LONDON, ENGLAND: JANEE ROBINSON

Omega Graduate 2007
I had been working in theatre in the UK as a Stage Manager before I went to Omega in 2006 and therefore it seemed the perfect way to ease myself into the audio world by using the contacts I already had. I was very fortunate to be offered a job on the London production of the Broadway show “Wicked” less than a month after I graduated and had returned to the UK. I was an assistant operator of the show and also a microphone technician. It was on this that I learnt how to mix a live theatre show for 2000 people with a 17-piece orchestra and 24 performers as well as look after the system and maintain all the microphones. I had originally thought I would stay for a year and then move on but I enjoyed the buzz and excitement so much that I am still working in theatre seven years later.

I am currently one of the operators on “Les Miserables” in London’s West-End, which is the world’s longest running musical. The reason I enjoy what I do is that it is never the same from one show to the next and it always keeps you on your toes. We have a 14-piece Orchestra using 42 microphones. A cast of 39 people using 40 wireless transmitters, 42 miniature microphones, 1 Neumann U87 and approximately 175 speakers. It is a big juggling act as there are always variables in the cast or the Orchestra. One of the great things about mixing a theatre show is that most of the time you are working in the audience and you are with them on the emotional journey. You hear them laugh, cry and react to what they are hearing which is great job satisfaction.

While the theatre is my “money job” I also have little projects on the go recording voice-reels and the odd voice-over just to keep up my recording skills. I’ve worked in a few small studios around London and in Brighton (where I live) and I have been fortunate to learn many new skills including cutting an EP on Vinyl. I use the skills I learnt at Omega everyday from using signal flow to trouble shoot problems, fixing XLR cables or changing the settings on a compressor/EQ while mixing the show and I am so grateful to the wonderful foundation they gave me to start my career in audio engineering. I feel very lucky everyday to be working in this industry doing something I am passionate about.

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