Melusina the Panto

Auditions

The next Pirates show is going the be Melusina the Pantomime* to be performed at the Kinneksbond in Mamer on November 7^th to 10^th 2019. This is a musical comedy in the traditional British pantomime style, suitable for all the family with jokes for both adults and children, plenty of song and dance and a fairy-tale storyline that ends happily for all concerned. This time the story will be the Luxembourg legend of Melusina, with an original script by Rachel Parker (with help) and using familiar pop songs to make a truly entertaining show.  

The main characters are as follows:

Siggy

Lead hero. A noble count, brave with high morals. (The tradition in panto is for the hero role to be played by a woman. This tradition is sometimes ignored these days, and this part might be given to a man or a woman).

20s-40s

Melusina

Lead female. Magic lady who occasionally turns into a mermaid. Kind, lover of nature.

20s-40s

Josephine – The Dame

Comedy role, woman played by a man. An impoverished but opinionated lady.
30s+

Jempy

Josephine’s male counterpart - might be son or husband (will change script to fit actor). Comedy part needs to build audience rapport.

Actor anywhere from late teens to 60s.

Jean

Siggy’s friend and high-ranked servant. Clever and loyal.

Teens – 30s.

Marie-Christine

Jo’s daughter, lady-in-waiting to Melusina. Kind, sensible and smart, especially compared to Jo and Jenpy.

Teens - 30s.

Main Baddie

Unscrupulous thief. Might not be too bright but very ambitious

Male 20s – 50s

Girl Baddie

Sidekick to Main Baddie. Has an attitude but is surprisingly resourceful.

Female teens – 20s.

 Other Parts & Chorus:

·         Two people to be pantomime horse.

·         3 Witches

·         Villains from a gang of ‘nasties’

·         Jo’s female relatives

·         Water Sprites

·         Villagers

·         Featured dancers (we will cast a few dancers who do not need to sing if they prefer not)

·         There are some places for children (over 8 and under 14)  who will rehearse mainly at weekends until nearer the production. The children's auditions will take place on February 24th - probably at Schifflange but that is to be confirmed.

Also, please note that the gender of some principal roles is fluid. For example, “Big Baddie” could be female or male. Don’t let that put you off! If you feel you can be a scary , bad-ass “baddie …. Audition!!

*In this context, the word Pantomime does not mean "mime" as it does in most European languages, British Pantomime is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is still performed throughout the United Kingdom and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking countries, especially during the Christmas and New Year season. Modern pantomime includes songs, gags, slapstick comedy and dancing. It employs gender-crossing actors and combines topical humour with a story more or less based on a well-known fairy tale, fable or folk tale.^[2][3] It is a participatory form of theatre, in which the audience is expected to sing along with certain parts of the music and shout out phrases to the performers.

Pantomime has a long theatrical history in Western culture dating back to classical theatre. It developed partly from the 16th century commedia dell'arte tradition of Italy and other European and British stage traditions, such as 17th-century masques and music hall.^[2] An important part of the pantomime, until the late 19th century, was the harlequinade.^[4]