In this production I was working as Sound No. 2, so I had plenty of jobs and practical experience. I was responsible for keeping all of the microphones in use for almost two weeks so that they would perform well during rehearsals as well as when the musical was running. I was required to check often, repair faults when they happened, and keep all the equipment in working order at the due time.


Much of what I did also involved the fitting of headsets onto performers. This was technical work but involved people skills as I had to be quick but precise and also be in a position to keep the performers calm and confident due to some of the mic's not working as they should and it was knocking some of the performers confidence. I had often to repair and readjust headsets on the spot, especially during quick turnarounds, and this increased my skills on keeping calm and active in stressful situations.

One of the more tricky aspects of the production was dealing with technical faults caused by the costumes on the stage. These at times clashed with the signal from the antenna's of the radios and caused dropouts or interference. I immediately identified the causes of the faults and instigated practical solutions to lessen the impact, whether that was the repositioning of packs or making small adjustments in the costume to give the antenna's a direct path to the paddles. The troubleshooting aspect of the role was demanding and enjoyfull in that I had to think on my feet and act fast in order to keep the mics working despite the problems we had.