[Michael Cooper]

Hey Jim,

I agree with Peter that this is not the ideal situation and that you would achieve the best quality audio by using lavaliers planted on the talent directly.  But if this not achievable due to budget or even comfort of the students/parents/teachers (I’ve worked a lot with children and it can sometimes be a challenge), I have a few other suggestions.  

Instead of hanging shotguns, I think you’d be better off with two or three hanging cardiod condensers (see the Audio-technica 853 series) hung just above the heads of the talent. These mics are tiny and designed to be low profile, and their wider pickup pattern is better suited than shotguns for miking areas of a stage evenly.  Try those alone or in combination with boundary mics planted on the edge of the stage.  I’ve had success with Crown PCC (phase coherent cardiod) mics, which have been used in live theater for years.  I think the combination of these would give you decent quality audio.  Of course it also depends on the sound of the room and the performers themselves, but there may not be much you can do about those variables.  Hope this helps.

Michael Cooper
Production Sound Mixer
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2505267/