in 2020 , but it turns out they ’ re great for other things too . We ’ ve been playing sound effects through them , and aimed up and a little bit onstage , they can localize things a little bit more right to the stage level ,” Duncan says .
In each of the two voms , a Tannoy i15 dual concentric loudspeaker sits on Meyer USW subs , legacy equipment from the old theatre . “ The Tannoys are driven by a QSC PowerLight amp , and the subs by a Crest CKS800 . There ’ s some masking in the way that contributes to some loss of presence , but those systems work well , especially for sound where you don ’ t want a lot of presence , because it ’ s supposed to sound distant ,” he says .
A Digico SD7T Quantum in the control booth handles mixing and distribution duties . “ We use it largely to matrix all the inputs from QLab and radio mics out to our multiple speaker locations . We have a lot of zones and a lot of speakers to talk to . The SD7T does the job pretty well with a 48 by 48 matrix , and at least 36 aux sends in addition to that , so we can talk to everything in the theatre . With a couple of minor exceptions , we can route any input on a one-toone basis to any speaker ,” Duncan says .
Dougherty notes that the SD7T can “ route mix buses on the fly to send different delays to the various loudspeakers in the house . For example , if you have a singer starting at the top of the stage and walking downstage , we ’ ve got to change all the timing relationships as the singer moves , or else the image won ’ t localize properly to the performer . We need to be able to change that timing relationship on the fly for every seat in the house , for every performer on stage just to make everything sound natural ,” he says .
“ Had we done the musical , that ’ s exactly how we would have used it ,” Duncan adds . “ The SD7T would have been the riding force for creating delay zones on the stage in order to make the audience ’ s experience feel more realistic ; otherwise you ’ re going to have voices coming from weird places . In the past , when we had Meyer LCS and CueStation in the other theatres , that ’ s completely how it was built ; however , that ’ s gone the way of the dinosaur now . We have used OSC [ Open Sound Control ] strings in QLab that talk to the console under the hood to control anything that the surface of the console can control . Right now , we ’ re using it for things like changing aux sends , but you can control levels or fire snapshots and macros . It ’ s quite powerful , because , while we ’ re still using the console , we now have another way to address it .”
Sound effects cues created by sound designers on their DAW of choice are imported into QLab . During a show , an operator controls QLab manually , following the stage manager who calls the show ,
SCENE FROM ALL ’ S WELL THAT ENDS WELL AT THE TOM PATTERSON THEATRE , STRATFORD FESTIVAL 2022 .
ensuring that the sound effects are synchronized with lighting and special effects cues .
“ The OSC triggers from QLab were really necessary because we didn ’ t want to need two ‘ Go ’ buttons , one on QLab and one on the console . Being able to do that means that we can advance snapshots on the console and we can make changes under the hood without hitting a second ‘ Go ’ Button . The challenge was that Digico hasn ’ t released much information about their OSC layer , except that there is one , and we know because the iPad interface talks via that . I used a tool called OSCulator to sniff that connection a little bit , and I found some OSC commands . Then audio designer / consultant Peter McBoyle helped tremendously , so now we can probably control most of the console directly from QLab ,” Duncan says . A Digico SD10T Quantum is usually installed in the house mix position when it is being used , necessitating removal of nine seats . “ The SD7 is too ingrained into the infrastructure of our sound , so it stays up in the control booth . The SD10T just doesn ’ t have the matrix size to deal with what we ’ re doing with the SD7T . We have a couple of SD-Racks , a couple of D-Racks and an SD-MiNi Rack in the trap room , all tied together on an Optocore fibre optic network , and providing a potential of 132 inputs and 144 outputs , although we can borrow cards from other theatres when necessary ,” he says .
The theatre is equipped with 36 Lectrosonics SSM micro belt-pack transmitters — typically used with Sennheiser MKE 1 miniature lavalier microphones — and six Lectrosonics Venue 2 receivers . “ The small size of the SSM makes them especially good for dancers , where you can hide a pack in the wig using toupee clips , for example . We ’ ve made it so they ’ re flexible , with a little elastic strung around them so that you can move them up and down the mic cord and place them where you need them on the fly . But if we don ’ t have a top shot or a centre shot , we usually use a mic attached to a piece of piano wire to go around the ear ,” he says .
Other microphones on hand are from AKG , DPA , Lectrosonics , Neumann , Rode , and Shure , along with DIs from Avalon and Radial . Twelve Aviom A320 personal mixers are also available for musicians to tailor their own mixes . While there is no designated band loft or pit , a band can be accommodated in the rehearsal hall upstage of the stage house , or almost any other space due to the extensive A / V networking infrastructure .
“ Without Peter McBoyle and Greg Dougherty advocating for our needs , I ’ m sure the end result wouldn ’ t have been the same . Associate TD David Campbell also had a hand in it at the beginning , and Horizon Solutions , our theatrical equipment and AV supply and installation contractor , were brilliant in connecting a lot of loose ends and disparate information and making it all work ,” Duncan says .
Other consultants and suppliers include Fisher Dachs Associates ( theatre consultants ), Aercoustics Engineering ( acoustic consultants ), Novita Techne ( AV consultant ), and EllisDon ( general contractor ).
“ This theatre is a work of art , not a conventional building ,” Cimolino says . “ For many years to come , this beautiful space will be a home to artists and audiences from around the world , a home for the magic of theatre and a source of strength for this very important Canadian institution .”
Professional Sound dedicates this article in loving memory of Canadian theatre sound designer Peter McBoyle , who passed away in early September following a fight with urologic cancer . Across Canada , he leaves an unmatched legacy in the area of theatre sound design .
Alan Hardiman is a Toronto-based specialist in professional sound design , producing soundtracks for film and TV , events , exhibits , and theatre for over 20 years .
PHOTO : DAVID HOU
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