Hands up if you know this classic movie line…… Nobody? Really? Well, this is Danny K in ‘White Christmas’ as they are practicing a routine up in Vermont. Classic movie, I love it and watch it every Christmas. Granted, I’ll watch anything with Bing Crosby in it!

Why do I bring this up? Over the last few weeks I’ve had the pleasure of being able to go to the Stratford Shakespeare Theatre (stratfordfestival.ca), in Stratford, Ontario and see a few shows. Now the Stratford Shakespeare Festival is considered one of the besttheatre venues in all of North America. If you’re a Shakespeare fan, you probably know it! I saw a couple of plays my two favourites being ‘Camalot’ and ‘The Grapes of Wrath’. Both phenomenal plays, with superb acting by all. You’re probably still wondering where I’m going… let me tell you.

In our industry, the theatre realm seems to be forgotten unless you are actually IN the industry. But the theatre is not only a great cultural venue, but can be a great place for inspiration and learning. Not because it’s Shakespeare, which it is, or because it’s a literary classic, which it can be,  but because of the sheer amount of A/V required to pull off every performance. This isn’t any run of the mill audio / visual experience. This is some heavy stuff. You want to learn about lighting design. You can. Want to learn some principles in sound design, you can. Want to hear a perfect mix. You bet your but you can!

As soon as you walk into a theatre venue and glance down at the stage, you can be blown away at how they use light. Light is the foundation of any good theatrical production. It’s not only used to light the stage, but to paint a scene, evoke emotion and help tell the story. You don’t see this anywhere else in our industry. The play begins and the fundamentals of great sound design and mixing begin. Really! Transformers has NOTHING on a good FOH mix in the theatre! The FOH engineer is masterful as he runs the show and allows each actor to have a voice, not to mention the quality of a musical’s orchestra’s mix. You can hear every instrument as the orchestra moves the play along. As you sit though a performance, you realize that there is nothing like the quality of A/V in the theatrical realm.

If you are new to the industry, trying to learn how to run a good FOH mix… Get your self into a seat at a theatre and take in a live play, or better yet a live musical. Whether you like musicals or not (I know you own Grease!) you will get the best introduction to live sound out there. If you are an old hand, and been in our industry for years, get your self back to a theatre performance. It will remind you of the love you had when you entered this industry.

I don’t know… maybe it’s just me… but I can’t go to a play and not become amazed by the beauty of a great audio/visual performance. Not to take anything away from the wonderful acting companies… but wow, that A/V is ridiculously good! I get caught up looking for hidden hairline mics, and wondering what gobo was used to create that insane wash. As I’m sitting there, I can’t stop my mind from thinking, ‘I could use that principle in customer A’s lighting design’. I’m sitting there watching the play and getting ideas I can use in my business and with my customers, every time!

I think it’s time that we, as A/V professionals, went back to the theatre… where we can be reminded how much of an ART our industry is and should be. Where it’s not about the wattage or the control system, not about the code and the gui, but about the WHOLE PACKAGE. How everything seamlessly fits together, LIVE! The theatre is the last place where A/V is still practiced as an ART and where we can turn for inspiration.

Spread the Light!

Matt