Broadway actor quick change when our mics are ON / OFF

[@TheatreKidCarter]

For anyone saying their schools and community dont get their mics turned off. When u get to broadway level it takes stage crew about two weeks or so to figure out when mics need to be turned on and off even when still onstage. Its so sick and hats off to the sound crew

[@lillianbarclay9807]

It was just two of us on sound in HS and we took 2-3 weeks of rehearsals figuring out mics and sound cues but still got onto our cast for not following "mics are always hot" because we would forget to mute them or accidentally unmute them and hear them talking over the speakers Once in rehearsal one of our cast had to go pee and we told him to keep his mic on and make sure to not touch and and then wash his hands after (it was a hassel to take everything off and he just had to pee) Yeah we forgot to mute his mic and heard him peeing, he graduated that year so idk if he ever found out

[@kasity]

@@lillianbarclay9807there’s a big difference between high school theatre and Broadway

[@lillianbarclay9807]

@kasity oh I completely understand that, I was just sharing the story from high school We were lucky if even half our mics worked, so the cast also had to act like the mics are not on when they're on stage so the audience can hear them

[@coopsahoy8563]

I mean it just seems way more efficient for them to just keep them on until you’re done with the scene…just have the actors be quiet off stage. Not that hard

[@beep3242]

​ @coopsahoy8563 The issue is that you could hear them breathing if the mics were on. Also, having absolute silence is harder in massive productions like Broadway than something like community theater.

[@bailarbootv8992]

"Gina is a fugly cow!~" I love this

[@bex6413]

Omg I was looking for this comment!!

[@NovavanLierop]

Fr

[@they.fwajorie]

*Regina

[@sarahudson2455]

⁠@@they.fwajoriethey said Gina meaning Regina they didn’t say Regina

[@they.fwajorie]

@@sarahudson2455 Yea they did loll

[@kkav4586]

"I. Am. A mess tonight."😂 mood. Just. Mood.

[@srhsnavely]

Whenever we do musicals, they don’t turn our mics off when we go offstage so backstage has to be silent so the whole crowd doesn’t hear what’s going on, we literally just point and try to get the other person to lip read, not super effective but better than nothing Edit: 1, thx for all the likes, and 2, this year our tech team has gotten to a point that anyone who has a mic offstage has it off until like 30 seconds before and after whenever their onstage but we’re still not aloud to talk offstage because some of the floor mics can pick up our voices which can cause problems. 😁

[@maskarade42]

Idea: sign language

[@Themadmaddie68]

I’m in a play, just did opening night last night, and our mics were SO SENSITIVE that during intermission they decided to cut them altogether because they were picking up every time a hair touched them or even just a small breeze. So a lot of yelling happened

[@demetriam2408]

They're just going to hear breathing lol, having mics on the entire time is awful

[@aricaine5024]

sm here who helps our sound tech with mics, we have one actor who breathed SO LOUD that you could hear it all the time if his mic was on. usually we keep mics on for people onstage but we micromanaged his so hard so the audience didn't just hear him wheezing all the time 😭

[@TheLady_Lynn]

​@@maskarade42 What I was thinking! ASL is the best!

[@Kittor87]

THE PHONE CHARGER THREW ME OFF OMG

[@tiktoksfromkenna]

The way i knew all the lyrics😭😭jj nieman is so funny

[@neoneoli1087]

what song is it?

[@tiktoksfromkenna]

@@neoneoli1087 World Burn, Mean Girls Musical

[@JackIsYourSamurai]

POV: Call center agents in the middle of a conversation amongst themselves and a client answers the phone:

[@AislingNausicaa]

As a call center employee, you are spot on! The most random conversations and then the split-second switch into the script the moment the call connects! Masters of the mute button lol

[@ghostylotus]

legit in tech week for mean girls rn

[@catertube0966]

Break a leg! :D

[@emeraldmoon4284]

2nd show night night of little mermaid for me xD (also good luck!! Hope your show runs smooth af!)

[@ehuldie]

Who are you guys playing?

[@H3l.lo_kitty]

Break a leg!

[@ghostylotus]

@@emeraldmoon4284 you too!!

[@LavenderExceptPink]

“I’m living for the haircut” I’m living for these videos Edit: 3.2k is crazy Edit: 12k is wild 😧

[@ezraxelle]

i just glanced at this comment at first and thought you said “vodka” 😭

[@LavenderExceptPink]

@@ezraxelle awoop

[@Edits.0612]

3.2k is crazy? how about 12k?

