Category Archives: Society life

Editorial

Posted in Society life, The Gilbert & Sullivan society by

Charlotte HallCharlotte Hall, President

Welcome, all of our pirates, fair maidens, and major generals! On behalf of the committee, I would like to thank you so much for joining us for our performance of Gilbert and Sullivan’s Pirates of Penzance.
The Gilbert and Sullivan Society started its 42nd year with an uphill struggle, with a grand total of five members. Now as anyone who is familiar with Gilbert and Sullivan’s elaborate plots and extensive choruses will know, five people with the best will in the world does not a G&S show make. So after the emails, the shout-outs and the tears, we had ourselves a fantastic new intake of singers, a musical director, director and a show!
This is our first time at Round Hill, and we’re thrilled to be here, in a new, exciting space. Our creative team this year have been fantastically dedicated, enthusiastic and encouraging, and I’d like to thank our wonderful director Alex and musical director Tim, on behalf of all the cast. Thank you to everyone who has contributed towards this show. We hope you enjoy the show!

 

Alex GrosseAlex Grosse, Director

Dear friends and family, dear audience, With Pirates of Penzance I attempt my directing debut and I think I couldn’t have chosen better. The pace of the story and the wit of the characters would stand on their own and would make for wonderful entertainment without adding a lot.
However, with as great a cast as I could work we were able to add our own little touches here and there and thus, hopefully, enhance the enjoyment for our audience. The process was not always easy, though. We started out with as little as ten people and no musical director. And this for a show with three individual choruses next to the principal roles. It borders a wonder that week by week more people joined building a full blown cast who does this wonderful show its favour. Everybody worked very hard and it is a pleasure for all of us to present to you the fruit of our labour in one short but intense week. Thank you very much for joining us on this more-ridiculous-
than-not journey back to Victorian ages.

 

Timothy Cowell SelmanTimothy Cowell Selman, Musical Director

Timothy Cowell Selman is a current undergraduate student at the University of Nottingham, reading music. Primarily a pianist and avid composer, conducting and directing is the aspect of music which he wants to do the most. He cur-
rently sings in the choir of St Peter’s Church, Nottingham and has played percussion in the Nottingham Symphony
Orchestra. His other activities include playing the clarinet, playing percussion and timpani in various orchestras both inside and outside the university, and playing the drums in various musical settings ranging from jazz to alternative genres.

“The Gilbert and Sullivan Society position of Musical Director really was a blessing in disguise, as they needed a Musical Director, and so I took up the offer without really knowing what it entailed. Having worked the cast and chorus very hard, I don’t think they really knew what having me as Musical Director entailed either! Either way, I am proud to present what now is an excellent company is working in perfect (and sometimes not so perfect) harmony with me as Musical Director and Conductor of this year’s production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s Pirates of Penzance!”

During the shows…

Posted in Society life, The Gilbert & Sullivan society, The Pirates of Penzance 2015 by

We really enjoyed to perform these shows and here are some… proofs! 😉

 

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We also have some audio-video proofs on our vine account, as you can see below!




Of course, after working so long and so hard on a work as the Pirates, our minds are full of recurrent musics and musical phrases… here are some of them:








Our Cast

Posted in Society life, The Gilbert & Sullivan society, The Pirates of Penzance 2015 by

You will see them this evening and until Saturday evening, our great cast this year is composed by:

 

Frea WaningeFREDERICA

Frea Waninge
Frea, a final year PhD student in linguistics originally from the Netherlands, still considers joining this merry band of pirates one of the best decisions of her stay in the UK. She was thrilled last year to sing the contralto part in her first ever G&S production, and because she’d been going on forever about secretly being a tenor in disguise she was given an actual tenor part this year! Playing Frederica, an enthusiastic, somewhat gullible and slightly blunt pirate prentice has been an absolutely brilliant experience!

