The Sound War in Christian Theatre

If you have a large auditorium, you are most likely concerned about sound, and rightly so. I often tell my actors, "If you cannot be heard, it doesn't matter if you are a better actor than Tom Hanks or Meryl Streep." The audience must be able to hear every single word, and hear clearly, without straining.

If you own, are able to borrow, or have the means to invest in headset microphones, by all means, do it. If you don't have enough mics to go around, you can arrange for actors who are not on stage at the same time to share. However, keep in mind that this can get pretty hairy for your sound operator to balance.

If you do not have access to microphones, here are two ways to work around the sound dilemma. (I recommend doing both of these together for the best possible results.)

1) Rope off the back rows

If you rope off the seats in the back of your auditorium, you'll make them inaccessible. True, you will probably get a few rebels who move the rope to sit there, but they will have only themselves to blame if they can't hear the dialogue. If you use portable chairs, keep them all as close to the stage as possible. If more people show up than expected (always a lovely problem), you can add additional chairs as needed.

2) Pro-JECT, pro-JECT, pro-JECT

Train your actors to PROJECT their voices the old-fashioned way, from the diaphragm. "Stage voices" need to be developed, so start the training at your very first rehearsal, with 5-10 minutes of projection exercises. If you try to "add" projection on Opening Night, your actors will sound like they are shouting. For those who really struggle with speaking loudly, insist that they also do their voice exercises at home every day.