MMMT Sound Crew Brings a Grade School Production to Life

This spring, St. Margaret School in Narberth found itself with a brand-new professional theater sound system…and no one with the skills to operate it in time for their upcoming show. The school reached out to Merion Mercy Musical Theater (MMMT) for help, and two members of our sound crew answered the call: Kaitlin McCullagh ’27 and Olivia Haenn ’27. Working under the guidance of MMMT sound supervisor Jake Munch, they took ownership of every aspect of the production’s sound design, from initial system setup through closing night.

The obstacles were immediate and significant. The school’s mixing equipment had been permanently mounted inside a cinder-block closet behind the stage, which blocked the wireless signals the microphones depend on to reach the system. The performance space itself (a gymnasium doubling as a theater) posed its own acoustic challenges, with hard surfaces amplifying echoes and feedback. There was no physical mixing console; every adjustment had to be made through software on iPads connected over a wireless network the crew had to build from scratch. And the entire production timeline, from first walkthrough to opening night, was less than one week.

According to Munch, "Kaitlin and Olivia rose to every challenge." They installed external antenna mounts to improve wireless signal coverage, configured and managed eight wireless microphone channels across two different systems, and lent equipment from MMA’s own inventory to give the production critical backup capacity. When microphones malfunctioned, audio connections failed mid-show, or feedback threatened to overwhelm the mix, the crew diagnosed each problem in real-time…often making repairs during intermissions and returning to the tech booth moments before the curtain rose again. Working as a team, Kaitlin and Olivia maintained composure and sound quality under conditions that would test any professional crew.

The results spoke for themselves. By closing weekend, the staff and faculty at St. Margaret were asking whether the MMA crew could return next season. What began as a scramble to get the system operational became the highlight of the production, with audiences enjoying clear, consistent sound throughout each performance. Kaitlin and Olivia demonstrated that the skills cultivated in the MMMT sound program extend well beyond the walls of Merion Mercy, and that our students are prepared to lead wherever the next stage may be.