UK’s Finest Theatre Students Perform with Electro-Voice
The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, or RADA, in London is internationally renowned for producing generation after generation of actors and production specialists for the theatre world. Graduates include Sir Anthony Hopkins, Peter O’Toole, Alan Rickman, and Kenneth Branagh. This year’s elite students were given a unique hands-on opportunity to use a high-performance Electro-Voice XLE sound reinforcement system for their annual musical production.
Shuttlesound, the UK distributor of Electro-Voice, was keen to show its support for the leading academy of stage arts, lending an XLE181 PA and RE-1 wireless systems to the Jerwood Vanbrugh Theatre at RADA for this year’s graduate production of ‘Little Women – The Musical’. RADA is a keen user of Electro-Voice loudspeakers, with EV Sx300s in all three of its live venues.
The 200-capacity Vanbrugh Theatre required something a bit more punchy for ‘Little Women’, their only musical production of the year. Chris Mock, RADA’s Head of Sound, was familiar with EV line arrays from his background in rock ‘n’ roll. “I asked for line array because I knew its possibilities, and it has been fantastic to get Shuttlesound’s support, not only with the loudspeaker system, but also with the provision of first-class wireless microphones.”
With the help of Shuttlesound’s Jason Kelly, the XLE system and its subs were flown in the theatre, giving invaluable experience in sound design to the technical theatre students. “They were able to learn how to fly line arrays, and to experience their superior audio quality,” says Chris Mock. “The XLE system performed fantastically well, especially in the thunder and lighting sequences in the show, where it sounded completely natural. It gives us clarity, and, with orchestral support, it made the end of each number sound awesome!”
Receiving its UK and European premiere, ‘Little Women – The Musical’ features a cast of 11 and a six-piece mini-orchestra. As well as providing a Midas XL8 digital console to mix the show, Shuttlesound supplemented RADA’s own microphone stocks with RE97 wireless mics for 4 lead performers. “They gave us more definition and security, and the comfort factor of working perfectly every night,” says Mock.
Shuttlesound’s Director of Sales Sean Maxwell commented, “We were delighted to get involved in this way with the next generation of sound designers, stage managers, and directors not just in UK theatre, but all over the world. By lending them the EV line array speakers, EV microphones and, the icing on the cake, a Midas XL8 digital console for front-of-house control, we were able to give RADA’s students a privileged look at the very best audio technology in the world.”
