“The Emerald City” from THE WIZ. Photo by Jeremy Daniel, courtesy of DKC/O&M.
New York, NY (12. November 2024) – To quote L. Frank Baum, “There’s no place like home,” but what if the theater lacks vitality and life, characteristics that help a space feel like a home? That’s exactly the challenge renowned sound designer Jon Weston faced in taking a successful touring production of The Wiz to Broadway, with its residency slated for The Marriott Marquis, a notoriously difficult, dry room. Through the integration of d&b Soundscape with En-Space software provided by Production Resource Group, Weston completely transformed the acoustics of the theater, inspired actors’ performances with a more lifelike environment, and enhanced the storytelling with novel, creative sonic experiences that delighted theatergoers and the producers alike.
Based on previous productions at the Marquis, Weston was familiar with the challenges of the space, which he addressed to varying degrees in the past. With the pre-Broadway touring production of The Wiz already relying on a d&b audiotechnik system, Weston reached out to PRG to explore whether d&b audiotechnik Soundscape technology would be the ideal solution.
“We explored different scenarios but kept coming back to the DS100 Soundscape engine with En-Space,” said David Strang, PRG’s Vice President of Audio Sales. “The expense of Soundscape was more cost effective than comparable systems and it went way beyond just enhancing the general ambiance of the house.”
With Soundscape decided as the winning solution, Weston immediately turned to d&b ArrayCalc simulation software to ensure the system he specified would fully cover the room and serve the aesthetic needs of the production. “I find ArrayCalc invaluable; the information it provides is so accurate,” confirmed Weston. “Because the music is so important in The Wiz, even if you’re sitting in the back of the audience, you should sonically feel as connected to the experience as if you were in the front row. ArrayCalc helped me plan for that.”
With the addition of Soundscape and the En-Space acoustic enhancement module on this production, Weston knew that the modeling would present a change from the way he normally thought about surrounds, particularly for the zone under the balcony, where the dryness of the space was most pronounced. “With d&b Soundscape, I was able to address spatialization with much more granularity, and the ceiling dimension of the En-Space model enabled me to ‘raise the roof’ for the audience,” offered Weston. “Left unprocessed, the under-balcony space was like an anechoic chamber. To address that, we hung omnidirectional mics from the ceiling and washed them through En-Space, and in no time, we were happy with the acoustics in that space.”
The natural acoustics of the theater not only dampens the experience for the audience but also impacts the performers. “The Marquis doesn’t feel live to the people on stage, who normally rely on room reflections to pace their phrasing,” explained Weston. “Not having those reflections can be a little unnerving, and it resulted in performers stepping on their own laughs or reactions from the audience, so we used a second DS100 unit with En-Scene for onstage reinforcement to give the performers the reassurance they needed.”
Having enhanced the acoustics of the space, Weston then tapped the deeper capabilities of Soundscape as a creative partner for sonic storytelling during scene changes. “The production starts in Kansas with everything in grayscale so, we made it a little surreal by modifying reflectivity percentages,” described Weston. “Then as the tornado happens, we used Soundscape to introduce sonic colors in synchronization with the video and lighting. By the time we get to Oz, we are in full color, and everything sounds very live.”
“There were certain points in the show where I wanted the sound to be drier for a more focusing effect or more wet for a more dramatic effect,” continued Weston. “For example, there’s one bombastic moment where the Wiz makes his entrance and you suddenly feel like you’re in a stadium.”
Weston enthused “Having speakers that sound as good as d&b with the modeling capabilities of ArrayCalc allows me to be agile in design. Plus, with the addition of Soundscape with En-Space, you get entirely new dimensions for sound design. I will be loyal to d&b audiotechnik as long as they continue to produce stellar products, and I don’t see that changing.”
About the System Configuration
The main vocal system for The Wiz at the Marriott Marquis utilized V-Series V7P and V10P point source loudspeakers. The main band system combined V-Series point source and V-Series line arrays with a combination of V8 and V12 modules. The surrounds utilized E-Series E8 and E5 point source speakers. The upstairs and downstairs delays were E8 and the ceiling speakers under the balcony were E4 point source loudspeakers. Two DS100 signal engines were utilized to provide individual Soundscape instances with En-Space, one for the audience areas and one for the on-stage performers.
About d&b audiotechnik. d&b audiotechnik provides professional audio technology and solutions to accurately transfer passions through high-end quality speech and music reproduction. d&b audiotechnik is internationally regarded as a leading company for sound reinforcement systems in installed and mobile applications, with a reputation for quality of construction, standard of service, system Integration principles, and pioneering technological development.
Founded In Germany in 1981, d&b audiotechnik headquarters are located in Backnang, near Stuttgart, where research, development and production take place. With sales offices in major cities around the world, the d&b audiotechnik team numbers more than 600 co-workers.
d&b audiotechnik is part of d&b group which provides professional audio technology and AVLM solutions to create memorable, multisensorial experiences.
