Sam Lerner

Career highlights

I have been the manager of the sound department at the American Repertory Theater since 2013, having previously worked at South Coast Rep (Costa Mesa, CA) and La Jolla Playhouse (San Diego, CA). In my position I collaborate with outside Sound Designers on mostly new productions, such as the upcoming world premiere of "Jagged Little Pill." Notable ART productions I've worked on include "Waitress," "Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812" (for which I was also the Broadway Associate Sound Designer) and "Finding Neverland."

Recent freelance design experience includes "In The Body of the World" (Manhattan Theatre Club), "Crossing: An American Opera" (Brooklyn Academy of Music Opera House) and the previously-mentioned "Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812."

Recent Sound Design collaborators include Jonathan Deans, John Gromada, Drew Levy, Alex Neumann, Will Pickens and Nicholas Pope.

Favorite DPA Microphones

My most frequently-used microphones are DPA 4061s as I spec them as vocal mics for the majority of my productions. When we need something closer, we tend to use 4065s (now 4066).

4099s are my go-to instrument mics and are great on a wide range of instruments. I strongly recommend these to visiting designers, especially on the many shows we have that require musicians to move around the space, since these are so portable.

I've also used a combination of 4021s (now 4011) and 4098s for area mics, as well as the 4061s in the BLM6000.