Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre (ASGT), which is an outdoor community theatre in Historic Downtown Annapolis, Maryland, US, has added weatherised Community Pro iBOX model iHP-1226WR loudspeakers to its technical set up.
ASGT, which relies on all-volunteer staff and actors, hosts three major productions each season in an outdoor garden setting as well as other musicals, Shakespeare performances and education sessions.
Being an outdoor venue, challenges with weather and noise were central to the venue’s eventual decision on speakers. Ongoing challenges to actors and staff range from lingering afternoon heat and inclement weather to noise from boat engines and horns at the nearby City Dock.
Scott McCormick, one of two technical directors at ASGT, enlisted the support of acoustic specialist CCI Solutions to model the new sound system for the theatre.
After seeing Community Pro as the right descision, the team installed weatherised Community iBOX model iHP-1226WR loudspeakers for left and right front-of-house. These are complemented by Community Pro i-212SWR’s for subwoofers and WET W2-228 loudspeakers for stage/foldback monitors. The mains and subs are suspended from the truss at stage left and right and the monitors are suspended behind the mains to cover the stage while minimising their visual impact.
In addition, the theatre uses Shure UHF wireless microphone systems with Countryman headsets. On a typical production, all actors are equipped with wireless. The system is powered by QSC amplifiers and uses a Community dSPEC226AN loudspeaker processor for equalization and loudspeaker management. McCormick says the Community dSPEC is a “joy to work with” and he especially loves the amplifier calibration feature. He plans to use dSPEC presets to set up differing equalisation for weather and humidity changes.
