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A primer to help church techs get a "head" for mic placement in theatrical productions. All photos courtesy of Glen DiCrocco.
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A PRO'S TIP: Tilt the head as far forward as it will go, then tape the cable to the back of the neck, leaving about six inches of cable slack.
The level of sophistication of live theatrical productions that houses of worship have been putting on continues to increase, rivaling what theatergoers can experience in a local performing arts center. But even the most basic theater production, such as the events that churches stage annually at Christmas and Easter, need good dialog sound to propel their narratives. And that's where house-of-worship productions can take some lessons from Broadway.
Getting the Voice Across
The vast majority of the sound for show will consist of the human voice, for sung vocals and spoken dialog, and that means that microphone choice and placement are the two most critical aspects of achieving good theatrical audio. Carin Ford, the production mixer for shows on Broadway, including “The Color Purple,” “City of Angels,” “Les Miserables,” “The Scottsboro Boys,” and “An American in Paris,” says audio supervisors need to start with the right microphones. These tend to be either head-worn microphone elements—Sennheiser's MKE-1 and MKE-2 tend to be the most popular lavalier mics among theater professionals for hiding in wigs—or boom microphones, such as the DPA d:fine 4066 headset microphone.
“I like the MKE-1 for certain types of applications because it tends to have a brighter sound, which really helps with speech intelligibility,” she explains. “The MKE-2 is warmer sounding and is very good for certain types of vocals.”
Head-worn microphones are generally intended to be hidden, often in the actor's hair or wig, and usually peeking out at the front hairline above the center of the face. That will generally keep them within four inches of the mouth. Boom microphones, also known as headset mics on the other hand, can be positioned much closer to the mouth, ensuring better pickup, but are considerably more obvious; they often come in several basic colors that can match a performer's skin shade or makeup, and are made of materials that can be painted if needed.
Simon Matthews, the production sound engineer for the newly opened “Spring Awakening” on Broadway and Bullets Over Broadway, and the production mixer for big-sound musicals like “Young Frankenstein” and “Spiderman: Turn Off The Dark,” says the most critical relationship in theatrical audio is the proximity between the microphone elements and the sound source. “The closer, the better, so you have that trade-off between the closeness of a headset vs. the ability of a head-worn microphone to be hidden,” he explains. “But in both cases you also want to have the distance between the microphone element and the mouth be consistent, so that the level into the microphone is consistent and predictable.”
Terms of Attachment
Attaching any kind of microphone to an actor is an art, Broadway A1s and A2s will tell you. Sound Designer Tony Meola, whose work on the hit “The Lion King” won him a Drama Desk Award for sound, will place a Countryman B-6 lavalier microphone as close to the center of the head as possible, with the cable running down through the actor's hairline. “The further off center you place the microphone, the more high end you lose and have to make up for with EQ at the console,” he cautions.
Wires are run through costumes—lace is a wireless microphone's best friend in terms of camouflage—and transmitters are tucked into costumes. In fact, Meola has actually taught a class in theatrical mic placement, showing how they can be squirreled into wigs and even sideburns, and giving away one of his secrets: specialty toupee barrettes made by American Hair Lines (pun intentional, we assume) in Brooklyn.
Once you've decided exactly where to place it—“Location, location, location,” Matthews chants. “Microphone placement and real estate have the same mantra.”—clean the area with some Skin-Prep, a liquid film-forming dressing that upon application to skin forms a protective film to help reduce friction during removal of tape. (It also cleans off any makeup, which undermines the adhesive on the tape.) Then, using a cloth-type tape, such as surgical tape or hair clips (anything from a typical bobby pin to toupee clips are regularly used on Broadway), tape or hair grip the cable just behind the microphone element, being careful not to cover any part of the element. The next step is to run the cable back over the top of the head; the pro's tip is to tilt the head as far forward as it will go, then tape the cable to the back of the neck, leaving about six inches of cable slack at the transmitter, which is attached to clothing or costume at the waist. “Too much slack in the cord here is untidy, while too little will end up pulling on the microphone where it's taped to the front of the head,” says Matthews.
Theatrical sound engineers are loath to have to go to what they usually call the last resort: attaching lavaliere mics to clothing. The main problem there is that even omnidirectional lavs will experience diminished level when the actor's head turns away from the microphone. But sometimes, it's the only option.
Getting your Head Wet
Moisture is going to be a microphone's main enemy once an actor is on stage, and it most often comes in the form of sweat. Ford tells actors to be aware of it and to carefully dab at it when they feel sweat accumulating near the hairline. She also keeps a can of compressed air on hand and will blow across the top of the mic element to rid it of moisture if the build-up starts to affect the microphone's performance. “Never blow right into the microphone—you can do some serious damage to it that way,” she cautions. “Just across the top around the edge.”
These kinds of situations underscore the need to keep spares on hand, of both mic elements and transmitters, though the latter will fail far less often due to moisture. With transmitters, it's the batteries you need to watch out for. A typical alkaline 9-volt battery will last as long as a dozen hours but begins to lose performance after five or six hours. It's always best practice to change batteries before every event.
Other Options
Ninety-five percent of what comes off the stage and into the PA system will come from the microphones on the heads of the performers. However, some types of shows can benefit from microphones placed strategically on the stage, too. PZM microphones (pressure zone microphones), also called boundary microphones, are usually used for tap and other dancing when the percussion needs to be amplified. Less common is the use of lavaliers and other small-element microphones hidden in scenery, such as a centerpiece on a dining room table where a lot of action and dialog may take place. “We're always looking for a consistent distance from the source to the microphone, “says Matthews. “And that's one of the few instances where a microphone on stage that's not attached to a person might be of use.”
