Tutored by Orbital's training manager Theo Holloway, the course is designed to combine theatre sound theory with extensive hands-on practice.
"A technical career in theatre sound requires a broad range of skills, from understanding the specialist technologies to the interpersonal qualities required in a tightly-knit team environment," says Holloway. "This year has probably been the most successful course to date - we had a great bunch of enthusiastic students, who each knew what they wanted to get out of it. They came from a wide range of backgrounds and colleges, bringing a high level of dedication to the week. It was great to see their confidence levels rise as the course progressed, getting to grips with the technology and developing new skills. There really are light-bulb moments when you can see the penny drop and it all making sense."
The four-day course included specialist sessions on show control, radio microphones, video, communications and networking, as well as dedicated application training from Yamaha and d&b audiotechnik. The students were also given the chance to go behind the scenes at The Savoy Theatre and see the theory in action, meeting the sound team on Carouse. Operator Hannah Reymes-Cole gave them an insight into the sound system set-up and a backstage tour of the highly successful production, which has been running since the summer of 2008.
Orbital has demonstrated a long-standing commitment to training, as the basis for nurturing future generations of sound designers and technicians. The Sound Fundamentals Training Course is complemented by a more advanced two-day course, held each autumn, and Orbital also runs additional courses in collaboration with equipment manufacturers, or in response to client-specific requests.
Managing Director Chris Headlam comments, "Training is all about ensuring the future of theatre sound, and is something we are passionate about. It is only by taking up the training challenge that responsible organisations can hope to maintain the degree of professionalism and good practice that is fundamental to top quality theatre sound. When we established the training division more than eight years ago, we hoped that we would eventually meet some of our students in a professional capacity. This ambition has been fulfilled many times over - it is amazing how many of them we now meet and work with on a regular basis."
(Jim Evans)
