A2 (theater)
A2 is an abbreviation for "Production Audio Technician", Audio Assistant, Second Audio Assistant, or Second Assistant Audio Engineer. Any of these three terms, or any similar term such as Mic Wrangler, may be used to describe the same set of duties.
An A2 is a stagehand who is responsible for the upkeep, acquisition, and use of microphones, backstage monitors, communication systems, and the audio system. There are typically one or two people with this job title associated with any major theatrical production making use of such audio elements. The term "A2" refers to the fact that this person is frequently the second in command on all matters relating to sound during the performance, reporting directly to the Production Audio Engineer, or A1. In addition to his or her own responsibilities, the A2 often acts as an understudy for the A1.
In touring theatre, the A2 is often responsible for overseeing the load-in of all backstage audio elements.
In musical theatre, the A2 may or may not be the technical liaison to the orchestra, and duties could include monitor mixing, placement and upkeep of microphones in the orchestra, and video feeds to and from the conductor.
Theatre
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music, and dance. Elements of art and stagecraft are used to enhance the physicality, presence and immediacy of the experience. The specific place of the performance is also named by the word "theatre" as derived from the Ancient Greek θέατρον (théatron, "a place for viewing"), itself from θεάομαι (theáomai, "to see", "to watch", "to observe").
Modern Western theatre comes, in large measure, from ancient Greek drama, from which it borrows technical terminology, classification into genres, and many of its themes, stock characters, and plot elements. Theatre artist Patrice Pavis defines theatricality, theatrical language, stage writing, and the specificity of theatre as synonymous expressions that differentiate theatre from the other performing arts, literature, and the arts in general.
Theater (song)
"Theater" was the German entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1980, performed in German by Katja Ebstein. This was Ebstein's third Eurovision entry, she had represented Germany in 1970 and 1971, with "Wunder gibt es immer wieder" and "Diese Welt" respectively, both times finishing in 3rd position.
The song was performed twelfth on the night (following Norway's Sverre Kjelsberg & Mattis Hætta with "Sámiid Ædnan" and preceding the United Kingdom's Prima Donna with "Love Enough For Two"). At the close of voting, it had received 128 points, placing 2nd in a field of 19.
The song is a Ralph Siegel-Bernd Meinunger collaboration, with Ebstein singing about the manner in which clowns have to mask their true feelings when performing on stage - a situation which is said to be true of all performers. The four backing singers were dressed as clowns and Ralph Siegel played the piano on stage wearing gloves with small clowns on the fingers. Ebstein also recorded the song in English (as "It's Showtime"), French ("Théâtre") and Italian ("Teatro").
Broadway theatre
Coordinates: 40°45′21″N 73°59′11″W / 40.75583°N 73.98639°W / 40.75583; -73.98639
Broadway theatre, commonly known as Broadway, refers to the theatrical performances presented in the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theater District and Lincoln Center along Broadway, in Manhattan, New York City. Along with London's West End theatres, Broadway theatres are widely considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English-speaking world.
The Theater District is a popular tourist attraction in New York City. According to The Broadway League, Broadway shows sold a record US$1.36 billion worth of tickets in 2014, an increase of 14% over the previous year. Attendance in 2014 stood at 13.13 million, a 13% increase over 2013.
The great majority of Broadway shows are musicals. Historian Martin Shefter argues, "'Broadway musicals,' culminating in the productions of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein, became enormously influential forms of American popular culture" and helped make New York City the cultural capital of the nation.
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