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Moby Dick!

The Musical
Audition Notice
Performance Dates:

Tuesday 18 June Saturday 22 June 2013,


Bridewell Theatre, Bride Lane, EC4Y 8EQ

First Meeting Date:

Sunday 17 February 2013

Audition Dates:

19/22/23/24 February 2013 (see detail below)

Recalls:

Sunday 24 February 2013

Director: Matthew Prince


Musical Director: Benjamin Long
Producer: Simon Welch
What would happen if St Trinians-type school were to put on a musical
production of Herman Melvilles classic novel Moby Dick? The result: a wild,
anarchic romp through one of Americas classic literary giants. Moby Dick!
The Musical is a show full of laughs, double-entendre and creative genius;
powerful songs and energetic staging will leave the audience calling out for
more.
Moby Dick is a Whale of a Tale with its tongue firmly in its cheek; taking on
the novel and musical references from Les Miserables through to Riverdance.
Moby Dick! contains doomed romance, obsession, mutiny and death;
alongside sea storms, whale hunts and cannibalistic rituals. There will be a
whaling ship, a harbour side tavern and even a massive white whale on stage.
This is a show to make the Bridewell strain at the seams.
We hope this audition notice will inspire you to join us in this fabulous show;
and in the words of Herman Melville himself:

Stuff Art, Lets Dance.

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Synopsis
As the play opens, the Headmistress informs her students that due to
bankruptcy, the school will close at the end of the term. The girls, determined
not to return to their horrible, boring lives outside St. Godleys, vow to save it.
They decide they need to throw a big fat fundraiser and Ishmael offers her
newly penned musical version of Moby Dick. The girls quickly get on board
with the idea and the Headmistress passes out parts, making herself Captain
Ahab.
A nervous Ishmael takes the stage and opens the musical (I Live and
Breathe). She sings of her passion for the sea, the magic of the water, and
her love of adventure. She lands, at the end of her song, on the docks of
Nantucket where we meet the crew and Captain Ahab of the Pequod, a
whaling ship recently returned from a hunting trip gone bad.
Meanwhile, Esta, Ahabs wife, waits fretfully for her husbands safe return. He
arrives and breaks the bad news that he has lost his leg to the rogue whale
Moby Dick. Esta inappropriately giggles when he reveals his ivory stump and
the other guests at Ahabs homecoming follow suit. Humiliated, Ahab
denounces Esta, who immediately jumps out a window to a watery death.
(Dont worry she returns frequently!) Ahab returns to the safety of his cabin
aboard the Pequod, determined to kill the rogue whale, Moby Dick.
At the Spouter Inn, Ishmael learns hes to lodge the night with Queequeg,
their cannibalistic crewmate whos off selling shrunken heads. But Queequeg
turns out to be a good guy and he and Ishmael become friends.
The next morning, Ishmael and Queequeg go to hear Father Mapple deliver
his Sunday sermon and to seek blessings before their voyage. They then set
off in search of a ship that will engage them as crew. Queequeg tells Ishmael
that he will know the right ship in his bones. Ishmael picks the Pequod, but
as they are about to sign up, Elijah, the crazy one-armed lackey, tells them
Ahab and his ship are cursed. Undeterred by his foreboding warnings,
Ishamel and Queequeg find Starbuck and sign up anyway. They set sail on
Christmas Day.
The Pequod has successfully weathered a winter of storms. Pip and the crew
are relaxed and lively as the boat approaches the equator. Theyve been at
sea exactly a year and finally a crazed Ahab appears from his cabin. He
proffers a gold dubloon saying it belongs to the crewman who spots the great
white whale he seeks, Moby Dick. Ishmael climbs into the crows nest and
spies instead a herd of black whale. Ahab decides while theyre waiting for
Moby Dick to appear they mind as well hunt, all the while keeping a sideward
glance for the great prize.
Ahab appears on deck to examine the kill. Growing weary of Ahabs
increasing delusions, Starbuck confronts Ahab in his cabin saying he came on
the ship to hunt, not be a pawn to Ahabs vengeance.

