microphones

[BroadwaySchmoe]

Posted: 11/12/18 at 6:33pm

Are there any shows on Broadway or Lincoln Center that do not mic their actors? Saw My Fair Lady last week and I could not detect any. Have they just gotten that good at disguising them?

[Sondheimite]

Posted: 11/12/18 at 6:34pm

BroadwaySchmoe said: "Are there any shows on Broadway or Lincoln Center that do not mic their actors? Saw My Fair Lady last week and I could not detect any. Have they just gotten that good at disguising them?"

*maybe* some of the plays aren't don't use mics but every musical currently running on Broadway/Lincoln Center uses microphones and I don't expect that to ever change. 

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 11/12/18 at 7:25pm

They were always hidden fantastically. Then in the 90s that forehead dot mic surfaced and it became standard until 1996 when RENT introduced those annoying face/earphone extended mics. Lately it seems they went back to hiding them completely like the old days.

[trpguyy]

Posted: 11/12/18 at 8:07pm

The louder the show is, the closer the mics needs to be to the actors’ mouths. A “natural” sounding show, like a play or classic musical, can easily hide the mic in the actor’s hairline. A contemporary musical would probably require the mic to be a bit lower, in the middle of the forehead, and a rock show would most likely require headsets.

[natashalost]

Posted: 11/12/18 at 8:54pm

When I saw American Son I didn't see any microphones directly on the actors but I believe there was 4 microphones placed at the edge of the stage

[TheGingerBreadMan]

Posted: 11/12/18 at 9:04pm

I can't imagine a musical on Broadway ever not using mics on their actors.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 11/12/18 at 9:36pm

there are 2 separate concepts that are being confounded. There are microphones, and there is amplification. They need not be the same. Any show with assisted listening devices has microphones and most shows need them so people backstage can hear what's going on. This does not necessarily mean that there is a speaker directed to the audience, although commonly there is some juicing going on.

[mailhandler777]

Posted: 11/12/18 at 10:32pm

I don't think they use any mics in Days Of Rage.

[HunterK]

Posted: 11/12/18 at 11:17pm

natashalost said: "When I saw American Son I didn't see any microphones directly on the actors but I believe there was 4 microphones placed at the edge of the stage"

For "American Son" they hidden throughout the set. I read there are some on the waiting room chairs and coffee table. There are also a few along the top of the windows.  

[SomethingPeculiar]

Posted: 11/12/18 at 11:22pm

If you can't detect the amplification, I view that as really good sound design. As far as "acoustic"-sounding shows go, Band's Visit and My Fair Lady come to mind as two of the best. (And I think Hamilton's sound is amazing and not distracting, for a very non-acoustic show) 

The Met Opera doesn't amplify their performers most of the time, though I believe there have been a few recent exceptions.