Break Into Musical Theatre Sound

There’s no road map for breaking into Musical Theatre Sound.
And rarely is a job ever advertised anywhere.
For a long time the journey to getting my hands behind a console felt like I needed to gain access to an exclusive club with no idea of how to get in.
Today I’m going to give you the steps I wish someone had given me when I was starting out to get your first job in Musical Theatre Sound.

My Name’s Anthony and I have being Mixing commercial musicals for over a decade.
I live in Australia, Have been all over the world with this job and I’m currently the Head of Sound on Beetlejuice the Musical.
But of all the shows I have mixed they can all trace back to the way I started and got my foot in door.
Im going to share my journey.
What worked & what didn’t work.
And the best ways you can get a job and where to go from there.

Why Fancy Degrees Won’t Make You A Pro
Lets be really clear from the start. You do not need an expensive sound degree to do this job well.
I know because I went down that road myself.
I did a fine arts degree, specialising in live production.
It took me three years of my life, and I racked up a huge educational debt.
And after finishing that degree I felt completely lost.
While it certainly wasn’t a complete waste, I did learn a lot and made some contacts.
But the value this course gave me for the time and money just didn’t add up.
Where I am today is because of my own hard work.
So here is the hard truth.
You can learn most of what you need from short courses, online tutorials and an entry-level job.
This will save you a whole lot of time and money in the long run.

Real world Reps Are The Secret
What I quickly realised was doing the job was the real training.
You don’t build confidence in a lecture hall, or from a youtube video.
You build it when you’re standing backstage, fixing an dead mic in an emergency before the cast member steps back out again.
You can never train for these scenarios, yet these are the exact skills you need to be valuable in this job.
The only way to get this experience is to do the job.
And the first step is to go where people will let you try - and not be too upset if you f*ck it up!
That’s where schools, amateur productions and community theatre come in.
Before I ever worked on a professional show, I spent years doing amateur and school productions.
These were my bread and butter and where I cut my teeth as an engineer.
I learnt so many valuable lessons & principles doing these shows that I still use today.
You will get 100x more value from doing 3 Years of Amateur productions compared to the same amount of time doing a degree.

How To Get Started?

1. Get on google and start yours search:
Look for amateur musical groups, small sound companies & schools in your area.
2. Make a list of the contacts for these groups.
3. Reach out to all of them.

I have a template you can download to make it really easy to track all of your contacts and a handy email script you can copy if you need. (Scroll to the bottom to get these).

In your email you should explain that you are new & inexperienced but very keen to learn and work hard.
You can often get your foot in the door by offering to help fit radio mics.
You may even want to offer to volunteer your first few opportunities and this is absolutely fine!
This is all about physically getting you in the room where you can start absorbing everything.
Chances are most of these groups won’t reply to you straight away.
Thats why we are going to email as many as we can.
And don’t be afraid to reach out to the same people a few months later if you’ve heard nothing back.
You will be surprised at what opportunities will open up to you when you land in someones inbox at the right time when they are in need of help.

Be The Hardest Working Person
For starters, you need to work hard, like really hard.
Get there early.
Ask lots of questions.
Never complain about a difficult job.
Be the person who is willing to do the work that no one else is excited for.
If you can be the person who is happy to mic up actors and and deal with sweaty mic belts you’ll become valuable to that team.
This will build you skills, trust, connections fast.
People will be willing to offer their knowledge when you show up with this attitude.

The Small Shows Become Big Shows
Every major show I’ve mixed - from Phantom to Beetlejuice… Corporate Galas to Festivals - can be traced back to a low-budget amateur show where I learned to keep the mics alive and the show running - no matter what.
Therefore, don’t knock the small gigs.
They’re your stepping stones.
One amateur show leads to a local semi-pro show.
That leads to a regional theatre.
That leads to being trusted as an RF Tech on a tour.
That leads to mixing your first show as an A2/Deputy mix cover.
Each job builds trust.
Each show teaches you what a textbook doesn’t.
And each mistake makes you better for the next one.

Final Thoughts
If you take just one thing away: There is no big secret to this industry.
Start small, stay curious, ask questions, do the gritty jobs no one wants to do, and you’ll find yourself exactly where you want to be.
Send that first email, say yes to the opportunities, big and small and always be humble.

Free Contact List & Email Template Resources: