Saltwater Inc.

Saltwater where imaginations soar

Saltwater Youth Education Programs
Music Theatre Summer Workshop
8 – 12 years of age
August 13 – 17, 2012
9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Instructors: Joanne Hounsell ( MMus) & Phoebe Rumsey ( MFA)

Come join Saltwater Professionals for a fun filled week of singing, dancing and acting. Students explore speech, improvisation, movement, singing and stage technique. Together we develop and build skills in the studio and the stage as budding young artists. All students will participate in a Music Theatre Showcase featuring scenes and choreographed excerpts from You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown and Broadway shows. Recreational activities included in the program.
Tuition: $275.00
Location: Dance Victoria Studios at 2750 Quadra St, Victoria BC
Contact: joanne@saltwaterinc.ca
Phone: (250) 888-4982 cell

Book Seussical Auditions
Casting Performers for Seussical the Musical: Adults, Teens and Children

SALTWATER CONTACT INFO: (250) 888-4982 or joanne@saltwaterinc.ca
Joanne Hounsell and Phoebe Rumsey, Artistic Team

AUDITIONS
SALTWATER PRODUCTIONS
LOCATION: DANCE VICTORIA STUDIO
111-2750 QUADRA STREET VICTORIA BC

FRIDAY, JUNE 1, 2012 7:00 – 10:00 pm in Studio 3

SATURDAY, JUNE 2, 2012 from 12:00 – 6:30 pm in Studio 3

SUNDAY, JUNE 3, 2012 from 10:00 – 11:00 am in Studio 3 and 11:00 am – 5:00 pm in Studio 2

Everybody Dance from 12 – 2 pm
12:00 – 12:45 ( 13 and under)
12:45 – 1:30 ( 14 and over)
1:30 – 1:45 Break
1:45 – 2:30 ( adult casting)

CALL BACKS from 3 – 5 pm

CASTING
Cast size: Medium (11-20), Flexible
Cast Type: Adults, Teens and Children in Cast, Ensemble Cast – Many featured roles, Ethnic Roles, Star Vehicle – Female, Star Vehicle – Male, Teenage Roles
Dance requirement: Standard (Musical Staging/Some Dance/Optional)
Casting notes: MALE Cat In The Hat (Standard)
FEMALE Cat In The Hat (Alternate)

Character Breakdown
ENSEMBLE CIRCUS PERFORMERS, WHOS, JUNGLE CITIZENS, etc….

GERTRUDE McFUZZ Very self-conscious and aware that her one-feather tail isn’t perfect. Gertrude changes during the show from a vain, neurotic, nervous and shy bird into one with the power to protect and care for a baby elephant bird and commit herself to Horton. In other words, she stops worrying about her looks and grows up doing what she wants. But Mayzie isn’t all bad. In giving up her egg to Horton once and for all, she has a moment of generosity–she realizes she isn’t the kind of person who’d be a good parent, and she does the best thing she can do for the egg.

HORTON THE ELEPHANT Gentle, rotund and appealing. Think of him as a big-hearted blue collar guy who is steadfast and responsible and always tries to do the right thing for his friends. He is imaginative and receptive to the world around him. He is very un-self-conscious. Horton’s view of the world never changes–he believes in its goodness. But by the end of the show, without even realizing it, he is ready to become a parent.

JOJO/THE BOY is a “Thinker”–a smart child with a wild imagination. He can be played as being a little bit awkward, a little bit of a loner, or simply a rambunctious kid whose ‘Thinks’ get him into constant trouble. By the end of the show, he learns what it means to be a responsible member of his world, using the power and possibilities of his own ‘Thinks.’

JUNGLE CREATURES They are real people at heart, just like us, even though they may be described as animal characters. We will create individual characters here. Think Imaginative. Be Wild. Be simple. Each performer will create a distinct human persona.

