I wish I could be there

I got an e-mail from the Buxton list telling me that not only has the lovely and talented Rebecca been cast as Phyllis, but VLOC's own Amy and Deb have snagged roles as Leila and Fleta. Hurray!

For the non-G&S portion of the readership, there is a large Gilbert & Sullivan Festival every year in Buxton, England which lasts about 3 weeks. (The festival, not England. There will always be an England.) Different G&S companies from all over Britain and other places bring productions to the festival and Savoynet, the international mailing list for G&S geeks, brings a show as well. Savoynet's show is cast by having the auditionees submit video tapes to one person in their country, that person dubs them for the directors, the directors watch them and e-mail back and forth (the directors are usually in different countries as they are casting – this year’s director, Diana, lives in Australia), and eventually a cast is selected, the lucky winners are notified by e-mail, they accept by e-mail, the "we were so lucky, we wish we had parts for all of you" and the "thank you for your interest in" folks are notified - also by e-mail.

Everyone arrives in England a week before the show - completely off book for all music and dialogue - and the show is rehearsed and polished over 5 or 6 all-day rehearsals. Sets and costumes are rented locally. There's one performance in front of the most knowledgeable and nit-picky G&S audience in the world, it's adjudicated, and awards are given at the end of the Festival. For those people who thrive on detail and organization and not wasting a lot of time, it's heaven. For those who enjoy a leisurely process and need time and reflection, it’s hell on earth. I’ve seen tapes of some of the Savoynet shows and they stand up quite well.

I’ve never been to Buxton, so I’m completely jealous.

Congrats you guys! Way to go!