Meyer Sound News : Realism and Musicality at Seattle Repertory Theater

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Realism and Musicality at Seattle Repertory Theater

"The difference was immediately apparent,The rain through the UPA-1Ps was natural sounding, easily distinguishable as 'rain. Through the existing house system, you had to turn up the level in order to clearly identify the sound as rain, and then you were above the desired level for a background effect."

- Stephen LeGrand
Theater sound consultant

Photos courtesy of Bill Droege

One of the demos of the new loudspeaker system, supplied by Meyer Sound's Western Sales Manager - Lloyd Kinkade, in the 856-seat theater was to listen to an effect-the sound of rain played behind dialogue on stage-first through the previous house system, then through a stereo pair of Meyer UPA-1Ps, augmented by a subwoofer.

"The difference was immediately apparent," says theater sound consultant, Stephen LeGrand. "The rain through the UPA-1Ps was natural sounding, easily distinguishable as 'rain.' Through the existing house system, you had to turn up the level in order to clearly identify the sound as rain, and then you were above the desired level for a background effect."

Installed before the Repertory Theater's 1999 - 2000 season opener (Sept. 15th), the main self-powered Meyer system, purchased from Dansound of Seattle, consists of seven UPA-1Ps and two UPA-2Ps, augmented by a 650-P subwoofer. 14 Meyer UPM-1Ps, used for delays and effects, round out the Broadway-theater class house system.

Bill Droege, head sound engineer for the theater, commented that although the theater itself is fairly reflective, the Meyer Sound system that was installed greatly enhances the clarity of the vocals. "Voice does quite well here, and doesn't need much help," he said.

Meyer Dominates the Seattle Theater Scene

The Repertory Theater is one of five theaters in Seattle that have installed self-powered Meyer Sound systems: the Intiman Theater (two UPA-1P and a USW-1P subwoofer); A Contemporary Theater, also known as A.C.T. Theater (three UPA-1Ps); On the Boards (two UPA-1Ps); the Moore Theater (mix of six UPA-1Ps and UPA-1As); and The Paramount (two MSL-4s and two CQ-2s for the balcony). In addition to these venues self-powered loudspeakers are also installed in; the Jane Addams Auditorium, home to the Civic Light Opera (two UPA-1As), and the 5th Avenue Theater has had a conventionally-powered Meyer Sound system installed for a number of years.

The season opener (an Asian-based drama with music, "The Golden Child") offered an excellent test of the new system, says LeGrand: unusual ethnic percussion instruments and the sound of a gong, oddly struck, in the prelude to the drama. "Listening to the gong alone, you could hear every overtone... Again, it doesn't take a 'professional ear' to hear the difference between the Meyer Sound system and the previous house system - or systems based around professional loudspeakers from any number of other manufacturers."

The Main System

Here's how the Seattle Repertory Theater's main system breaks out. A cluster consisting of two UPA-2Ps (with a 45° H x 45° V dispersion pattern) and one UPA-1P (with a 100° H x 40° V dispersion pattern) is hidden above the proscenium. The three loudspeakers are mounted 2-over-1, with the two down-firing UPA-2Ps for orchestra coverage and the single UPA-1P firing into the theater balcony. On either side of the proscenium are two UPA-1Ps, mounted low, one over the other; one is directed straight ahead at the orchestra, and the other at the balcony. A single 650-P subwoofer (frequency range of 30-120 Hz) sits nicely hidden behind the cyc, center-stage, against the stage back wall. The two other UPA-1Ps in the system Droege describes as "rovers", used for effects when needed, hidden on stage behind a scrim or stage prop, or placed in closer alignment up stage with the subwoofer. "Using a Level Control Systems matrix system," he says, "we can get a stereo feel from the stage using these two UPA-1Ps. They really help bring the sound down to the stage and give us a better blend overall, I think."

Generally, LeGrand's first preference is not for an overhead cluster for non-musical theater, he says. So he, with the help of Meyer Sounds John Monitto, worked at bringing the sound "down" to the stage by manipulating the low-mounted L/R side mains clusters. The single sub-which was originally specified as two subwoofers to be placed on either side of the stage-works extremely well, centered against the back wall of the stage house. As LeGrand says: "We rely very much on this subwoofer as an effects box... When King Lear's out on the heath in the wind and the rain and the thunder, you want the audience to feel the thunder. And, believe me, they do with this system."

The Delay & Effects Systems

Of the 14 installed UPM-1Ps, four are used as delays; suspended above a catwalk, they are focused on the balcony seating. At rear-of-house, balcony level, four UPM-1s aim back toward the stage, for effects and surround. At rear-of-house, orchestra level, four UPM-1s aim at the orchestra level and are focused on the orchestra seating. (The UPM-1P is a three-way loudspeaker with a frequency range of 60Hz - 22kHz and a symmetrical dispersion pattern of 100°H x 100°V.)

The two remaining UPM-1Ps are mounted 12 feet from the orchestra floor, about one-third of the way back in the house, along the left and right walls. "Originally, we had these speakers placed left and right, just below the UPA-1P's on either side of the proscenium," says LeGrand. "They were aimed to cover the very front rows of the orchestra, just in front of the stage lip. But we moved them out, along the wall, for subsequent shows, in a sort of surround arrangement, using them for specific effects, just as we've used the rear-of-house UPM-1Ps on occasion."

"These speakers work wonderfully at high SPL," LeGrand says, "and we've been very happy with them in the surround position. But they'll probably go back to their original position for musical shows... The fact is, we really wanted these speakers to experiment with."

Other System Essentials

Four Akai DR-4's provide multitrack digital source material. System EQ and delay goes through six BSS Omnidrives, 2-in/3-out. Level Control Systems' SuperNova LD-88G, a two rack-space matrix mixer module with eight channels of 20-bit audio I/O, provides mixing functions (as well as multiband parametric EQ and delays on all inputs and outputs). LCS's CueStation software provides the interface for programming automation. A Mackie 8-bus mixing console also provides mixing capabilities.

A pair of Meyer HM-1 studio monitors and an auxiliary subwoofer have also been added to the sound booth recently. Droege describes their performance as nothing short of "spectacular."

The Repertory Theater's loudspeaker system was put together with the "competition" from surround sound movie theater systems very much in mind. Sound engineer Droege has further thoughts on how to emphasize the live in "live theater." First among them: eight more UPM-1Ps .

December, 1999

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