PROFILE
Wayne Hawthorne
By Selina Setrakian
Before becoming a successful engineer , producer , and mixer , Wayne Hawthorne was a high school trumpet player and self-proclaimed “ rock n ’ roll janitor .”
When a teenage Hawthorne arrived early to the Heritage Theatre in his hometown of Brampton for a performance with the local community concert band , he watched as the tech crew prepped the venue and thought , “ I can do that !” Soon enough it became true as the manager , seeing how eager Hawthorne was , brought him on to work at both the Pearson and Heritage theatres . With tasks ranging from handling audio , lighting , and stage management to cleaning gum off the bottom of the seats , he earned his title as a musical janitor of sorts .
While studying electrical engineering at Ryerson University , a new opportunity presented itself to Hawthorne in the entertainment tech services department for Canada ’ s Wonderland . There , Hawthorne supported audio , video , and lighting for venues , rides , and shows , which included support for concerts held at Kingswood Music Theatre . At the time , Kingswood hosted large-scale touring shows such as Janet Jackson and The Scorpions . He left his mark with his final-year thesis , re-working Wonderland ’ s background music and paging control system temporarily – or so he thought . “ My work was supposed to run for a year , but when I came back seven years later , it was still running ! I guess it worked out well !”
Moving to Ottawa and finding a job with a military contractor , Hawthorne began work on acoustic systems and search and surveillance systems for 10 years . Simultaneously , feeling he wanted to do more audio work , Hawthorne began Click Track Audio with a friend from school . Together , they designed and built a mobile production vehicle to provide location audio recording services .
“ We get hired by production companies and TV broadcasters to bring the facility to wherever the show is happening . My original plan was to solely provide a mobile for productions , but often I end up hired as the default mixer . So , I ’ ve mixed large broadcasts for events like Canada Day at Parliament Hill . I ’ ve mixed for that show , in particular , four or five times now and met royalty , large artists and small artists – all because of Click Track ,” says Hawthorne . The mobile production vehicle has since been sold to Montreal ’ s Piccolo Studios . The business , however , has continued , and though it ’ s morphed to fit a smaller “ air pack ” format , it still provides Hawthorne great success .
Undoubtedly , a large part of his success can be attributed to his ability to never dwell in the past .
“ Live audio is an industry where the ongoing joke is ‘ you only have one chance to get it right .’ That ’ s the honest truth . I ’ ve made mistakes in front of millions of people . But I ’ ve been very lucky to be surrounded by a lot of gracious people who understand – it ’ s life and nothing ’ s ever going to be perfect . Everybody ’ s shooting for perfection , but the biggest thing is that when you make a mistake on that bigger scale , you don ’ t make it a second time – you learn from it and move forward ,” he says .
With Click Track in its 16 th year , Hawthorne ’ s hit many of his goals , but there ’ s still plenty he ’ s got planned .
“ I ’ ve been supported by fantastic people and now I ’ m trying to give back . I ’ m always trying to expand my technical knowledge and simultaneously give it to those coming in . I ’ m doing that now through teaching in Algonquin College ’ s Music Industry Arts program ,” he explains .
Even with all this success , Hawthorne ’ s career is not without
bumps or concern for the future . Most recently , he fears what ’ s to come as pandemic restrictions are gradually lifted . Specifically , after all this time of wanting more work , many in the industry will likely be rushing to begin productions , resulting in an increased need to decline or cancel out of gigs , he explains . This is not to say that he doesn ’ t enjoy the rush of the industry – and rather , the opposite is true . What Hawthorne loves most about the industry and his work is the immediacy .
“ Because I grew up at the theatre and did various things for Wonderland , I clicked with a sense of urgency from early on . Nothing like the pressure of getting it right , here and in the moment — the now . I personally don ’ t get particularly nervous as a show approaches , except for that one millisecond when the lights come down . As the audience inhales , just before the artist steps on , in that one moment , everything in preparation leading up to that moment runs through my mind . In that moment , I can ’ t fix anything ,” says Hawthorne .
In fact , Hawthorne ’ s love for immediacy and quick action does not stop there . When he ’ s not behind a computer screen or a console , he enjoys activities like playing volleyball , biking , and dancing salsa .
As for the future , regardless of what it holds , Hawthorne remains optimistic for the changes coming to the live production industry and the challenges they may pose . “ I ’ m looking forward to seeing some of the good aspects of the pandemic that we can keep to make the industry better ,” he says . “ It ’ s going to be an interesting industry when we open up and I want to be part of the re-emergence of the industry while also continuing to provide education in entertainment technology .”
Selina Setrakian is an Editorial Assistant at Professional Sound .
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