Re: Micing a play
Yes, it all depends on the actors being able to project......and your ability to have enough mics deployed in positions where the actors will be on axis to one or another of them.
The thing I find is that ''running show'' is a very important part of making it work. Keep your loudest voice/level as close as possible to the weakest one and make the overall dynamic range of the evening as workable as possible. The audience will deal better with an even level over the course of the play than having some voices loud and some not so much.
So for me it's not so much about overall headroom as the ability to establish a more even level for the entire production.
Edit:
I try to place mics closer to the action than simply at the lip of the stage. The ones at the lip will work for those moments when the actors are fairly close, but will sound hollow as you noted when folks are down stage. I have used PZM's stashed here and there in bits of scenery which are on stage all the time. Otherwise wireless lavs stashed in movable scenery have been handy.
You can also use the actors as ''human mic stands'' with wireless lavs on the collars behind their heads......
