[SML] Noises Off Dilemma

[Jerry Durand]

1. make sure act 2 isn't funny?
2. place microphones to pick up the lines (doesn't have to be good ones)
and feed speakers hidden next to doors.  Only turn this on for act 2
(maybe the speakers plug in so aren't even there during act 1).

On 04/30/2018 09:08 AM, Wayne Rasmussen via Stagecraft wrote:
>
> Noises Off will open at my school on May 10.  The play will be
> performed in our black box theater.  The space is surrounded by
> concrete block, a sheet rock ceiling, and a vinyl tile covered
> concrete floor.  It measures 50’ by 35’ by 23’ high.  One 35’ wall has
> velour curtains on it.  The one large window is concealed by a lined
> black velour approximately 10’ high by 25’ wide.  Acoustics for the
> shows we have done for 20 years have been reasonably good, not
> requiring the use of microphones. 
>
>  
>
> The set I have constructed spans the 35’ width and is 22’ in depth. It
> is 16’ at its highest point, probably averaging 14’ high.  Rather than
> rotating the set or moving wagons around, I have chosen to have the
> audience sit on one side of the set for Acts 1 and 3, and move to
> seats on the “backstage” side for Act 2.   The seating accommodation
> will be 74 on each side, with the front row of the audience at the
> edge of the playing space. 
>
>  
>
> The director is concerned that during Act 2, the actors on the
> backstage side of the set will be unable to hear the lines that the
> actors on the front of the set are saying—when the audience is
> laughing.  Lines are easily heard in rehearsal.  The director has
> approached me about finding a way to enable to actors to hear the
> lines over laughter, so that their backstage movements will be
> coordinated with the lines being spoken on the other side of the set. 
> I have responded that I don’t think I can find a way to make that
> work.  In one scenario, if I were to somehow place speakers so that
> the actors can hear, the audience will hear those same speakers.  The
> sound will not emanate from the proper source (the other side of the
> set).  In scenario two, if the actors were to somehow know what lines
> were being spoken (in-ear monitors) and responded appropriately to
> their cues, the laughing audience won’t be able to hear the same lines
> and the subsequent movements won’t make sense to them.   
>
>  
>
> If you have any suggestions how to solve the problem, I would
> appreciate your response.  If the scenarios I have considered are
> flawed, I would appreciate a correction.  If you have other reasons to
> reinforce why there is no solution, please add them. 
>
>  
>
> Thanks,
>
> Wayne Rasmussen
>
> Blair Academy
>
>  
>
>  
>
>
>
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-- 
Jerry Durand, Durand Interstellar, Inc.
www.DurandInterstellar.com
tel: +1 408 356-3886
@DurandInterstel

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