In the lead up to The Sage Gateshead’s production of West Side Story there will be a series of talks, discussions and films that explore the background and themes associated with West Side Story. Keep checking www.thesagegateshead.org/wss for more details but here are the highlights:
Tuesday 24 April, 7pm
Exploring Music: Shakespeare and Popular Music
Nearly 400 years after his death, the works of William Shakespeare continue to endure and influence musicians and artists of all styles. Influences can be heard in the popular music of the Beatles, Duke Ellington and Kaiser Chiefs. On the anniversary of Shakespeare’s birth, join Adam Hansen, lecturer in English at Northumbria University, as he explores the relationship between Shakespeare and popular music.
Tickets: £7
Sunday 20 May, 7.30pm
Music Theatre: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
Panel to include:
Lee Proud : West End choreographer
Danielle Tarento: Producer and casting director
Mark Shenton: Theatre critic
Ahead of the forthcoming production of West SideStory, join a panel of theatre professionals to discuss the past, present and future of music theatre, exploring what has led the genre to its current state and where its future lies.
Tickets: £10
Tuesday 22 May , 7pm
Exploring Music: The Great American Songbook
From the music of Broadway to the film scores of Hollywood, the Great American Songbook is the all-encompassing descriptor for 20th Century American popular song. Join Katherine Zeserson and James Birkett for a live musical journey through this much-loved repertoire.
Tickets: £7
Will Tuckett talks about West Side Story
North East Tickets On Sale
Tickets are now on sale for all three North East World Shakespeare Festival venues.
The Rest Is Silence, In A Pickle and Macbeth: Leïla and Ben - A Bloody History are playing at Northern Stage. Julius Caesar is is playing at Theatre Royal Newcastle. West Side Story is playing at The Sage Gateshead.
There is a discount if you book to see a World Shakespeare Festival production in each of the three venues.
World Shakespeare Festival Regional Festival Discount
A special Festival Discount is available for those who book to see a production at all three North East World Shakespeare Festival venues: The Sage Gateshead, Theatre Royal and Northern Stage.
Book to see three of the following productions (at least one from each venue) and receive 15% off the total cost of your tickets (20% off if you are a ‘Friend’ of Theatre Royal or a ‘Sage Supporter’). The Festival Discount is only available from 4th November until 31st December from Theatre Royal on 08448 11 21 21.
West Side Story tickets go on sale
Tickets for a newly choreographed, full scale production of West Side Story at The Sage Gateshead, featuring talent from across the region and beyond, have now gone on sale.
Produced by The Sage Gateshead in association with the Royal Shakespeare Company’s (RSC) Open Stages, the Bernstein classic musical will run from July 4 - 7 2012 as part of the World Shakespeare Festival. Open Stages is a ground-breaking initiative by the RSC, bringing amateur and professional actors closer together.
The cast will feature ambitious, talented young people and amateur theatre-makers recruited through open auditions alongside early stage professionals. Northern Sinfonia, orchestra of The Sage Gateshead, will be conducted by Gateshead-born and critically acclaimed conductor John Wilson. The production will be directed and choreographed by award-winning choreographer and dancer Will Tuckett.
Approximately 250 applicants were whittled down to 50 for the first round of regional auditions, which took place at Dance City on Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 October 2011, where students, amateur performers and semi-professionals gave their all for a chance to participate. A delighted Will Tuckett said the standard had been extremely high.
He added: “The cast will be drawn from performers who show outstanding talent. West Side Story is a technically demanding show, so we are looking for people of an exceptionally high standard. The talent we have already seen in the past few days has been extremely encouraging.”
A second round of auditions will take place in January 2012 and further information will be made available to interested performers next month. As with the first round, interested performers will be asked to submit their CV and covering letter in order to be considered for an audition.
To book tickets for West Side Story, please contact The Sage Gateshead Ticket Office on 0191 443 4661 or book online. Those interested in auditioning in January should look out for more details on The Sage Gateshead website in November or send a copy of their resume with a covering letter to wssauditions@thesagegateshead.org
West Side Story Auditions
West Side Story: Auditions
Monday 3 October, 9am
Venue: The Sage Gateshead
Tickets: Free
Your chance to be part of a world-class, musical theatre production.
The Sage Gateshead, in association with the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Open Stages, is presenting a stunning new, full-scale production of Bernstein’s West Side Story in July 2012.
Part of the World Shakespeare Festival, it will be directed and choreographed by Will Tuckett and feature Northern Sinfonia, orchestra of The Sage Gateshead, conducted by John Wilson.
The Sage are inviting young performers - professional, amateur or students - to be part of this spectacular opportunity. Are you:
• A performer aged between 16 and 30?
• Proficient in dance, theatre and vocal technique?
• Committed to musical theatre performance and developing your professionalism and skills?
• Available throughout May, June and the first week in July 2012?
• Available to audition from 3rd-8th October 2011?
If so, please send a copy of your resume to wssauditions@thesagegateshead.org with a covering letter explaining why you would like to be part of this unique, musical theatre performance.
The deadline for applications is midday on Friday 23 September.
John Wilson
Conductor and Musical Director
Shortlisted for last year’s prestigious Royal Philharmonic Society’s Conductor’s Award, John Wilson has established a unique reputation as a conductor, arranger and scholar, recognised internationally as an expert in the specialist fields of light music, jazz and music for screen. As a conductor John Wilson works on a regular basis with the Hallé, City of Birmingham Symphony, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Philharmonia, BBC Scottish and BBC Concert orchestras and has also conducted many other leading British orchestras including the London Symphony, Royal Philharmonic and the BBC Symphony, and worked in Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Iceland and Bulgaria. He was appointed Principal Conductor with Northern Sinfonia in December 2009. In 2007 he made his BBC Proms debut in the Royal Albert Hall, televised on BBC-2, and had a triumphant return to the Proms in 2009 conducting his own orchestra in a special programme celebrating 75 years of MGM musicals, televised live on BBC-2 and repeated on Boxing Day on BBC-4
Will Tuckett
Director and Choreographer
Will Tuckett is an award- winning choreographer, dancer and director of theatre, opera and film. Trained at the Royal Ballet School, he was a member of the Royal Ballet from 1990 – 2005 working as a choreographer and dancer. He is now a Principal Guest Artist. He has choreographed extensively for both the Royal Ballet and ROH2 and created more than twenty ballets for The Royal Ballet, Sadler’s Wells and Birmingham Royal Ballet.
His work has been seen throughout the UK, Europe, the USA, North America, Japan and China. He has made several of his own films for the BBC, Channel 4 and Sony working as both choreographer and director. His most recent collaboration has been with the animators, designers and feature directors the Brothers Quay, and their films have all been presented in major international film festivals including Cannes, Venice, Berlin, San Sebastian, New York and London. He devised the acclaimed major documentary series for Channel 4 Ballet Hoo: Ballet Changed my Life, involving a collaboration between the Birmingham Royal Ballet, Channel 4 and the charity Youth at Risk, taking Macmillan’s ballet version of Romeo and Juliet into the community.
-
Director and Choreographer
Will Tuckett
-
Conductor and Musical Director
John Wilson
