Principal Auditions for H.M.S. Pinafore and The Sailors' Farewell

When

Lady Flora auditions will be held on the 9th November 2011, from 21:30.

Where

The auditions for Lady Flora will take place in Paddy's Lounge in the Barnes Wallis building (the North Campus students' union).

How

The audition will be, on average, ten minutes long. They will be booked in blocks of three people in each half hour. Audition times can be booked at rehearsals or through emailing director@mugss.org.

What

Naturally there will be elements of acting and singing and there are prescribed pieces of libretto which ideally should be learned.

You can do these elements in any order you choose. The Lady Flora audition pieces can be found here.

You may use libretto texts and sheet music in the audition, but you are advised to prepare so that you do not need them...

The other roles, below, have now been cast.

H.M.S. Pinafore

Sir Joseph Porter (baritone) - Act 1 No.9 "When I was a lad" - first two verses.

Audition libretto

Captain Corcoran (baritone) - Act 2 No.1 "Fair moon, to the, I sing".

Audition libretto

Ralph Rackstraw (tenor) - Act 1 No.3 "A maiden fair to see" and Act 1 finale "Can I survive this overbearing".

Audition libretto

Dick Deadeye (bass-baritone) - Act 2 No.5 "Kind Captain, I've important information".

Audition libretto

Bill Bobstay (Boatswain's mate)(baritone) - Act 1 No.2a Recit "But tell me". and Act 2 No.6 Boatswain solo "He is an English Man".

Audition libretto

Bob Becket, Carpenter's Mate (bass) - Act 2 No.1 "Fair moon" 1st verse up to bar 17 "Either at sixes or at sevens?".

The Carpenter has only a small amount of dialogue in The Sailors' Farewell. He should be able to demonstrate the ability to speak clearly in a regional accent of his choice, using whatever speech he chooses from any source. He will not be expected to sing the MD's set piece in that accent.

Sergeant of Marines - Not a solo singing part.

Josephine (sop) - Act 2 No.3 Scena "The hours creep on apace" All. No dialogue is required for Josephine's audition. The movement and interpretation of the very demanding aria set by the MD will be sufficient.

Hebe (mezzo-soprano) - Act 1 No.2 "I'm called little buttercup" 1st verse up to "Peppermint drops".

Audition libretto

Little Buttercup (alto) - Act 1 No.2 "I'm called little buttercup" All.

Audition libretto

The Sailors' Farewell

Lady Flora Porter (sop) - Gondoliers, Act 1 finale, from 'Now Mark my dear' or in the original 'Now Marco dear'

Audition Libretto

Lady Bella Porter (sop) - Gondoliers, Act 1 finale, from 'Now Mark my dear' or in the original 'Now Marco dear'

Audition Libretto

Jane Townshend (sop) - Gondoliers, Act 1 finale, from 'Now Mark my dear' or in the original 'Now Marco dear'

Audition Libretto

Charlotte Atkinson (mezzo) - Gondoliers, Act 1 finale, from 'You'll lay your head'

Audition Libretto

Lieutenant the Hon Donald Alphonse (bass) - Act 2 No.6 Boatswain solo "He is an English Man".

Audition Libretto

Able Seaman Richard Dauntless (tenor) - Ruddigore Act.1 No.6 'I shipped ye a sea' and in addition, you will be expected to perform a hornpipe

Ordinary Seaman Mark Palmier (tenor) - Act 1 Finale, Gondoliers, 'Away we go to a balmy isle' to include the top 'A' on the word 'blow!'

Audition Libretto

Ordinary Seaman Joe Palmier (Tenor)- Act 1 Finale, Gondoliers, 'Away we go to a balmy isle' to include the top 'A' on the word 'blow!'

Audition Libretto

Midshipman Tom Tucker - Not a solo singing part, please bring any Gilbert and Sullivan song to sing.

Audition Libretto

Able Seaman Paganini - Not a solo singing part, please bring any Gilbert and Sullivan song to sing. Needs to play the violin.

Nancy Perriam - Not a solo singing part, please bring any Gilbert and Sullivan song to sing.

Audition Libretto

Mrs Bobstay - Not a solo singing part, please bring any Gilbert and Sullivan song to sing.

Audition Libretto

Elizabeth Bonden - Not a solo singing part, please bring any Gilbert and Sullivan song to sing.

Audition Libretto

Danielle McKenzie - Not a solo singing part, please bring any Gilbert and Sullivan song to sing.

Audition Libretto

Signals Yeoman - This part will be offered to an unsuccessful candidate for one of the other roles.

The Cameo roles: The Porter Brats, Jane Fairfax, Lydia and Jane Bennet-Porter, Marine sentry - These roles have neither spoken lines nor solo singing. If anyone wishes to audition for these roles who has not already auditioned for one of the other roles, then they must be prepared to demonstrate their ability to mime and/or improvise a scene based on their character. The Porter Brats must be of a suitable build that they can pass as young, spoilt and badly behaved children.

Other cameo roles may yet be invented!

Audition Tips

Audition Tips and Guidelines are available.

For now, simple advice would be to prepare yourself properly: LEARN the pieces by heart and practice them out loud with a (really patient!) friend over and over again.