Working from Bennett’s suggestion I’m going to highlight some of the “non-audio” portions of a theatrical gig. Much of the infrastructure and cabling in our rig has absolutely nothing to do with how the show sounds. Intercom and video (CCTV) are the leftover departments that got thrown to the audio guys. As with most things, if you dedicate yourself to becoming a specialist in either of these you can have a very lucrative career doing nothing else. Instead, most audio guys (myself included) learn enough to be dangerous and get out of most binds and otherwise consider com and video to be a nuisance. I think our com and video systems are pretty typical for a tour of our size. There are certainly much larger and more complicated systems but this is a common example. As you will see, we have many more locations to reach with cable than you might on a similarly sized rock and roll gig. Many times we only need two pairs of audio and a Cat5 cable but it is still another cable run that takes time and real estate in boxes and on the truck.
Our system consists of four main channels and six private lines. A list of intercom locations that are used at least once per show:
- Stage Management Call Desk
- Stage Management Office
- Automation Operator
- Fly Rail
- House Lights Operator
- FOH Audio
- FOH Electrics
- Orchestra Pit (Conductor)
- Spot Booth (x3 operators)
- Deck Stage Manager*
- Head Carpenter*
- Local Head Carpenter*
- Head Props*
- Asst. Props*
- Deck Electrician*
*wireless
There are also hardwired com stations on each side of the stage for general use if/as needed.
CCTV is used for safety and cueing. Our video system consists of 6 cameras that are distributed throughout the rig:
- FOH Color (Used by Stage Management, Automation, Fly Rail)
- FOH B&W Low Light (Used by Stage Management, Automation, Fly Rail)
- Conductor Cam (Used by Stage Management, FOH Audio, and distributed to each pit musician, on/off stage monitors for cast)
- Stage Left Wing (Used by Stage Management and Automation)
- Stage Right Wing (Used by Stage Management and Automation)
- Over Stage (Used by Stage Management and Automation)
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