# A poll for live-theater goers: Do mike wearing performers bother you? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 16, 2011, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-for-live-theater-goers-do-mike-wearing-performers-bother-you/574859 "2011-03-16T00:38:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DooWahDiddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9bcb4/32.png) [@DooWahDiddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DooWahDiddy)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-for-live-theater-goers-do-mike-wearing-performers-bother-you/574859/21 "2011-03-16T15:45:52Z")
All you people complaining about how kids these days need to learn to project: Are you talking about musicals or straight plays? Because I totally agree with you if you’re talking about plays, but in a musical it just isn’t (usually) possible, and that has something to do with the direction musical theatre has been taking the last twenty years or so. Yes, maybe, _maybe_ they should be able to project over a 20-piece orchestra playing _Oklahoma_ or something, but there’s no _way_ one person is going to be heard over a 5-piece rock band armed with electric guitars and towers of amplifiers. And, honestly, I wouldn’t want them to try. Crank up the volume and turn that mother out! But of course if you’re talking about a small house and a light orchestra in a softer show, then yes, actors do need to learn how to project without screaming. But it should be on a case-by-case basis, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-for-live-theater-goers-do-mike-wearing-performers-bother-you/574859/22 "2011-03-16T15:54:05Z")
I take your point about projecting over a rock show-- sure, it matters how the music is written. Cole Porter is written to be sung over, while Andrew Lloyd Webber is not. And for that matter, the single best use of microphones I’ve ever seen was in _Jesus Christ, Superstar_ because it’s a rock opera, and rock music uses microphones, so the sound difference doesn’t bother me. But using microphones in _Oklahoma_ grates because that’s not a genre written for microphones. And sometimes it really is a stretch for an actor to project over an orchestra. However, when the actor actually projects anyway and lets the microphone cover the difference, it’s not too bad. When the actor just sings quietly and lets the microphone do all the work, it sounds like hell. ---
**Author:** ![gonzoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a6a055/32.png) [@gonzoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzoron)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-for-live-theater-goers-do-mike-wearing-performers-bother-you/574859/23 "2011-03-16T16:03:29Z")
Back in college (I guess this was '95 or '96) I went to Shakespeare in the Park’s production of _The Tempest_ starring Patrick Stewart as Prospero. Just before his big speech in the last act. "… But this rough magic I here abjure, … " Stewart signaled to the sound guy, with his fingers he made a quick “cut” motion across his throat. The sound guy cut his mike, and his un-amplified voice completely filled the _outdoor_ amphitheater. It was a moment I’ll never forget. The real pros don’t need no mikes. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-for-live-theater-goers-do-mike-wearing-performers-bother-you/574859/24 "2011-03-16T16:13:09Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > No, it doesn’t bother me at all. As long as I can hear them correctly, I don’t care. > > Ethel Merman was **loud** , but that’s all she was. IMO she was a horrid singer and I’d rather tear my ears off than listen to her caterwauling. If actors being miked means we get less singers like her, then thank God for mics. That was Lt. Hurwitz you were listening to. Ethel Merman was swell, she was great. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-for-live-theater-goers-do-mike-wearing-performers-bother-you/574859/25 "2011-03-16T16:31:51Z")
I voted that it doesn’t bother me at all, but it depends on the venue and type of performance. Last summer I went to see a satge comic and absolutely opted for the headset so I could hear him more clearly. The acoustics there are awful and I sometimes have a hard time hearing performers anyway. OTOH, I’ve conducted some operas. The idea of miking the performers always came up, and I always flatly refused it. I guess I’m more of a purist in that regard. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-for-live-theater-goers-do-mike-wearing-performers-bother-you/574859/26 "2011-03-16T23:17:54Z")
I ran the soundboard and assisted with setting up mics for productions when I was taking classes for my theater minor. It’s not hard to hide mics in the props on stage. Tape one under a table, in a bucket of flowers etc. Our directors (theatre arts teachers) didn’t want to see wires or mics. I see little need to strap a mic on an actors head in live theater. We didn’t even mic actors in our smaller theater in the round. The audience was up close to the stage. ---
**Author:** ![FeAudrey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7feea3/32.png) [@FeAudrey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FeAudrey)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-for-live-theater-goers-do-mike-wearing-performers-bother-you/574859/27 "2011-03-16T23:21:42Z")
> [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](#): > > … it’s the change in sound quality that bugs me the most about miking. Word. A live performance is different from an electronically-processed one. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-for-live-theater-goers-do-mike-wearing-performers-bother-you/574859.md?page=1)