Stage Audio Resources

A few weeks ago, in my post “Interested in Stage Lighting,” I told you about some resources that we recommend on the topic of stage lighting.  Another topic that I thought would be of interest to the those readers new to the world of live theatre and music production is stage audio. 

BOOKS (recommended by Megan Duckett and linked to Amazon)

“Concert Sound: Tours, Techniques & Technology (Mix Magazine Pro Audio Series),” by David Trubitt 

“Live Sound Reinforcement, Bestseller Edition,” by Scott Hunter Stark

WEBSITES

Mixonline:  Mix bills itself as “the world’s leading magazine for the professional recording and sound production technology industry.”  Mix really is comprehensive, offering articles on a wide range of sound production topics in several different areas, including live production.

Live Sound International:  Live Sound is a magazine that focuses exclusively on live audio.  Regretably, as it is a print magazine, the content (even the recent digital content) requires purchase of a subscription.  However, there is some interesting information in the free older archive material (2001 through March 2005) and in the forums.

ProSoundWeb:  Interestingly enough, this website (owned by the same folks as LiveSound), offers plenty of free content on the site, including some content from LiveSound. 

Professional Sound Magazine:  Again, this is the website for a print magazine.  The main website has some good content (check out the “Sound Advice” section), and there is a link to a digital edition of the magazine.  Unfortunately, this is one of those “digital” editions in which it looks like the print edition and you have to “flip the pages” to read it, but at least the content is available (and free).

Interested in Theatre Lighting?

While we make custom stage curtains, scrims, backdrops, etc., for many of the biggest music tours around (who employ some amazing lighting designers and techs), we also provide soft goods to people at small schools and churches who may have limited knowledge of stage lighting.  For those folks, I thought I’d list some resources on the subject that we find especially helpful or interesting.

BOOKS (recommended by Megan Duckett and linked to Amazon)

“A Practical Guide to Stage Lighting,” by Steven Louis Shelley

“Designing with Light,” by J. Michael Gillette

“Technical Theater for Non-Technical People,” by Drew Campbell

WEBSITES

OnStageLighting:  A terrific site from the UK with a variety of articles on stage lighting techniques, equipment, etc.  It is described as a blog, but if so, this is the most comprehensive blog I have ever seen!  There is a very extensive list of articles & tutorials on a wide variety of lighting-related topics.

Professional Lighting & Production Magazine:  This is the website of a Canadian print magazine.  It is a little cumbersome to read the articles (you have to open up a special online edition of the printed magazine and flip the digital pages as you read), but there are some good articles to be found if you persevere.  The bookstore and resources links are also helpful (Note: if you are in the US, you might want to browse the books and then try searching  for them on Amazon or through another US bookstore).

PLSN Projection, Lights and Staging News:  This is the website of one of the two major lighting and staging magazines in the US.  All articles in the current issue are online in an easily-accessible webpage format, online archives, and prior issues in PDF.  Plus there are extras such as a job posting page, Tips and Tricks and more.

Live Design:  This is the website of the other major magazine in the US devoted to the subject of lighting, sound, and staging.  Lots of good information on the site, well-organized according to production type (such as theatre, concerts, etc.) and with a good archive of online articles from prior issues.

Another link – Manage the Tour

I recently discovered a cool blog called “Manage the Tour.”  The purpose of the blog is to provide “an online resource of stories, suggestions and ideas for aspiring tour managers.”

Despite working for a company that makes custom stage curtains, digitally printed backdrops, and a host of other soft goods for the tours of bands and artists big and small (and despite the fact that Sew What? Inc was founded by a former “roadie”), I myself have never toured with a band.  So I am fascinated to read Bradford’s suggestions for aspiring tour managers (including small bands that are doing the tour management themselves). 

I know how “glamorous” the life of a touring with a band sounds to those of us who have never done it – you can read a few of Megan’s recent posts to see that its not all fun and games!  The thing that I like about Manage the Tour is that Bradford gives practical advice to aspiring tour managers but also manages to be interesting to those (like me) who only dream.

I found this post particularly interesting, although I have to admit that it first caught my eye because of the similarity in the title to Sew What?