Audition Information for

based on the biblical story of Esther
Auditions October 15, 16, 22 and 23, 2016
Performances March 25 and 26, April 1 and 2, 2017

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INFO FOR ALL AUDITIONEES

Everyone who wishes to perform needs to schedule an audition! The audition process includes the vocal evaluation as well as time to fill out forms, be photographed, and discuss schedules and volunteer job requirements.

If you would like to be involved in some capacity other than as a performer, we welcome people who would like to experience other aspects of our production. Opportunities are available in areas such as set construction, ushering, makeup and backstage! If interested, contact auditions17@familyopera.org or call 617-233-8594.

PLEASE NOTE that every family must sign up for a volunteer job at the time of auditions. In order to be prepared to choose a job, please read through this entire web-page, especially the section entitled FAMILY PARTICIPATION AND WORK REQUIREMENTS below.

WHEN

Saturday and Sunday October 15 and 16, 2016
Saturday and Sunday October 22 and 23, 2016
Auditions will be scheduled at 15-20 minute intervals from 1:00 PM until 7:00 PM.

WHERE

23 Norris Street
Cambridge, MA 02140
[CLICK HERE FOR DIRECTIONS]

TO SCHEDULE AN AUDITION AND FOR MORE INFORMATION

Email auditions17@familyopera.org or
call 617-233-8594.

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE?

The entire audition process (which includes filling out forms, photographing, and discussing the schedule and participants' responsibilities, as well as the vocal evaluation) usually takes about an hour and a half.

AGE REQUIREMENT

Anyone currently 7 or older can participate, from children to adults, inexperienced to classically trained. There is no maximum age.

We ENCOURAGE participation in our productions by multiple family members, both onstage and offstage.

We REQUIRE that:

• an adult perform onstage with all children currently younger than 10
• an adult attend rehearsals with all children currently younger than 12

We may also ask that an adult perform or attend rehearsals with some children above these age limits.

FAMILY PARTICIPATION AND WORK REQUIREMENTS

We ask all cast member families to help in the following ways:

• We require all participating families to sign up for a minimum of 8 hours of work on general tasks that support the production (set construction, painting, rehearsal cleanup, concession table, sewing costumes, etc.).
• Participants may sign up to manage a specific task for the production (time commitment varies).
• Participants may sign up to join an NCFO standing committee, working on issues not related solely to the current production (e.g., fundraising and development, publicity and marketing, logistics, etc.)

When you come to auditions, we will ask you to tell us what jobs you would be willing to do. You can download a description of all available jobs HERE. Please come with more than one job in mind. You can improve your chances of getting the job you want by discussing it with the auditions manager beforehand, when you schedule your audition.

DONATION AND FEES

NCFO is a self-supporting non-profit organization. We do not charge a fee for participating in our production. In order to cover our production costs, we request a voluntary, tax-deductible donation from each family. Our suggested donation is $200 per family. Some families donate more and some less, but all donations in any amount are welcome and gratefully accepted.

WHAT TO BRING TO AUDITIONS

Please bring information about your schedule (and/or your family's schedule) for November through early April, so that we can discuss potential conflicts.

Also, please bring your checkbook, in case you would like to make a donation to the opera company at auditions, before it slips your mind.

Come prepared to be photographed.

REHEARSAL AND SCHEDULE INFORMATION

We will hold an organizational meeting and first rehearsal on SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 6 (tentatively at 3:00pm). It is extremely important for everyone in the cast as well as for at least one responsible adult from every family to attend this meeting. Regular rehearsals begin (tentatively) on SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 13. We then rehearse every subsequent Sunday until performances EXCEPT:

• just after Thanksgiving (Sunday, November 27)
• Christmas Day (Sunday, December 25)
• New Year's Day (Sunday, January 1)
• President's Day weekend (Sunday, February 19)

Please note that we WILL be rehearsing on Martin Luther King Day weekend (Sunday, January 15), as well as the second Sunday of school vacation week (Sunday, February 26).

