ALEXANDRIA AREA HIGH SCHOOL THEATRE DEPARTMENT SPRING MUSICAL 2015 Mary Poppins, by Sherman, Sherman, Fellowes, Stiles, and Drewe ARTISTIC TEAM Jessica Chipman, Director Kayla Noble, Assistant Director Raymond Noble, Assistant Director Jay Chipman, Technical Director Lynne Cosmano, Costume Construction AUDITION TIMES Open to all students in grades 9-12. Students are only required to attend one audition session. Auditions will be held in the AAHS PAC. Thursday, January 15: 7:00-10:00pm Saturday, January 17 1:00-4:00pm CALLBACKS (if needed) Saturday, January 17 5:00-7:30pm CREW If you are interested in being on crew only, please fill out the form on pages 21-22 and return to Mrs. Chipman. PIT ORCHESTRA If you are interested in being in the pit orchestra only, please contact Raymond Noble at rnoble@alexandria.k12.mn.us. We are thrilled to be one of the first high schools in the U.S. to perform this lovely, exciting, and memorable musical! A full plot synopsis as well as character list including ages and vocal ranges can be found at http://www.mtishows.com/show_detail.asp?showid=000329. REHEARSAL SCHEDULE / DATES Rehearsal: February 16-April 16 Times: Weekdays (with the exception of Wednesdays), 6:30-9:30. No more than two Saturdays. Not all cast members will be called for every rehearsal. Once the show is cast, you will be made aware of the specific rehearsals you will be asked to attend. The schedule will be given to you with plenty of time for you to make arrangements to be at rehearsal. Performances: April 17-19, 2015 1
CREW TIMES Wednesdays, 3:30-5:30. SET CONSTRUCTION TIMES Saturdays, as needed. Cast and crew members can serve on construction crew, as well as noncast and crew members. Cast members will be called for at least one Saturday construction date. STAGE MANAGER We are seeking a dynamic, competent, knowledgeable individual to serve as our student stage manager. This is a student leadership role with a lot of responsibility. Interviews will be conducted for the stage manager. Please see the crew sheet for further information. AUDITION SPECIFICS Please bring the following to your audition: Yourself (wear moveable clothing) A pencil A bottle of water Your completed audition form (see below) Your audition will consist of three parts: 1. Vocal audition: this is a pre-selected song (see below). We will sing through the song in a group and then you will sing individually. 2. Dance audition: this is a series of eight-counts from the song Jolly Holiday that will be taught to you by our choreographer at the audition. You will learn this in groups and then perform in groups. 3. Dialogue audition: there are pre-selected audition sides (see below). You will have a few minutes to rehearse the side with someone at your audition, and then you will perform the scene together. NOTE: Not all songs/audition sides will be used for the first round of auditions. If you are looking to prepare music prior to your audition, prepare the melody of the audition songs, not the harmony. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS 1. Will Mary Poppins fly? Yes, Mary Poppins and Bert will both fly. We are hiring a professional theatrical fly team to help us with this task. 2. How many students will you cast? This is always dependent upon our auditionees, but we hope to have a medium-to-large cast. 2
3. Will you cast high school students as Jane and Michael? This is dependent upon many factors: the person who plays Mary Poppins, the auditions of high school students, and the vision for the show. If you have your heart set on playing Jane or Michael, prepare for that audition. We ll go from there. 4. Will the same student play Birdwoman and Miss Andrew, as is customary? Similar to the above situation, this is dependent upon the students who audition. If you have your heart set on playing both, prepare for that audition. 5. Will we be using dialect in this show? If so, should I use dialect for my audition? Yes, we will be using both Standard British and Cockney dialects. Your audition is up to you. Be warned it would not be in your best interest to attempt a dialect and then bomb. It is not required for your audition, but will be taught for the production. 6. What are the directors looking for? We re looking for students who are easy to work with who best suit the heart of the show. We are looking for students who are unafraid to take risks and win an audition. We hope that s you. CONTACT If you have questions, please contact Jessica Chipman at 320.424.2240, jchipman@alexandria.k12.mn.us, or jchipman@alexschools.org. 1., BANKS, WINIFRED BANKS Good morning. (approaching ) Yes? 3
