Williamstown Upgrades
to Meyer Self-Powered

WILLIAMSTOWN, MA (September 22, 2000) - Staged on the Williams College campus in the Berkshire Hills of Western Massachusetts, the Williamstown Theatre Festival (WTF) is widely heralded as one of America's premier summer theater events. This year, WTF productions benefited from an extensive upgrade of the sound facilities, with self-powered loudspeaker systems from Meyer Sound used exclusively in all festival venues.

Kurt Kellenberger of the WTF sound department was a driving force behind upgrading to self-powered technology. "We have used a mixture of conventional and self-powered loudspeakers over the past few seasons," notes Kellenberger, who also served as sound designer for half of this year's shows, "but this season is the first where every loudspeaker in the festival has power amplification and processing built into the cabinet. And it has really made our lives much easier. Everything is already matched, so you just plug it in, power it up and you're ready to go."

In total, more than 40 Meyer Sound self-powered loudspeaker systems (including CQ-1, UPA-1P, UPM-1P, USW-1Ps) were brought for use at the festival's five performance sites. All the Meyer Sound loudspeakers were supplied by One Dream Sound of New York.

For the WTF's Main Stage, which seats 520, Kellenberger specified two CQ-1s, which sit atop the USW-1P subwoofers behind the 'Shakespeare doors' at either side of the stage. A pair of UPA-1Ps near the ceiling augment the CQ-1 sound, with these four loudspeakers carrying the stereo music mix for musical productions. About 25 feet back, three UPM-1Ps fill in an acoustical dead spot, while additional UPM-1Ps are used for front fill and effects, with exact placements flexible depending on the needs of the current production.

For the much smaller Nikos Stage, which seats just under 100, sound requirements are fulfilled by four compact UPM-1Ps with low frequency augmentation from a single USW-1P subwoofer.

The WTF's popular late-night cabaret performances are held in the 200-capacity Goodrich Hall, a former church building that presents some acoustic difficulties for amplified music. Cabaret performances in previous summer seasons were amplified using the hall's permanent system, usually with disappointing results, according to Kellenberger. This year he specified Meyer Sound self-powered loudspeaker systems consisting of UPA-1Ps for the main coverage area, augmented by UPM-1Ps for over- and under-balcony fills.

Adams Memorial Theatre on the Williams College campus (site of one of the venues for the Williamstown Theatre Festival)

"We have been able to get a lot more gain in the room this year," Kellenberger notes. "With the UPAs we could control where things were going, and minimize reflections off the side walls and ceiling. We were able to get much better speech clarity, and they just sound great on music."

As a way of giving back to residents of Williamstown, the WTF stages a Free Theater production at the Buxton School field, where festival seating space easily accommodates and audience of 300 or more. For the 2000 staging, the main portions of the audience area were covered by a pair of Meyer Sound CQ-1s, with four UPM-1Ps on pole mounts set back around the perimeter on a delay ring.

WTF's community outreach program, the Greylock Theater Project, stages performances at MassMOCA (Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art) in nearby North Adams. To control sound in MassMOCA's difficult acoustic space (a converted factory building), Kellenberger brought in a flexible assortment of UPA-1P and UPM-1P loudspeakers to supplement the in-house sound facilities.

Aside from improved sound clarity and faster set-up, WTF's sound designers were pleased by the way loudspeaker systems of various sizes could be combined to produce a uniform, consistent sound. "I like the way you can throw CQs and UPAs and UPMs into the same room and they work together well," remarks Kellenberger. "It's not like previous seasons when we would have to EQ cabinets drastically to try to make them sound similar. With the Meyer Sound self-powered systems, you only have to deal with the acoustics of the room. You don't have to compensate for inadequacies of the loudspeaker."

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