Built in 1889 as a memorial to Mabel Tainter, The Mabel Tainter Theater is one of Wisconsin’s most historic spaces. The recent installation of an EAW AC6 ADAPTive line array was both required to enhance the venue’s audio but also to blend into its C19 interior.
With hand‑carved woodwork, hand stencilled, angled surfaces and an auditorium originally designed for Vaudeville theatre, the theatre is visually stunning and acoustically unconventional, hosting everything from plays and musicals to concerts, weddings and community events. The venue’s previous system, a point source set-up installed in 2007, was increasingly unable to keep up with the demands of modern productions.
‘It was difficult to get any meaningful gain before feedback with actor microphones,’ says Technical Facilities Manager, Spencer Berndt. ‘And balancing the pit with the stage was always a challenge. I could make cer tain things quieter, but I couldn’t make the actors or pit any louder.’
Led on this project by Jonathan Harlfinger, Metro Sound & Video saw the AC6 as the right fit: ‘We’ve used them in large cathedrals and smaller contemporary churches, and they’ve always performed incredibly well. The size, performance and flexibility all made sense for a space like this.’
Performance was only half the story, however. The installation needed to merge into the venue’s ornate proscenium. Working with EAW, the team embarked on a meticulous colour-matching process using Rosco’s Metallix paint line. After testing multiple blends, they landed on an 80 per cent bronze/20 per cent gold mixture that perfectly matched the surrounding woodwork under the venue’s lighting conditions.
‘We’re a very sensitive environment,’ Berndt says. ‘All the woodworking is hand carved, all the stenciing is hand painted. You can’t replace any of it. So, whatever we installed had to respect that history while giving us the performance we’ve been missing.’
Berndt enlisted local artist Wade Lambrigsten, owner of Vintage Sign Shop, who handles much of the venue’s decorative work, to recreate the venue’s decorative pattern directly onto the loudspeaker grilles. EAW shipped the grills separately, so the artwork could be applied before final assembly.
‘It was a dance, but absolutely worth it’ he says. ‘In low light, you almost can’t even tell the speakers are there. People who come to shows don’t even notice visually that we installed a new system.’ Harlfinger says: ‘A lot of the board members and community members were blown away. They love how it blends in. The customisation was a huge part of this project.’
Beyond aesthetics, AC6 has dramatically improved the venue’s sound fidelity and flexibility: ‘The clarity is just incredible,’ says Harlfinger. ‘People at that first show were impressed by how good the system sounded, especially the piano. It was a night and day difference.’
For Berndt, the upgrade has unlocked entirely new workflow possibilities. ‘One of the biggest things is that I can finally use area microphones,’ he says. ‘Before, stage sound was such a big issue. Now I can capture more of the space, create a better stereo image and actually mix the pit without worrying about feedback.’
For a venue that has survived more than a century of change, the AC6 installation represents a thoughtful blend of preservation and progress. ‘This project honored the building while giving us the tools we need for the future,’ Harlfinger says. ‘It’s exactly what The Mabel deserved.’