I'm looking for some tips on how to get more volume fro my monitors and still get a decent output from my over head mics.

I predominantly work with small Am/Dram productions and stage schools, using 5 Audio Technica Pro45 overhead mics + up to 8 Radios.

I position my monitors slightly above ear level pointing down, with one either side of the stage, and one small wedge centre facing up if needed, my theory being the mons facing down will be pointing at approx the talents ear level, and in the directon of the minimum sensitivity of the mics (the overheads)

I frequently get asked for more level in the monitors, the consequence of which is more pickup form the overheads drowning out the talent (debatable at times!!!)

Is there any way of doing this, or is it, as I beleive, a balance of monitor output, and talent audability

What's going into the monitor mix? When running sound for stage productions, the only thing normally going through any foldback is the band and this is only enough to 'help' the sound from the pit reach all corners of the stage. I normally rig these monitors either from an LX bar pointing down or from a side boom slightly above head height as you describe yourself.

Are you perchance folding back their own vocals? This could be more troublesome and I have very rarely needed to do this.

As a final thouht, if your cast need to hear the band, try and find out what instruments are the most important - e.g. piano, kick drum,etc, and only mix these into the monitors to keep a cleaner sound with less mush going back onto the stage.

HTH

Steve

Another thing you may wish to consider is that overhead mics are not often the best way to handle stage reinforcement. It might be worth giving some PCC-160 mics a try spaced along the front edge of the stage. These mics are easily and cheaply rented for an experiment.

That said, area mics of any sort are never going to give the quality you get from close miking...and if you couple this mic technique with over-loud monitors and under-projecting actors, you'll find yourself on a hiding to nothing.

Bob

and of course, if the monitors are loud enough to get over the level of the people on stage so they can hear them, then they will be louder than the people, so any overhead mics will pick up the monitors rather than the people you want to hear. distant miking and monitors are almost impossible to make work properly.