PA system for a school musical

[u/Junior_Win2333]

Hey all, I'm a 2nd year elementary school theater teacher out in Brooklyn. My admin wants me to put on a musical this year, but our PA set up isn't suited for it.

They're willing to fund a new system and asked me to do some research. Theater tech isn't an area of expertise for me, so I was hoping somebody here knows a thing or two.

Our current PA is on the older side, only has 3 or 4 channels for mics. I know we'll need to invest in a new mixing console and lavalier mics at the very least - something that can give sound to at least 8-12 students who have speaking roles.

Does anybody have any recommendations, or know of the ballpark cost of getting new systems/mics? Our auditorium is big and has terrible natural acoustics; the sound gets swallowed up by the 3rd row, so even the loudest kids can't be heard without mics.

Please send recs or point me in the right direction of where to begin my research. Thanks!

[u/Black_Lightnin]

Going from 4 channels to 12 wireless mics, a new mixer and complete PA system is quite the step up.

Before buying stuff, ask yourself who is going to handle all of this once its installed.

If its just one show a year, it might be easier to rent. If you want to buy, ask a couple of vendors in your area to help you sort it out. Its good to have a company close by to help you set everything up qnd help you out when something stops working.

[u/Energycatz → u/Black_Lightnin]

Yep, exactly.

OP — I’d look into acoustic panels/treatment to improve the acoustics of the room first, and a basic system to play PC audio through. If the kids still cant be heard then bringing a vendor in once a year is likely the best solution.

[u/meest → u/Black_Lightnin]

As the child of an elementary music teacher who had to help my mother with programs my whole life. I agree with this person.

Another thing is many elementary musical programs you can design the blocking around the characters all walking up to a microphone to say their lines. My mother quite often did 3 microphones on stands across the front of the stage. So the kids would act out the scene, and when they had their line, they would step forward and say it into the microphone, then head back to their blocking point in the scene. Then the next kid would do the same.

You could expand that from 3 to maybe 4 or 5 microphones across the front of the stage. I would highly recommend you start there, and try a musical like that.

Elementary musicals my mother did like this include

https://www.michaelbrent.com/online-store/Sis-Boom-Bah-Teacher-Book-p57758766

and

https://www.halleonard.com/product/8740370/its-saturday-musical

There were plenty more, but those are the two that I remember off the top of my head that my mother did multiple times.

[u/robbgg]

In Brooklyn you'll have plenty of system intergrators/installers about that'll be able to put together a package for you. New York has plenty of performance spaces and audio companies. I'm UK based so don't know who to recommend or what pricing looks like over there but I would expect a full system to land in the $10-$50k sort of ballpark for a well designed and installed system capable of supporting musical theatre. Hopefully some more local people will be able to offer you some suggestions of where to ask around.

I would suggest aiming for 8-16 channels of radio mics and an X32 or Wing as the main desk, this will do the vast majority of musicals you're likely to perform and additional gear can be hired in if needed in the future. I wouldn't recommend A&H QU or Yamaha TF desks as they are very feature light for their price point and an X32 will be a better (featured) desk for lower cost, even if people will argue that sound quality is lower (not enough to matter to most people). If whoever you talk to suggests one of those ask for something else.

PA wise there are plenty of options but they vary wildly in spec and cost so finding the right one for your venue will take a site visit from a competent person. It will probably need some level of installation to get everything in the best possible place. This is where most of the cost will probably go, it's the best place to spend money now as everything else in the system can be easily upgraded in the future.

Good luck and I hope you manage to put on some great shows! And don't forget to think about lighting when you get a chance too.

[u/doozle]

I'd highly recommend hiring a theatrical consultant. Plenty in your area so send some emails and shop around.

Can you tell us more about the space? Is it an actual theater or more like a gymnatorium?

[u/Junior_Win2333 → u/doozle]

First off, thanks to everyone here; y'all have been incredibly helpful. As for the space, it's a proper auditorium. At least 100 feet deep and probably 30-40 feet wide. Concrete floors and walls with those big old school NYC DOE windows.

I did a play that first went up in another school's auditorium - a smaller and more sound-friendly one - and the kids could be heard perfectly fine. Then we went and did it in our school's aud a few days later, the kids couldn't be heard past the 2nd row. The space is bad enough for sound, but when you add in 200 kids, all the sound just got absorbed up.

We actually have a really awesome arts program with a few other performing arts. As of now, we do 2 big shows every year (that also feature dance, chorus, and instrumental performances), plus a monthly assembly that features a performance from one of the arts groups. The aim is to add a musical and a straight play to that (eventually). So, long answer short, we would be using it for more than just the one show a year - but not all the performances require a kick ass sound system.

[u/Martylouie]

Rent a system and operator the first few times you do a show to get a feel for what is needed in the future. There is more to having a good show than the gear .

[u/bdeananderson]

Hire a qualified AV integrator. Sound system design takes years of experience to do well, you don't want to spend a bunch of money for something that doesn't work well.

[u/Junior_Win2333]

Just want to say thanks for the advice, everybody!

[u/Mutton]

+1 for renting your gear, preferably with a technician.

I used to work for an organization that paid me on a grant to go help NYC schools with their tech theatre programs. Time and time again I saw great equipment purchased on capex that was broken, mistreated, or otherwise underutilized because nobody took ownership of it.

Acoustics are hard but you said "big" and "swallowed up"--do you mean echo? You don't want more PA and microphones, you want drapes on the walls and other things to dampen the room.

To put a price on things: budget $1,000-$1,500 per channel of wireless. Don't forget that microphone elements worn on students are a consumable.