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Starbuck tries to rally the men to mutiny against their insane Captain and
vows to kill him; but at the last minute, Starbuck cant bring himself to do it.
Haunted by the voices of Moby Dick and his deceased wife Esta, Ahab
sleepwalks about his cabin convinced they are nearing the great whale.
Ishmael spots an English whaling ship. Captain Gardiner boards the Pequod
saying hes been hot on the trail of a great white whale and has lost his crew
(including his 12 year old son) in the process. Gardiner retreats to his ship as
crew braces for a storm at sea. Although Starbuck considers the storm a bad
omen and Pip is killed when he is blown overboard, Ahab presses madly on.
The next morning, despite the calm seas, the crew is convinced the ship is
cursed. Queequeg casts bones on the deck and prophesizes his own death.
Ahab emerges on deck to break things up and smells a strange odour Moby
Dick. The crew madly harpoons the whale, but Moby Dick eludes them. At last
the whale rams the ship and as the crew swims for their lives, Ahab submits
to Moby Dick. Only Ishmael, floating on Queequegs coffin, survives to be
picked up by The Rachel the next day.
The story over, the cast jumps off the set, joyfully congratulating each other
on a job well done. The Headmistress enters in an outrageous gown with two
suitcases bursting with cash. She hands off one suitcase to each security
guard, proclaims the school saved, and everyone parties.

Auditions
You must be a member of Centre Stage to audition. If your membership has
lapsed or you arent a member you can re-new/join at the audition.
Membership is only 10. If need to join or renew please bring 10 in cash with
you to the audition, or we will not be able to audition you. Being a member of
Centre Stage not only entitles you to audition for the shows in that year, but
also means that you can be involved in many aspects of the group, including
our master classes, the frequent social events organised throughout the year,
priority ticket booking and voting at the AGM.
The Moby Dick team knows how stressful auditioning can be and we would
like you to know we are there to help and to be supportive. We want you to
shine and we may ask you to do something again or in a different way; this is
to ensure we get to see everything you have to offer and give you the best
chance of success.
Undoubtedly, we will see a lot of people and we will aim to give you as much
time as possible. Dont be surprised if we ask you to only sing part of a song;
this is only a time issue not quality.
We aim to notify everyone if they have been successful as soon as possible,
but this may take some time, as we have to get through dance, principal and
ensemble auditions, as well as recalls.
We dont expect you to have learned the words for your audition having the
words or music on you is fine but please practice the best you can as we will
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not be able to teach during the auditions.


If you want to practice the audition pieces with the creative team, you will
have the opportunity to do this at our first meeting.

First meeting
This is a chance to meet the creative and production team, hear about the
show and to sing through the songs that will be set for the audition. Its a great
opportunity to find out just how much fun Moby Dick! The Musical will be.
First meeting date:
First meeting time:
First meeting location:

Sunday 17 February 2013


12:30 16:30
TBC

Audition Music
There are four songs that people can prepare for auditions:
I Live and Breathe (called Forbidden Seas on soundtrack)
A Man Happens (anyone can sing this but especially Esta)
Cant Keep Out the Night (Ahab only)
At Sea One Day (Elijah only)
We would prefer everyone to prepare either I Live and Breathe or A Man
Happens; the other two songs are specific to two characters but if you want a
back up song feel free to prepare from these.
All four songs will be taught at the first meeting/workshop and music will be
emailed out when you book your audition slot. These songs are consistent
with the soundtrack recording of the London Cast Recording, which is
available on Spotify and iTunes.
We will only be auditioning with these four songs in the first round. If we need
to recall and want you to come prepared with a different song from the show,
we will let you know in advance and email the music.
If you are auditioning for Ahab, Esta or Elijah, you will need to prepare the
relevant song from the list above full details are in the cast breakdown.

Dance auditions
We will be holding auditions for dance. These are to determine who will be our
lead dancers in the show. Everyone will be required to move to some degree
and we would like everyone to attend the dance auditions.
The audition will be very informal. We will teach a small routine to the group,
allow you time to practice and get comfortable and then run the routine in
small groups.

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The dance auditions are not a pass/fail scenario, rather a way for us to gauge
the level of ability across those auditioning and be able to plan choreography
and select those who may become feature dancers.

Audition dates
Auditions will take place in the following way:

Dance Auditions
Tuesday 19 February 2013. 7pm prompt start
Location: to be confirmed
Full details above please make sure you can attend. Come prepared to
dance, trainers and appropriate clothing. If you cant attend this date please
let us know. We may hold a shorter session on Sunday 24 February.

Main Auditions
Singing auditions will be held as solos in front of a small panel, which will
include the director, musical director, choreographer, producer and a trustee
from the Centre Stage committee.
When you book your place, please let us know what day you would prefer.
For the Saturday, please indicate which session. To minimise waiting, we will
allocate you a time. We will aim to see you as close as possible to this time.
Please be patient with us as things can overrun.
Also, if you decide not to attend or you can no longer make the date and time,
please let us know. Not showing up is very difficult for us to manage on the
day and we may have turned someone down due to lack of time in the
schedule. Please let us know as soon as possible.
We will email out music on request.

