Open Forum

One of the main goals for our Theatre Education Community is to help theatre students and professionals from all over connect and identify with each other in order to build resources and support the theatre education field. We shine a spotlight on a different member every other week by conducting a simple interview.

Our latest Spotlight Member is Rod Reilly, an Australia native, EdTA professional member and entrepreneur. Rod is the founder/owner of Bodymics, a company that sells and rents good quality, cost effective wireless microphones and accessories. Rod regularly contributes advice on all aspects of technical theatre.

Ginny: How did you get started?

Rod: My first "theatre job" was helping out as a tech in high school for drama club. In 1976, I started Genesis 1:3 Lighting to provide theatre lighting in Wollongong. By 1977, I had taken on a couple of partners and we created Trilogy Lighting and Sound. We opened a store and did local theatre, concerts and special events. By 1979, we were doing national tours of American and Australian Gospel Artists and then began promoting our own gospel and community concerts.

In 1983, we purchased Christian Sound Australia (Sydney based), a manufacturer and installer of sound systems in government, corporate and houses of worship and created The PA People. We moved our Wollongong operation into Sydney and, within a few years, had opened operations in all but one Australian State Capitals (sorry Darwin).

The last contract I worked on was for the Sydney Olympics, which we won full AV systems for the Stadium, Swim Center, Olympic Plaza, and the 20 acre park around them. Plus, we did the opening and closing ceremonies, including wireless comms systems for almost every man, women and child on the stadium floor. Each performer had a receiver that they could listen to the stage manager and their team leader, each team leader had two communications with the stage manager.

In 1997, I severed ties with the business and Australia and moved to the US. I met and married an American and had my first child, while inheriting three of the greatest kids on the planet.

I began a consulting company (AV2020), working with concert production companies, conference centers and hotels to help them create and manage their AV services and staff. Early in 2000, I started "School Bus Productions," the precursor to Bodymics, to help local school theatre groups. My step-daughter got the acting bug and so naturally...

Ginny: How did you make the transition from consulting to founding Bodymics?

Rod: After the financial meltdown in 2007, the consulting business dried up and I started what is now www.bodymics.rentals, web-based wireless microphone rentals across the lower 48, same price delivered, whether in Maine or southern California. In order to be very competitive and reduce the high cost of shipping, I began looking for alternatives to the industry leader microphones. The Countryman E6 was the mic of choice at the time, and the Country B6 lav/hairline mic a close contender, but my business model did not work if I was paying $350-400 per microphone. So began the search for an alternative product line. I tried all the cheap ones available (yuk), tried the medium priced ones (some were good, others not so much), but still, I figured there needed to be a better alternative.

I reached out to some contacts in China and tested dozens of potential mics. One of the companies was interested in working with me, and together we looked for a way to produce low cost microphones with better, more consistent performance and specs much closer to those of the market leaders. And thus began the Bodymics Broadway line of small, good quality, low entry price, theatre-oriented microphones. Initially, we were looking at these for our own use, then had a light bulb moment. If I was looking for a more cost-effective microphone that performed well, then many other people (rental houses, school theatre troupes, community theatres) would also be interested.

Ginny: What tools or resources have helped your company become so successful?

Rod: From a small start, using Ebay, and later Amazon, as our primary marketing tools, we now sell thousands of microphones a year. It’s the Walmart philosophy at work, sell at a low cost/margin and sell lots of them. Our first big step up was getting involved with the Educational Theatre Association. We now supply hundreds of schools nationwide, and have dozens of the members touting our product to their peers.

In the last year, we have added 2 UK brands to our stable, Granite Sound, which manufactures rock solid wired party-line intercom systems, compatible with ClearComs series, and Studiomaster: mixers, digital mixers, speakers, microphones.

Ginny: Why do you believe theatre is important?

Rod: It's fun, it teaches discipline and teamwork, it helps the cast deal with social issues, both from script content to their own human interactions with each other and, oh yeah, it's fun!

Ginny: What is your greatest challenge?

Rod: Survival... keeping a roof over my family’s head and food on the table, paying for my youngest to attend college. In business, it is finding the right products at great prices and keeping the competition at bay (Ebay and Amazon are chock full of look-a-like products, but they don't sound as good).

Ginny: What does a typical day look like for you?

Rod: Well, in addition to my business, I still have a DAILY contract position in corporate AV, so it is pretty crazy. Up at 6am to get to the client’s office around 7am, then I split my time between the corporate duties of maintaining AV systems, troubleshooting and answering inane questions, and business responsibilities of checking email, answering product questions, marketing, and product searching. On the way back to my home office/warehouse, I stop off at the Post Office and Fedex office and arrive home around 5pm. I kiss my wife and then head to the basement to pack the day’s orders and make phone calls for a couple of hours. I break for dinner and a little TV, usually with the computer on my lap. Around 10pm, I’m back to the home office to make calls to China, pack any additional orders, update web pages and online stores. Then it’s time for bed around 11:30pm-12:30am. I catch Colbert if I'm lucky or still have my eyes open.