I ve come in answer to the advertisement. What advertisement? We haven t placed any advertisement. Not yet. George and Winifred Banks live here, do they not? Mr. and Mrs. Banks live here, yes. And you are looking for a nanny? Well, I suppose-- Very well then. Now, let s see. (From her pocket, takes a torn but now mended piece of paper.) Play games, all sorts. Which I most certainly can. Take us on outings, give us treats. Rosy cheeks and fairy pretty. (to George) There s no objection on that score, I hope? (Blushing) Oh, none at all. I m glad to hear it. ( stares at him so firmly that, for a moment, it is like a ray of light passing right through him.) But--oh, take it up with Mrs. Banks. She manages all that side of things. Nothing domestic has anything to do with me! And don t forget the references. 4
( is gone, leaving WINIFRED and the newcomer starting at each other. After a moment, speaks.) I make it a rule never to give references. WINIFRED But I thought it was usual. A very old-fashioned idea to my mind. The best people never require them now. WINIFRED I see. You will have every third Thursday evening off from five until nine. The best people give every second Wednesday from six til late, ma am, and that is what I shall take. WINIFRED Oh, I see... well... it s all settled, then... As long as I m satisfied. I ll see the children now, thank you. WINIFRED Of course... You ll find they re very nice children... Now this is... oh. (WINIFRED is surprised to find that she has employed someone without knowing her name.) Mary Poppins. 2. JANE BANKS, NELEUS, MICHAEL BANKS (NELEUS is a statue. He is on a plinth, which is a type of platform.) MICHAEL Jane. Did that really happen? JANE Yes. But how? 5
NELEUS Mary Poppins, of course. (The children gasp--it wasn t a dream!) MICHAEL How do you know Mary Poppins? NELEUS (Approaches the children) She s an old friend of my father. MICHAEL Your father! You re a statue. You can t have a father! NELEUS Well if that s true, why do I miss him so much? JANE Isn t he one of the other statues? NELEUS (Shakes his head sadly) No. He lives far away from here. JANE Do you really miss him? NELEUS Wouldn t you miss your father if you hardly ever saw him? 3. Mrs. Brill and Robertson Ay MICHAEL I ll have to think about that. ROSON AY I d like to be helpful. MRS. BRILL I d like to be rich. But the Good Lord thought otherwise. ROSON AY Please, Mrs. Brill. I don t mind, honest. 6
MRS. BRILL All right. I will give you one task and one task only. And, so help me, if you get this wrong I ll swing for you and sing as they pull the lever! ROBERSTON AY (filled with a sense of the task s importance) What is it, Mrs. Brill? MRS. BRILL Put the icing tools next to the cake, and I ll need a bowl of hot water to warm them. I will make the icing as soon as I m back. ROSON AY (simultaneously committing the tasks to memory) Icing tools... cake... hot water... I will make the icing as soon as I m back... MRS. BRILL Now, do you think you can manage that? ROSON AY Is that all? MRS. BRILL For you, yes. For me, no. Once the cake s done, I ve the sandwiches next because Madam wants them fresh. So I can t start them until there s no time to finish them. I swear, a slave in ancient Rome was on a pleasure cruise compared to my life in this house! 4. AND (Bert sits on the roof, whistling and holding a chimney sweep s brush.) Coo... what a sight! Oh. So you re a sweep now, are you? The best view in the world, eh? And who gets to see it? The birds, the stars, and the chimney sweeps. Nothing to beat it, eh? MARY 7
Bert... Oh, you re going, then? The wind has changed. But they re good kids, Mary. Would I be bothering with them if they weren t? But I can t help them if they won t let me, and there s no one so hard to teach as the child who knows everything. So? So they ve got to do the next bit on their own. Goodye, Bert. 5. MISS ANDREW AND (Miss Andrew is looking for her liquor. Mary Poppins steps out of the shadows, holding out the offending bottle.) Is this what you re looking for? MISS ANDREW (explodes) Who are you? I m Mary Poppins. MISS ANDREW Mary Poppins? But you left without notice! 8
And I ve come back without notice. MISS ANDREW I see. And what do you expect me to do? Pack. MISS ANDREW Pack! You insolent young person! How dare you speak to me in this way? 6. WINIFRED BANKS AND BANKS WINIFRED I suppose we do need a nanny, George. Is it out of the question to do without one? Don t be absurd! Of course we need a nanny! All the best people have nannies! So the wives can do charity work and entertain. Which reminds me, how is your tea party coming on? WINIFRED I m not sure. It seems so odd to send out invitations to people I hardly know. But they re people you should know. Remember: By your friends shall ye be judged. WINIFRED But that s the point. They re not my friends... George, I was an actress. Lots of people might find that interesting... though you always talk as if I should be ashamed of it. 9
