Meticulous Balance - The Sound Design for Follies ... - Aspen Media.

MeticulousThe sound design for Follies at theKennedy Center. by Keith ClarkScenes fromthe currentproductionof Follies atthe KennedyCenter.>>>>>>The current production of the multiple Tony Award-winningmusical Follies at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.,presents a beautiful yet haunting study of youth as seen throughthe eyes of age and experience. Featuring a score recognizedas one of Stephen Sondheim’s greatest works, Follies originallyopened on Broadway in the spring of 1971, running for morethan 500 performances in the Winter Garden Theatre.The limited-run revival at the Kennedy Center’s EisenhowerTheatre, which began in early May and continuesthrough June 19, features a stellar cast that includes principalsBernadette Peters, Jan Maxwell, Danny Burstein, RonRaines, and Elaine Paige. A New York Times review notedthat the show “glitters with grandeur, lyricism and an uneasyundercurrent of fragility. It is the sound of beauty with fracturelines, just about to crack.”It’s appropriate that the review makes an allusion to sound,because the sound design for the show presents another interestingstudy, carefully conceived by veteran theatrical sound designerKai Harada and mixed live by Patrick Pummill on a StagetecAurus console surface. A 28-piece orchestra presenting JonathanTunick’s original orchestrations joins the vocals of the castof veteran theatrical performers as the primary elements in asoundscape that requires meticulous balance.“This is a classic type of show that was written before productionsbecame too over-arranged,” Harada explains. “Thevarious sonic elements are balanced naturally, so I wantedPHOTO BY JOAN MARCUS24 Live Sound International June 2011 www.ProSoundWeb.com

:: Meticulous Balance ::A look inside the EisenhowerTheatre, equipped with a qualityhouse system that works intandem with StagetecAurus and Nexus.PHOTO BY ROY BLUNTthe sound system to be as transparentas possible.”Original SourcesThe Eisenhower Theater seats 1,100,and is the smallest of the theaters onthe center’s main level. It contains anorchestra pit for up to 40 musicians thatis convertible to a forestage or additionalseating space, as well as a main(“orchestra”) seating level followed by abox tier and then the balcony. The wallsare of East Indian laurel wood, and thestage curtain of hand-woven wool is agift from the people of Canada.“The theatre is a very well designedacoustic space, which enhances the naturalelements of the production,” notesHarada, who has sound design creditsfor several top shows such as MillionDollar Quartet on his resume. “It workswith my primary goal, which is to presentthe superb original sources of theactors and the orchestra in their nativestate, without noticeable electronicenhancement that would detract fromtheir innate power and beauty.”A modern sound reinforcement systemwas installed in the theatre a fewyears ago during a renovation of theroom. Comprised of premium components,it was deemed well-suited toserve the needs of this production. Linearrays are JBL VerTec Series incorporatingDrivepack (DP) electronic moduleswith Crown Audio amplificationand dbx digital signal processing. Keyelements in this set are a center clusterfor the main level seating and box tiersmade up of seven JBL VT4887A compactmodules and five more VT4887Amodules serving the balcony.Several JBL Control 25 compactloudspeakers handle front fill and underbalcony needs, and Harada specified anadditional four Meyer Sound UPJuniorcompact self-powered loudspeakersfor the orchestra. Two Meyer SoundGalileo 616 loudspeaker managementsystems have also been brought in andinserted in the system signal path.The orchestra is mic’d with the venue’spackage of premium microphones,including models from AKG, Neumann,Sennheiser and Shure. Performers areserved by 44 Sennheiser SK 5212 UHFwireless microphone bodypack transmitterswith EM 1046 receivers.Countryman B6 minature omnidirectionallavalier mics are the choice formost of the actors, although a coupleof the male actors are better served bySound mixer Patrick Pummill (left) andsound designer Kai Harada.Sennheiser MKE 1 miniature lavaliermics. “I didn’t want the actor microphonesto be visible, and the B6s andMKE1s are the best options available,”adds Harada. (All supplemental gearwith the exception of the Stagetec systemwas supplied by PRG.)Versatile PackageHarada first began working with Stagetecsystem elements about two yearsago for a traveling production of Wicked,where the goal was to cut the overallfootprint of the system. The key wasStagetec Nexus base devices that provideall input/output, routing, mic preamps,and much more in an extremely versatile26 Live Sound International June 2011 www.ProSoundWeb.com

