The tour is a genuine ABC of Britain's city and provincial venues, ranging in size from 500 to 1500 capacity. From having actors visibly working the puppet characters to a sound that's loud enough, but not overly so, everything is geared to making the show enjoyable and interactive - but not overwhelming or frightening - to its very young audience.
Designed by Ian Horrocks-Taylor and supplied by Blitz Communications, at the core of the audio system is a Yamaha LS9-16 mixing console, SB168-ES stage box and EtherSound multicore - offering maximum flexibility but minimum truck / seat space.
"We're only touring one 45-footer and, with the venue sizes we're playing in, we don't want to be taking eight seats out for the FOH position," says Colin Allen.
"We're also on a very tight schedule, so the size and portability of the LS9, stage rack and the Ethersound multicore are perfect. I don't need to get four people round the desk just to move it."
The audio setup for the show is straightforward, six Sennheiser HS2 headworn microphones with SK50 beltpacks for the actors, an iPod and a PC (with laptop backup) providing a recorded narrator, all the sound effects and music for the songs, via an Edirol soundcard.
The PA comprises system six d&b E9, two d&b E18, EM Acoustics front-fills, with Tannoy I8s and V8s for onstage foldback.
"If we get to a venue and they have d&b or another system we know is of good enough quality, we'll use that. But a lot of the time we put in our own system," Allen continues. "I'm using pretty much every output on the LS9, bar four of the Omnis, which we save for doing house feeds.
"Another advantage of the LS9 is that it's so easy to set up. Being able to set the delays in metres as well as milliseconds saves a lot of time - you can get a good gauge from that and adjust accordingly."
A major challenge of mixing the show isthe audience itself. "Being a very young audience, they inevitably make a lot of noise and it's at a pitch you don't often have to deal with," says Allen. "It's a balancing act, because you need to get the stage sound over the noise of the audience but you don't want to deafen them. It's their first experience of theatre, so you don't want them going away not having enjoyed it because their ears are hurting."
(Jim Evans)