Main audition slots


Slot 1:
Slot 2:
Slot 3:
Slot 4
Slot 5:

Friday 22 February 2013


Saturday 23 February 2013
Saturday 23 February 2013
Saturday 23 February 2013
Sunday 24 February 2013

6:30pm to 9:30pm
10:00am to 12:00pm
12:30pm to 2:30pm
3:00pm to 5:00pm
12:00 to 2:00pm

Recalls
If necessary, these will be on Sunday 24 February after 2pm.

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Book your place


To book you place for both auditions please email the address below and let
us know your preferred audition slot.
Email: mobydickcentrestage@gmail.com

Rehearsals
The first rehearsal will be on Saturday 9 March 2013. This will be a full cast
call.
We are aiming to rehearse on Tuesday and Thursday evenings and Saturday
during the day this is subject to confirmation of rehearsal space availability.
As a team, we want rehearsals to be fun and enjoyable.
The first four weeks of rehearsals will be music and some choreography,
which will be followed by approximately eight weeks of blocking and character
work.
We will try not to call everyone to every rehearsal but as we get closer to the
show week, the number of rehearsals will increase. In particular, in the last
couple of weeks we may require the full cast for both evening and weekend
rehearsals. We will publish a rehearsal schedule to let you know when youll
be needed.
In the week of the show, you will be needed on the Saturday and Sunday of
the weekend before (15 and 16 June). You will be expected to help with the
get-in at the Bridewell Theatre on the Sunday and we are likely to be
rehearsing on the Sunday night. We will complete a dress and technical run
on the Monday evening.
If you are away on the weekend 16/17 June or on the Monday 18 June you
must let the production team know at auditions.
If you are away on the Sunday 17 and Monday 18 June, youll not be able to
be in the show.

Production
The show is a group effort with cast and crew coming together to put on a
great show. We want everyone to feel part of the production team and we will
ensure you are kept informed of all the decisions concerning the show.
Centre Stage is a registered charity and relies on revenue from ticket sales,
sponsorship, and voluntary charitable donations to put on each show. Costs
include the show rights, scores, scripts, a fabulous band, high quality lighting
and sound equipment, excellent costumes and the hire of the theatre for show

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week. The budget will be very tight and therefore selling every ticket and
fundraising will be essential.
In order to keep the ticket price down to a reasonable level we will be setting
the show fee (charitable donation) at 65 per performer. These are a really
valuable contribution to the shows revenue and enable us to provide more
set, costumes, special effects to support the casts talent on stage and to give
the audience a truly stunning night. You may be responsible for purchasing
some small personal items such as tights, socks and generic costume items
and make up.
If you think you may struggle to pay the participation fees, please discuss this
with someone from the production team and we will try to help.
Our cast sells the majority of our tickets to their friends, family and workmates.
As always, well be relying on our cast to get involved with activities to help
promote the show, from sharing information online, appearing in teaser videos
and helping with fundraiser events.
As a group, everyone in the cast will be expected to help with the get in and
get out during production week. We need all hands on deck to ensure this
goes smoothly and as quickly as possible so we have as much time as
possible to rehearse before opening night and as much time to party after the
last show.
We really want Moby Dick to be a fun experience for everyone and we have a
few fun ideas to keep things exciting through-out the rehearsal and run.

Performances
We will be performing every evening from Tuesday 18 June to Saturday 22
June. The show starts at 7:30pm and you will be required to be at the theatre
by 6:30pm to allow for costume, dance and singing warm up, microphone
fitting etc.
On Saturday 22 June we will be doing a matinee and evening performance.
The matinee will start at 2:30pm and you will be required at the theatre by
1:30pm.
Following the last performance, we will have to strike the set and clear the
theatre. Everyone will be expected to participate. Once the theatre is clear, we
can then PARTY

Cast breakdown
The show centres around St Godleys Girls Schools production of Moby Dick
(a play with in a play). Therefore, all the characters are either school girls,
teachers or staff of St Godleys as well as characters in Moby Dick. One of the
many fun and funny things about the show is that the schoolgirls are played
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by adults and from either sex. Therefore we are not looking to cast school
ages; we are looking for actor and singers who can enter into the fun of the
piece.
There are a lot of named characters, some have a principal role and a lot to
do, others have a little less maybe one song, part of a song, a supporting
role in a song or just dialogue and chorus songs. Plus we will be having a
chorus as well these are called the Swarm.
Some of the Swarm will be schoolgirls (any gender), a couple may be
teachers and security guard in the school scenes but convert into sailors,
townsfolk in the Moby Dick part of the show.

