G&S WA’s 2023 production of HMS PINAFORE
Season: 18 – 27 May 2023 at the Dolphin Theatre
Director – Paul Treasure
Musical Director – Izaak Wesson
First round of auditions for Principal and Chorus roles will be held on Sunday 4th December 2022.
Rehearsals will generally be on Monday and Thursday evenings and Sunday afternoons. You will not be required for all of these scheduled times until the last few weeks of the rehearsal period and will receive detailed rosters throughout the period. The first call will be a “meet and greet” on 20th February.
To book an audition time please contact Roger Starbuck (Audition Secretary) on auditions@gandswa.org.au or phone Roger on 0428 763 468 or Max on 0408 386 164 (after 18th November 2022).
If you are unavailable to attend on 4th December please contact us via the email address above expressing your interest.
For the audition you should prepare one song which you think displays your vocal abilities. It does not have to be from HMS Pinafore or even from the Gilbert & Sullivan repertoire but should preferably be in English. Obviously if you are interested in a principal (as opposed to a chorus) role you should give careful thought to the selection of your audition piece.
We will provide a piano accompanist and you should bring the piano part to your audition.
The Characters
Sir Joseph Porter KCB – a character “patter” role (though he doesn’t truly sing “patter”. Light baritone (though flexible), can be any age but at least “appears” as middle age generally
Captain Corcoran – baritone, commanding presence, age hard to define (since he was swapped with Ralph at birth)!
Ralph Rackstraw – tenor, “romantic” lead. In love with Josephine (the Captain’s daughter).
Josephine – soprano, “romantic” lead. Spirited girl with a mind of her own.
Little Buttercup – Portsmouth bumboat woman, contralto (or strong mezzo-soprano). Widowed but with a scarcely concealed passion for the Captain.
Dick Deadeye – bass. More or less the villain, but basically with a stern commitment to doing the “right” thing.
Cousin Hebe – a youngish mezzo-soprano. No solos but a few ensembles.
Boatswain’s Mate (pronounced “bosun”) – bass with a couple of good solo opportunities (e.g. “for he is an Englishman”).
Carpenter’s Mate – baritone in ensembles.
NOTE: “Ages” above relate to the usual characterization but do not necessarily restrict the actual age of the performer!
All characterizations at the discretion of the Director!