The ENTIRE CAST rehearses on Sunday afternoons. The entire company rehearses from about 4:30 to 6:30. In addition, some members of the chorus are also in small ensembles, which rehearse between 2:30 and 4:30 (which of the several small ensembles that rehearse in this time window will vary from week to week). Major soloists may be scheduled to rehearse at any time between 12:30 and 6:30 every week, and minor soloists will also be called to rehearse early at one or two rehearsals. We try very hard to end all rehearsals on time at 6:30. We try to plan and publish a rehearsal schedule for each month, but things change from week to week. We send emails with the final schedule, usually the Friday before each Sunday rehearsal.

On very rare occasions, we may require major and some minor soloists to rehearse on a weekday evening or two as well, but we're not expecting the need for this to arise.

Final rehearsal and performance schedule (tentative):

ALL CAST MEMBERS must attend scheduled runthrough rehearsals (tentatively scheduled for Saturday, March 11 and Sunday, March 12, 2017) and dress rehearsals (Saturday, March 18 and Sunday, March 19, 2017); therefore it is important to check your family's schedule before accepting a role in this show. You will be scheduled for two 4-hour runthroughs (one on Saturday and one on Sunday) and two 4-hour dress rehearsals (one on Saturday and one on Sunday) on these very important weekends. These are the rehearsals where everything comes together and many things get changed, so it is critical to be there!

Tentatively, two performances a day are scheduled for March 25 and 26, and April 1 and 2, with each cast member scheduled for four of these eight performances (usually one per day). However, this schedule may be modified pending availability of the venue and number of participants.

We will not cast you if you cannot adhere to the rehearsal and performance schedule for these last four weekends.

RUNNING TIME

This opera will run about 100 minutes in performance, plus a 20-minute intermission.

PREPARING FOR THE VOCAL AUDITION

The vocal audition is easy and low-key: our musical director will lead you through a set of vocalization exercises and will then listen to you sing either your prepared solo music, or (for those not auditioning for a lead role) Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star (or some other song you are comfortable with singing). Ordinarily, all family members who want to perform in our show audition at the same time. We will make an audio recording of a portion of your audition to help us with casting. If you are auditioning for a lead role, we will make a video recording of your prepared solo so that we can evaluate both your singing and your acting abilities.

If you wish to be considered for one of the principal roles, please come prepared to sing the music provided. The printed and recorded music to audition for lead roles is available for download in the AUDITION MATERIALS section below, or can be obtained from:

• David Bass, 23 Norris St., Cambridge, 617-354-2797, david@familyopera.org

You don't have to decide which role to sing for: how we cast you will not depend on which song you sing, so just choose the song(s) that fit well in your range. Please do NOT ask the director what role you or your child should try out for, as it really doesn't matter.

If you're interested in one of the small, elite choruses, you should learn a short passage (see below) to demonstrate your skill at singing harmony.  If you would like a supporting solo, or if you are not interested in a solo role at all, and if you would prefer not to show off your ability to sing harmony, you don't need to prepare anything to sing.

CASTING

We put a great deal of thought into casting the opera. We double cast each role, so each soloist sings in four of the eight performances. We often are able to give everyone who wants one a solo, although we cannot guarantee it. There is always a lot of singing to do in the chorus and in smaller ensembles, though.

Because our shows are double cast, we must divide participants into two casts before final role assignments can be made. It may be a month or two before you find out your solo assignment, so please be patient.

We endeavor to assign solos that will challenge you but not overwhelm you. We consider not only ability to sing, act and dance the role, but also age, number of years participating in the opera, and roles sung in previous NCFO operas. We will not assign you a solo role that requires you to sing harmony (see the table below) unless you have demonstrated the ability to do so in audition (to do otherwise would not be fair to the other ensemble members).