Well, it s not exactly something to be proud of! ( has hurt WINIFRED s feelings, which was not his intention.) Winifred. Dearest. I m only thinking of you. I want people to admire you, to respect you. WINIFRED I know, George. But sometimes it s hard-- It is not hard. It s your job, to be Mrs. Banks. WINIFRED And what is your job? To pay for everything. ( turns his attention to his desk again. WINIFRED leans in, startling him.) What is it? WINIFRED I was only going to kiss you. Oh... Oh! All right. ( lifts his face for a rather unsatisfactory kiss. Sadly, WINIFRED starts for the door.) 10
7.,, MICHAEL, JANE Stay right where you are. I d know that silhouette anywhere: Mary Poppins! It s nice to see you, Bert. Why, I must say you do look swell. ( snorts, but as she pats her hair, it is clear she agrees.) MICHAEL How does he know you? He can t know you! You ve only just arrived! I wasn t born one minute before I walked into your house, Michael Banks. Have you met these two, Bert? 11
I ve seen em runnin about chasin a kite. MICHAEL It isn t a real kite. So, what are you up to? JANE Mary Poppins says it s a game. It s called A Walk in the Park. Come on, Bert. You re due for a break, and you promised you d take me out when we met again. Or have you forgotten? JANE Mary Poppins, is he really coming with us? Why shouldn t he? JANE Well, to start with, he s very dirty, isn t he? Father would never approve. What s that? MICHAEL You can t come with us. You re too dirty. And we don t want to go to the stinky park anyway. Oh, yes you do. Cause when you walk with Mary Poppins, you go to places you never dreamed of. And if she says it s a game, she s got something in mind. You can be certain of that. 12
SPOONFUL OF SUGAR (MARY) FEED THE BIRDS (BIRDWOMAN/) 13
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CHIM CHIMINEY (MARY/) 15
JOLLY HOLIDAY () 16
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BEING MRS. BANKS (WINIFRED) 18
ALEXANDRIA AREA HIGH SCHOOL THEATRE DEPARTMENT AUDITION FORM 19
Name: Grade: PLEASE LIST PARTS YOU WOULD BE MOST INTERESTED IN: Phone number: Email address: Parent names: Parent email address(es): Age: Gender: Height: Hair color: Eye color: Are you willing to... Dye your hair? YES No Cut your hair? YES No Perform a stage kiss? YES NO Fly in the fly space? YES NO (Students playing Mary and Bert must check yes here.) X Signing by the x indicates you will accept any role offered to you. Are you available for callbacks, if needed? (Saturday, January 17 at 5:00pm) YES NO Please list any physical limitations the directors might need to know (medical conditions, etc.): What musical background do you have? (If you sing, what part do you sing? What instruments do you play?) What dance, gymnastics, or movement background do you have? Do you have any special talents, such as juggling, etc? Please list any and all previous acting experience (include show and role): Please list any and all previous crew experience (include specific responsibility): Alexandria Area High School Theatre Department treats theatre as a team, and the crew is the foundation of the production. Our crews are important to the success of the production we 20
love our crew members! Please number your TOP FOUR crew interests, with one meaning most interested (leave blank if you are not interested in crew): Stage manager: multitude of responsibilities, calls cues during run, director s right-hand person Costume Crew: will pull, fit, find, and put together costumes Light Crew/Operator: sets, rotates, gels, focuses lighting equipment; operator programs and runs board Sound Crew/Operator: finds and mixes sound clips; operator programs and runs sound board Properties Crew: finds or creates all properties Publicity Crew: develops and distributes promotional materials including videos and posters Hair and Make-up Crew: designs styles for each character; applies during run of show Construction Crew: works with set designer to build set; construction experience is helpful House crew: works to ready the theatre for production, sells tickets, hands out programs, ushers In order to be considered for a role in this production, please list ANY AND ALL recurring OR one-time conflicts you have on weekdays from 3:00-9:30 p.m. Also list where you work or any church or school-related activities. PLEASE DO NOT LEAVE ANYTHING OUT. 21