 

Charlotte HallMABEL

Charlotte Hall
Charlotte is a second year medical student who, originally from Leicestershire, was drawn into the Gilbert and Sullivan Society after being first introduced at school, in the same piratical fashion, but playing Edith! After an exciting production of the Mikado as Yum Yum last year, she has really enjoyed returning for seconds this year, taking on the role of Mabel: a fun, wonderfully melodramatic character who seemingly prefers singing arias to actually getting anything done

 

 

Adam Richard Francis-Xavier JaskoPIRATE KING

Adam Richard Francis-Xavier Jasko
When I was but a lad, I was invited to a fancy dress party. I couldn’t decide on a costume so my father gave me a coat, stuck a tricorn on my head and a sheath knife at my side. That day was born a love of pirates that has only grown with time. Naturally, when I saw a stall at the Fresher’s Fair with Charlotte dressed as a pirate behind it I had to enquire further. Though I knew little of Gilbert and Sullivan, I had sung with barbershop quartet and he uni-choir so I thought I’d try it out. I’m so glad I did.

 

 

Raphaël VeltMAJOR GENERAL STANLEY

Raphaël Velt
Raphael first heard of Gilbert and Sullivan after moving across the Channel to start his PhD in Computer Science almost two years ago. He came to the society to improve his English whilst having fun, so he had a penalty fiftyfold with a song-long tongue twister in his first role last year as the Mikado. This year he shall sing even more words in a super fast manner as our beloved Modern Major General!

 

 

Makenzi CrouchRUTH

Makenzi Crouch
Makenzi is a phD student in the School of English, studying Shakespeare and the internetz. Originally from America, she’s been in the UK for the last five years. Her first G&S play was last year’s Mikado, in which she played the lovely and innocent Pitti-Sing. This year she intends to make use of her lower singing range and takes the stage as Ruth, piratical maid of ALL notes!

 

 

Matthew HammondsSERGEANT OF POLICE

Matthew Hammonds
Matthew is studying for a Masters Degree in History. He has long had an interest in Gilbert and Sullivan (Pirates of Penzance in particular) and joined the society straight away upon arrival at the University. He has taken part in various choral and theatrical productions, including a performance of Mozart’s Requiem at Chichester Cathedral, and appeared in Henry V at the Theatre Royal Winchester. He currently sings in the choir of St Giles Church, West Bridgford.

 

 

Vicky FendtEDITH

Vicky Fendt
Vicky is a first year business and Chinese student who was drawn to the Gilbert and Sullivan society by the promise of danger and adventure in ‘The Pirates of Penzance’. What she got was a group of crazy pirates, scared policemen and ‘ladylike’ girls—in short: good friends, a lot of fun and an amazing experience!#

 

 

Ruby HawleyKATE

Ruby Hawley
Ruby is a first year English student who was dragged to her first G&S session by a friend, but had so much fun with these lovely people that she’s now here to stay. Her performing experience includes 14 years of youth theatre with Warwickshire County Music. Having previously mainly played villains, she’s enjoyed being Kate as it couldn’t be more of a contrast!

 

 

Jon SaltSAMUEL (vocal)

Jon Salt
Having just been freed from his own indentures, Jon was recruited by a certain Pirate King, and has since been regularly apprenticed to his band. In between acts of theft and pillage, and numerous hairfluffles, he is studying medical physiology and therapeutics and plays quidditch with a smattering of elemental strategy. He is ever waiting a first-rate opportunity o incorporate various obscure musical instruments into the production: oh joy, oh rapture!

 

 

Emory CunningtonSAMUEL (acting)

Emory Cunnington
Emory is a first year zoology student, who has always loves singing and silliness alike. She was inspired to join G&S by her parents (both former members) and has found it a great deal of fun! Emory was part of an amateur dramatics company for ~5 years, and also performed in the (famous) York mystery plays in 2012.

 

 

Anja WiechmannISABEL

Anja Wiechmann
Anja is a final year PhD student of Molecular Microbiology. While writing her thesis she decided to take part in G&S to find a good balance between work and her free time. She has not been involved in any theatre/ musical society before but enjoys singing and acting so much that she’ll be continuing it wherever she ends up.

 

 

 

 

Luke AndréChorus: Luke André

He is doing English with Creative Writing at Nottingham Trent and is in his last year. He was an actor in cr0n, as part of game city Nottingham, which was an interactive reality theatre spy game experience for the public (over a week) and now the game continues online. He is enjoying the pirates of penance with all his heart.

