Audition Process Details

There are two parts to the audition: singing and dialogue.

This year we are auditioning for both our shows in the same audition. We would encourage people to audition for both Bugsy Malone AND Iolanthe but of course we will also offer to option to be considered for one or the other of the shows.

If you are auditioning for both shows then you will need to complete everything mentioned in the audition explanation. If you only wish to be considered for Iolanthe then you will need to follow the singing advice and you will also have to learn and perform a small section of the show.

We would like to encourage everyone to audition for both shows. You never know if you are a budding Iolanthe or a Fat Sam!

Singing

You will need to sing ONE song (details have changed since we last spoke to you). We have picked out songs from the shows that you may want to sing. You are of course welcome to sing your own song if you would prefer, please remember to bring your music.

If you want to learn the songs that we have picked (these will be learnt on thursday)

• High voiced men should learn Blue blood from Iolanthe
• Low Voiced men should sing Down and out from Bugsy
• High Voice women should sing None shall part us from Iolanthe
• Low voiced women should sing I'm feeling fine from Bugsy.

Don't worry if you only want to audition for one show. You should still sing the allocated song (or your own choice).

Your performance needs to be convincing. Most of Iolanthe and a great deal of Bugsy Malone is sung; we therefore need to know that you can sing something, in character, convincingly. Sell us the song, tell us the story, engage us. Think how you can make it entertaining. What can you do to engage the attention of the panel (without distracting from your singing, that is!)?

Think about gestures/movement/facial expressions (fully choreographed dance routines are not required, although you can of course perform one if you wish). Make sure you learn whatever it is you plan to perform. You could, of course, use words/music but you will give a better performance if you do not need them.

At some point we might do a range-check. Don't worry if this goes too high and/or too low for you - that's the whole point of it! Remember that your range is your own personal trait; everyone's is different - some are bigger than others but none are right or wrong. It is likely that everyone has a range suitable for at least one of the parts.

You will be accompanied on the piano if you provide the sheet music (this will be provided if you are just singing from the show sections we have suggested). You are strongly recommended to bring music for the piece you plan to sing - you will perform better and it is a definite advantage for the panel to be able to see that you can be heard over the sound of a piano.

Dialogue

There will be diaglogue to learn for each show - the pieces are available at rehearsals and on the website. Please don't worry about which part you read for - your choice of audition piece will not affect your being considered for other parts. Choose the piece that you feel that you can do best. If you want to be considered for one of the larger roles then please pick an audition piece that is more substantial. If you want to be considered for both shows please learn one piece of dialogue from Bugsy and one from Iolanthe. If you need advice about which piece to learn please feel ask Kyne, Jen, Will or Ben at rehearsal.

LEARN IT!!!!

Do not rely on reading it just before you go in (or worse, reading it "cold" at the audition). You will NOT be convincing and will not do yourself justice. Ideally you should learn the words - you will give a better audition if you do. Word-perfect is nice, but it's far more important that you are convincing.

Keep it snappy and don't allow big gaps/silences. If you need to, then by all means keep the words to hand as an aide-memoire, but if you end up simply reading them out, you will not do yourself justice (the panel assumes you learned to read some time ago!).

At the audition someone will read-in the other parts as necessary.

Finally, BE LOUD! We will be performing in a huge venue and we need to know that you will be heard. PROJECT. Aim to be heard at the very back of the audition room, and outside too.

GOOD LUCK!

The part information and audition pieces are available for Bugsy and Iolanthe.