Welcome!

Valley Light Opera has been bringing exceptional productions of Gilbert & Sullivan (as well as a few other operettas) to the Pioneer Valley since 1975. Along the way we've developed some very special traditions -- an adventurous (and slightly irreverent) spirit, an emphasis on fun and community, and a wonderful mixture of newcomers and company veterans working together. Each year almost a third of our cast and crew members are new to the organization. Everyone is a volunteer!

If you like to sing, come to auditions and try out for one of the principal or chorus roles. If you'd like to get involved behind the scenes, give us a call -- there are always plenty of jobs for every level of skill and time commitment. (See page 4 for some of our great crews). Join us for our 29th season!

H.M.S. Pinafore was VLO's first production in 1975, and we also presented it in 1984 and 1993. This year's production will take place in the auditorium of Amherst Regional High School on November 7, 8, 9, 14 and 15, 2003.

Pinafore Production Staff

Juli Holmes returns as music director, having conducted for The Grand Duke and for The Yeomen of the Guard. She has directed the Amherst Community Band since 1998, plays horn with Pioneer Valley Symphony and the Massachusetts Wind Orchestra, and teaches instrumental music in four Franklin County elementary schools.

Joe Donohue, stage director, was the Captain in VLO's inaugural production of H.M.S. Pinafore and has played many other roles since then. He staged VLO's The Pirates of Penzance in 1979. He teaches dramatic literature in the UMass English Department and writes frequently about nineteenth-century theatrical subjects.

Dick Gregory, costume designer extraordinaire, will once again turn his talents to making us look spectacular onstage. Recent VLO credits include The Yeomen of the Guard ('02), The Grand Duke ('01), The Pirates of Penzance ('99), Patience ('98), The Vagabond King ('97), and The Mikado ('96).

Ken Samonds returns as our set designer. He has created many wonderful VLO sets, including Yeomen ('02), The Pirates of Penzance ('89), The Sorcerer ('88), The Mikado ('87) and Iolanthe ('86).

Jacqueline Haney is coordinating producer for Pinafore. Other producers this year are Jamieson M. Cobleigh and Peter Venman. Elaine Walker is costume coordinator.

You've never auditioned before? Very few of our chorus members had auditioned elsewhere before they tried out for us that first time! While auditions can be nerve-wracking for newcomers and seasoned veterans alike, we try to make them as simple and non-threatening as possible. You will sing before a small committee of five or six people. We look for voice projection, intonation, musical quality, diction, and stage presence.

An accompanist will be provided, and scores for all G&S operas will be available. If you bring your own music for a non-G&S piece and want piano accompaniment, please bring a copy for the accompanist as well. Remember, the accompanist will probably be sight-reading your piece -- so keep it simple!

The full score and an audio tape of H.M.S. Pinafore are available for copying at the circulation desk of the Jones Library in Amherst.

Callbacks: If we feel we need more information in some cases to cast principals, we will hold a callback session on Monday, May 19th, at 7:30pm in the Amherst Regional High School auditorium.

Directions to First Congregational Church: From the traffic light in the center of Amherst (Fleet Bank on one corner, Subway sandwich shop diagonally across), take Main Street east two blocks. The church is on the right, just beyond the police station. Park in the lot at the rear of the church, or on the street.

What to Sing?

Chorus: To audition for the chorus, prepare one verse of a song -- something straightforward and simple, not too long, which displays your range, projection, diction, and ability to sing on pitch.

Principals: If you are auditioning for a principal role, prepare a solo number for the character in Pinafore you hope to play. You will also be asked to read some dialogue.

Rehearsal Schedule

Because we depend on each other, we take our rehearsal policy very seriously. We start and end rehearsals on time, and we work hard. If you are asked to join the company, you are required to attend all your scheduled rehearsals (except for sickness and real emergencies), and to arrive early enough to begin on time. Everyone who auditions will be asked to agree to this policy in writing, and anyone who cannot adhere to it may be dropped from the cast.

