BounceNZ Productions – Bringing Broadway to New Zealand
BounceNZ has been providing and operating sound equipment to New Zealand productions since 1985, and tailors client needs from small shows up to large-scale productions catering to audiences of tens of thousands. One of those shows is the 2023 New Zealand season of ‘Kinky Boots’ in Auckland and Wellington- one of the world’s most successful musicals, which has inspired audiences across the globe, featuring an award-winning score by Cyndi Lauper, based on a book by Tony winner Harvey Fierstein and featuring a creative team packed with New Zealand talent. ‘Kinky Boots’ is the winner of every major best musical award, including the Tony, the Grammy and London’s Olivier Award.
Project Scope
As owner of BounceNZ, Glen Ruske knows that a critical component of any successful theatre performance is sound reproduction – essential to ensure the audience can hear and understand every word spoken by the actors and cast, and every note played by the musicians. As the go-to production company for bringing ‘Kinky Boots’ to life, BounceNZ was serious about using the best equipment available, to deliver a flawless performance – night after night.
Glen says:
“We went down the Axient road because of the ease of setup with Shure’s wireless workbench, battery life, real world range, and local support, which counts for a lot these days. With 28 channels of Axient digital and over 50 channels of ULXD, you can see we are very happy with the Shure digital products.”
Brands and Technologies Selected
Shure® Axient™ Digital
The Shure® Axient™ Digital range of wireless sound equipment is designed to provide crystal-clear sound quality in a wireless environment and is used in major productions, musicals, awards ceremonies, and sporting events around the globe, from the Superbowls to Grammy™ Awards. It is perfect for use in a theatre environment where the performers are constantly moving around the stage, and includes wireless microphones, bodypack transmitters, and receivers. The system is designed to provide a bulletproof reliable and interference-free connection between the microphones and the sound system in mission-
critical environments.
Spectrum Manager
BounceNZ’s implementation of the Shure® Axient™ Digital range included the AD-600 Spectrum Manager – a state-of-the-art rack unit that allows the sound production company to monitor and manage the wireless frequencies used in the performance in real-time via Shure’s industry-leading Wireless Workbench Software. The AD-600 scans the environment and identifies the best available frequencies that can be used by the wireless microphones and bodypack transmitters. It then selects the ideal frequency for each device, to ensure that there is no interference between the devices across the 32 channels.
ShowLink® Technology
Unique to the flagship Axient™ Digital range is ShowLink® technology – a concurrent secondary wireless connection that allows BounceNZ to remotely monitor and control the wireless microphones and bodypack transmitters used by the performers. ShowLink® technology means BounceNZ has access to some next-generation monitoring – from the ability to set ‘zones’ backstage, to more standard parameter adjustment of gain, frequency, and other settings on the microphones and bodypack transmitters – all from Glen’s central location at front-of-house – eliminating the need for a sound engineer to physically adjust the settings on each device, saving time and reducing the risk of errors.
Using Shure® Axient™ Digital within ‘Kinky Boots’
With crystal-clear sound quality top-of-mind, wireless lapels and headsets are used by actors and actresses to amplify their voices, plugged into small-footprint ADX1 Bodypack Transmitters – hidden on sometimes elaborate costumes worn by performers. Multiple dynamic and condenser microphones are used by the many orchestral musicians within the band pit, such as the Shure® SM57 and KSM137 – for reliability and accurate replication of everything from snare drums to flutes.
Offstage, the AD600 Spectrum Manager identifies available frequencies that can be used by the wireless microphones and bodypack transmitters. BounceNZ coordinates ‘best frequencies’ for each device to ensure robust connection and no interference, even when moving around a large stage such as Auckland’s Civic Theatre or Wellington’s St James Theatre. Simultaneously, ShowLink™ remotely monitors and controls the wireless microphones and bodypack transmitters used by the performers, ensuring that the sound quality remains consistent throughout the performance. Active wide-band directional ‘paddle’ antennas such as the Shure UA844WB are linked through a UA874SWB Antenna Distribution Unit to minimise cabling and intermodulation issues.