Country Teamwork - Stage Directions Magazine

Sound Design“Intelligibility became more importantthan directionality.”The staging of Pirates of Penzance had performers, like Robert McLean shown here, standingon benches and other structures in a low-ceilinged space.What are the dimensions of theroom?I would say maybe 20 or 30 feetin depth and 50 feet lengthwise,like a rectangle. It’s not a big space.I covered it with two Yamaha BR15cabinets and two Electro-VoiceSx300 speakers. They get about 90people in there. Realize that theentire set is a playground and seating.It gets pretty lively in there andthat’s part of the spirit of it. It feelsmore like a happening and almostlike a party with a bunch of musiciansthan it does a stiff, “let’s sit inour seats and watch the show” kindof vibe.So the performers are playingtheir instruments in a way akin tothe recent Sondheim revivals onBroadway?Yes, but we’ve taken it one morestep in that the arrangement isdrastically contemporary to theoriginal.How does this compare with othershows that you’ve worked on?I’ve done enough shows with34 March 2011 • www.stage-directions.com