For anyone considering purchasing headsets, as well as what equipment to purchase, also consider these two questions – do we need wireless or wired, and at what locations do we need headsets.
Here's an excerpt for you from the
Headset chapter of my book
High School Theatre Operations to help in your planning:
HEADSETSCommunication headset systems get their own chapter because they are one of the most important systems in a theatre to make any event or production run smoothly. No matter the size of your theatre, if you don't have a headset system – get one. If you don't have enough - get more. If you only have wired - get some wireless as well.
Headsets are a priority item. Try to get the best brand money can buy, but if you can't shift the budget to purchase even an inexpensive headset system, at least find some way so that the crew can communicate to each other. I've worked with walkie talkies, lately cell phones, even a baby monitor. Yes, it's true. In one theatre we did not have any headsets for the followspot operators up in the catwalks, so I brought in an old baby monitor that I had a home. We put the receiver (the end parents would have with them) by the followspot operators and I held the transmitter (the end that would go in the baby's room). That way I could talk to the followspot ops and relay cues to them and they could hear me. Of course they couldn't talk to me, but I could tell each time they received my commands by the correct adjustments made to the followspot light. Find something that works; the smooth operation of every show, not matter how small, depends on communication between your crew members.
HOW MANY HEADSET JACKS AND WHERE?
How many headsets positions should you spec in a new theatre or how many headsets should you purchase for an existing theatre? It never ceases to amaze me that multi-million dollar, state-of-the-art high school theatres are provided with two to four jacks to plug in headsets and that's it, or the theatre is built with enough jacks, but is stocked with just a few headsets.
The very minimum I recommend is 8 jacks. Here are the locations where you should place a headset jack:
1. In the booth where the Stage Manager will sit to call a show.
2. In the booth where the Light Board Operator will sit to run the light board.
3. At the sound board (which you've put in the house because you've read this book).
4. At the position where the first followspot is placed.
5. At the position where the second followspot is placed. (Even if the followspots are together, each operator needs his or her own headset, or else one followspot will lag behind the other if "Go's" have to be relayed.)
6. Stage right. This headset jack should be near the fly rail if it's on that side of the stage and should not be placed such that the technician wearing it will drape the cable across a doorway or the path of an entering or exiting actor. Plan ahead for where a crew member is likely to be standing, whether it's a rigger operating the fly rail or a Stage Manager who is calling the show from back stage. Or both.
7. Stage left, or the side of the stage opposite the fly rail. Likewise with stage left, think about what the technician needs access to and whether the cable will be in the way of actors making entrances and exits, and stage crew moving set pieces.
8. A jack in the floor at the center of the house where the Lighting Designer will sit to design the show. It's actually best to have two jacks at that position because the Stage Manager should be sitting at the tech table for the first few days of tech next to the Lighting Designer so that they can more easily confer on cues during the tech.
Other headset positions to consider:
Orchestra pit
Box office
Dressing rooms/green room/waiting rooms
Scene shop and costume shop
Extra jacks in the wings
Loading bridge
WIRED VS WIRELESS
There are two ways headsets are powered. One way is by DC, which is batteries (rechargeables save a lot of money – you can spend hundreds of dollars a year on headset batteries - so be sure to include rechargables in your spec's or purchases). The other is by AC, which is plugged into the theatre's hardwired system by way of a cable. Both wireless and wired headsets have their benefits and you should spec some of each.
WIRED
Wired headsets don't eat up batteries, and are best for people who don't have to walk around. For instance, the light board and sound board operators don't usually have to leave their positions during a show, nor do the followspot operators, because boards and followspots are not portable. (Although, that said, even board operators occasionally have to get up from their post to attend to something that might be happening ten feet away. With a wired headset they would then would have to temporarily 'go off headset' and might miss a cue being called.)