[@LavenderExceptPink]

@@Edits.0612 im sorry what?

[@Edits.0612]

@@LavenderExceptPinklikes. it was before the edit

[@AskLater08]

I work for crew for schools and we NEVER turn mics on and off like that, if you’re singing backstage with the chorus, you just have to be loud bc you’re not getting your mic turned on until you go back on stage for a line.

[@madsfiedler3884]

same with ours, mics are off as soon as youre offstage

[@ceciisuppose1530]

yeah thats probably because you work crew for schools and not frickin broadway

[@rascalscoot]

probably bc it’s not broadway😂

[@AskLater08]

@@ceciisuppose1530 idk why broadway would want to go through the struggle of constantly doing that, it’s easier to either just leave them on if they have a key part in the song or just turn them off when they’re singing with the chorus. They’d be constantly adjusting the sliders just for that.

[@shrimpy5296]

we had backstage mics we just crowded around

[@spaghettification7]

Gosh your voice is so beautiiful. The vibrato is ON POINT

[@LexTheRaspberry]

As someone who worked in costumes and helped with quick changes during mean girls, this is honestly so accurate.

[@The-watter]

I will never risk it the one time that your mic is not off ruins the whole thing lmao

[@PastelScoops]

Highly doubt one little slip up ruins the whole thing, but ok fam

[@MoaDiarys]

Do you mean that it they don’t turn of your mic or tune it on to early? Or you don’t pay attention and when you have to sing you’re still talking but your mic is on? There shouldn’t be any slip ups if it’s the first one, these people are professional and know what they’re doing.

[@MoaDiarys]

@@PastelScoops no it does. I mean especially if it’s on Broadway, a place that’s supported to be super professional hearing someone talking into there mic’s would really take me out of the moment.

[@PastelScoops]

@@MoaDiarys so humans making a small mistake would ruin your entire experience? That sounds like a you problem 😅

[@The-watter]

@MoaDiarys Part of being a professional is not talking back stage. People in the first rows are still able to hear your conversations if you talk loud enough behind the curtain. It's literally just a curtain.It's not soundproof or anything. It's also disrespectful to your fellow cast members on stage to speak during a show.

[@jaysadventures8887]

This was legit me on tour

[@daughterofhades13]

I was on Playbill earlier and looking at the store and you were on it!! I freaked out!!

[@ARW81510]

AGHHH ❤❤❤❤ as a theater kid who is so obsessed I bought the entire falsettos script in Lin Manuel’s Miranda’s bookstore after seeing Wicked and Beetlejuice in New York, I feel represented

[@XemeraldXD]

Im jealous!!!! London has a lot of amazing productions including Wicked, but ive never been able to see Beetlejuice and i want to so bad! Manifesting it comes to the EU haha

[@min3craftiscool553]

The close calls with the mics being turned off and on is way too relatable. But as someone who has been sound and light techie before as well as actor i hotta respect the fact that they work so hard to make when the mics are on and off clear so the actors can catch themselves. It's is a marathon unto itself.

[@anime61123]

Quick changing is harder than it looks. Most time you don't have someone to help you, you have to all of it by yourself. Hard as f*ck

[@ace_of_cups4096]

Im aduitioning to musicals and stage plays in my toen, but i didnt get a part in my favorite musical this spring and im still emotionally recovering. Im gonna go watch it but i cry every time i think about not getting even a chorus part 🥲

[@lasagnafrenchtoasthoneybutter]

The realest thing for theater in this video is the dancing and singing "I. Am a mess tonight. I'm a. Mess tonight"

[@FlounderWasAFlautist]

Ok but i have a question like do yall memorize when your mics will be on and off or is there like a little noise or signal or smth to tell you that your mic is on and off?

