space. Completed in 2013 on the theater’s 100th anniversary, the third phase was a major expansion, with a studio theater/meeting space, additional wing space, a fly loft for the stage, expanded lighting capabilities and a new sound system.
The audio system upgrade was designed and installed by Harold Cummings of Miami-based Drummer Boy Sound Productions. One of Cummings concerns was finding the appropriate technology for the facility, such as the addition of Cat-5 wiring throughout the building, while not interfering with the structure’s historical footprint. “The venue is too small for a line array, so we brought in a Martin Audio W3P system,” Cummings explains, adding that Tim Barber, executive director of the Black Archives (which is restoring the Lyric) had “heard the Martin Audio system at one of my events and was impressed. When I designed the system, there were not many compacct 3-way 15-inch trap boxes and Martin Audio makes the best sounding one.”
The Lyric Theater’s complement includes four flown W3P’s as mains with two WS218X double-18 subs beneath the stage. Four compact AQ5’s are employed for stereo front fills and under-balcony duties. Four Martin Audio LE1200 wedges handle stage monitoring. The system also includes an Allen & Heath iLive T112 digital console with iDR48 rack, Ashly Protea processor, Shure mics and a Whirlwind splitter/snake system and cabling.
The Center for Discovery, Monticello, NY
Masque Sound of East Rutherford, NJ recently provided a complete custom audio upgrade for the Michael Ritchie Big Barn Center for Environmental Health and Education at The Center for Discovery in Monticello, NY, about 80 miles north of Manhattan. These new audio capabilities will allow the Center to offer more educational, clinical and creative experiences and activities to children and adults with disabilities and medical frailties.
“The Center for Discovery wanted to be able to put on more theatrical productions and other events at the Big Barn Center, and needed a more flexible sound system,” says sound designer Gabriel Bennett. His goal in designing the sound system upgrade was to disperse the sound more evenly and ensure full coverage throughout the room, as well as provide surround sound capabilities. According to Bennett, “We can also now tune the room according to the event and it sounds great.”
Bennett’s biggest challenge with the project, and one that Masque Sound proved extremely helpful with, was the Center’s desire to put in a more permanent solution. “As there was no theatrical rigging or structure already in place, things such as tilting and refocusing the speakers without moving them, based on the needs of the room were difficult,” adds Bennett. “Masque Sound’s technical support proved really helpful in overcoming this and any other issues we had.”
At the heart of the new system is an Avid Venue SC48 digital console and an XTA DP448 speaker management system. The Meyer Sound speaker complement, included UPA-1Ps and UPA 500-HP subwoofers. The Sennheiser 2000 series wireless system, a selection of Shure mics and ancillary equipment completed the upgrade.
“The audio solutions that Masque Sound created for us kept us within budget without compromising the quality of the gear,” says Bennett. “Overall, we are very happy with the system.”
