Kavli sound system gets regular tuneups
By Nancy Needham nancy@theacorn.com

Anyone who's ever owned a TV and stereo system knows what it means to try to keep up with technology and stay within budget.

Technical production manager Gary Mintz tries to keep the Kavli Theatre sounding the best it possibly can for performances that come to the Civic Arts Plaza.

"We're always improving," Mintz said.

For example, the system that turns the power on and off in sequence to avoid a power drain was recently updated.

They're no longer supported by taxpayer subsidies. As money comes in from other sources, they make improvements, he said.

In 1996, a gift of $50,000 from the Alliance for the Arts purchased the theater a new speaker system- the first improvement to the facility that opened in 1994, Mintz said.

Replacing those speakers is one of the items on his dream sheet. Mintz estimates the cost will be around $90,000.

If he had unlimited funds, he would also improve the patch panel, a board of sockets similar to an oldfashioned telephone operator board, where input connectors have become loose after making hundreds of thousands of connections over the years, Mintz said.

"The panel doesn't affect the quality of sound because we spend a lot of time to get it just right before a performance, but a new one would save us all that time," he said.

Mintz would also like to purchase a monitor mixing system for about $150,000. Producers now bring their own, which they often must rent for about $21,000 a day, he said.

Still, Mintz said, the sound of the theater is acoustically wonderful as it is.

At times those attending musical presentations have asked if the sound can be improved, but generally they love the sound.

"If it sounds good some of the time and not other times, it's not the theater," Mintz said.

Mintz explained that the way a theater is constructed will affect the sound. For instance, the Mormon Tabernacle is an ellipse, which causes sound to reflect off the surface, as does the dome shape that's used in many state capital buildings.

The Kavli Theatre was originally built to best serve the sounds of an orchestra. That means it's a beautiful place to listen to an orchestra play.

John Baldon, director of marketing for the New West Symphony, agreed.

"The acoustics at the Kavli are fine. I personally like the auditorium. It works well for us," Baldon said.

Musical theater production companies bring in their own sound people, and, depending on factors such as the particular production or the placement of the performers onstage, they may face special challenges.

"We've been working hard to improve the quality of shows, and the venue is working hard to match that with equipment," said Lewis Wilkenfeld, artistic director of the Cabrillo Music Theatre.

He agreed the theater was built for an orchestra.

"Everything else is an adjustment," Wilkenfeld said.

The Fred Kavli Theatre has a seating capacity of 1,800. The floors are Italian granite, and the walls are covered with wood paneling. From the front of the stage to the last row of the balcony measures about 118 feet. It may look longer because of an optical illusion created by the 68 steps narrowing at the top.

A traveling operatic performance of Gilbert and Sullivan's "Pirates of Penzance" at the theater last year was old-fashioned, unmiked and unamplified. It required the audience to come prepared with listening skills not always finely developed in current generations, Mintz said.

Years ago when such a performance was given onstage, the sound was readily accepted.

When Buddy Holly performed in the early days of rock 'n' roll with only a few mikes and speakers, audiences were blown away, Mintz noted.

"Now our audiences grew up with hifi, and that isn't as acceptable to their ears," Mintz said.