Character Sketches

Captain Corcoran, Commander of the H.M.S. Pinafore. Beloved by all his crew, yet always at sixes and sevens; anxious that his daughter marry well, inclined to give his own heart again; a little slow, truth be told, overawed by rank and given to profanity if provoked, but sincere and long-suffering. Baritone.

Ralph Rackstraw, Able Seaman. Not your ordinary dim Gilbertian tenor, Ralph is reputed the smartest lad in all the fleet, a self-admiring topmast hand with a lilt to his voice; engulfed by a guilty passion for a lass above his station and embarrassed by his low birth, yet willing to fight or even die for his love. Lyric tenor.

Dick Deadeye, Able Seaman. It's not only his name that's agin' him; a loner and unwelcome truth-teller, widely despised for undemocratic views; "triangular" in face and figure, and with no redeeming qualities except a fine ear for counterpoint; ironically precipitates a happy outcome by peaching on his messmate Ralph. Bass-Baritone.

Bill Bobstay, Boatswain's Mate, and Bob Beckett, Carpenter's Mate. Enthusiastic sailors of the ocean blue, faithful to captain, ship, and crew; first among equals, they rally their shipmates to action and lead them in song. Bass-Baritone / Bass.

Josephine, the Captain's Daughter. The lass so beloved of Ralph, she secretly returns his affection, though stricken by the prospect of tenement life and its endless clotheslines; would honor her dear father's wishes but spurns the official tenders of Sir Joseph; her crafty intelligence shines in all she says and sings. Soprano.

Little Buttercup, a Portsmouth Bumboat Woman. An enigmatic tradeswoman with a deep voice, a shady past, and a secret to tell; a favorite with the crew and an admirer of the Captain from afar, but in fact far from little, with an oversize heart full to bursting with love and remorse. Contralto.

Cousin Hebe, Sir Joseph's First Cousin. Prima diva assoluta among Sir Joseph's female relatives, a major general in petticoats, she marshals her troupe of maidens for pleasurable maritime excursions, restraining with difficulty her marital designs upon Sir Joseph until the time is ripe to tie him down. Mezzo-soprano.

Chorus Men, the Crew of the Pinafore. Tolerant even of the dour Dick Deadeye, they stand to their guns all day but find plenty of time for play, their discipline matched by their good will toward all who come aboard, especially if female; each has a name and a character, a limitless appetite for song, and a bottomless thirst for grog. Tenors, second tenors, baritones, basses.

Chorus Women, Sir Joseph's Female Relatives. Cousins, sisters, and aunts of the First Lord, they make his life a purgatory by dogging his every step; ranging in age from youth to . . . maturity, they each have a name, a history, and a diary on a chain to record the wonderful events of their lives, acceding to Hebe's peremptory demands with unfailing good spirits and smiles so bland. Sopranos, mezzo-sopranos, altos, contraltos.

It takes more than 150 people to put on a VLO show every year -- people who hammer and sew and paint and proofread and do all the other jobs that turn words and music on a page into glorious magic on the stage. Experience is not required, and you decide how much time you can give. Be a part of it!

Costumes -- We are famous for our dazzling costumes, which we construct during rehearsals and on weekends. There are tasks for experienced tailors and for non-sewers alike!

Sets -- Help us turn plywood and paint into a sailing ship during weekend work sessions. Carpentry and painting skills are welcome, but not required. Lunch is provided!

Make-up -- Transform the cast, starting about two hours before each performance.

Lobby decorators . . . Stage crew . . . Props . . . Lighting . . . Proofreading . . . Ushers . . . Souvenir Sales

• Lots of hemp rope; 1/2", 3/4", and 1". It doesn't need to be strong. [It WILL be cut, however...so we can return pieces.]
• Some thicker rope of any kind; 2" or more. Even short lengths will do for set decoration.
• A ship's bell...something pretty big...12" or more.
• A wooden barrel or wooden kegs.

You may wish to return to the VLO Home Page.