 

 

Natalie Alice BarratChorus: Natalie Alice Barrat

Natalie is in the second year of her PhD in Molecular Microbiology. She is new to the world of Gilbert and Sullivan, but was previously a member of youth theatre groups run through Derby City Council Youth Service. She decided to join the University’s society as a way of challenging herself to try something different and make new friends.

 

 

Hélène VeltChorus: Hélène Velt

Pirates of Penzance offers a variety of characters that were too tempting to discover by singing and dancing so here am I! Like Wally, you’ll find me in different situations, among our great sing leaders and marvelous chorus! Hope you will enjoy the show as much we do!

 

 

Ossian HuskinsonChorus: Ossian Huskinson

Ossian is a second year student studying Music, and if he’s not singing or rehearsing, he’s probably sleeping! Tonight he enjoys his first foray into the zany world of Gilbert and Sullivan, and looks forward to working again with the lovely people of the G&S society in the near future.

 

 

Noreen BoyleChorus: Noreen Boyle

Noreen is a PhD student desperately trying to escape the wrath of her bacteria by sneakily joining the stage production of Pirates of Penzance with the G&S society. Her dogs currently refuse to talk to her as they have still not been granted permission to play parts as Polly, the Pirates’ Parrot, yet she is determined to fight for her right to sing. without them present. She might however try to dress them up and sneak them into the performance…can you spot them?

 

 

Samuel Jacques FallowsChorus: Samuel Jacques Fallows (aka ‘Real Samuel’)

Sam is new to the Gilbert and Sullivan world and hopes to be a support to the society and the amazing actors and singers around him. He studied Creative and Professional Writing here at Nottingham and now works for a Christian group on campus called Student Life. He likes lots of attention but hopes it won’t all go to his head. He is just in the chorus after all!

 

 

Alex GrosseChorus: Alex Grosse

“Pirates of Penzance” is Alex’s second play with the Gilbert and Sullivan Society . The wit and fast pace as well as the ridiculous plot twists in both plays made him fall in love with the comedic duo to a state so he couldn’t say no to directing this years piratical show. Apart from that he enjoys pouring a bit of that pirate sherry while tarantaraing in marching pace over the stage with the rest of the chorus.

 

 

 

 

We don’t have their pictures but we have their names!! Here are our orchestra members!

Musical Director: Timothy Cowell Selman

Assistant Musical Director

Rebecca Temple

Violin:

Amanda Jenkins (leader)
Sienna-Rose Gray
Hendry Kong
Tan Jit Siang
Rebecca Temple

Viola:

Sam Cooper
Sarah Brialey

Cello:

Shannon Berridge
Stephanie Harris
Mark Armstrong

Flute:

Kate Gosschalk
Lucy Kerslake (picc)

Oboe:

Rebecca Noall

Clarinet:

Amy Hitchcock
Xianfeng Wu

French Horn:

Ella Jackson

Trumpet:

Oli Gordon

Trombone:

Gianluca de Bonis

Last rehearsals, here we go!!

Posted in Society life by

Here we are! Tonight is our first show, after one year of rehearsals, preparation, reflections, training and exercises!
We are so pleased to see you our work, for you, to share with you this play, the Pirates of Penzance, that is not only an old play but just fun!
These last days were made by rehearsals and place discovery but yesterday, it was also our dress rehearsal with full orchestra!! … WAW! If you’ll enjoy the play half we enjoyed to perform it, you will spend a really great evening!!

Last big day of rehearsals!

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This Saturday was the last rehearsal day: choreography, music and singing for the first time with the orchestra!!
What a day! So many emotions!
Thank you also to Tesco to welcomed us during our Flashmob this afternoon!!

 

Tesco mob
Tesco mob
Tesco mob
Semi sitzprobe
Semi sitzprobe
Semi sitzprobe

 Word of the day: Sitzprobe

“Sitzprobe is a German term used in opera and musical theatre to describe a seated rehearsal—the literal translation of Sitzprobe—where the singers sing with the orchestra, focusing attention on integrating the two groups. It is often the first rehearsal where the orchestra and singers rehearse together. The equivalent Italian term is prova all’italiana.”