Hale Centre Theatre (HCT), located in Sandy, UT, serves over 600,000 patrons with professional productions at an accessible price on an annual basis. Faced with the challenge of upgrading their 911-seat, in-the-round, Centre Stage venue, HCT installed a comprehensive d&b audiotechnik Soundscape system with En-Scene, En-Space, and En-Snap software modules.
[An Investment in Better Storytelling]
“With this upgrade, the theater needed a solution that could guarantee consistent audio quality for every seat, moving beyond the previous limitations of a left/right system, which resulted in poor audio quality near the aisles,” explained resident sound designer and sound department manager, Michelle Ohumukini. “Ultimately, after demonstrations of available solutions on the market, the immersive object-based mixing of Soundscape was deemed the far superior option for manipulating and placing sound in the theatre’s in-the-round geometry.”
The new system, featuring d&b loudspeakers and subwoofers (including xS-Series 24S-D mains, XSLi-SUB, 21S-SUB, and xS-Series 44S fills flown in the round), was selected for its enhanced capabilities in creating fully immersive, story-driven audio experiences made possible via Soundscape.
“We use Soundscape as a fundamental tool for our sonic storytelling,” Ohumukini continued. "En-Space and En-Scene help us build worlds that align with the visuals and staging to create immersive, story-driven effects. My favorite thing that I’ve done with Soundscape so far, was the iconic parting of the Red Sea in Prince of Egypt,” said Ohumukini. “I split our speakers down the middle and we used En-Scene to change levels and placements of objects to make it sound like the Sea was actually parting. It was very dramatic.”
Article continues belowThe Soundscape solution was also deployed in the smaller Jewel Box theater, and was also utilized to solve a notoriously challenging acoustic space at the Hale Centre Theatre, its eight-seat VIP box.
“This secluded box seat area, positioned slightly higher than the regular seating, had the most challenging sound in the house. It was almost unusable for me as a sound designer and a poor experience for the major donors and diplomats who sat there,” shared Ohumukini. “To remedy this, we installed a dedicated d&b Soundscape rig exclusively for the box. This system operates independently, running on its own DS100 processor, and it replicates everything the Soundscape system is doing in the main theatre.”
The all d&b configuration for the VIP box includes three mains along the front, six surrounds, and an infrasub positioned below the seats. “The occupants feel everything,” shared Ohumukini. “And the VIP box now contains the best seats in the house. They’re coveted and everybody wants to sit there.”
Throughout the venue the d&b Soundscape installation has resulted in a highly engaged and natural listening experience for audiences, regardless of the performance. But ultimately, for Hale Centre Theatre, these technical feats serve a greater purpose.
“We’re here to tell stories. All the amazing technologies that have been installed don’t mean anything to our attendees. What they care about is that they feel a certain way when they when they come here…that the story moves them,” stressed Quinn Dietlein, Hale Centre’s executive director. “Soundscape accentuates our ability to enhance the narrative. So, from a storytelling perspective, that’s the greatest payoff for the theatre.”
