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The original was posted on /r/maliciouscompliance by /u/manchuck on 2024-06-18 15:07:45+00:00.
In my twenties, I spent my weekends as a soundboard operator for a local community theatre. After all the mics were set up, it was pretty simple, and I really enjoyed it. One actor made a request to be able to hear herself on stage.
Now before I continue, I need to explain how the soundboard works. Basically, there are two sets of volume controls. One is the fader (you know this as those sliders) which controls how loud that channel is going to be to the audience. Above those are a bunch of knobs which will direct the sound to other speakers. We used these to direct sound to the orchestra (so the conductor knows where we are in the show), the dressing room (so the actors know) and to some speakers pointed on stage (called monitors, which allow the actors to hear the orchestra). These fall into one of two groups: pre-fade and post-fade. Pre-fade means that the volume would stay the same level no matter what the fader was set to, and post-fade is just the opposite. We would pipe the orchestra into the pre-fade since there are not a lot of mics that can pick up ambient noise (band members talking for example). The monitors on the stage were plugged into the pre-fade channel. Once we set those levels, we never had to touch them, which made it easier to focus on what was happening on stage.
Since this actor wanted to hear herself while on stage, it meant that I had to add her to that pre-fade channel. This meant that when she got on or off stage, I not only did have to slide the fader down but also turn the knob to avoid picking up what was happening in the dressing room. This was NBD as I had time to make all the adjustments. However, she kept complaining that she couldn't hear herself. So I would make small adjustments trying to find the right balance. But each time she got off stage, she would say that it was not loud enough. One show, I had the volume up so loud, that it made her sound very muted in the house since I had to turn her down in the house, and yet she still complained it was not loud enough. It was so loud that I went backstage but didn't even make it that far (it was so loud I heard her through four rooms with cement walls.) That's when I came up with a plan.
The next day, I set the monitor level at a reasonable volume (Let us say it was 10 o'clock on the dial). She complained again that it was not loud enough. So Instead of turning her up, I turned the dial down to 8 o'clock. After she got off stage, I asked her if that was better. She didn't say it was worse, but she wanted it louder. I turned it back to 10 o'clock (the level I wanted her at). After she got off stage that time, she exclaimed that it was just perfect and to keep it there. After that, I kept it at 10 o'clock, and she never complained again.