From wigs to radio mics to costumes to batteries, here's everything you ever needed to know about being on tour...

The tour is still making its way around the country and, as the show gets going in Southampton, here's a few things you might not know about what it takes to tour with a show like The Sound of Music...

Facts and figures…
28 cast
14 orchestra (including conductor)
18 children (6 a performance)
5 chaperones (3 a performance)
21 touring crew and Stage Management
1 Resident / Children’s director
16 local crew
Total of 92 people backstage during the performance …

Set
Travels in 9 megacube trailers
35 flown items of scenery
30 hrs to build the set and 16 to take it down
The stage lifts for the mountains weigh five tons

Wigs
19 Wigs used in the show, plus facial hair.
Our wig department also cut all the men’s hair in the show and have to style the children for every show.

Sound
40 radio mics are used a performance
All are individually painted to match hair and skin tone.
80 AAA batteries are used a performance  - 32, 000 a year – all are recycled
142 speakers are toured with the show
Sound is driven by 8 computers, 4 Macs and 4 PCs

Lighting
240 cues
4.759 metre of cable - that’s over seven miles of cable when joined together
83 moving lights
8 practicals
134 generics lamps
Colours: 68 used in the show
20 Gobos
12480 litres of liquid co2 per year to create low smoke
104 litres of low smoke fluid per year
56 litres of haze fluid per year
Dimmers: over 1000 amps per show from the national grid.
Control:  two lighting desks
Rigging: 18 one ton motors to hang the over head lighting
3 smoke machines
1 haze machine
12 cue lights
15 music stands
Over 100 flight cases
3 meat racks

Wardrobe
To transport the costumes takes 17 pans (Large Double Wardrobes) and 40 skips.

There are 49 costumes used for the three sets of children in the show, each team of children has their own colour of coat hanger to keep track of which teams' costumes are which.

The children have to have new costumes on a regular basis and new shoes as they never seem to stop growing… there are 10 skips of spare children’s shoes.

The quick change into the convert involves nine cast changing in 17 seconds, each cast member has one dresser apart from Captain Von Trapp – who has two. Connie and her dresser Dawn have done this change in 8.3 seconds...

Maria has 14 seconds to change into the wedding dress.

All the children’s sailor costumes are hand pressed and re-pleated every show.

The Lederhosen for the male cast are brought in Austria along with their long coloured socks.

There are three sets of costumes for all the principal characters apart from Maria where there are four complete sets of costumes for the covers including four wedding dresses…

For venue information and to book tickets, click here.

28th September 2009