The curtain may not be ready to rise, but many theater and performing arts center venues are gearing up for reopening with audio upgrades. Despite the devastating effects of the Covid-19 shutdowns on live performance spaces, the industry is looking ahead to the day when these spaces will again resound with the joy of thrilled audiences. During this time, facility upgrades are continuing, whether in converted environments, new construction and refurbs of existing venues. With that in mind, we present six recent installation projects. Each takes a different approach, proving there are numerous solutions to any audio challenge — large or small — for any performing arts environment.
Teatr Muzyczny Roma, Warsaw, Poland
Built in 1936 with a typical “Italian” style audience area, Warsaw’s Teatr Muzyczny Roma (hence it’s name) is the city’s premier venue for hosting musical theater productions and global artist concerts. Polsound, Meyer Sound’s exclusive distributor in Poland, recently installed a new system based around LINA very compact linear line array loudspeakers.
The theater’s prior Meyer Sound system served the venue for more than a decade, but theater management wanted to leverage the latest technologies and extend capabilities. The new system consists of LCR flown arrays each with 13 LINA loudspeakers. Four 1100-LFC low-frequency control elements are flown in a 2×2 end-fire configuration in the center of the stage, while two VLFC very low-frequency control elements add more low-end punch.
For the new system design, the theater’s sound designer, Krzysztof Polesiński added a center array with the subs flown on either side (rather than behind) the left-right arrays. “MINA was removed and replaced with LINA, which is the same size but better sounding with increased intelligibility and more detailed reproduction,” Polesiński said. “The center channel is very important, because you can position the sound source better within the space.”
To create an immersive experience for the audience, a surround system was installed, comprised of MM-4XP and MM-4XPD for upper side booth fill and zone fill, UPM-1P for lower surround, UPJ-1P for middle surround, and UPQ-1P for top surround (across the first, second and third floors), plus two 900-LFC subwoofers. Custom-coloring on the surround speakers blend in with the building’s architecture. Three UPM-1P’s cover the private VIP loge seating.
Post-installation, among the first productions at the theater was The Pilots, dedicated to the famous Polish Squadron 303 of the Battle of Britain, where the immersive sound system was deployed to dramatize fighter plane flyovers and battle sound effects. Elton John and Tim Rice’s Aida will resume once the theater is permitted to safely open.
The Teatr Muzyczny ROMA
- Key Components: Meyer Sound LINA System; DiGiCo SD7T
- Integrator: Polsound
- Designer: Krzysztof Polesiński
Westminster Christian School, Palmetto Bay, FL
Westminster Christian School, a private preschool through high school campus in Miami’s Palmetto Bay suburb, recently installed an L-Acoustics Kiva II sound system in the Lighthouse, the school’s newly constructed, 637-seat auditorium and worship center. The system was integrated by Jupiter, FL-based Peerson Audio Incorporated.
The two-story, 30,780-square-foot Lighthouse — encompassing the stage and orchestra pit, first and second floor lobbies, a choir room, classrooms, dressing rooms, a broadcast studio and more — now provides a top-notch environment for the school’s fine arts programs. The WCS drama curriculum also prepares students for performance, set design and construction, sound and lighting, stage management and film production.
The new P.A. is a stereo configuration comprising eight Kiva II enclosures/side, each backed by four SB15m subs. Five 5XT short-throw co-axials arrayed across the stage lip handle front fill, while five LA4X amplified controllers provide power. The system spec was generated by West Palm Beach-based TSG Design Solutions; rigging was supplied by Ape Rigging.
“L-Acoustics gave WCS an advanced system that offers consistent seat-to-seat coverage and excellent sound quality and intelligibility for theatrical and musical productions at a very affordable price,” explains Peerson Audio president Kevin Varnadore. Kiva II was a great choice for this space because it delivers a lot of sound in a compact and lightweight box that’s easy to fly. WCS now has a premium sound system that will serve the theater and students well for years to come.”
WCS technical theater teacher Rudy Garrido feels that having the same technology in the Lighthouse that’s used in Broadway productions and on world-class music and theatrical touring will give the school’s arts initiatives a major boost. “The L-Acoustics sound system will help make the new auditorium an even better place for our students to perform and learn in.”
Varnadore was also impressed with the service L-Acoustics provided for Peerson Audio, which included design assistance through the manufacturer’s Soundvision predictive software. “Everything that L-Acoustics said they would do, they did, which helped us make this a terrific project.”
The Lighthouse
- Capacity: 637
- Key Components: L-Acoustics Kiva II system
- Integrator: Peerson Audio Incorporated
- Designer: TSG Design Solutions
Tom Patterson Theatre, Stratford, Ontario, Canada
In 1952, with a $125 grant from the City Council, Tom Patterson set out to establish a six-week Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, Ontario. Today, the Stratford Festival operates year-round and has welcomed 28 million theatergoers, generating billions of dollars’ worth of economic activity for the city. In 2020, the Stratford Festival dedicated a new theater to Tom Patterson.
The previous version of the theater was built into a space formerly used as a casino, concert venue, curling club and badminton club; and due to the odd shape of the building, it evolved into a long runway-style thrust stage. According to Peter McBoyle, the festival’s long time sound designer, “while not conventional for theater, the shape of that stage was loved by actors, directors and audiences, and the goal of the new 600-seat theater was to keep the shape and feel of the old stage — but in a modern context.”
The shape of the long thrust stage presented a sonic challenge, with audience members on three sides (four when the theater is used in the round). “We needed to cover a great length of audience and keep the energy off the stage,” says McBoyle. “As the audience sections are not that deep, you quickly generate reflections off the back wall. At the downstage end, the shape of the room is semi-circular and tends to direct the sound back to the middle of the downstage area. The key is keeping the sound where you want it and avoiding sending it where you don’t.”
Enter d&b audiotechnik’s A-Series augmented array. “The A-Series’ tight (30°) vertical coverage pattern, combined with arraying them at small splay angles let us address these challenges,” notes McBoyle. “We could get the coverage where needed and have it drop off dramatically where not required. The Tom Patterson Theatre doesn’t have the height to deploy line arrays, so the A-Series was the perfect tool, being somewhere between line array and point source.”
The system was installed by London, Ontario’s Horizon and the Festival’s IATSE crew. McBoyle was system designer and also verified and tuned the system. Michael Duncan, the theater’s head of sound, worked with McBoyle on the design.
The main system consists of five flown arrays of A-Series, each with two AL90s in a vertical array. Three of the arrays sit downstage center to cover the downstage end of the curved audience seating. Hung farther upstage, the other two arrays provide even coverage for the rest of the seating area. Two 21S subwoofers flown above the center of the stage provide even LF to the entire venue; 16 d&b 8S speakers were installed over the audience as surround FX speakers, with another 10 in a new overhead position. Power was via d&b’s 30D and 10D amps, with control and configuration by d&b’s R1 Remote control software.
The Tom Patterson Theatre
- Capacity: 600
- Key Components: d&b audiotechnik A-Series
- Integrator: Horizon
- Designer: Peter McBoyle, Michael Duncan
Uvalde Grand Opera House, Uvalde, TX
The Uvalde Grand Opera House, the second oldest theater in Texas, needed to replace its four decade-old wired intercom with a new comms system that would cover the entire building with its thick, concrete walls. The old system’s heavy, metal belt packs and bulky headsets, made it extremely difficult to deploy, so the staff resorted to texting. However, due to the 129-year old brick structure, cell reception is unreliable in the theater.
Through some online research, theater manager Caitlin Visel was intrigued by Pliant Technologies‘ MicroCom M digital wireless intercom system. “I was worried that it would be difficult to find a system that could function throughout the building as there are obstructions, solid walls and high ceilings. During an onsite demo of the system, I was blown away by its extensive range. With MicroCom M, we’re able to communicate from all ends of the building without losing the signal — it’s really amazing. Also, the affordability of the MicroCom M intercom helped to make Pliant the obvious choice for us,” says Visel.
“When we demoed Pliant’s MicroCom M, the compact size of its belt packs really stood out,” she continued. “It’s like night-and-day compared to our previous system. The packs are compact and lightweight. You can drop it in your back pocket or wear it on a lanyard around your neck, which has been especially helpful as we staff a lot of women who often wear dresses to events.”
