Hi, folks,

A friend and I are putting on two one-act operas as part of her Masters thesis in Renaissance Literature, and we need more singers--especially, of course, men.

The catch is that you must be within driving distance of Staunton, VA., because we will have a somewhat extended rehearsal schedule. There is no pay and no fee, but we will be performing in the American Shakespeare Center's Blackfriars Playhouse. http://www.americanshakespearecenter.com/v.php?pg=124)
Everyone will also receive some training in dramaturgy and acting, particularly Shakespearean acting and interpretation. We are also planning to perform with a small orchestra.

Here's the audition notice. If you're interested, please email me (Rachel) at racoolness at yahoo dot com.

Open Auditions for two one-act Shakespearean Operas: Purcell's Fairie Queen and Holst's At the Boar's Head

If you would like to audition for an acting role only please come prepared with a monologue by Shakespeare or one of his contemporaries (10-20 lines).

If you would like to audition for a singing role only please come prepared with two arias/art songs (at least one should be in English). Please bring clearly marked sheet music in the appropriate key. Accompanist will be provided.

If you are interested in a singing and acting role please come prepared with both.

Please bring a resume and headshot (snapshot would also be fine) with you to your audition time.

Performance Dates: Monday February 15th and Tuesday February 16th, 2010 at the Blackfriars Theatre in Staunton, VA

Stage Director: Amanda Devlin
Music Director: Rachel Quagliariello

Performances will consist of a double billing of the two operas in one-act form. This event is presented in partial fullfillment of Amanda Devlin's Thesis project for her Masters of Letter in Shakespeare and Renaissance Literature at Mary Baldwin College.

When are the auditions there is no date in the notice?
What is the rehearsal schedule (while drivable, almost 3 hours from DC)?

Sorry I left this out of the original post!

Auditions will be Monday and Tuesday, Nov. 16 and 17. You will need to email and schedule a time. However, if you can't come then, we'll be happy work out another time.

We plan to start rehearsals in January and perform in mid to late February. However, I say "extended rehearsal period" because we will probably have two to three rehearsals per week. We will be very careful to schedule everyone's time efficiently, but a big part of Amanda's project has to do with working with the singers on the acting and textual aspects of Shakespeare, which means everyone will need to rehearse together and not just learn your part on your own (although you'll need to do that, too).

We are especially in need of a lyric or spinto-ish tenor and a bass or bass-baritone for Falstaff and Prince Hal in the Boar's Head.

Also, if there are several singers interested in coming down from DC, we would certainly do our best to schedule your rehearsal time together so you could carpool. And finally, if people are interested in traveling, I could arrange for a host home if you need a place to crash.

no titties

I mean, yes, there are titties.

BTW

One would have thought they might have wanted to mix it up a bit.

Just a comment a propos of nothing.

--
Karen Mercedes - contralto
singwiththespirit [at] yahoo [dot] com
http://artfuljesus.0catch.com/karenmercedes.html

for the record.

The Holst is based on Henry IV part 1 and 2, although some of the characters are also in Merry Wives.

Of course Fairy Queen is based on Midsummer Night's. When I saw "Fairy Queen" for some reason I read "Falstaff".

I hate operas based on Merry Wives, BTW. Not the composers' fault. Shakespeare at his worst, turning poor John Falstaff into a blustering, self-deluded fortune-hunter, then allowing everyone on stage to abuse him as if that's forgivable human behaviour. Merry Wives leads me to believe that nearing the end of his creative life, Shakespeare was a very bitter man indeed.

--
Karen Mercedes - contralto
singwiththespirit [at] yahoo [dot] com
http://artfuljesus.0catch.com/karenmercedes.html

Karen, you're such a rep guru anyway; Fairie Queen...Falstaff...oddly, that makes sense to me, but maybe that's just because now I'm exhausted. The Holst is interesting, though. It's really just a snippet of the Henry IV plays and all about Falstaff. I think he's an interesting character, even the way Shakespeare paints him. But I also saw a production last year by a director who is a Falstaff fan, and he was portrayed more as a hero, with Hal as a bit of anti-hero.

That's what I love about Shakespeare. There's always room to interpret it differently.

nt