Auditions for our Spring Show - Princess Ida!
Published: December 16, 2024
Auditions for Off-Monroe Players’ Spring 2025 show, Princess Ida by Gilbert & Sullivan, will be on Monday and Tuesday, February 3 & 4, at 6:30 p.m., at Downtown United Presbyterian Church, 121 North Fitzhugh Street, Rochester, 14614.
There are four principal female roles: two soprano, one mezzo soprano, and one alto, as well as three speaking roles (one with one line of singing). There are eight principal male roles: two tenor and six baritone. Persons interested in these roles must audition. Auditioners should come prepared to sing either something from Princess Ida, something from another G & S opera, or something in a comparable style that will demonstrate their vocal abilities. An accompanist will be provided. Please bring a copy of your music for the accompanist. Auditioners also will be required to read provided dialogue selections.
Persons interested in participating in the chorus are not required to audition, but should attend the first rehearsal and/or contact the director if they are unable to attend.
Rehearsals will begin on Friday, February 7 and be every Monday, Tuesday, and Friday at 6:30 p.m. until tech week. Not every cast member will be called for every rehearsal. A more detailed rehearsal schedule will be publicized to the cast after all the cast is set and conflicts are known. Tech week will be Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, May 5, 6, 7, all at 6:30 p.m. Performances will be Fridays and Saturdays, May 9, 10, 16, 17 at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays, May 11 and 18 at 2:00 p.m.
The vocal score we will be using is the Gilbert and Sullivan Archive Edition. This is the same edition used for OMP’s last production of Princess Ida in 2012. It can be ordered from lulu.com. Cast members are encouraged to secure a copy of this score before the first rehearsal and are discouraged from using any other score. All rehearsals and notes will be referenced using the Archive Edition. If you don’t have the archive edition, you will be entirely responsible for cross-referencing from your score to the one the director and music director are using.
The setting will be circa 1910 in what would be the USA (Rochester, specifically), if the USA at the time had been a constitutional monarchy. No British accents. Ida will be a suffragist. The end of the play will be transformed, when Hilarion will adopt Ida’s cause and pledge to join her as a partner, rather than Ida meekly yielding to his blandishments.
The show’s stage director is Wayne Vander Byl, and the musical director is Emily Mills. Direct any questions to Wayne by email at vanderbyl@rochester.rr.com
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