Auditions for THE CONSTANT QUENE

It is with great pleasure that we announce dates for auditions for The Madrid Players Autumn 2013 Production

THE CONSTANT QUENE:

A tribute to the life of England's Spanish Queen,

KATHERINE OF ARAGON

and in memory of the fallen at FLODDEN FIELD (September 1513)

Sunday 16th June 2 sessions - 5pm and 7pm Adult ACTING auditions only
Monday 17th June 2 sessions - 8pm and 9.30pm Adult ACTING auditions only
Wednesday 19th June 1 session - 8pm till 11pm Adult SINGING auditions only
Saturday 22nd June Group Audition starts 11am – 1pm Children's auditions only.
Saturday 22nd June 2pm Adults recalls – Acting and Singing

The Constant Quene is a historical pageant with early music. There will be a large cast of substantial character roles and powerful cameos for women and men (of all ages from 16+), as well as an adult madrigal chorus and a children's chorus for nursery rhymes, ballads and dances. These are OPEN auditions, so please feel free to spread the word - especially for the children's parts – to family and friends.

AUDITION TIMES: These times are quite specific because many of the parts will be read for in small groups. For example there are three narrators and they must have a strong group chemistry. Please arrive promptly for each session.

AUDIENCE: We will welcome an audience for auditions too - so if you are not convinced you want to audition but would like to be a spectator, please feel free to come along. We anticipate many excellent performances and all that hard work deserves to be appreciated, like any performance does!!

The CHILDREN'S chorus. Children will audition together as a group so please be prompt to start at 11am. There are no child protagonists and no need for strong individual singers. Children should be at least a mature 8 years - up to 15 - with the ability to learn lines and a simple dance choreography and focus well for a 2-hour rehearsal.

PREPARATION: The most important quality we are looking for is strong vocal and physical presence. We do not expect lines to be learnt but we are looking for reading with authority and a good ability to capture the attention and imagination of your audience and the ability to express emotionally a range of intensity –in other words, to tell us the story and keep us on the edge of our seats! We are not particularly interested in look-a-likes or age-specific actors – If you believe you can tackle the character, then we say go for it!! There are larger parts and parts of few lines but all carry the same weight historically – don’t forget Judy Dench won an Oscar for one line in Shakespeare in Love!!!

To help you prepare, we are making available notes on the different characters and key speeches. Please note, the script is a confidential document - written and adapted by Jim Trainor and Susannah Jones for this The Madrid Players production thus it is not being made generally available for public downloading. However, we will be happy to send everyone who asks for it individually a copy and we ask you to respect that it is for your own private use, to help prepare for audition and must not be loaded onto the internet or generally copied or distributed.

Here’s some lateral thinking - relevant for everyone – about how one might work on developing a strong presence i.e. deliver that one line that no-one ever forgets. Thinking of our present queen: what is it about her that gives her amazing presence, and what would happen if she suddenly moved or acted in a way we didn’t expect on a great state occasion? What would that movement be? Here’s some interesting footage where she says some fascinating things about her role:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tgtz16P7vk8

Please feel free to contact us if you have any queries: Susannah Jones 679234707 lewis.susannah@gmail.com and Jim Trainor on jimtrainor2003@yahoo.co.uk.

Happy researching and see you at the auditions!