[@willowssanity]

When I was in performances, our microphones would have a switch to turn on or off. Our directors told us to keep them on at all times, but obviously we didn’t listen. You’d just have to memorize the song and sing on your part, and for my case, turn on the microphones yourself :)

[@FlounderWasAFlautist]

@@willowssanity thanks this is really helpful! I’ve always wondered what it’s like to be in an actual production with real actors instead of only the simple school plays

[@forthelowpriceof4.99]

​@@willowssanityfor my school we have literally no cue lol. We're not allowed to turn off the mics because then you might forget to turn it back on, so when you get offstage you stay silent for like a minute in case your mic is still on. On closing night I finished my scene and thought I was safe so I was like "where the hell is my bag" and I heard my voice echo back to me from the speaker 😭 it was mortifying but I had a friend in the audience and she said she didn't even hear it

[@MoaDiarys]

In professional theater the techies turn your mic on when you are singing and off when you’re not. So you just need to know when your supposed to sing

[@shimmershine6902]

The same way you memorize your lines???

[@emilyaedwards9843]

i remember having to tell cast not to ralk to loud cause you could hear them during show. it was a fun production

[@Aleksey_Skazo4nik]

Love that song! World Burn! ❤

[@Ur_averagereader]

My theater director has always said "actors arent stupid they just have a lot to worry about" so be nice to your actors when they make life rough for crews.

[@josiemaguna4867]

*I* have a lot to worry about 😭 Please don’t make my life rougher 💀

[@evieb8187]

Mine would always say "crew without actors are people with functional skills, actors without crew are naked standing on a dark empty stage" so also appreciate and listen to your crew

[@dormantlime215]

@@evieb8187 My director straight up sent the crew home for one day and made the actors try the rehearsal on their own, after a series of disrespectful actions towards the stage crew. Actors didn't try any of that shit again after that.

[@THATKID9089]

I do Pre-Professional theater and these videos are hilarious 😂 I love our tech people and they work super hard during tech week to make sure we can have mics go off and on.

[@Peachy_Skyes]

Lol I was just in a mean girls musical this is exactly what it’s like!

[@andiotrebac6583]

Cindy be getting all the work. She’s in every musical on Broadway it seems

[@beetothetee]

As a former stage crew member, I’ll just say that the fun, friendly actors who treated us like this always made my day 🥰

[@bushrakhan2359]

Why are these skits so satisfying 😂😊

[@squarepris1m203]

we love the techies, training in scenic right now. love your videos!

[@B0unce-y]

I needed this rn, because for some reason I’m in LOVE with mean girls ❤

[@IndiPearl]

FRRR AND I PLAYED REGINA IN MEAN GIRLS AT MY NEAR THEATRE!!!❤❤❤ THEATRE KID HERERE

[@TaysTurbo]

My moms uncle used to work as a extra helper for wicked and I hung out in the lounge there btw it’s very beautiful from what I remember, but it was back when Catherine Charlebois just joined wicked and some of the crew was just playing PlayStation when she walks in with a her mic still on when one of them dies in games and all thought the theater you hear gta death sound blaring out

[@ahassett37]

OH NO SKSNJFJSNDS 💀💀💀

[@bdcooper93]

what a bizarre thing to make up.

[@CollieNike3]

WHAT a trip! This just randomly popped up for me as I was scrolling and it took me a second to recognize you--but I was at your show last night, front & center with my 11 year old daughter! We really enjoyed your Marty! Thanks for a great show!

[@morganmiller6284]

Sound techs deserve everything

[@Fallen_Angel.437]

Our high school does turn off our mics, and it's just like this back stage

[@natarey]

As a former tech crew member I just want to say that our cast for every musical would push it so close with talking backstage that you could almost hear them with the mics onstage. One of the reasons I quit tech crew is because the director would say that it was my fault and I should of done something?? 🤨

[@AnyPerson-my8pe]

Thank you for making me laugh and putting a smile on my face

[@lilithtothemoon]

Run crew are truly some of the most talented people out there. especially board ops, my hand-eye coordination could never lmao

[@mimivalatin2689]

My school did turn off the mics like this. It was fantastic. Fun little story one of the times I had to run really quick off stage to get new clothes on someone helped me with the pants and stuff but time was kind of running out so I had to rush to get on stage. I accidentally knocked one of the lights that was standing on the floor down while running. I can’t remember if it was a smoke machine or a light but I’m pretty sure it was light. The performance went great tho and afterwards, they made sure I would not go that way again in the next one😅

[@alexhuynh9399]

~ I am a mess tonight!~ 🫷🏻🫱🏻✋🏻

[@sadbee6700]

Working as a theater tech for our high school version of mean girls was the most chaotic shit ever, just gave me Vietnam flashbacks with those few snippets of music

[@cookiecrumble1301]

I love being on costumes! I love it so much that my hope is to go into a career for it!