MAYZIE LA BIRD Self-centered, selfish and vain, Mayzie will never admit to her own flaws. She manipulates anyone she can (especially Horton) into doing what she wants. But Mayzie isn’t all bad. In giving up her egg to Horton once and for all, she has a moment of generosity–she realizes she isn’t the kind of person who’d be a good parent, and she does the best thing she can do for the egg.

MR. AND MRS. MAYOR are parents trying hard to raise a difficult child in a difficult world. They may get aggravated with Jojo, but they love him dearly and try to do the right thing, even if it turns out to be a mistake.

SOUR KANGAROO She isn’t really sour at all. She’s just got a lot of attitude. She’s loud, brassy and a lot of fun.

THE BIRD GIRLS They are like the popular girls in any school–a clique of pretty, self-centered “back up birds” who do whatever Mayzie does.

THE CAT IN THE HAT is the essence of mischief, fun and imagination. The Cat stirs things up, causes trouble, but always sets things right again, helping JoJo to discover the power of his imagination as they create the story for the show together. Looking for a physically adept actor (male or female) to play the Cat, one who will be able to play many comic cameos (Dr. Dake, helicopter reporter, TV interviewer, auctioneer, Mr. McGurkus, etc.) and is comfortable improvising with an audience.

THE WHOS They’re a lot like you and me only so small as to be invisible. Everyone playing a Who will be encouraged to try and create his or her own, unique character.

SYNOPSIS:
A strange and fantastic red-and-white striped top hat appears on an empty stage, full of possibilities. A Boy enters and is drawn toward the magical hat. The Cat in the Hat suddenly materializes! “You’ve got quite a mind for your age,” quips the Cat as he/she begins singing about the power of imagination (“Oh The Thinks You Can Think”). Throughout the song, famous characters are introduced who will figure in the musical: Horton the Elephant, Gertrude McFuzz–the bird with the one feather tail, the Whos of Whoville–including the Mayor and his Wife, Mayzie La Bird, the Sour Kangaroo and the Citizens of the Jungle of Nool. The Boy and the Cat use their imaginations to transport everyone to the Jungle of Nool as the adventures begin.

