A perennial holiday attraction, The Big Apple Circus has been delighting NYC children for over thirty years. The combination of clowns, acrobats, jugglers, and equestrians is complimented by live music ranging from jazz to rock, disco and classical. This year, in addition to new performers, the show welcomed RockNet 300 (purchased from Media Numerics by Riedel in October), a 21st Century audio distribution system to the troop.
Nick Borisjuk, an associate sound designer for numerous Broadway and touring productions including Legally Blond and The Drowsy Chaperone, is the sound designer for the 2008-2009 Big Apple Circus touring production Play On. “When I began discussing our equipment needs with Scott Kalata at Masque Sound, he recommended RockNet,” Borisjuk says. “After doing some research, it was a no-brainer. I needed a cable system that could accommodate more inputs and outputs than previous years, but one that could also be loaded in with the same limited audio staff in the same amount of time. Other factors that influenced my decision were the system redundancy and the reduced carbon footprint. Less cable equals less weight and space on the truck, which equals less fuel and less harmful gases released into the environment.
“I tend to shy away from using unfamiliar gear, especially when considering something so central to the sound system, but David Sanderson, my associate on the Big Apple Circus, had already used the RockNet system,” Borisjuk adds. “He convinced me of its reliability, versatility and high quality pre-amps. It’s a real-time, low latency audio distribution network specifically designed for live sound applications. I was particularly intrigued by the streamline redundancy concept. In a ring configuration the network is self-healing for single connection failures. That’s a major advantage.”
Borisjuk reports that the setup was extremely easy. “My staff was able to prep the show in about half the time it would have taken with an analog multi-cable distribution system. There was practically no learning curve, and we never need any additional support from Masque Sound. RockNet’s scalability, flexibility and outstanding sound quality met all our production criteria. The system has had a very positive impact on The Big Apple Circus, and I am already recommending it to some of my colleagues.”