AUDITION MATERIALS

If you want to be considered for one of the larger solo roles, you MUST prepare using the sheet music and MP3s provided below. You can audition with the music for any voice part. Those auditioning with the soprano or mezzo-soprano song need only learn the one song given. Lower altos, tenors and basses must learn both songs given, although you may be asked only to sing one of them in the audition. It is VERY important to practice with the file that does NOT have Sue and/or David singing your part, as that is what will be played when you audition.

If you are not interested in one of the larger roles, but would like to be considered for one of the small choruses, or if you would just like to demonstrate your harmony skills, you may prepare either The Eyes of God 2 or Inside Looking Out 1 (depending on your voice part). No need to prepare Sleepless in Shushan or Haman's Wisdom.

All other auditions require no preparation.

Sopranos - Sing Esther's part (measures 40-88) from Eyes of God 2. (This is the signature song of the opera; sing it with meaning and triumph):
     See the score
     Hear the song with all parts sung
     Hear the song with the upper voice (Esther) sung
     Hear the song with all voices except Esther (this is what will be played at your audition)

Mezzos, High Altos - Sing measures 40-88 of Mordechai's part from Eyes of God 2 (This is the signature song of the opera; sing it with meaning and triumph):
     See the score
     Hear the song with all parts sung
     Hear the song with the lower voice (Mordechai) sung
     Hear the song with all voices except Mordechai (this is what will be played at your audition)

Lower Altos and children who have trouble with high notes - Sing these TWO songs:

1. measures 35-68 from Sleepless in Shushan (sweetly...as a lullaby)
        See the score
        Hear the song with your part sung
        Hear the song with just the accompaniment (this is what will be played at your audition)
2. ALSO this passage from Inside Looking Out 1 (concentrate on nailing the harmony, in a real foot-stompin’ style)
        See the score
        Hear the song with all voice parts - note fixed, measure 37 beat 3, 10/14/16
        Hear the song with your part (higher split of 2nd staff in bars 12-20, top staff in bars 32-40) sung - note fixed, measure 37 beat 3, 10/14/16
        Hear what will be played when you audition (sing the high harmonies, plus Shethar and Admatha)

Tenors - Sing these TWO songs:

1. measures 1-33 from Sleepless in Shushan (mysteriously...something subtle but magical is happening)
        See the score
        Hear the song with your part sung
        Hear the song with just the accompaniment (this is what will be played at your audition)
2. ALSO this passage from Inside Looking Out 1 (concentrate on nailing the harmony, in a real foot-stompin’ style)
        See the score
        Hear the song with all voice parts - note fixed, measure 37 beat 3, 10/14/16 
        Hear the song with your part (higher split of 2nd staff in bars 12-20, top staff in bars 32-40) sung - note fixed, measure 37 beat 3, 10/14/16
        Hear what will be played when you audition (sing the high harmonies, plus Shethar and Admatha)

Basses - Sing these TWO songs:

1. Haman's part from Haman's Wisdom (miscommunication leads to a humorous display of Haman's inflated ego)
        See the score
        Hear the song with all parts sung
        Hear the song with just the accompaniment (this is what will be played at your audition)
2. ALSO this passage from Inside Looking Out 1 (focus on the harmony - lower split of second staff in bars 12-20, top staff in bars 32-40, in a real foot-stompin’ style)
        See the score
        Hear the song with all voice parts - note fixed, measure 37 beat 3, 10/14/16 
        Hear the song with your part (lower split of 2nd staff in bars 12-20, top staff in bars 32-40) sung
        Hear what will be played when you audition (sing the harmonies, plus Shethar and Admatha) - note fixed, measure 37 beat 3, 10/14/16

Solo roles are listed below. All ranges span at least one but fewer than two octaves:

All parts cover a range of 1-2 octaves, except those with an asterisk (*) which are one octave or less.
Notes in (parentheses) are optional.
"Harmony" refers to singing harmony as a soloist or in small ensemble. All choruses sing harmony.