Principals
The songs listed are the songs you should prepare for audition. If gender is
not stated then the role can be played by either sex.
We would like everyone auditioning to prepare the music as detailed in the
section above.
Headmistress/Captain Ahab
Male

30+ years

Songs

Cant Keep Out the Night

This is a tour de force of a performance. As the headmistress he must be


channelling the full Alistair Sims from the early St Trinians films twin-set and
pearls. As Ahab he is the psychological driving force he is obsessed,
demented and desperate to avenge the loss of his leg. (Yes he has one leg,
but you will not be balancing on a wooden stump through the show)
Ishmael

Female

Song

I Live and Breathe

As a schoolgirl this character is the lovable school nerd, she has written the
show for St Godleys to perform. She is jolly hockey sticks and full of school
spirit. As Ishmael she is the heart of the show, Moby Dick is viewed from her
perspective and at times she narrates the action.
Esta

Female

Song

A Man Happens

As a schoolgirl she is the school beauty, always the centre of attention and
well dressed. Esta is Ahabs wife, she loves him but laughs at his wooden leg

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when he returns home. She appears through out the show, even though she
kills herself early on in Act 1.
All other cast members should prepare I Live and Breathe and/or A Man
Happens
Quequeg

Female

A primitive from foreign lands; Ishmael finds him wandering around Nantucket
trying to sell his shrunken heads. They become friends. He has mystic
powers and a killer number in the first act.
Pip

Male

Captain Ahabs fiercely loyal cabin boy. This role is on-stage as much as
Ahab and has a couple of great ballads.
Starbuck

Female

First mate on the Pequod; he is stern, strong and serious, he is a natural


leader. He calls the crew to mutiny through a powerful song in the second act.
Stubb

Female

As a schoolgirl she is a bit of an airhead; this carries across on the Pequod. A


main character with dialogue and in many songs
Elijah

Male

Song

At Sea One Day

He is a tramp in Nantucket but is also a prophet, he sees the failure of the


voyage in a show-stopping number in act one. Ideally with a strong Irish
accent.
Mapple

Male/Female

He is a preacher that sings a rousing revivalist song in act one.


Gardiner

Male

He is the captain of the Rachel, a British ship who the Pequod meets on the
voyage. He sings a fast paced number, in the style of Gilbert & Sullivan in act
two.
Tashtigo

Male/Female

He is a harpooner on the Pequod


Coffin

Male/Female
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Landlord of the Spouter Inn


Daggoo

Male/Female

He is a harpooner on the Pequod


Flask

Male/Female

Mary

Male/Female

Starbucks wife

Ensemble
The Swarm
These are a number of characters, some named and some generic. All will be
in at least seven numbers as well as being onstage most of the show. Some
characters have dialogue.
Janitor
Pierre
Sylvia
Moby Dick
Schoolgirls
Teachers
Security Guards
Townsfolk
Sailors
Song

I Live and Breathe or A Man Happens

Show Rep
Along with the hard work of putting on the show, there will also be lots of
opportunities to get to know your fellow cast mates better. We will be looking
for a cast show rep to help organise pub trips and some nights out. If you
would be interested then please let the production team know at the first
rehearsal.

Technical & Backstage Crew


Due to the restrictions on cast size because of the constraints of the theatre,
you may not be successful this time, but we would love you to still be involved
in Centre Stage by joining us for socials and we will also be looking for
technical and backstage crew for the show. If you think you or someone you
know may be interested then just let us know.
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About Centre Stage


Centre Stage is an amateur dramatics organisation that focuses on
performing musical theatre. The company first began life as a light opera
company in 1966. Since then we have had a few changes in name, focus, and
cast but we have kept the same entertaining spirit! A number of people have
said that our shows are more 'entertaining' than most professional shows in
the West End, but we'll leave that for our audience to decide!
The Centre Stage committee who run our wonderful charity is currently:
President
Chair
Treasurer
Business Manager
Secretary
Marketing Manager
Membership Secretary
Committee Assistant

Cortina Henderson
Victoria Shooter
Rosalind Parry
Cheryl Gurnham
Lewis Simington
Dan McLoughlin
Leon Hernandez
Andrew Greer

Centre Stage online


We use the following online sites to promote our shows and keep members
and friends of Centre Stage up to date with news and events. Please make
sure youre following us:
www.facebook.com/CentreStageLondon
www.twitter.com/CentreStageLDN
www.centrestagelondon.co.uk

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