Meyer Sound News : Meyer Sound "Graduates" at the Curran Theatre

Meyer Sound "Graduates" at the Curran Theatre

"I have been using Meyer Sound products for years. I find there is no other line so well suited to theatrical applications."

- Chris Cronin,
Sound Designer

The 1967 film The Graduate was noted for its adult themes as much as its groundbreaking soundtrack. However, the road show version which played at San Francisco's Curran Theatre was also notable for the sound design created by Chris Cronin and operated for the production by Stephen Erb, which included the use of a variety of Meyer Sound loudspeakers, including the M1D ultra-compact curvilinear array loudspeaker.

The play utilizes a number of hit singles from the time period in which the film version was set. You would obviously expect the Simon and Garfunkel classic, "Mrs. Robinson," but Ray Charles; Donovan; The Byrds; and Blood, Sweat and Tears are also heard.

The Curran, with a capacity of 1,667, was the first stop of a tour that will eventually play theatres twice as big, including the 3,000-seat San Diego Civic. "When dealing with a national tour, you cannot spend time designing for each room. A system that can adapt to any room is what is called for," explains Cronin.

A vertical center array of twelve Meyer Sound M1D loudspeakers, hung from a Meyer M1D rigging grid, brought the actors' speech and the recorded music to the audience. The mezzanine and balcony of the Curran were covered by left and right arrays, each consisting of six M1D loudspeakers in a touring tower hung from a sophisticated custom yoke that allows pan and tilt adjustment.

Five UPM-1P ultra-compact wide coverage loudspeakers were deployed for front fill, and two more for box seat fill. Two USW-1P compact subwoofers were used, and for sound effects, two UPA-1P compact wide coverage loudspeakers and two UPM-1P loudspeakers. Cronin has plenty of experience using Meyer Sound systems on Broadway shows such as Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, A Year with Frog and Toad, Salome, and Def Poetry Jam. "I have been using Meyer Sound products for years," he says, "I find there is no other line so well suited to theatrical applications."

Erb's history with John Meyer's speaker designs is even longer, going back years to his tenure at McCune Sound, where he used the original JM and SM series speakers Meyer built before founding Meyer Sound. About The Graduate, he comments, "The actors are amplified using foot microphones and set-mount mics, so directionality in the speaker systems was important to the designer. The Curran is a wonderful-sounding theatre; the real proof will be at some of the other stops across the U.S. in our year-long tour." His enthusiasm for the Meyer Sound system is clear as he brightly states that "The M1Ds are great!" Cronin concurs, pointing out that the directionality of the M1D loudspeaker "helps in controlling unwanted energy."

Coverage for the production was designed by Cronin using the Meyer Sound MAPP Online acoustical prediction program. "Steve (Erb) will continue to use it venue by venue. I love MAPP. It allows me to test my gut against actual measurement data and keeps me from spending more time in a space than I would like, trying new things."

Erb finds the self-powered aspect of current Meyer Sound products appealing. "I like the matching of the amplifier to the speaker system; it makes logical sense. Plus, it saves on amp rack space." Cronin quickly concurs, saying "In general, I vastly prefer the self-powered series."

The console used for The Graduate is the all-digital Yamaha 02R96 – powerful, yet with a small footprint - supplemented by a Midas XL-88 matrix mixer. Cronin specified that the tour carry an extra 02R96 for backup. Sony RF mics with DPA 4061 elements are used on furniture pieces, while some Crown GLM-100 omnidirectional mics are hard-wired throughout the set, and DPA 4021 compact cardioid mics are mounted at the edge of the stage.

Processing is accomplished with five XTA DP-224's, as well as five Meyer CP-10 complementary phase parametric equalizers. Music playback takes place courtesy of Stage Research's SFX multi-channel digital audio controller. The show uses a variety of Clear-Com and Telex units for communication, with paging done through TOA and Anchor speakers.

The system is provided by Sound Associates of Yonkers, N.Y. The package is first defined by Cronin, Erb explains, and then "a bunch of us go into the shop and put it together." Erb also works as the monitor mixer for concerts by the Philip Glass Ensemble, "a relationship I've had since '91 or '92. Usually the producers are forgiving enough that I can get a replacement to do The Graduate. It's actually the guy who did the Broadway version, so it's going to work out well."

"The thing that amazed both of us," Erb recounted, describing a walk-through with Cronin, "was the seamlessness of all three systems, as you walk the mezzanine or the balcony." The 100 degree horizontal coverage of the M1D is what makes it possible for the designer and operator of The Graduate to bring an even, natural sound to every seat in the house.

October, 2003