Sight & Sound Theatres, a leading Biblically-based theater company, recently upgraded to a Harman’s Studer Vista X digital mixing console at its primary location, a 2,000-seat theatre in Lancaster County, PA.
Sight & Sound presents an ongoing series of immersive stage productions depicting Christian stories that often break through the “fourth wall” and directly engage the audience, hosting more than 15 million guests since its founding in 1976. Productions typically begin at the Lancaster County venue before moving on to another location in Branson, MO.
“We provide our audiences with a very immersive experience that goes beyond a typical theatrical production,” says Gary Parke, audio operations supervisor for Sight & Sound Theatres. “In fact, both theaters have additional stages to the side of the main stage, so that a lot of our shows feature a 180-degree stage setup.”
The addition of the Studer Vista X digital console helps add to the experience, with its ease of use relative to its enhanced capabilities making it an attractive option for Parke.
“Flexibility and input/output count were big factors in choosing the Vista X,” he notes. “The ability to build our I/O configuration to our exact preferences was a very attractive feature.”
The theatre is currently using 64 wireless microphones and playing back the audio via Steinberg Nuendo audio software. All audio is fed into the Vista X via Audinate’s Dante networking technology.
“In addition to the I/O flexibility, the Vista X will make it so easy to be creative in developing a realistic audio atmosphere for the audience, so we can create ambient sound effects that really make guests feel like they’re part of the story,” Parke said. “The Vista X gives us so much more flexibility than we have had before.”
