OSE Auditions

Notes on Principal and Chorus audition applications:

Please provide with your application any holiday/commitment dates where you will not be available for rehearsal. Everyone is expected for all calls for the week of the performances and the two Sundays before (Sunday 10th April, afternoon, and Sunday 17th April) and then every day of show-week (Monday 18th = Sitzprobe, Tuesday 19th = Tech Rehearsal, Wednesday 20th = Dress rehearsal 1, Thusday 21st = Dress rehearsal 2, Friday 22nd = first performance, Saturday 23rd = last performance, after which we hope to hold an after-show party (and an after-after-show party!)
Beyond that, principals are most welcome to attend as many chorus rehearsals as your are able to. This is particularly helpful for the director and chorus to be able to best support you.
Please select an audition piece in English, and preferably by Verdi (though not necessarily from Macbeth)

We will then contact applicants via email (where possible) or phone with confirmation of your audition time and the results of your audition
Castings for principal roles will not be notified to the rest of the company until all the roles have been offered and accepted
New Members of the Chorus are always welcomed for all voice parts. There's lots of acting potential for this opera. It's unlikely there's the chance to be in the pit chorus.; more likely you'll be on-stage and told what to do by our director, Fraser Grant. Becoming a member of the Chorus leads to your becoming a Member of OSE. You will be given a six month free trial membership of OSE if you accept but be asked to pay a deposit for costume hire and a performance fee. After that you'll be asked to pay annual membership of OSE at £65pa from October 2016 if you wish to continue after your first production. We do plan to audition for new chorus but are flexible as to prior experience and can offer an supported initiation process for inexperienced singers thanks to support from our conductor Kenneth Roberts.
Back-stage and administrative roles do not have to be held by OSE Members and is therefore voluntary work, if you choose to accept. There's a range of supporting & leading roles in terms of set construction, costume work, press/marketing and administration roles. We'd love to hear from you, whether you are or are not interested in on-stage roles too.

Audition applications to be returned to The Chairman (John Rycroft with this form) by Thursday 15th October 2015. There is no guarantee of later applications being accommodated. Please advise any problems with this auditions form to Secretary (Greg Solomon).

Notes on the OSE rehearsal schedule:

Sundays: Main/chorus rehearsals are generally from 2-5pm from Sunday 17th January in the afternoon in St Leonards-on-Sea, and until April, sometimes these rehearsals are in the evenings (6pm-9pm). Chorus music rehearsals will take place from mid-January and February, every Sunday from 17th January, however Principals are only required from the start of production rehearsals with the Director, Fraser Grant, commencing Sunday 28th February 2016.

There will be additional daytime Principal rehearsals, perhaps in London at other times to be mutually agreed.
There will also be additional evening Chorus rehearsals in the run-up to the production in the Easter holidays. From March, there will also be some additional weekday evening Chorus rehearsals, where the focus will be entirely on music. Principals are welcome but not expected.

Additionally Principals and Chorus are expected for the following: -

Auditions are now closed