Horton is splashing in a pool when he hears a distant cry for help. (“Horton Hears A Who”). He follows the sound to a tiny spec of dust floating through the air, and realizes that there are people living here, so small they can’t be seen–the tiny citizens of Whoville. Horton vows to help them and places Whoville safely onto a soft clover, just as Sour Kangaroo and her baby arrive. The Sour Kangaroo thinks Horton is crazy for talking to a speck of dust and she and the rest of the Jungle Citizens mock him for his delusions. (“Biggest Blame Fool”). The rascally Wickersham Brothers–a cool group of bad-boy monkeys–join in the fun of teasing Horton. The Cat in the Hat weaves through the number, taking on the persona of a talk show host, who interviews everyone in the jungle, including Mayzie La Bird and her backup group of Bird Girls. The one person who stands up for Horton is his neighbor, Gertrude McFuzz, who is not noticed by anyone, most of all Horton.
As Horton is left alone with his inhabited clover, the Cat, who is always around, throws the Boy into the story as Jojo, son to the Mr. Mayor and Mrs. Mayor of Whoville. Horton discovers much more about the Whos and their tiny town of Whoville (“Here On Who”). Mr. and Mrs. Mayor are both very unhappy with JoJo because his “Thinks’ have gotten him into trouble at school. (“How to Raise A Child”) They tell him to take his bath and go to bed, but the Cat has another idea, (“Oh, The Thinks You Can Think – Reprise”) and Jojo’s imagination gets the better of him. His bathtub becomes McEligott’s Pool, full of fantastical fish (“It’s Possible”)! The fun is interrupted when Mr. and Mrs. Mayor rush in–JoJo has flooded the house with bathwater.
Horton sits alone, guarding the clover (“Alone In The Universe”). Horton and JoJo hear each other and become friends when they realize their imaginations are so much alike–”one true friend in the universe who believes in me.”
In another part of the jungle, Gertrude has just written her four hundred and thirty-seventh love song about Horton (“The One Feather Tail Of Miss Gertrude McFuzz”). She believes Horton doesn’t notice her because of her small and uninteresting tail. Mayzie appears with her Bird Girls, and offers advice (“Amayzing Mayzie”) which leads Gertrude to Doctor Dake (played by the Cat in the Hat) and his pills for ‘amayzing’ feathers. After taking too many pills, Gertrude is very happy as her tail begins to grow (“Amayzing Gertrude”).
The Wickersham Brothers are up to no good (“Monkey Around”) and decide to steal the clover with Whoville on it. They ambush Horton, grab the clover, and “Chasing The Whos” begins, as the monkeys tease Horton and he huffs and puffs after them all over the Jungle of Nool. The Cat in the Hat plays a helicopter newscaster, tracking the chase. The Wickershams eventually hand off the clover to “a black-bottomed eagle named Vlad Vladikoff” who flies off with the clover and drops it directly onto an enormous field of clover.
Horton begins looking for the Whos, clover by clover by clover. Gertrude has followed the chase and arrives with her new, incredibly long and unwieldy tail, determined to tell Horton how she truly feels (“Notice Me, Horton”). But Horton is oblivious, looking for the Whos. Gertrude leaves, rejected and sad.
Mayzie La Bird calls to Horton from her nest in a tree. She’s bored to death, (“How Lucky You Are – Reprise”) and convinces Horton to sit on the nest for her while she takes a brief vacation (“Horton Sits On The Egg”).
Seasons pass and Horton is still stuck sitting on the egg, the Whos are still lost in the clover and Gertrude still cannot get Horton to notice her and her new long tail. Hunters suddenly arrive and capture Horton and the egg, and take him away (“Egg, Nest and Tree”). After a long, arduous trip, Horton arrives in New York where he is auctioned off to the circus. The “Seusseby’s auctioneer” is played by the Cat, and allows the audience to bid on Horton.
The circus travels lands in Palm Beach, where we find Mayzie under a palm tree bemoaning the monotony of vacationing (“Mayzie In Palm Beach”). She decides she needs a change of scenery and heads to the circus, where she runs into Horton. He begs her to take back her egg, but Mayzie decides Horton would be a better parent for her egg than she could ever be (“Amayzing Horton”), so she gives him the egg for good, and leaves before he can say no. Horton accepts the responsibility of caring for the egg (“Alone In The Universe – Reprise”), even though he worries about JoJo and the Whos. He sings the egg a lullaby (“Solla Sollew”) that is echoed by JoJo and Mr. and Mrs. Mayor.
Gertrude finds Horton asleep in his cage. She has managed to get rid of her unwieldy tail, and has journeyed great distances and through much peril (“All For You”) to find and rescue him. At the end of her number, she mentions one more thing–she also has found the Whos’ clover! Horton finally notices that Gertrude is amazing.
But just as Horton finds the Whos again, the Sour Kangaroo and the Wickersham Brothers show up and make a citizens arrest. They take Horton back to the Jungle of Nool, where he is put on trial “for talking to a speck and sitting on an egg.” The trial begins (“The People Versus Horton The Elephant”) and Judge Yertle the Turtle sentences Horton to the Nool Asylum for the Criminally Insane. The speck of dust is ordered to be boiled in oil. Horton trumpets his protest, and tells the Whos they must yell to be heard. They have to prove they exist, and there’s no time to lose!
The Whos scream and make as much noise as they can, but still only Horton can hear them. Suddenly, Jojo comes up with a Think: a new word to shout that will be heard by everyone–YOPP! At the last minute, all the animals of Nool hear Jojo’s cry and Whoville is saved. Just then, the egg begins to crack–all gather around as the new baby emerges–and they are astonished to see that it’s…an Elephant Bird! Horton looks to Gertrude for help, realizing that she is his “one true friend in the universe,” and she agrees: “You teach him earth and I will teach him sky.”
As the show ends and all are united, the Cat hints that many more adventures are likely to occur “if you open your mind, oh, the thinks you will find” (“Oh, The Thinks You Can Think – Reprise”). All the characters vanish, leaving The Boy alone onstage with the red and white striped hat which embodies his imagination. As he puts it on, it falls over his eyes putting the stage into BLACKOUT!

