For sound designer Dan Samson, January and February this year disappeared in a blur with seven major shows from the Bill Kenwright Ltd stable hitting the UK touring circuit in as many weeks. For Dan and his team, it was a question of meticulous planning and careful advance preparation, especially as one of the shows was a major revival of the legendary Jesus Christ Superstar – the first time it has gone out on tour in over ten years. Also on the schedule was a largescale new production of The Sound of Music – involving a cast of 28, a sizeable live band and multiple complements of children!

The preparation for both shows took place at Orbital Sound's Brixton facility, involving detailed system planning, build and testing prior to the tours going out on the road under the aegis of technical director Bill Addison. Dan's sound design for both shows centred around a d&b audiotechnik system comprising principally Q-Series loudspeakers, complemented by the compact line array T-Series, B2 Subs as well as E6 and E8 cabinets. With his detailed knowledge of the UK touring circuit, Dan's focus was on designing a flexible system that would deliver a high quality sound irrespective of the venue – bringing in some additional equipment as required to handle the bigger venues, while keeping the touring rig as compact as possible.

He explains:
"Both shows involve exciting new elements in terms of the overall technology, compared to the last time that they toured and this has given us some great scope to play with. We are using an E0-based surround sound system on both productions, which has added an extra dimension – for example, in creating the ambience of the large Abbey spaces in The Sound of Music, as well as for the crowd effects on Jesus Christ Superstar. The systems are quite similar – both using DiGiCo SD10Ts along with the Q-Series – although the shows' styles are very different. Jesus Christ Superstar is such an iconic musical, with a very big dynamic sound – our job is to make sure that audiences are not disappointed! The set is a major challenge, in that it uses a big metal bridge on two levels. There is a lot of movement and one issue was to make sure that the cast had really good coverage at all times, so we had to make sure there was the right level of foldback wherever they are. The show has been redesigned from the ground up, and we have gone for a more arena-style sound set up, which is working really well. This is mainly because we are using the orchestrations and arrangements from the recent arena tour, giving the show a really big sound at some points, with the focus on a confident rhythm section in order to recreate the feel of the original 70s concept album."

The core system configuration in both cases involves stalls hangs of Q1 cabinets with Q7s used for outfills or infills. Q7s also provide a point source option on the fills. Further left and right hangs of Q1s are used to provide coverage for the upper levels, with a T-10 centre cluster deployed whenever possible, depending on venue. The QSubs are positioned on a venue-by-venue basis – essentially wherever the team can fit them in! Dan has been impressed by the performance of the d&b D80 amplifiers, as well as the new version of R1 remote control software, which is proving to be very stable. Overall, his emphasis has been on deploying a system that he has high confidence in, having used it successfully on many previous occasions – an essential element for a gruelling tour with a weekly venue change.

The Sound of Music requires a more traditional and often very subtle approach, with audience expectations always very high with regard to the musical's well-loved score. Technically, it is more about achieving a careful balance between the big moments as well as the more atmospheric sections. Added to this are the challenges of micing nuns wearing habits, three teams of children changing over on a regular basis, hats being taken on and off – for the sound team, attention to detail is crucial. For Dan, the SD10T's dedicated theatre software is an enormous plus, giving specific control where it is needed with channel flexibility.

Preparing for the tours over the Christmas period presented its own set of challenges, with Dan and his crew working closely with Orbital's Bill Addison and the team. Dan expands: "he's quite simply one of the best in the industry when it comes to technical advice, and with him at the helm, we knew it would all come together – and it did!"

From a general design perspective, Dan commented on one particular game changer on the touring scene – namely the steady but sure move away from silent pits, commenting: "it's been happening for over a period of time, and we have now got to a stage where we are getting balanced audio coming out of the pit again, which is great. We have gone back to mic'ing everything, enabling us to get a really nice balance – we can then concentrate on enhancing the band's sound, which is an important development."

The two productions form part of a major new line-up from Bill Kenwright Ltd for 2015, as the UK's largest independent theatre company. Other new shows include Dreamboats and Miniskirts, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, and Blood Brothers.

The full sound team on the shows comprises:

Sound of Music
Dan Samson -Sound Designer
Tom de Keyser- Musical Supervisor
Gary Hickeson - Associate Sound Designer
Olly Steel - Lead Production Sound Engineer
Bob Burrows - Production Engineer
David Beckham - Sound No.1
Kyle Sepede - Sound No.2

Jesus Christ Superstar
Dan Samson -Sound Designer
Tom de Keyser- Musical Supervisor
Gary Hickeson - Associate Sound Designer
Mike Jewitt - Lead Production Sound Engineer
Ollie Durrant - Sound No.1
Jamie Woods -Sound No.2