CUSTOMER STORY STAGE ENTERTAINMENT , NETHERLANDS

photo credit: Jan Versweyveld No-compromise RF reliability and ultimate clarity for musical

“A system such as ’s musical legacy was brought to DeLaMar theatre in Ams- Sennheiser’s Digital terdam following successful runs in New York and London. Dutch rental company Events Light worked with production company Stage Enter- 6000 not only tainment Nederland to deliver state-of-the-art audio equipment from meets its primary Sennheiser for the show. objective of reliably With as director and supply the audio system for the transmitting audio as musical director and show, Frijters knew right away that from one place to the arranger/composer, the highly ac- only the best quality equipment other. [...] It supports claimed Lazarus musical wowed would be able to meet the team’s the cast by staying Dutch audiences at Amsterdam’s high expectations. DeLaMar Theatre before the pan- “Events Light has been going for as invisible as demic hit. With opening scenarios more than 20 years and all this possible with its 12- now being discussed throughout time we have been using Sennhei- hour battery life and Europe, hopes are high that the ser,” states Frijters. “We felt it was miniature size.“ production can return in 2021. the time to upgrade our stock with When Stage Entertainment Ne- Digital 6000 wireless microphone Dennis Slot derland (SEN) contacted Events systems, including SK 6212 digital Sound designer Light’s owner, Jeroen Frijters, ab- miniature bodypack wireless trans- out putting together an offer to mitters, so we could accommodate CUSTOMER STORY STAGE ENTERTAINMENT NEDERLAND

Sound design with a fresh mindset the demands of such an acclai- med theatrical production.” Before making the final invest- ment decision on the system, which was delivered to Events Light by Sennheiser partner Audiobizz, Frijters and Vincent Tilgenkamp, RF-specialist at Sennheiser, met with the SEN team to demonstrate the sys- tem in action and explain its key advantages. No-compromise RF reliability, transparent di- gital sound, ease of use with a fast and intuitive interface, the compact size of the SK 6212 bo- dypack and more than 12 hours of operation time were major points that convinced sound de- photo credit: Jan Versweyveld signers Dennis Slot and Erwin Sterk to go with the Digital 6000 recommendation. “We worked closely with Henry Hey to re-create the original feel of the production and adapt it to the acoustically challenging setting at DeLaMar, which was also much larger than the New York Theatre Workshop in Man- hattan where Lazarus originally premiered,” recalls Sterk. “Both Erwin and I were new to the creative team, whilst ever- yone else already had experien- ce working on the NY and Lon- don shows,” adds Slot. “It was challenging to start with, but it gave us an opportunity to ap- proach the sound design with a fresh mindset and really ex- periment with what worked and what didn’t on the set. We also knew we wanted to use next ge- neration audio equipment. Di- gital 6000 ticked all our boxes, including its compact bodypack Lazarus won four Dutch Music Awards, including Best Major transmitter, long operation time, Production, before the production was stopped in 2020 due and ease of use of the system.” to the pandemic. Photo credit: Jan Versweyveld CUSTOMER STORY STAGE ENTERTAINMENT NEDERLAND

Less hassle for the actors

Wireless system operator and mi- After selling more than 50,000 a big difference as we know we crophone placement specialist, tickets, further extending the can deliver a professional service JoHaLee Glastra, was also hap- show’s run to accommodate the throughout the entire production py with Digital 6000 for multiple overwhelming interest from the lifecycle.” reasons. Dutch public to experience David According to Slot, the primary job “The biggest advantage for me Bowie and ’s master- of the sound designer is to create was the bodypack’s exceptional piece and winning four awards a sound that fits the narrative vi- battery life,” he says. “This meant at the Dutch Music Awards Gala, sion of the director or producer. the batteries could be changed including the Best Major Produc- “When all the pieces fit nicely in the morning before the start tion award, the production was together, we can deliver a great of rehearsals, last the whole day stopped ten weeks before its of- show. A system such as Sennhei- including the evening live perfor- ficial end date in May 2020 due to ser’s Digital 6000 not only meets mance, and still have charge left.” the COVID pandemic. its primary objective of reliably Front-of-house engineer, Pepijn Speaking about what made the transmitting audio from one place Bos, could not agree more, ad- production such a technical suc- to the other and delivering crys- ding that on a one-act show like cess, Frijters points out that the tal clear sound, it also helps how Lazarus, having a system with existing relationship with the team you get to that point. It supports a battery that “just goes on and along with good quality audio the cast by staying as invisible as on and on” ensures a stress-free equipment were great advantages. possible with its 12-hour battery performance. “I have known Vincent from Senn- life and miniature size, and its in- According to Glastra, it was also heiser for many years and we tuitive interface saves precious a lot less hassle for the actors, have developed a good level of time and delivers a stress-free allowing them to concentrate on trust,” says Frijters. “This makes experience for the techs.” the important things like getting to know the lighting and sound cues, having extra time to rehear- se or even take a moment to relax, which would be impossible if bat- teries needed changing throug- hout the day. “My professional motto is that the less we have to interfere with a performer’s rou- tine the better, so I always try to use good-quality systems like Sennheiser,” he adds. Sennheiser‘s Wireless Systems Manager (WSM) professional software solution was another useful feature for Glastra. “The software is really intuitive,” he notes. “All the most import- ant parameters such as battery charging levels, RF status and LQI (Link Quality Indicator) are displayed on a single screen. This makes setting up and coor- dinating the frequencies much easier.” photo credit: Jan Versweyveld