West Ottawa Theatre is cruising along to get ready for their production of Peter Pan, staging scenes and working on musical numbers. Director Joe Huber is also working tirelessly to make sure that each scene and number looks as clean and professional as possible. Even the crew has begun to work on their specific jobs. Most people don’t know the amount of work goes into working on a crew, but Soph. Aine Snoap has all the details.
Snoap knows that her job as a sound person is very crucial. “One challenge I face, as sound person is figuring out how to make the show sound the best it possibly can,” Snoap said.
“That means working with the directors to figure out which voices will help the sound the most, where to mic everyone so nobody ends up falling on/hitting their mic, and making sure that everyone on stage can be heard clearly,” Snoap said.
As the sound person, she makes sure that all mics are doing fine, don’t get damaged, die, or give feedback to the speakers. She also needs to be prepared for when her partner gives her a signal from the director for a sound cue or if a mic begins to act up. This doesn’t come without its difficulties.
“This can be challenging because everyone has a different vocal range and tone. But in the end I need to make sure that the audience gets the best possible show with no noise interruptions,” Snoap said.
Since the production is in its early stages, some of these challenges, like microphones and live music, are not an issue yet. However, Snoap is encountering difficulties with what she is charged with right now as the sound person. For rehearsal purposes, the cast utilizes recordings from the original Broadway production of Peter Pan in order to choreograph its numbers. Snoap has her problems with that as well.
“One specific song that is hard for me as a sound person, is the ‘I Gotta Crow Reprise.’” This song is particularly challenging for her because “almost the whole cast is on stage, so I have to make sure that you can hear all of the different parts that the cast sings while not having it sound muddled and overwhelming.”
Snoap is already planning ahead to the future and coming up with ideas for when the curtain is up in November. “In order to get the perfect sound, I have to have all the characters on microphones and mix their different voice parts so we can get the optimal sound.”
The obstacles may seem hard to overcome, but Snoap is ready to face them head on, as is the rest of the team, busy with the task of creating a wonderful show. Come see West Ottawa’s production of Peter Pan on November 10, 11, 12, 17, and 18. It’s out of this world!
