Theatre Design & Technology - Winter 1981 - 9

become a carrier of symbolic meaning: one is Tillie's recorded
narrative that begins, ends, and punctuates the play, and the
other is the thunderstorm that accompanies Ruth's epileptic
seizure. In the recorded narrative, how should Tillie's voice be
treated? Is it the voice of Tillie at the time of the play or the voice
of an older Tillie? Is the narrative a flash-forward, the playa
flash-back, or are both contemporary? An intimate presence to
the voice suggests one thing; an apparent distance or reverberance suggests something very different. Symbolically, the narrative is a transference in time, reaching forward to Tillie's
developing hope of escaping from the trap that holds Beatrice
and will likely ensnare Ruth.
The thunderstorm is a transference in space, using the
electrical disturbance in nature to symbolize the neural conflict
in Ruth's brain. It is a link between public and private space,
between outer nature and inner nature. Functionally, the storm
reaches our emotions quickly and on a more primal level than
our social reaction to Ruth's problem. Accordingly, the storm
must be carefully shaped and timed to track the onset of the
seizure, the curve of Ruth's feelings as she recovers, and the
dissipation of disturbance as she and Beatrice talk.

Choosing
Microphone

Responsibility for Sound Design
Who should be responsible for planning and executing the
various functions of which sound is capable? The answer should
be that a trained sound designer holds the responsibility, but,
unfortunately, not many such persons exist. Recently, however,
several Broadway productions have included a credit for sound
design. Off-Broadway, Richard Foreman's Penguin Touquet
contained a spectacular auditory score, utilizing almost continuous sound. The score for Penguin TDuquet was the work of a
young musician who also appeared to have considerable audio
skills as well. Over a decade past, the Off-Broadway production
of Zindel's "Marigolds" also featured sound by a person who
was both a composer and an excellent recording technician.
Such combination of musical ability and audio expertise is
significant, because these are the talents that will probably be
required for any good sound designer. Basically, a sound
designer is a person who can read the playwright's script, hear
the director's interpretation, and can conceive of an esthetically
satisfying way of expressing the dramatic environment and the
principal dramatic metaphor in terms of sound.
Design and Technical Procedures
Sound, like any other design/technical aspect of theatre, must
be planned, executed, and rehearsed. Among the future problems to be resolved for sound in the theatre are those of
procedural method and division of labor. Obviously, serious
artistic uses of sound will require a sound designer. In all
probability, the technical production involved in preparing the
tapes will be carried out by the designer. At this phase of the
work, the equipment and systems are the designer's tools, like
colors and model-making materials to the scenic designer. The
playback equipment, although the designer will specify it, will be
handled and installed by other labor, and a skilled operator will
run the equipment in performance. This is not radically different
from what happens now in New York professional theatre,
except that the sound designer is missing in all but a few cases.
Fortunately, sound appears to be emerging as an element
that can help to attract audiences to the theatre, not just as
reinforcement but as an integral artistic element. Simultaneously, more and more young people are developing serious interests in the artistic possibilities of audio. Consequently, the next
few years should see the emergence of some very capable
sound design artists. Most devoutly to be hoped is that the
emergence of sound designers will educate theatre directors to
demand better sound, because only when the directors understand what is possible, and think in terms of sound as a viable
means of expression, will we truly have an art of theatre
sound.o
John Bracewell is a professor of Theatre at Ithaca College in New
York.

by Rollins Brook
With hundreds of different microphones available at prices
from a few $1 D's to a few $1 ODD's, it is important to know how to
select a microphone wisely. There are two steps in the process.
The first is to select an appropriate type or family of microphones, and second to choose a particular model from that
category. The selecton of the model is largely a subjective or
financial decision based upon personal taste or budget. The
selection of the microphone type can be more analy1ical when
the decision is based upon a knowledge of microphone operating principals and capabilities. The purpose of this article is to
provide an understanding of the general characteristics of the
families of microphones from which selections will be made. A
little history of the development of microphones is included to
give a perspective on how so many different models came to be.
Microphones may be categorized by electrical type and by
acoustical type.

ELECTRICAL TYPES
There are four basic electrical types: carbon, piezoelectric,
condenser and dynamic. The carbon microphone is, perhaps,
the most common and most widely used microphone in the
world because it is the microphone element in almost all
telephones. It has no application other than low-cost speech
transmission.
.
Certain crystal and ceramic materials, such as Rochelle salt
crystals, are piezoelectric; that is, they have the ability to
produce an electrical voltage in response to pressure. Some of
these materials were used for low-cost microphones during the
1930's and 1940's. They are little used today because of their
own shortcomings and because modern dynamic devices are
much better at competitive costs.

Condenser
The electrostatic or condenser was the first high-quality
professional microphone developed. In fact, it pre-dates commercial radio broadcasting. It was developed in the 1910's as an
instrumentation microphone. Today's condenser is typically a
very high-quality microphone with a frequency response range
from below to above the audible range.

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