Written by the group's Valerie Vigoda (violin) and Brendan Milburn (keyboards) in collaboration with playwright Rachel Sheinkin, the show's minimalist approach helps the clever lyrics and distinctive musical score truly stand out. Sound designer Robert J. Killenberger created an audio system that was exceptionally well suited to the intimate yet distinctive venue.
The system was based around two arrays, each consisting of 10 Meyer Sound M1D ultra-compact curvilinear array loudspeakers flown under two M1D-Sub ultra-compact subwoofers. A UPA-1P compact wide coverage loudspeaker in the centre augmented the main arrays. A single UPJ-1P compact VariO loudspeaker on each side covered seating on the hall's side extremes. Three UPM-1P ultra-compact wide coverage loudspeakers yoked to the stage lip handled front-fill duties, while another six UPJ-1P boxes were flown to cover surround sound.
"For a show like this one, every lyric needs to come through clearly," Killenberger remarks. "Anything less is unacceptable. The M1D was nicely suited for the venue and the program. It's got an exceptionally tight focus, which was great for a smaller room like this one, but it's powerful enough to deliver the sound where it's needed."
Killenberger also credits Meyer Sound's MAPP Online Pro acoustical prediction software with helping to streamline the design process. "I've always been impressed with MAPP Online's accuracy," he states. "I've found it to be a great tool for designing arrays, whether large or small. What you see is really what you get."
(Chris Henry)
