livereport UNITED KINGDOM By Erica Basnicki A Shure start for RADA’s sound training
SIX MONTHS into the new Sound Design for the Theatre course at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, current student Philip Matejtschuk admits he hasn’t slept much. Matejtschuk’s training began immediately in September, running sound and assisting in choral recordings for RADA’s theatrical production of Blue Stockings (now playing at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre). This was followed by a week
of training in boom operation and location sound recording with industry veteran Steven ‘Stitch’ Richardson, a series of three radio dramas, another theatrical production, three more radio dramas, two films and he is just starting work as assistant
sound designer for RADA’s production of All’s Well That Ends Well – and all while recording RADA alumni for an series of online interviews. Phew. “That’s our whole ethos with technical training; you’re basically doing the job so that when you go into the industry there are no surprises. From the student’s point of view it means long hours, but it’s good practice,” says RADA’s head of sound Chris Mock. Having plenty of industry-
standard kit, courtesy of a technical sponsorship from Shure Distribution UK, is also keeping Matejtschuk up at night – experimenting in the studio. “It’s a push. It’s as if someone’s said ‘Here’s lots of toys, go play with them’ which is a fantastic thing to have. It makes me want to use the studio more.”
RADA sound design student Philip Matejtschuk (left) with head of sound Chris Mock
A technical sponsorship had been on Mock’s mind from the moment he joined RADA in 2007. “When I came in I thought the studios were fantastic, but all the other departments had industry support or visitors coming in, so I was keen to do that with sound.” Mock’s opportunity came in
2011, when RADA hosted its inaugural OpenStage event, and
he first met SDUK’s Kirsty Lamport. “She was interested in what we’re doing at RADA, so we started talking about the training and how it would be fantastic to use Shure products, as well as Sound Devices,” said Mock. “Kirsty said to me ‘Have a look at the website, and anything you’d like to have in the department put it on the list’. Everything I put on that list, we got.”
That list includes a full locker’s
worth of Shure mics, some of which Mock specifically requested like the SM7B vocal mic and a KSM353/ED ribbon microphone (“I never thought I was going to get that one!” he said) alongside shotgun, dynamic and wireless microphone systems, and Sound Devices recorders for field use. “Having such great support
from the guys at Shure Distribution UK means that we can offer a very high level of training in the sound department across the academy, using the latest in studio and wireless microphones and sound devices field recorders gives our students the best possible start to their career in the sound industry,” concludes Mock. n www.rada.ac.ukwww.shuredistribution.co.uk