In March of 2020, Cirque du Soleil’s touring operations were brought to an abrupt halt with the onset of the pandemic, with the downtime affording the organization’s production team an opportunity to test, evaluate and verify its entire equipment inventory and to implement a Sennheiser Digital 6000 wireless microphone system.
“When all the shows shut down, most of the gear that was in North America was trucked back to our warehouse and just put on a shelf,” states Matthew Steuart, Sound Specialist at Cirque du Soleil. “But in May 2021, we started on a show called KOOZA and came up with a list of projects for that show.”
He adds that after testing and evaluating their equipment needs for the show, which combines the two classic circus traditions of clowning and acrobatics, they upgraded to the Digital 6000 system. “Switching to the Digital 6000 was a no-brainer, there were just so many benefits,”
The long break afforded the sound team a chance to closely examine each part of the signal chain. “We were able to look at everything more closely, including the RF,” says Steuart. “You can have what appears to be a functioning system, but if you are able to improve two or three links in an audio chain, you can achieve a greater performance in the end. While we are on tour, we usually only have one day in every city to do all our maintenance.”
He notes that one of the reasons Cirque du Soleil chose the Digital 6000 system was because of its ability to identify and lock in frequencies in an increasingly congested RF environment: “The spectrum is just getting more and more crowded. When we sent Alegria to Miami a year and a half ago, if we didn’t have the Digital 6000, we simply wouldn’t have been able to do the show – there was just no RF space. Now, with the latest firmware updates including the new Link Density mode, it is so much easier. Sometimes we have to fit all of our wireless channels into a 6 or 8 MHz block if we are lucky, so being able to work within such a narrow bandwidth has been key.”
Prior to the onset of the pandemic, Cirque du Soleil’s touring operation had over a dozen active shows, each with its own set of artistic and technical challenges. Now, in the middle of its relaunch period, the Company is quickly scaling up towards its pre-pandemic level of performances: “Before COVID, we were at 12 shows, which was a lot. Now, with Alegria and at least four more productions including KOOZA, LUZIA, KURIOS – Cabinet of Curiosities and OVO coming in 2022, we are well on our way. There are many more shows in the works,” he says.
On Alegria, which rehearsed in Houston, 18 channels of the Digital 6000 system have been deployed, along with several bodypack transmitters and a pair of SKM 6000 handheld transmitters. “The bodypack transmitters are hidden and pretty well protected in the costumes,” says Steuart. “Our wardrobe department is fantastic – they will add these little pouches anywhere in the costume that works best for the artist – inside the thigh, in the small of the back, behind the neck or under the arm.”
“Having these really small transmitters is amazing and we can fit them anywhere. Also, the feedback that comes back into our Sennheiser Wireless Systems Manager (WSM) – including battery levels and mutes and other information – is great.”
On KOOZA, which is scheduled to open in Punta Cana later this year, the Cirque du Soleil production team is using 10 channels of the Digital 6000 system, including some unorthodox and challenging stage applications: “We have a guy in a big fuzzy dog costume wearing a wireless mic, and in another scene, we have a big confetti blower that also has a wireless mic to pick up the noise of the blower,” Steuart concludes. “No matter what the application, the team has come to expect both dependability and pristine audio quality.”
