The Shearing Gang
Auditions postponed due to snow!
Auditions will now be
Monday 4th Feb 18:30
Who We Are Looking For…
This is very much an ensemble show. Each performer may be expected to play multiple roles and although the gang are young, not all parts will be exclusively so.
Music is a very strong element and all the cast will be expected to either be part of a chorus or take solo lines.
The production is intended to be physical with high energy with music to match, including percussion….. not always of a traditional type.
The dialogue is “naturalistic”, so about conversation, rather than long monologues…
Some small sections will be translated into Cornish. Coaching will be given to the small number of cast members required to speak in Cornish.
Featured Roles…
The three lead women who are on the moor in the 16th century, two or three are probably aged under 30.
Other women with them - age not material
Two men from the 16th century justices department – age not material
A narrator, for a number of extensive sequences – gender not material.
The County Show Announcer – strong and interesting speaking voice.
Smaller roles for those at modern locations, such as the County Show or a Takeaway.
A cast member with a moped, or able to legally ride one, is also sought!
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This will be a workshop audition so you will not need to prepare anything.
The Shearing Gang ~ Community Cast Performers
What The Show Is About…
Each summer a group of young people gather to work the summer. Never stationary, they work, travel and share life together. They could almost be a band. Always on the road, The Shearing Gang, brings together a disparate group of young people, some brought up on the land, others escaping the city.
Their journey takes them to Bodmin Moor, passing close to the ancient stone circles, Hurlers’ Stones. Four hundred years ago a different group of people were gathered on the same site, as the unmarried women were sent out from the community to tend to the livestock on the summer pastures. Mystically, the past and present become entwined.
What Will The Show Feel Like…
This is a brand-new play with lots of music and song. It will also be dependent on movement to make it very pacey and it will include some puppetry too. The show will be at three venues: Sterts, near Liskeard; Penlee Gardens in Penzance; and Trebah Gradens, near Falmouth; each outdoors with capacities of up to 400 seats. The performances are in the first three weeks of July 2019.
How Will It Work…
Each venue will feature a different performing company! The Shearing Gang will be made up of five professional actors and with a live band, they will perform at each venue. There will be around 15 other roles in the performance, drawn from the talented local communities, with a different company for each venue. They will rehearse separately from early 2019 and as the performances near, they will work with the gang to bring together a special show for each venue.
Who We Are…
The show is a collaboration between Sterts working with Dogwood Productions. The show is written by Graham Harvey, the man responsible for many of the memorable characters and storylines in BBC Radio 4’s The Archers, where he contributed over 600 episodes. His stage plays include No Finer Life, The Process, and The Darkness of the Sun, the story of writer Henry Williamson. His TV work includes The Bill and his journalism includes writing for The Sunday Times, Daily Mail, New Scientist, and Country Life, and for three years he wrote the Old Muckspreader column in Private Eye.
The music is composed by Alastair Collingwood, a composer for over 30 years and has written scores for numerous theatre shows, including Betty in London’s West End, directed by Kathy Burke. He also wrote the music for Cora with Dana Gillespie, which played the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith and toured the USA. His TV credits include the title music for French and Saunders (BBC1); the sitcoms, Mad About Alice (BBC 1) and Rhona (BBC 2); plus Vanessa’s Real Lives (ITV 1).
The direction team comprises Antony Bellekom and Phil Croft.
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This will be a workshop style audition so you will not have to prepare anything in advance.