Rakvere Theatre sound director says actors come first

Elmar Sats, a longtime sound director at Rakvere Theatre, says the actor must always come first when handling sound for a production. In an interview with Teater. Muusika. Kino, reported by ERR, he said technical mishaps can happen backstage, but must be resolved with great care because the performance is underway.

Sats is also known as a composer and musician. He said he began taking music seriously as a teenager, after a difficult period in his life. He wrote anti-state poems and was reported to the KGB by teachers, he said. The resulting trouble included a three-year suspended sentence.

He turned to music and began listening widely, buying records by classical composers including Ravel and Bach, as well as Lithuanian jazz. Jimi Hendrix later inspired him to become a musician. Sats said Hendrix showed him how a guitar could create images and feelings, and led him towards blues.

He also cited Cream, John Mayall, Rory Gallagher and Johnny Winter among the musicians who drew him into the music of the late 1960s. Before playing himself, he learned songs by ear from recordings by Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple.