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From:  Karen Mercedes <dalila@R...>
Date:  Thu Feb 7, 2002  4:39 pm
Subject:  Re: [vocalist] Bitter sweet!

On Thu, 7 Feb 2002, elly28_03 wrote:

> Hello again! :)
>
> I have recently been cast in the role of Peep-bo in G&S The Mikado.
> I was considered for the role of Yum Yum but didn't get it because of
> my "round" state. The director was concerned about balancing me off
> with another lead. It was really a matter of politics since I am not
> a member of the guild. These people are important people to me and I
> have lost a little faith in them.

This rather surprises me. The vast majority of directors would be most
concerned about uniformity of "look" among the Three Little Maids. If
you're "round" and Yum Yum isn't, I'd think that would be more troubling
to the average G&S casting director than your roundness in relation even
to Ko-Ko.

This said, the last time I auditioned for G&S, the director told me he
couldn't cast me as the contralto buffa (in this case, the Duchess of
Plaza-Toro in GONDOLIERS) because I was taller than the baritone buffo
playing the Duke. This excuse for not casting me I just couldn't swallow.
What director wouldn't relish the comic possibilities of having the
Countess tower over her Duke in that operetta? I tend to agree that a lot
of these "lookism" excuses are really just cover-ups for the fact that the
director has a pet singer he's already cast in the role. Why the heck
can't casting directors be considerate enough to just inform us all if
some of the roles have been precast - it would keep from having everyone
waste their times auditioning for slots that don't exist.

Karen Mercedes
http://www.radix.net/~dalila/index.html
***************************************
What lies behind us, and what lies before us
are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson





  Replies Name/Email Yahoo! ID Date  
17281 Re: Bitter sweet!Sharon Szymanski   Thu  2/7/2002  

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