Seussical the Musical coming to Victoria this Fall! 

Now one of the most performed shows in America, SEUSSICAL is a fantastical, magical, musical extravaganza! Tony winners Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty (LUCKY STIFF, MY FAVORITE YEAR, ONCE ON THIS ISLAND, and RAGTIME) have lovingly brought to life all of our favorite Dr. Seuss characters, including Horton the Elephant, Gertrude McFuzz, Amazing Mayzie and a little boy with a big imagination–Jojo. “Oh, the Thinks You Can Think” as the spirit of imagination transports the colorful characters from the Jungle of Nool to the Circus McGurkus to the invisible world of the Whos.

The story centers around Horton the Elephant, who finds himself faced with a double challenge–not only must he protect his tiny friend Jojo (and all the invisible Whos) from a world of naysayers and dangers, but he must guard an abandoned egg, left to his care by the irresponsible Mayzie La Bird. Although Horton faces ridicule, danger, kidnapping and a trial, the intrepid Gertrude McFuzz never loses faith in him, the only one who recognizes “his kind and his powerful heart.” Ultimately, the powers of friendship, loyalty, family and community are challenged and emerge triumphant, in a story that makes you laugh and cry.

Saltwater Inc is excited to bring this wonderful show to Victoriaaudiences. AUDITIONS FOR EQUITY, NON-EQUITY AND YOUNG PERFORMERS
IN MAY AND JUNE 2012. PREPARE A MONOLOGUE AND 2 SONGS FOR PANEL.
PERFORMANCES IN OCTOBER 2012.

Contact Joanne Hounsell to book an
audition at joanne@saltwaterinc.ca or (250) 888-4982

I'm heels over head in love with CRUSH

SEXY SAVVY and FUN ENTERTAINMENT

CRUSH at the touch of love everyone becomes a poet

Phoebe Rumsey, Choreographer has been working her magic in rehearsals with fellow dancers Stacy Sanderson and Leigh Machnee. Last week she happily announced that the choreography was complete! In watching preliminary rehearsals for CRUSH,  I observed Phoebe’s innate sense of style & comedic flair shining through in every dance number. I marvelled at how the dance choreography immediately brings character and text to life through dance. And the dance element integrated with committed text and powerful vocals transformed something ordinary into something extraordinary. At Saltwater, we aspire to bring the creative arts together and are always eager to integrate poetry, music and dance to embellish, extend and enlarge existing emotions. We are excited to collaborate on programs like CRUSH and share them with the arts community in Victoria.

Upcoming Saltwater Performance Event: Music, words and romance come together in CRUSH…At the Touch of Love Everyone Becomes a Poet….. Friday, March 2, 2012 at 8:00 pm Metro Studio 1411 Quadra Street, Victoria, B.C.

Missie Peters M-Award winning spoken word artist performs in Saltwater’s CRUSH: At the Touch of Love Everyone Becomes a Poet. She has a lot of experience with love-part of the occupational hazard of being a poet. Musical guests include Taylor Pardell, Soprano; Alan MacDonald, Baritone; Gordon Clements, Saxophone and Michael Drislane, Piano.

Cocktails 7:00 pm Show 8:00 pm Admission $30.00 with 20% discount for students and seniors

Tickets are available at the McPherson Box Office, charge by phone: 250-386-6121 or www.rmts.bc.ca www.saltwaterinc.ca

Contact: Joanne Hounsell (250) 888-4982 cell

“Saltwater is musically inspired and theatrically driven to engage the senses and the imaginations of everyone.”