By: Kirsty Gillmore

I’m Kirsty, sound designer, sound engineer and voice artist, a native NewZealander now based in London, UK. I’m delighted to be joiningSoundGirls.org as a new regular blogger. I’ll be writing about sound design,live and theatre sound and what I’ve learned over my 14+ year career so far.For my first post, I thought I’d dive right in and talk about why you shouldalways do the hard jobs.

I once worked on a show that was the most challenging sound job I haveever done. By the end, I was so physically and mentally worn out that I wasliterally asleep on my feet and had lost so much confidence in my ownabilities that I almost swore off live sound forever. Now I look back on thatexperience as one of the defining points of my career. Though there is noway I would have even entertained this thought at the time, I am very glad I

did it. I gritted my teeth and did the hard, horrible job, and it made me a better sound person.

A couple of years ago I was given the opportunity to work on a shortUK tour of a scaled-down musical. The set would be minimal, thechorus significantly reduced and the full orchestra was replaced by afive piece ensemble. The entire production team consisted of just twopeople: the lighting designer, who was also the lighting operator andthe production manager, and me, the sound designer and Head ofSound – also known (at least in my head) as Sound No. Everything.

Every night except for two would be in a different venue. Theprinciples needed radio mics, the chorus would be on stage mics, the ensemble (drums/percussion, flute,clarinet, cello, and keyboard) needed multiple mics, everyone needed foldback, and the sound FX would beplayed out from QLab. Every night I would be responsible for setting up and sound checking all mics,including setting monitor levels in a new venue, sound FX, mixing the show (FOH and monitors) and packingit down at the end.

As the sound designer working within the tight budget constraintscommon to small to mid-scale productions, my plan had to suitvenues that ranged in size from 180 seats to over 2000 seats, usingas many of each of the venue’s own mics as possible and fittingwithin the capabilities of each venue’s desk and connectedinfrastructure, while taking into account variables like frequency bandlimitations (avoiding local taxi company frequencies became afamiliar job). Practically, this meant we had a different sound deskand a completely different set of instrument mics for every venue: wecouldn’t afford to tour with our own. As the sound operator, I wouldbe learning a new room, a new set of mics and driving a new desk,every night. No backup, no assistance except for the venue techs, noNo. 2.

With the exception of the last show, every show was the same. Load in started at 9am, our team of two (plususually 1-2 venue staff) would rig like crazy to get everything ready for the musicians arrival at 11am. Withtheir mic and monitor levels set, lights would take over for focusing, I’d get a speedy overview of the venue’sdesk and system before the cast arrived for their sound check and then we’d do as much of a tech run as wecould before the break and the evening’s performance.

There was never enough time to do everything we needed. Weusually had just enough time to run key entrances and exits, checkthe ensemble numbers and run any bits the director and MD wantedto focus on. There was no time for me to get completely up to speedwith each desk and room, let alone be able to troubleshoot to thedesired speed of the director and MD when things went wrong.Howlrounds (feedback) appeared that I couldn’t explain and tooklonger than expected to fix. Mics & monitors needed replacing,retuning and repositioning to allow for the revised blocking on eachnew stage. Without another sound person, I was constantly runningbetween the stage and the tech box while the director yelled at me to go faster, and the musical directoryelled at me that he couldn’t hear himself.

By the time the show went up every night I was a violin’s E stringwound to snapping point and I had to call on my depleted innerstrength to mix the show, do the load out, go home, catch a fewhours sleep and rinse and repeat in a different town the next day. Onthe last show, which was a matinee performance, so our tech timewas 50% shorter, there was a loud howlround in the final numbercaused (as I figured out afterwards) by one of the actors straying tooclose to one of the instrument monitors. The unfamiliar desk meant ittook me several seconds longer than it should to identify the issue

and the disappointment of the company lingered on the long train journey home.

It was hell. And yet, the show went up every night, and everyaudience enjoyed it. Every day I rigged, checked, tech’d and mixed aconcert musical by myself, and each day I was a little moreknowledgeable, a lot more humble and a hell of a lot more preparedto ask for the help of the house techs, who were almost universallyfriendly, competent life-savers with a ready supply to sugar andcaffeine.

Every day I learned more about the people I worked with, what wasmost important to them and how they liked to be approached. Everyday I was reminded that the whole production was under pressure,that what I was feeling was replicated across the creative team, themusicians and every one of the actors. I learned more about mystrengths and weaknesses of both my sound and people skills in that stressful week than I did in the entireyear beforehand.

The easy jobs, where you have bags of time and venues and kit youknow like the back of your hand, where everyone bounces off eachother like a creatively-engaged happy family, are rare joys and lovelybreathing spaces. They also won’t teach you much about yourself.The hard jobs (that you survive), where you feel overwhelmed,under-appreciated and surrounded by people whose sole purposeseems to be to bellow at you about your incompetence, will be themost worthwhile for your career.

Go do the hard jobs. If it makes you go “I’m not sure I could handlethat” then you know it’s one that will teach you loads and give yougreat stories to scare newbie engineers. Grit your teeth, leave yourego at the door and have at it. You don’t get better at what you do by

playing it safe.

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