Open Forum

I'm sorry for the long post, but I'm in need of some guidance.

I'm a Humanities teacher at a small school - and I've been handed the three plays per year as part of my assignment. We don't have a gym, or an auditorium, but we do have a pretty decent outdoor stage. I've got pipe and drape for it, and I've got decent lights that we can set up. What I don't have is ANY sound equipment. 

Apparently, what happened in the past is one of our music teachers, who was also a professional musician, brought his sound board, area mics, and speakers, and set them up. But, well, he passed away this fall in an accident, and we have nothing, and no general access to anything. In addition, while we rent the use of another school's theatre for our two musical showcases a year, we are required to provide our own sound board and mics for that as well. 

I need to go to our board and say "We need X equipment and that means Y dollars" and I have NO idea what X and Y are. I know we need a sound board, I know we need speakers, I know we need at least stand/area mics and probably individual mics with packs. I also know that there's no way we're going to do it all in one year, so I guess my ask is:

• What kind of sound board should I be looking for that is a) relatively portable and b) can handle a bunch of channels?
• Are there speakers I can use outside for plays (happy to set up and remove after each show) and if so, any suggestions?
• Suggestions for stand/area mics that we can use for music/basic plays?
• Suggestions for mic packs for individual mics? I know these are going to have to be our stretch/long term plan, because they're so expensive, but we can probably acquire them over time. 
  
  Any and all suggestions gratefully accepted on behalf of my students!
  
  

Hi Sarah,

I've worked with Sweetwater and I highly recommend them. The put together a proposal based on my requirements. It was detailed and was sensitive to what I needed and the final result was exactly as promised. They have professional designers that they work with that know their stuff. They were also wonderful to work with, professional, knowledgeable and they really care. I received a phone call after my production as they wanted to know how it went!

Here's a link to their website and you can set up a meeting to chat with them if that's an avenue you would like to explore.

https://www.sweetwater.com/

Hope this helps,

Andrea 

------------------------------
Andrea Johnston
CA

Original Message:
Sent: 02-14-2023 17:59
From: Sarah Lockwood Duggan
Subject: Audio equipment for OUTDOOR stage - and transport to indoor stage

I'm sorry for the long post, but I'm in need of some guidance.

I'm a Humanities teacher at a small school - and I've been handed the three plays per year as part of my assignment. We don't have a gym, or an auditorium, but we do have a pretty decent outdoor stage. I've got pipe and drape for it, and I've got decent lights that we can set up. What I don't have is ANY sound equipment. 

Apparently, what happened in the past is one of our music teachers, who was also a professional musician, brought his sound board, area mics, and speakers, and set them up. But, well, he passed away this fall in an accident, and we have nothing, and no general access to anything. In addition, while we rent the use of another school's theatre for our two musical showcases a year, we are required to provide our own sound board and mics for that as well. 

I need to go to our board and say "We need X equipment and that means Y dollars" and I have NO idea what X and Y are. I know we need a sound board, I know we need speakers, I know we need at least stand/area mics and probably individual mics with packs. I also know that there's no way we're going to do it all in one year, so I guess my ask is:

• What kind of sound board should I be looking for that is a) relatively portable and b) can handle a bunch of channels?
• Are there speakers I can use outside for plays (happy to set up and remove after each show) and if so, any suggestions?
• Suggestions for stand/area mics that we can use for music/basic plays?
• Suggestions for mic packs for individual mics? I know these are going to have to be our stretch/long term plan, because they're so expensive, but we can probably acquire them over time. 
  
  Any and all suggestions gratefully accepted on behalf of my students!
  
  

I'm sorry for the long post, but I'm in need of some guidance.

I'm a Humanities teacher at a small school - and I've been handed the three plays per year as part of my assignment. We don't have a gym, or an auditorium, but we do have a pretty decent outdoor stage. I've got pipe and drape for it, and I've got decent lights that we can set up. What I don't have is ANY sound equipment. 

Apparently, what happened in the past is one of our music teachers, who was also a professional musician, brought his sound board, area mics, and speakers, and set them up. But, well, he passed away this fall in an accident, and we have nothing, and no general access to anything. In addition, while we rent the use of another school's theatre for our two musical showcases a year, we are required to provide our own sound board and mics for that as well. 

I need to go to our board and say "We need X equipment and that means Y dollars" and I have NO idea what X and Y are. I know we need a sound board, I know we need speakers, I know we need at least stand/area mics and probably individual mics with packs. I also know that there's no way we're going to do it all in one year, so I guess my ask is:

• What kind of sound board should I be looking for that is a) relatively portable and b) can handle a bunch of channels?
• Are there speakers I can use outside for plays (happy to set up and remove after each show) and if so, any suggestions?
• Suggestions for stand/area mics that we can use for music/basic plays?
• Suggestions for mic packs for individual mics? I know these are going to have to be our stretch/long term plan, because they're so expensive, but we can probably acquire them over time. 
  
  Any and all suggestions gratefully accepted on behalf of my students!