:: Meticulous Balance ::prefer this system is that it’s transparentand responds very quickly, and the micpres sound absolutely wonderful.”“One of the other great features of theAurus is that, as a designer, I can be veryhands-on with the desk,” he continues.“The Aurus provides the capability tohave many channel strips available outsideof the central section. I can be makingchanges on channels on one end, andJana (Hoglund, his associate) can be handlingother channels on the other end ofthe console, all while Patrick is mixing. Itfeels like an analog console in that regard,and I find it a far more efficient systemthan other digital desks.”Left to right, the sound team of Jana Hoglund, Patrick Pummill and Kai Harada atwork simultaneously on the Aurus.package that is modular, portable, andreliable. After that initial positive experience,it’s now become a staple of hisdesigns, including Zorro in Moscow andHinterm Horizont in Berlin.The Stagetec complement for Folliesis extensive, with four Nexus basedevices working in tandem with a48-channel Aurus mix/control surface.The Nexus devices take 48 mic inputsfrom the orchestra, another 44 inputsfrom the actors wireless systems, as wellas a variety of other digital and analoginputs, including 10 channels (viaMADI) of QLab pre-programmedeffects from a Macintosh computer.Outputs of the foldback and surroundsystems are equalized in the Aurus realm,while outputs to the vocal and orchestrasystems are directed to the two Galileoloudspeaker management systems thatprovide critical final tailoring capability.All inputs and outputs can easily berouted everywhere and anywhere desiredvia the Stagetec system interface.“Stagetec Aurus and Nexus are sucha powerful, flexible package, and eachtime out, I discover further ways to takeadvantage of that flexibility,” Haradastates. “There’s really nothing else likeit that sounds as good and is also such acustomizable solution to meet any technicalor creative need that might arise.”Moving DigitalSound mixer Patrick Pummill, a 20-plusyear veteran of musical theatre work,had not been exposed to the Stagetecplatform prior to this show. Up to thispoint, he’s primarily worked with analogconsoles, and has tended to favorthe Cadac models that have long proventheir worth in live productions. Facedwith this unfamiliar format heading intoFollies, he did some homework to getcomfortable with the Aurus surface.“It’s only been recently that I’vestarted desiring more overall control ona scene-by-scene basis, which is the primaryadvantage of digital systems,” Pummillnotes. “This opportunity to use theStagetec system has completely changedmy outlook. Simply, it’s an extraordinarilypowerful and configurable console thatsounds fantastic. Sonically, it’s invisible.You get the system programmed, andwhen the show is up and running, theAurus is a joy to mix on.”This outlook is echoed by Harada,who notes that “part of the reason ITrue To The SourceThe additional system components forFollies were loaded in on a Monday andup and running by the end of that day,and then were fully integrated with thehouse system on Tuesday. Harada notesthis ease of setup is another positive factorof the Stagetec system, as well as theskill of the technical crew of the KennedyCenter. He adds that the hands-on supportof both the German and U.S. officesof Stagetec has been another big plus.Pummill’s approach to mixing Folliesis perhaps most accurately summarizedwith “first, do no harm.” The overall mantrais a true-to-the-source presentation.“We’ve got a great orchestra and abunch of great voices, so we really try tostay out of their way – we do not wantto be reinterpreting their performances,”Pummill concludes. “Every voice is different– quiet, loud, different pitches,so it’s vital to be aware of each of thoseunique signatures. Particularly when itgets quieter, we want the added nuancethat drives that compelling story beingtold on stage. A lot of it is feel withrespect to levels. The idea is to draw theaudience into the moment.” ■KEITH CLARK is editor in chiefof Live Sound International andProSoundWeb.28 Live Sound International June 2011 www.ProSoundWeb.com