Casting Call

The Off-Monroe Players’ winter show will be Gilbert & Sullivan’s Trial by Jury, directed by Wayne Vander Byl. Auditions for Trial will be held on November 14 and 15 at 7:00 p.m. at Salem United Church of Christ, 65 Bittner St., Rochester., 14604.

Trial by Jury depicts, in one act, the trial of a breach of promise of marriage case. The plaintiff, Angelina, is an experienced woman (cougar), desperate to salvage something from her latest victim, the guileless Edwin, who has found greener grass and refuge from Angelina’s clutches in the company of another woman. The show is entirely sung; there is no spoken dialogue.

This Trial by Jury will be set in the Old West in the style of an old-style TV western in which the circuit judge holds court in the local saloon. Western embellishments include set and costumes, the Usher (court attendant) cast as sheriff (who will have a revolver, which he will fire once, not at anyone), dancing girls, and a bartender.

As written, Counsel for the Plaintiff is a tenor roll, but the director will consider casting a woman to sing it an octave up in the soprano range. If so, Counsel will be costumed and played as a female role, not as a pants role. The decision to cast a man or woman in this role will be based on the available talent and overall ensemble.

The Dramatis Personae:

The Learned Judge…………………………………………………………..Baritone The Plaintiff (Angelina).………………………………...…………………..Soprano The Defendant (Edwin)……………………………………………………...Tenor Counsel for the Plaintiff……………………………………………………...Soprano or Tenor Usher (Sheriff)………………………………………………………………..Bass Foreman of the Jury…………………………………………………………..Baritone Bridesmaids (3)………………………………………………………………Soprano Gentlemen of the Jury Bartender Dancing Girls (3) The Other Woman Chorus of Townspeople, Barristers, Attorneys

Auditions are required for Judge, Plaintiff, Defendant, Counsel, Usher, Foreman, and Bridesmaids. If you are interested in being the Bartender, a Dancing Girl, or The Other Woman, please see the director about it. The Bartender and Dancing Girls will sing with the Chorus. The Other Woman is a mute role that requires imagination and solid acting skills.

To audition, please sing 16-24 bars of a song in English, preferably from Gilbert & Sullivan or something stylistically similar, and preferably the particular role from Trial by Jury you are interested in. Although there is no spoken dialogue to read, you will be asked to read lyrics, and even to sing small portions of certain numbers, after we conduct a mini-rehearsal.

Questions? Please phone, text or email Wayne Vander Byl, director, at (315) 576-9685 or [email protected].