By Porcelain - 03/10/2009 13:47 - United States

Today, during the opening night performance of our schools musical, while I wasn't on stage I decided to use the restroom. I came out to find two of my fellow actresses putting their hands over my mouth. Apparently, I had left my microphone on and everyone heard me using the restroom. FML
I agree, your life sucks 36 814
You deserved it 12 779

Weezie_rm tells us more.

So I wouldn't talk and the audience wouldn't hear me. And I didn't make any awkward sounds in the restroom either. All of a sudden the audience just heard a huge "FLUSH!!!!"Which is why the sound guys didnt have time to turn off the mic. And they apologized to me afterwards, but it was embarrassing. Now it's funny.

Top comments

bontron 0

Uuuunnnhhhh oh my god fuckyesfuckyesfuckyes. *flush*

Any respectable sound tech, would have muted your channel immediately after realizing what was going on.. and even if you were off stage, your mic channel should have been muted anyway.

Comments

awful sound guys!! it's their responsibility to make sure that doesn't happen as well.

I think it's fake, cause A) that would have to be a pretty long range mic more likely than not, and B) actors are typically never responsible for turning their mics off.

the_stereotype 0

the B part, i have to argue with. in my ELEMENTARY school, the cast of yes, the musical, was required to handle their own mikes. and the lead girl was back stage talking about how cute one of the other guys was an pretty much everyone heard what she was saying. when she came out, she got yelled at for talking backstage. thank god it was a dress rehearsal though and not when all of the parents were there

a loud noise like a toilet flush would get picked up by a face mic. I would agree with B) but who knows perhaps it WAS the sound guy's fault or perhaps they just don't run their productions well.

totalbadass 0

I don't get it, why were your fellow actresses putting their hands over your mouth?

I don't get that either. Someone please explain.

So I wouldn't talk and the audience wouldn't hear me. And I didn't make any awkward sounds in the restroom either. All of a sudden the audience just heard a huge "FLUSH!!!!"Which is why the sound guys didnt have time to turn off the mic. And they apologized to me afterwards, but it was embarrassing. Now it's funny.

I always mute mics when they're not on stage. Period. Not after I hear something awkward... Bad sound guys for sure.

Maybe she goes to year-round school...? Or worked on it over the summer...?

I've gotta agree, your sound guys failed you. We always had all of the mics labeled by number, and then a cheat sheet with the names of the actor/actress and the character that they were playing so as to avoid this. If they forgot to mute the mic then they failed and should probably stop working sound

#7 if you've ever encountered a sound person after taking off your own mic, you would know that this is not an option. Especially in high school. Furthermore, it's a bitch to take mics on and off. Could the OP have hit the "mute" button? sure, but they shouldn't have to (and risk forgetting to turn it off mute later) if the sound people were on their game

Well, it's not like you made any weird sounds in there, right? OR DID YOU? ;p

amanbaby 0

I'm a sound tech at my school. that's completly your sound guy's fault. he should have muted your mic when you left stage. along with that, I call fake, because if they had heard it, he certainly would have remembered and shut it off. if not, your sound tech is an idiot and should be replaced.

This does happen. It has happened on several show that I have worked on. For all you "theatre" people out there blaming the sound guy, S.T.F.U! Please consider that reinforcing vocals did not come from us sound designers wanting to deal with more crap during production. It comes from the actors NOT KNOWING, WILLING, WANTING, TO F^({ING PROJECT PAST THE EDGE OF THE F*^$%ING STAGE!!!! And as for "the FOH should have turned the mic off" well duh!! In running sound for musicals we do not just stand back there & press the pretty buttons on our own. This could have been a missed que from the stage manager or who ever was calling the show, some board ops will & sometimes can, only take a que when told to. As musicals most often have multiple mics running at once, the mute or the channel could have be missed in the punch out, or there may have been a swap of numerous mics/channels & there was a lag in the taking action. Everyone makes mistakes. - = - and #45, the broadcast range doesn't need to be that good for this to happen, it is all in the antenna placement. AND I DARE ANYONE to run a 16+ channels live mix desk to find an offending feed without messing up your mix in under two minutes.

freetalklive 0

I have to agree with him. I've been in several musicals, and I never needed to have a microphone. The only people who did were the ones who couldnt (or didnt attempt to) get their voices loud enough to be heard by the back row. I worked on projecting my lines and didnt need to be mic'ed up. I couldnt imagine being a sound guy and handling all that. I would expect every actor/tress to be responsible for his/her actions.

you are a douchebag. if a sound guy/board OP is smart, he will NEVER do ANYthing unless the SM calls it. That way, when it ***** up, it's on the SM and not on him. But, I mean, that IS why we have tech week... In any case, you also obviously know absolutely nothing about singing. Not every song can be belted and projected to the last row. Some parts of songs are soft and in order to hit the right notes, they can't be screamed and therefore, must be mic'd. And if you don't believe me, why don't you go see a Broadway show sometime, and then maybe you will notice that all of those highest-paid actors/actresses who obviously know how to project are ALL MIC'D. But I bet their sound guy(s) know how to do a simple thing like turn a mic on and off... Actors are cattle. You cannot let them do anything. Come on, you should know this.

If this was the actual production (and not a rehearsal) the sound guy should not need a cue, but know when the mics need to go on and off. That's what the rehearsal is for. The SM cannot cue for the lights, sound, stage entries/exits simultaneously. People need to know when to do their parts. And first you say STFU to people blaming the sound guy, but then you go on to admit that it could have been his fault for missing a cue? Make up your mind. Also, most high school productions wouldn't have that many individual face mics - the main characters would be miced and the background vocals would be picked up by stage hanging mics. And don't try to blame the actors for not "wanting" to project past the stage, in a freaking theatre you NEED to be miced because otherwise you'd have to yell for the back row to hear.

yelling is not projection, it is just yelling.. cues are the holy grail to be followed in most productions but if the production is not a big money show, most likely the poor FOH guy is running both audio & light cues Musicals are hell on the sound department no matter what, if they don't have at least two board ops mike will be left on at times. SHUT THE F%^& UP ABOUT BLAMING THE SOUND GUY/GAL THEY MAY HAVE MISSED THE BUTTON, BUT THEY ARE NOT THE ONLY ONES RESPONSIBLE. and even cattle are smart enough not to shit in the food trough.

Sorry, you're an idiot. I'm guessing your experience of mixing is limited to your high school shows? Sounds like it. The SM cues almost nothing in a sound heavy show. But vocal reinforcement is entirely necessary in a musical. It's not something that gets in the way, and if it pisses you off as a Sound Designer, then I think you might be in the wrong profession! Vocal Reinforcement in straight plays however, is san abomination, and usually only practised on the shit heap Broadway! I also can't believe you feel that two board ops are needed on a musical... Go and see The Lion King some time and count how many guys there are behind the CADAC....

actually, the SM should cue EVERYTHING. it's kind of thier job. and if you don't believe me- just ask me. I'm a stage manager.