Ginny: Do you have a favorite wireless mic? What makes it so great?

Rod: For 30 years I was a Shure fan (even when I was Australia's biggest Audio-Technica reseller). Now I usually recommend Audio-Technica as the best value product. My rental stock consists of house brand entry-level systems, Shure SLX and Shure ULX systems, around 30-40 channels of each and growing. I sell AT, Sennheiser and Shure. At any given price point they are pretty much of equal quality, all three are reliable, solidly built and sound great.

I am currently working with a couple of companies to build my own high quality systems that can be sold at great prices. It is proving more costly and time consuming than I would like, but we are moving forward. The aim is a product that performs at the Shure SLX/Sennheiser ew100 level that sells for around 50% of the cost. Design is complete, the case sample looks wonderful, not happy with the transmitters yet.

Ginny: Any tips to share about selecting a wireless mic?

Rod:

• Avoid cheap, there are few real bargains out there.

• Stick with one brand and model, it makes adding more channels easier.

• If you will need lots of channels, move up one model range from your comfort level (SLX peaks at 26 channels in rural areas, way less in cities), moving to the ULX will get you around 40 potential channels.

• Rack them up and get the antennas on the outside of the rack.

• If you have more than 4 channels, invest in antenna distribution systems.

• If you place the receivers more than 75 ft. from the stage invest in directional antennas.

Ginny: Is there anyone in your profession that you admire or aspire to be like? Why?

Rod: John Nady, the man who invented the live tour ready wireless microphone, he started it all. I am sure it would have happened anyway, but the first guy should get the credit.

Ginny: What is your favorite musical (or play)? What makes it so special?

Rod: Les Miserables - it just is!

Ginny: Tell us about the moment that made you decide to get involved in theatre.

Rod: I was always a geek, so it just happened. I love the energy and the “we're in this together” attitude of theatre groups, which is so different from sports. Based on helping each other vs. busting on each other. Just fits my personality better I guess.

Ginny: Everyone seems to have a great theatre story of something that was an unexpected success or a spectacular (and often hilarious) failure, what’s yours?

Rod: One of my first gigs was setting lights in the chapter house of the Anglican Cathedral in Sydney, and they needed a special hung high in the cavernous roof space, about 35 feet up, in the middle of nowhere. No lighting bar, no grid, no bean or rafters… just space, and no lift. We strung a rope across the space with a short bar attached in the "right" spot. The guy I was working for pointed at me and said “you’re it, you are our lightest guy.” I looked at him in non-comprehension, then I saw two guys carry in a forty foot extension ladder and place it under the bar. My boss handed me a profile spot and said, “up you go!” So up I went, on a 40 ft. ladder, leaning against absolutely nothing, held at the bottom by three guys. Scrambling across lighting grids after that was a piece of cake.

Ginny: Name something on your bucket list.

Rod: A month on a Tahitian beach.

Ginny: If you could sit down and have lunch with anyone, living or deceased, who would you choose and what would you ask them?

Rod: Richard Branson or Bill Gates. How'd you keep the naysayer at bay?

Ginny: What is your proudest accomplishment?

Rod: Josh, my son who just made the honor roll in his first freshman mid-term at college. The kid didn't take high school very seriously and we warned him that he had to maintain a B average or it was back to an in-state school. He pulls in an A- average.

Ginny: What is something we would be surprised to learn about you?

Rod: I was the Engineering Rep on the Student Council at the University of Wollongong and led a demonstration against the then Federal Education Minister. His department screwed up the scholarship payments to about 500 freshman students on our campus and after 2 months hadn't given them any money. He tore me a new one, but 450 of those kids got their checks within 7 days. My picture was splashed across the front page of the local newspaper. My mom was so proud... not. I’ve been left leaning ever since. Mind you the ruling party at that time was the left-wing Labor Party.

Ginny: If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?

Rod: if I didn't have to work, a Pacific island. They experience less hurricanes/cyclones than those in the Atlantic. While working, San Diego. The weather is temperate, not too humid in summer, and it reminds me of Sydney/Wollongong.

Ginny: What toy do you most remember from your childhood?

Rod: GI Joe, a present I received when I was accepted into the gifted student program at age 9 for 5th and 6th grade. The Electronics Kit I got for Christmas a year later. Somewhere along the line, there was a bike or two, but back in the 60's that was as much utilitarian as a toy. It was how I got to school most of my life.

We are so happy that Rod shares his wealth of experience and knowledge with our community. If you enjoyed Rod’s interview as much as I did, add him as a contact in the Community!

Do you know someone who deserves a moment in the Spotlight? Tell me their name and why at gbutsch@schooltheatre.org. Want to read more Community Spotlights? You can find them here.