Theatre Design & Technology - Spring 1992 - 47

Part

III:
The
Gauntlet
Run
CHARLIE
RICHMOND

n much rhe same way rhar publiciry is good for public figures,
reader response is food for
columnisrs. Because rhe former
is nor always posirive, rhe phrase
"any publiciry is good publiciry" exisrs;
likewise, wrirers rejoice ar anyrhing more
rhan anonymous pasred-rogerher ransom
nores. While Timorhy Buchman's nore
("Readers' Response," TD&T, Winrer
1992, p. 67) is nor anonymously wrirren,
I welcome rhe opporruniry ro advance (he
dialogue on my (current) favorire ropic by
responding ro ir even rhough, like publicly acknowledging ransom nores, ir may
only serve ro borh endanger rhe hosrage
and raise rhe srakes. Bur, as usual, radical
wriring begers a radical response and rhar
may be whar I deserve.
While I agree rhar "A Seasonal Sample" is imporrant, ir is only parrly ficrion.
The ficrional parr is largely contained in
rhe premise rhar performers would use
such high rech equipment in an audirion.
I suspecr (bur have no way of knowing for
sure) rhar mosr audi rions rhese days use
eirher cheap casserre machines or old ourof-rune pianos for accompanimenr. Whar
is mostly non-ficrion is rhe descriprion of
how high rech gear is used in acrual performances roday.
Though I can nor speak for The Mixer
("A Seasonal Sample," TD&T, Fall 1990,
p. 57), I suspecr rhe purpose of rhe rale is
more ro caurion us againsr complacency
in rhe face of mediocrif)T rhan ro advocare
we all become Luddires. In facr, rhe
author is a rhearre sound designer who
willingly uses some of rhe mosr advanced
digiral audio cuing equipment specifically
ro avoid such mediocrif)T. Show control in
rhe wrong hands can easily become a
mediocre "juggernaut" in rhe same way
rhar singing in Broadway hirs can be fake.
Whar I am advocaring insread is borh
responsible show control and, similarly, if
rhe producer demands rhe singing be
canned, rhar ir shouldn'r sound fake.
The problems described in rhe Ruling
piece ("Auromared Sound on a Budger,"
Theatre Crafts, 10vem ber 1991, p. 72)
and rhose of early memory ligh r boards
are ones which are inevirable in rhe pro-

cess of rechnical development. The difficulries wirh rhe Macinroshes simply
demonsrrare rhe unique problem of
sound control wirhin rhe rhearrical environmenr. The recording indusrry comprises rhe largesr marker for sound equipment and rhe unforrunare rendency for
many consul rants, designers and rechnicians alike is ro use or adapr rhis recording
equipment ro rhearrical use, whereas rhe
proper choice would be ro use equipment
specifically designed for rhe rhearre. Lord
knows I've been preaching about (his long
enough. Bur experience ulrimarely shows
rhe way and anyrhing rhar impedes rhe
rechnical process will quickly be rhrusr
inro rhe corner. The proper equipment
will eventually find irs righrful place"eventually" being rhe key.
Ir is unforrunare rhar, alrhough Mr.
Buchman exhibirs considerable rechnical
knowledge, he has apparendy nor yer seen
rhe current srare-of-rhe-arr in reliable
software and hardware for control of rhearre sound. I expecr rhar, once rhis happens, his srory will be different-replere
wirh reporrs of speed, reliabiliry and flexibiliry. These days, ro achieve roral reliabilif)T, rhe largesr spare component required
is a cheap, easily serviced off-rhe-shelf
microcomputer. Hundreds of producrions mounred everywhere from high
schools ro Broadway using "cheap, quick
and reliable" audio cuing equipment
make ir self evident rhis rechnology has
arrived.
Ar rhe risk of splirring hairs, I musr
defend using rhe word "paranoia" in
describing Kevin Mullery's response
("Readers'Response," TD&T, Fall 1991,
p. 68)-especially since he himself verbally acknowledged his response came perhaps roo close ro rhar. One could apply
rhe more commonly used popular sense
of rhe word to rhose who see rheir less
skilled rasks gradually being raken away
from rhem and, as a resulr, fear for rheir
jobs. Here, ir is hard ro be symparheric ro
someone who does nor see rhis as an
opporruniry for advancement. I never
inrended ro imply anyone would suffer
from a genuine mental disease as a resulr
of rhe proliferarion of MIDI Show ConTD&T

1992 SPRING

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Spring 1992