[@trueschrider5823]

wait some of u guys don’t get ur mics turned off off stage!?

[@MM-jf1me]

Makes sense if the chorus isn't in the scene.

[@mybrainbroke5279]

if anyone's curious, mixers on broadway have "scenes" that automatically turn a certain selection of mics on and off. the actor knows when they sing, the mixer already programmed their mic to turn on at that part, and then for the next scene their mic is off. so no the mixer isn't manually turning on each and every mic at any given moment but it's still definitely a stressful job 😅

[@adr3nal1ne_rush]

my school turn the mics off, it’s exactly like this tbh 😭😭

[@Hathamthepreppy]

During my school play Finding Nemo, I played Bloat. There was a kid who played Tad who walked around backstage going “what’s up brother!” Right into his microphone. There is a scene where we have to act sad for Nemo so I was pretending to cry and all of a sudden I hear on the speakers “what’s up brother” and I had to make my laugh look like a cry.

[@CopyKitties]

Glad that you’re treating your backstage crew like equals, not everyone does

[@brendanburress2696]

Props to my HS sound crew they were SPOT ON turning our mics on and off! We had a heck of a time backstage and it was JUST like this 😭😂 miss those days they sure were good ❤️

[@luciaditerlizzi8937]

This is pretty accurate for my high school. Whenever an actor would leave we would turn off their mic. Of course we had to basically know the whole show.

[@RainRio]

HASWELLS!!! MY FAVORITE AFTER-SHOW DINING AREA

[@lilahza]

Cindy deserves a raise

[@nicolediablo]

i’m living for the phone charger as the mic 😂😂😂

[@beccathemusicalnewsie]

i love this sm

[@JacoobVR-BRC]

Our mics can be adjusted so we just scoot them out the way to chat 😭

[@bridgetcamobrat7900]

The Haswell reference when you’re doing mean girls is 🤌🏻 yasss

[@saorise28]

My best friend is the sound technician for her college and I’m just now realizing how good she is because I see a bunch of comments saying they don’t get theirs turned off. She is always on the ball with who is on vs off and when they need to be. A mistake on that is rare for her!

[@Jades_Creations123]

Omg I love mean girls SM! (ANd heathers and hamilton :3)

[@ariender754]

Stoopppp was on tech crew for my schools mean girls production and this was literally the whole cast-ansd this is deadass the whole cast this year while we do chicago lmfao

[@jacquestrahan982]

Just had a thought...what if everyone learned sign language so could talk without speaking...

[@Leyoe]

SIX EDITION PLEASE

[@alexrodriguez2835]

As Ensemble for my Mean girls and head of costume(Screaming inside😭)

[@jaz_2008]

I NEED more of these videos ❤

[@Ciaraatyoursevice]

Omg im so nervous, i have a show in 4 days and we are gonna be at the theatre for 12 hours! 😭

[@MilfredPhangraphy]

This is so real😭😭

[@persyalove]

coming from someone who is tech crew backstage, this is so accurate. also we just finished doing mean girls so this is scarily accurate

[@FilmedByjordynn]

“✨GiNa iS a FuGlY cOw ✨” Literally iconic

[@urfav_strawberryblondie]

at my school, they do turn our mics off but it’s also kids doing it so it takes a few seconds

[@vicenteisaaclopezvaldez2450]

Kudos to the character calling the actor out.

[@whosscarlette]

My school actually does turn our mics off like this when we are offstage and its rlly nice and allows us to have a bonding type experience but the only issue is our sound crew can still see when we speak bc the mic will pick up activity still and we get yelled at during tech week but during shows no one cares😭

[@TheRealPiperMclean]

Cindy is my new spirit animal

[@wcdream]

Seeing the comments about other schools not shutting off the mics when they are offstage is INSANE. my school's theater tech have always shut off and on mics for people going on/off stage... they always come in clutch with it (and sometimes forget, which makes for HILARIOUS mistakes, but it's never show-ruining)

[@MoaDiarys]

Well I think they mean turning it off and on when they have to sing off stage and when they don’t have to sing off stage. Because if we were off stage and still had to sing our mics would still be on

[@wcdream]

@@MoaDiarys ahh that makes more sense. it just wasn't specified, so I thought even if they were just sitting in the wings waiting for an entrance or chilling backstage there had to be total silence lol

[@KpopHyunjini]

The "jina is a fugly cow" HAD ME ROLLING ON THE FLOOR😩✋️

[@professorlayton42]

I was in Mean Girls and I was gonna say this is relatable, but literally none of the ensemble had mics because we only had enough for the main characters 😭😭

[@caleighp445]

i love the charger for a mic

[@waffleface5940]

I remember being a sound tech in highschool and getting in trouble because people were speaking with their mics off.

