From A Student's Perspective: Working on the Production of 'O Berkley, Where Hart Thou?'

"Wow" is all I can say about my experience working on "Oh Berkley, Where Hart Thou?". I was excited going into this- but even more excited when it was over. The hands-on experience was like no other. I was able to hook up all our gear (one Millennia 8-channel pre, one Focusrite 4-channel pre, two Digi 8-channel pres, and all the Pro Tools gear- two 192's and the CPU). We delivered our microphone splitter the previous day and the theater crew had installed it into the audio system before we arrived. We brought a dozen nice studio mics to augment those supplied by the theater. I set up all the mics that were being used on stage, a couple room mics for the choir and four room mics to capture the audience. I was also responsible for striking the mics and setting them back up as needed while the show was progress. I actually felt like a big time sound guy. The show was at the Poway Theater for Performing Arts which is a beautiful venue. It was especially nice to get out of the classroom with some of my fellow students. We all got in on the action, the other students were running the video side of the gig. For me, this show was so helpful in learning about what it takes to put on such a big production. The time it takes to make everything run smoothly was a real eye opener. And thanks to all our hard work, preparation, and dedication to making every little detail perfect the show ran seamlessly. For any future students who have an opportunity to be part of something like this, jump on it. It is an amazing experience and everything I learned is invaluable.

Mike DiBernardo
Associate Degree in Recording Arts
The Recording Arts Center