The bulk of my professional career has been spent at Shakespeare Festivals, which are also (as a whole or in part) repertory companies. That means designing doesn’t just take in to account the needs of a single show, but all those that will be performed in repertory -- usually two or three shows, every now and then more.

This may or may not have an impact on the artistic concept of any one show, but it will absolutely affect the practical side of things - how many speakers and amplifiers, how many channels, how many microphones - there are finite numbers of any of these things in any given space. There are also other considerations, that are more expandable (provided you have the budget) such as how much/many speaker and microphone cables you have, and the number of patch points and speaker jacks in a theatre.

The first step in thinking about a design in a rep setting is defining the finite: What are your playback options and how many channels of playback do you have available? What console(s) do you have? How many channels does it have, how many outputs? How many speakers do you have available? How many amplifiers (channels of amplification)? What microphones are in inventory?

Next: what are the needs for each show.

If all the shows are designed in advance, putting the numbers together can be straight forward, but if the shows are designed sequentially, things can be more challenging.

Typically in either situation, there are going to be some “givens” about a system hook-up. For example, if the main front of house configuration is fixed (be it left and right; left, right and center; a cluster etc.) it’s hook up and will “probably” stay the same for all the shows involved. That may not be the case if you’re producing a musical, or if the theatre is in the round. Whatever those “givens” are - maybe a surround position, on stage speakers, etc. - the best way is to dedicate the same playback sends and console channels, amps, etc. - the whole signal line - to those specific speakers so that there is consistency between all the shows.

After that, what else do the shows require? More importantly, what can be shared between all the shows and what needs are show specific?

For example, one show may be a simple configuration, where another may require one ore more on stage “practical” speakers for a radio, record player, phone, buzzer, intercom, etc. When you add those numbers up, you compare them to the finite numbers and see how they add up. If the numbers of speaker needs are the same or less than channels and playback, then you’re set. Ideally, if you have enough of the finite, in this case, play back channels, speakers and amplifiers, then the hookup remains static. On the other hand, if you don’t, you’re going to have to accommodate the extra needs with a re-patch, or a change in hookup.

As a general rule, I try to keep any re-patch as simple as possible, or in other words, less likely to be patched incorrectly or to fail. The best re-patch is one that only one cable or patch point changed, in essence, you’re meeting the needs of a show without confusing or complicating the integrity of the system.

You repeat the process with the other elements you need - microphones, etc., and in the end you’ll have an idea of what the change between shows will require.

The next step - and the most important, is documenting and labeling all of the patch points - especially the changes.

Then? Put on some shows.

Until next time cats and kittens,

Cheers,

~R