WIRELESS
Wireless headsets are best for crew who need to move around, such as a fly system operator. They may have to fly out a drop on Lineset 6 and then rush to fly in a drop at Lineset 20. The fly rail area can be a dangerous place (see The Counterweight System chapter), and although there may be policies that any actor waiting in the wings should stay away from the fly rail, it's not always possible because of space considerations. Imagine what would happen if the crew member on a headset attached to the wall with a 20' wire were to have to move between actors and other crew standing in the wings. The cable would be a big tripping hazard.
BATTERIES
If you do go with wireless, remember to purchase rechargeable batteries and chargers, because you can spend a mint on batteries if not. Be sure to purchase the chargers at the same time as you purchase the headsets. At one theatre I worked at wireless headsets were purchased as a part of an upgrade, but chargers were not purchased. When I later inquired about purchasing the chargers, I was informed that the model of headset and their chargers had gone out of production. Hmm. Probably why the school district was able to get a deal? The chargers would have plugged straight into the side of the beltpack. Consequently, every time we had to replace batteries – I did at least purchase some generic chargers and rechargeable batteries – we had to open the back of the beltpack (a fiddly operation at best, which required a paper clip or penny), remove the "sled", remove the six(!) AA batteries, replace the six(!) AA batteries… Well, you get the idea – a multi part operation rather than a one part operation, and six(!) batteries instead of one.
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Beth Rand, EBMS
Educational Lighting Designer
School Theatre Operations Coach
www.PRESETT.org- LIGHTING INSTITUTE FOR THEATRE TEACHERS - ONLINE MINI COURSES (ask for complimentary syllabus)
- HIGH SCHOOL THEATRE OPERATIONS ONLINE COURSE FOR TEACHERS (ask for complimentary syllabus) - NEXT COHORT STARTS FEBRUARY 18!
- HIGH SCHOOL THEATRE OPERATIONS BOOKS and COMPLIMENTARY ARTICLE DOWNLOADS
- THE ECLECTECH SHOPPE
beth@PRESETT.orgWestminster, CO
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Original Message:
Sent: 02-15-2019 08:31
From: Michael Johnson
Subject: Communicating backstage
As others have mentioned, we just purchased the Scrambler radios from EarTech and are quite pleased with them. They are rechargeable, which is a big plus. Some other options for communication that we have used include instant messaging as we have LAN ports stage left, right and in the booth-- so we just set a Chromebook at each location and off we went. It's a bit of chore as the tech has to type, but it does work-- they just have to plan a bit. Two Way Radios with a headset are the way to go, though -- and Midland and others do make low end walkie talkies that have headsets as accessories that will work for a few years.
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Michael Johnson
Trinity NC
Original Message:
Sent: 02-15-2019 06:45
From: Karen Malone
Subject: Communicating backstage
I have had good luck with the Eartec ultralite system as well. I started with the four person and upgraded to the seven person pretty quickly. I got a better deal going through Eartec than B&H.
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[Karen] [Malone]
[National Board Certified Teacher of English]
IB Theatre Teacher
ITS Advisor
[Commack High Schoo]
[Commack] [New York]
Original Message:
Sent: 02-14-2019 21:54
From: Kenneth Buswell
Subject: Communicating backstage
Check out the Eartec ultralight system - it might fit your budget, especially if you go to B&H Photo - they have a good discount for schools, and I've been very happy with the 7 person system from Eartec we bought a year ago.
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Ken Buswell
Drama Teacher
Peachtree City, GA
http://mcintoshtheater.org/
Theater kills ignorance
Original Message:
Sent: 02-14-2019 09:39
From: Cynthia Scherer
Subject: Communicating backstage
My assistant director and I are looking to purchase some sort of headsets to allow communication between backstage and our sound booth. We had some at one point but they required new batteries every 30 minutes becuase they wouldn't hold a charge and didn't always work so we've been relying on cell phones for the last 4 years and it's not working :-(
We do NOT want anything that goes through our sound board. We don't want walkie talkies but something where the sound coming through can go through an earpiece so it isn't heard by anyone around them.
Do you guys have any recommendations of what to buy and where to buy it? What do you use and love?
Thanks :-)
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Cynthia Scherer
Teacher
Spearfish SD
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