The Evolution of Auditions - or - the Auditions of Evolutions

So, it's been a week or so since Auditions for Evolutions.

Once again, I was impressed by the calibre of auditionees. Coming from NZ, where the concept of a Revue / Concert production generally invites the calibre of auditionees that makes the 'outtakes' section of Idol auditions look attractive, this was a pleasant change.

If I have one observation, it's that the diversity of talent wasn't present.

When writing the vocal arrangements for Evolutions, I have been specific in my vocal requirements -- 8 guys, 8 girls, needing 2 strong sops, and 2 strong tenors, and 2 strong basses, with the rest made up of alto / mezzo / bari combinations.

I kinda expected that we would struggle with the guys. It's not so much that there's a lack of manpower, but we announced auditions late, and had a somewhat blande offering (against CLOC and Whitehorse). (Not that I think much of either Shout or Chorus Line...and don't get me started on the responsibility of big players to bring diversity to the cultural scene...it's just that people love the shows with $$$$'s)

What took me most by surprise was the lack of diversity in the women. If I wanted a cast of pure mezzo / alto's, I would've been sweet. But I needed someone who could hit a soulful bottom F, and someone who could hit a top A without sounding like aunt Marge from the local church choir.

Anyway -- as it stands, we're still hunting for a couple of killer guys (1 shit hot tenor, and 1 rock solid baritone). We've got an amazing array of talent in our women, and the guys that we have cast are great.

Also, the makeup orchestra has FINALLY been agreed on.

We'll be going with 10 players:
Keys I
Keys II
Guitar
Bass
Drums
Cello
Violin
Trumpet
Trombone.

Which means that I get to conduct, rather than play (thank christ).

On another note, arrangements have taken a slightly unexpected turn for the better.

There's been a few accidental, unplanned gems just pop into the score -- like the Gun Song from Assassains, but done in a really really bin-laden scares the shit out me dark manor.

And Merano from Chess done like you're at the cuban jazz festival. (Fuck opera.)

Anyway -- I've decided that after Evolutions I'm hanging up my baton for a while, so if you're reading this, and in Melbourne, and undecided if this is your cup of tea -- trust me -- the show is gonna rock, and it's my last jaunt with the boards for a while, so come and check it out!

Marty

Evolutions auditions...

So, it's arrived!

Evolutions starts auditioning tonight...which seems a little surreal. Our little project which has sat on my PC and existed only through the tinny speakers in my studio for a few short months starts its genesis tonight!

With still only a little over half of the score completed, it's really gonna be a race to the finish, as orchestrations will have start soon.

Still, auditions are always exciting, and I'm told we have some great talent registered.

Fun times ahead.

The heat is definitely on

So I'm in Sydney, having just finished hanging out at Miss Saigon rehearsals for two days.

All I can say is....WOW!

I think I'm most impressed by the scale of the whole thing more than anything else. The music department consists of four for this production -- the Musical Supervisor (head honcho -- also doubling as the MD for the bulk of the tour), Associate Musical Director, Associate Conductor, and repetiteur. (I can't spell that word).

This is the 7th time that Guy (MD) has done Miss Saigon, and the 3rd or 4th time for Adrian (associate), so these guys know the score pretty much inside out.

I was really impressed by the team feeling amongst the music department. My previous experiences that have been on the cusp of professional theatre (Les Mis, JC Superstar), have left me with a definite foul taste in my mouth from the other key members of the production team, and I had formed the distinct impression that professionals are assholes.

I am so happy to say that it turns out it was just the assholes that I had worked with. These guys were great. And know thier shit inside out.

These guys are rehearsing 6 days a week, 10am - 6pm, for five weeks. Because they have the luxury of time (relative to a non-professional proudction, rehearsing 3 times a week, 3 hours a call), they get to work at a more relaxed and thorough pace.

It was evident that they were taking things at a slightly more relaxed pace, given that it was the first couple of days of rehearsals, and that Guy was really only working in broad strokes (setting numbers and people in vocal groups for ensemble numbers, and roughly teaching harmonies), leaving Adrian to go back and do a tidy up later. However, having said all that, I felt that at a standard rehearsal that I work on, we'd probably cover twice as much in the same period of time. Not a criticism, just an observation.

Unfortuantely I won't be there for the later calls, so I won't get to see how much time Guy and Adrian spends polishing vocals from calls earlier this week.

It's encouraging to see that in terms of the vocal rehearsals, nothing is really hugely different between the way that I work, and the way these uber MD's do it.

The calibre of the ensemble was really high. They sounded great on the big choral numbers -- Morning of the Dragon & This is the Hour. However, having said that, these guys weren't infallible, and not the dissimilar from the kinds of cast I've been working with here in Melbourne. Standard kinda issues -- Sops were sharp, tenors were flat, harmonies with close intervals took ages for people to learn.

I also sat in on scene rehearsals for the characters of Kim & Chris doing their love scene (Why God -> This Money's Yours -> Sun & Moon). This has got to be one of the absolute highlights for me.

The director was incredible. His passion was overwhelming.
His compassion for the story and understanding of the lives of the characters and their journey's was amazing.
His ability to communicate this is a engaging, interactive dialouge with his cast was stunning. he wasn't condescending, or arrogant.

And watching him craft this scene with Kim & Chris, watching it develop into the piece of theatre that it was when I left, was just incredible.

I get to go back and meet up with them all once orchestra rehearsals start in Melbourne, which I am definitely looking forward to.