Working with mostly volunteers, it was also important that Uvalde integrated a system with a simple interface and minimal learning curve. “As someone without an audio background, and without much intercom experience, it was easy to learn how to use MicroCom M,” says Visel. “It’s been great to have a system that anyone can learn.”
The Uvalde Grand Opera House
- Capacity: 369
- Key Components: Pliant Technologies MicroCom M
- Integrator: In-house
Weathervane Community Playhouse, Akron, OH
Since beginning its run in 1935, the Weathervane Community Playhouse has presented a wide spectrum of plays, musicals and more. After working first out of an empty carriage house, Weathervane moved 1951 to a 150-capacity building, then in the early ‘70s to its current 240-seat facility. Three major renovations followed with technology updates along the way, including a mainstage fly system, orchestra and lobby monitoring, new audio consoles, modern lighting and a new house P.A.
The most recent addition is a 16-channel wireless mic system based on Audio-Technica’s fourth-generation 3000 Series, along with an RF Venue Diversity Fin cross-polarized antenna that feeds four cascaded RF Venue DISTRO4 distribution amps routed to four A-T 3000 Series mic receivers.
The fourth-generation A-T 3000 series feature a 300-foot operating range; a wide 60 MHz tuning range and frequencies can be easily scanned and selected on the 3000 Series receivers and IR-sync’ed with the transmitters. Further, users can set backup frequencies that are quickly swappable from the transmitters in case of unexpected interference.
“The backup channels have completely eliminated the signal drop issues we have dealt with in the past,” says integrator Christopher Pepe of Clear Gold Audio and Lighting. Eight A-T dual-charging bays let the playhouse volunteers easily manage battery readiness. “Rechargeable battery pack technology was a huge plus,” Pepe added. “In years past, Weathervane recycled about 3,000 batteries a year.”
But the bottom line was the sound, says Weathervane’s Fred Gloor. “The mics sound fantastic, even before they are EQ’ed. Our audio has been clearer, more balanced, easier to mix, and much more consistent.”
The Weathervane Playhouse
- Capacity: 240
- Key Components: Audio-Technica 3000 Series wireless; RF Venue Diversity Fin antenna
- Integrator: Clear Gold Audio and Lighting
Royal Danish Theatre, Copenhagen, Denmark
Copenhagen’s Det Kongelige Teater (The Royal Theatre) recently invested in a compact dLive Wings system to add flexibility in its newly repurposed A-Salen annex stage contemporary dance space, the home of the dance company Corpus.
Formerly a rehearsal area, A-Salen is a true black box space, giving ample reconfiguration options for a wide variety of dance performances. In-house audio engineer and sound designer, Jonas Jensen set out to find a mixing system that could keep up with the versatility of the space itself. The greatest challenge was that the mix position would often need to share an intimate footprint with the lighting desk, so a typical 36-fader, full-format console was never on the shopping list.
Following a recommendation from colleague, Jonas opted for a 19” Allen & Heath dLive C1500 surface with 12 faders over six layers, paired with a CDM32 MixRack. An IP8 remote controller provides six extra layers of eight faders, bringing the total number of available fader strips to 120. A Dante 128×128 card in the C1500 completes the setup, integrating the dLive system with the theater’s comprehensive Dante network. All components were supplied by Allen & Heath’s Danish distributor, Lightpartner.
“I often run quite complex speaker layouts, like multiple surround setups, or immersive systems, and I do most speaker distribution within the console,” says Jonas. “So I need a lot of buses with delays and filters. As we range from small Ableton-focused surround-installs to full-on rock bands, I really appreciate the effortless configuring, routing and setup.” Specific features already in heavy use include dLive’s DCA spills, Dyn8’s dynamic EQ functionality and easy virtual sound checking. When not in use in A-Salen, the dLive system provides monitor duties for larger performances and touring shows.
The Royal Danish Theatre A-Salen
- Capacity: Configurable
- Key Components: Allen & Heath dLive C1500; CDM32 MixRack
- Integrator: Lightpartner