[@elizabethshuck9068]

I was taught to gently cuff your hand over the mic with your hands when talking backstage because sometimes the SFX forget to turn them off while managing other equipment. I just wish more people knew this

[@AndyTheInconsistent]

I wish I could do this, or even so much as talk backstage, but my community theater is so small we don't actually have a stage or proper backstage, it's just a dance floor and curtains 😭

[@kennedyallen7215]

We did mic on and off for my school plays but were told to asvr if is the mic is always on cause he stage was small and the audience could hear us in the dressing room

[@Kisskissfallind3bt]

Deadass the most most stressful part of working on sound. I played the que lab, but like hats off to my fellow crew member who i worked with, i always made sure to tell him who was upcoming in scenes

[@Star-childitz]

THE MEAN GIRLS IS LIKE A SLEEPER CODE FOR ME

[@Cybernyxx]

HELPPPP this is roughly how it goes for my highschool drama club too 😭 you learn so quickly how to talk without talking

[@FENNECFOX-bd9fw]

So true Im a broadway actor and I saw this I was like so relatable and I’m also doing mean girls tomorrow night😂

[@Avagslay]

The mean girrls

[@toasternuggets]

Flashback to that one time someone backstage swore and her mic was on and nobody ever found out who it was. It was ok the audience just laughed

[@catabat49654]

Still remember when I worked back stage for a production of Guys & Dolls and the guy who played Nathan Detroit went to fake smack Nicely across the face with a baguette but this night ACTUALLY smacked him hard and broke it in half 💀 as he shooed him off stage (part of the show) he kicked the piece of broken baguette and it flew into the orchestra pit (not part of the show). I felt like I was gonna explode holding in my laughter so it wouldn’t get picked up on Nicely’s mic as I helped him with a costume change 🥴

[@KatietheKreator]

pippin melody?! 🤯

[@poggieauggie529]

i love being costume crew for my college shows, theyre always just like this 😭

[@HugYourLocalCactus]

As a sound person I'm sure this is true for broadway but literally 0% of high school theater can be quiet regardless of if their mic is on

[@czechball6641]

I love the mic. The phone charger is great.

[@Haru-bj8rg]

Wish we could do this with my company, we have limited microphones so we have to switch for smaller leads and we don’t turn them off backstage😭

[@sarebear7777]

It's so interesting how they flick the mics on and off like that on Broadway. In my experience doing theatre they typically keep your mic hot until you take an extended break from being on stage or until the act is over.

[@sarahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh]

the sound crew at my school is supposed to turn off our mics when we’re offstage, but there’s been FAR too many instances of people’s mics being left on and the audience can hear breathing or talking during a show 😭 but then they get mad when we turn our mics off when we’re not on stage because we don’t trust them… people just need to do their jobs correctly

[@Softballplayer32]

I wish i could do this backstage 😭 our mics get turned off when backstage, but we get yelled at for even whispering at my school. At the bigger program i do though we are allowed to whisper but still not talk

[@DanceLkNat]

I am a mess to- oop (cue mean girl run)🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@helloimrhyana6872]

No this is so real but there are sometimes where the mic isn’t all the way off and just turned down and you just hear somebody talking to someone of doing vocal warmups backstage

[@Inkwellvintage]

.. for the people saying that community doesn't get mics turned off... in my experience in theatre we did 😭

[@TRXSH1]

We just did a production at footloose and this is so relatable

[@user-tf9cc4nv7c]

At my theatre company's, we have SOO MUCH backstage space, so when this happens, somebody just whisper yells, "GUYS SHUT UP IM GOING ON" and in adult shows, "don't move a fucking inch I'm about to sing." I have been professionally acting at adult companies since 9 years old, so I have LOTS of experience with this topic.

[@PlatonicDIVA]

At our school, we have dedicated students dedicated to turning the mics of on cues. The problem os we have a kid running them that doesnt actually follow cues