Technological Wizardry from DPA Microphones Brings Extra Magic To The Theatre Stage

Major
theatre productions often have lives involving multiple productions in multiple
countries, which provides a great opportunity for the production team to assess
the equipment they are using and make changes to benefit from advances in
technology. This was exactly the situation multi-award-winning sound designer
Gareth Fry found himself in, opening Harry Potter and the Cursed Child in
Melbourne, Australia after its success in London and New York.

“DPA’s
d:screet 4061 Miniature Microphones have long been theatre stalwarts because
they sound great, are very tough and are small enough to hide on cast members,”
Fry explains. “I’ve been using the legacy version of these microphones for
years, and we typically hide them in the hairline, on the forehead, so they are
not visible to the audience.”

In
2017, a year after the play opened in London, a second production was
established on Broadway. By this stage DPA had launched its new d:screet CORE
4061 Miniature Microphones featuring ‘CORE by DPA’ amplifier technology. This
development minimises distortion and expands dynamic range so that the
microphones deliver an even clearer sound – from the ‘highest of the highs’ to
the ‘lowest of the lows’.

“For
the Broadway production I was keen to take advantage of technological
developments to get the best possible sound out of the microphones.” Fry says.
“Then, when we opened in Melbourne, I was keen to make them as invisible as
possible.”

Five
months before the play was due to open in Melbourne, DPA Microphones launched
its new 6000 Series of Sub-miniature Microphones, which at only 3mm across, are
significantly smaller than anything else the company produces.

It
takes months of preparation to open a show in a new city, and when it comes to
the sound there is occasionally a need to tweak the system design so that it
works with the acoustics of the local venue.

“It’s
often better to make the show work with the venue, than to try to force it to
fit,” Fry explains. “The changes are rarely major because what we have works
really well. But we’ll never turn down the opportunity to refine aspects of the
show, and each new ensemble of actors brings something new to the show.

Often
in theatre, we’re trying to balance the need for vocal reinforcement, without
it being immediately obvious that we are doing vocal reinforcement. Not always
– it does really depend on the style of the show.”

For
many productions the hairline is as close as a microphone can get without being
visible. The microphone capsule and cable will be coloured to match the actor’s
hair colours and the back of their neck. It is also not uncommon to put two
radio microphones on a performer, in case one fails. 

“Radio mics get bashed, dropped, sat on and jumped on,” Fry adds. “There’s a
lot of stress on the cable connectors, not to mention plenty of sweat, makeup
and hairspray around the place. It’s a hard life for a radio mic.”

Fry
says he is delighted with the new DPA d:screet 6000 Series – both in terms of
the sound quality they are delivering and their robustness and aesthetics.

“They
are so tiny that they just disappear. With a 4061, if it isn’t well hidden you
can definitely see a microphone, especially if you are double miking, but with
these you just mistake them for a small mole. They are effectively invisible.
The actors prefer wearing them too, because they are less obtrusive.”

Fry
adds that often in the preview period when his sound team are trying out
different mic positions, he will get notes from producers and directors about
mics being too visible.

“Since
switching to d:screet 6061 mics I’ve had significantly fewer notes.” he says.
“Plus they sound as great as the original 4061s – and they are incredibly water
resistant. In the past if you have a scene where the actors come in to contact
with water you have to go to extreme measures to protect the microphones, or
use something like a heavy duty d:screet 4661, but the IP rating on these makes
them seem impervious to water.”

As
well as preparing for the San Francisco and Hamburg productions of Harry
Potter, opening in 2019 and 2020 respectively, Fry has just opened an
adaptation of the best-selling novel, Alys, Always, at the Bridge Theatre,
London. Again, the cast are miked up using DPA 6061 microphones, this time
utilising the Sony DWT-B03R mini digital transmitters. Although Gareth Fry is
best known for his cutting-edge work in theatre, he has also designed events
and exhibitions such as the landmark V&A David Bowie Is exhibition, and
sound effects for the Opening Ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games. His book
Sound Design for the Stage has just been published by Crowood Press. 

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ABOUT DPA MICROPHONES:

DPA Microphones is the leading Danish Professional
Audio manufacturer of high-quality condenser microphone solutions for
professional applications. DPA’s ultimate goal is to always provide its
customers with the absolute finest possible microphone solutions for all its
markets, which include live sound, installation, recording, theatre and
broadcast. When it comes to the design process, DPA takes no shortcuts. Nor
does the company compromise on its manufacturing process, which is done at the
DPA factory in Denmark. As a result, DPA’s products are globally praised for
their exceptional clarity and transparency, unparalleled specifications,
supreme reliability and, above all, pure, uncoloured and undistorted sound.

For more information,
please visit www.dpamicrophones.com