Electronic amplification in the theater

Abstract

Broadway theater has progressed from occasional use of amplification to consistent use. Reinforcement in the Broadway theater has and is being used to improve speech clarity, to bring singers' voices up over the loud levels produced by pit orchestras, and to change the balance between individual singer's or actor's voices. It is increasingly used to change orchestral balances and to produce a kind of sound that show composers and arrangers are familiar with in recording studios. The equipment used for such purposes varies from simple to complex, depending upon the show and the theater. The argument between those preferring loudspeakers on each side of the stage and those preferring central loudspeaker clusters over the stage continues, as does the argument between those recommending installed systems for theater and those preferring rental systems touring with individual shows. Meanwhile, the use of electronic sound amplification as standard practice has permitted architects and theater designers to leave the conventional proscenium theater form behind and experiment with new shapes, such as thrust-stage theater and theater-in-the-round. Electronic sound amplification systems designed for such spaces usually employ a combination of distributed and central loudspeaker system design, often with time-delay systems.