Under God’s Sea Auditions
March 11th, 2010 | By Christy Shipe | Posted in About Us, Children, Children's Choir, Get Involved, Worship and Arts, YouthWe are getting excited about preparations for our new Children’s Choir musical Under God’s Sea in 3D scheduled for performance on Friday, May 14. Although there are no auditions needed to be a part of the choir, we will be holding auditions for speaking roles and solos Sunday, March 21 (12:30 – 1:30pm–after Worship Service in the quad room) and Wednesday, March 24 (6:30 – 7:00pm / 8:00 – 8:30pm–before and after choir rehearsal). Auditions will be videotaped and evaluated by a panel of judges. Results will be announced by Wednesday, March 31. Please continue reading for more important information regarding the musical and auditions.
About the Musical
This full-length musical play (about 50 minutes long) will be performed with full sets and costumes and will highlight the entire choir. No audition is necessary to be a part of this exciting performance. The entire choir will be singing nine fantastic, high-energy songs that speak God’s truth in a powerful way.
The musical centers on five students of the Alleluia Aquatic Academy who are completing their final exam by diving under the sea in a supersonic submarine to explore God’s creation. Along the way, they learn important spiritual lessons, including God’s forgiveness for sin and offer of salvation.
The spiritual truths taught in this musical can best be explained by Celeste Clydesdale, composer of Under God’s Sea in 3D: “The idea for this musical came from several verses in Scripture about asking the Lord to open the eyes of our heart. (Eph. 1:18, Psalm 119:18, 2 Cor. 4:18) Once we become a new creation and the eyes of our hearts are opened, I wanted to teach that there are three ways the Lord reveals Himself to His children. First of all, creation itself communicates volumes to us. (Rom. 1:20) The song “Joyful Noise” teaches this truth. Another way God reveals Himself is through His word. (“Daily Diving Deeper” is the song that emphasizes this point.”) I want our children to know that when they open the Bible, God will speak and reveal Himself to them every time! Finally, I heard someone say once, “Show me your redeemed life and then I will want to meet your Lord the Redeemer.” There is nothing we can do to glorify Christ more than to let Him reign daily in our lives. “Call on Jesus” teaches this truth.”
Auditions
Auditions are only necessary for the 7 speaking roles (the five students on the sub plus two more on shore), the role of Jonah, and several solos that are available. The five students on the sub have speaking as well as singing parts in the show.
Speaking and Singing Roles
All students who try out for one of the following five roles must successfully demonstrate both acting skills and solo singing ability. The following descriptions give information on each character along with the material that should be prepared from the choir book for the audition.
Jonas P. Joppa (boy)
Bright but rebellious, Jonas is the captain of the God Squad; he secretly plans to break the rules and pursue his own adventurous pursuits. Prepare page 25, 70, and 98-99 for acting audition; Solos 1, 2 and 3 from “The Test” on pages 27-28 and solo on pages 104-105 from “Call on Jesus” for singing audition.
TJ Fretmeister (boy)
Loyal, always anxious, TJ mans the underwater video camera and finds himself drawn into Jonas’ secret plans. Prepare page 25 and 87 for acting audition; Solos 1, 2 and 3 from “The Test” on pages 27-28 and solo on pages 101-102 from “Call on Jesus” for singing audition.
Casey Bickerman (girl)
The non-identical twin sister to Taylor, she shares her sister’s tendency toward argumentation; she is assigned to the sub’s periscope. Prepare pages 24-25 for acting audition; Solos 1, 2 and 3 from “The Test” on pages 27-28 and solo on pages 38-39 from “Open the Eyes of My Heart” for singing audition.
Taylor Bickerman (girl)
The non-identical twin sister to Casey, she naturally shares her sister’s quarreling nature; she is assigned to the sub’s sonar. Prepare pages 24-25 for acting audition; solo on page 39 from “Open the Eyes of My Heart” and solo on page 105 from “Call on Jesus” for singing audition.
Waldo Pointer (boy)
Often lost but possessing a true inner compass, Waldo ably mans the sub’s computer GPS radar. Prepare page 24 for acting audition and Solos 1, 2 and 3 from “The Test” on pages 27-28 for singing audition.
Speaking Roles
Amber (girl)
Successfully directs transmitter station one on shore. Prepare pages 26 and and 95 for audition.
Jordan (girl)
Successfully directs transmitter station two on shore. Prepare pages 26 and and 95 for audition.
Non-Speaking Acting Role with Solo
Jonah, in the song “A Whale of a Tale.” Prepare solo on pages 80-81 and be prepared to mime some of the story contained in the song.
Solos
“Open the Eyes of My Heart” – page 43, Solo 1, Solo 2, Solo 3
“Daily Diving Deeper” – page 59-60, Solo (may go to one person or be divided up among up to three people)
Non-Speaking Acting Roles – no audition needed
fish, jellyfish, coral, whale puppeteers
5 Responses to “Under God’s Sea Auditions”
By Kaye Bridges on Mar 22, 2010
Our children’s choir will be performing this play on May 2nd. Would love to hear about your ideas for props and costumes!
Kaye Bridges
First United Methodist Church in Cordele,Ga.
By Christy Shipe on Apr 19, 2010
I will try to post pictures of our production. Word has an instructional video available on their website that has an entire production that has been videotaped that you can watch. The instructional video also has the choreography on it. I found it very helpful. You can also download the production notes from the Word website.
-Christy Shipe, BRBC Children’s Choir Director
By Christy Shipe on Apr 19, 2010
There are props ideas contained in the production notes on the Word website. That’s what we are using.
By Julie Koenemann on Apr 19, 2010
Grades K-4 of our school will perform this on May 20th. We just completed auditions and cast the roles. I bought the resources from Word, and downloaded the production notes. Most frustrating is having to type the songtexts — not on Songselect OR in the director resources! …or did I miss them somewhere?
By Christy Shipe on May 4, 2010
Julie, I bought the choral books for the entire choir. The script and music with lyrics are in the books. I didn’t look for just lyric sheets and wonder if it might be a copyright issue that they don’t just publish the lyrics. They might want you to buy the choral books.