Lamplighters Master Classes set for June

June 1 - Jane Erwin Hammett
June 8 - Baker Peeples
June 15 - Shelley Lynn Johnson

Each Master Class starts at 3 PM, last 2-1/2 to 3 hours
and will be held at our rehearsal space at 469 Bryant Street in San Francisco.

Cost per student: $45 for one class, $80 for two classes, $100 for all three classes.
Cost per auditor: $30 for one class, $50 for two classes, $70 for all three classes.

Reserve your space at masterclass@lamplighters.org or call 415-227-4797 with payment

June 1 - Jane Erwin Hammett: The Song is You

Express your deepest truth with authenticity and ease

An audience can only know a character through his or her vulnerability. No amount of technical mastery can take the place of an honest revealing of fragility, or in Shakespeare’s words, man’s “glassy essence.” It is only through the performer’s own vulnerability that something transformative can occur in the theatre.

In preparation or performance of a song, the singer can get lost in the wake of musical and vocal considerations, dramatic interpretation and assessment. The focus of this class will be to open the door to creative expression freed from the limiting construct of “getting things right.”

A blending of traditional master class format with innovative somatic and energetic modalities, this class will give singers tools to address self-criticism, release fears, and go deeper into the truth of a song. By understanding and trusting the entire body as their instrument, students will learn to connect with their own creative impulses, tap into a deep well of expression, and offer their listeners an enriching experience.

Singers should come prepared to sing a song to which they have a sincere emotional connection. Clever and/or intellectual songs are not good choices. Music must be memorized and sheet music provided to the pianist in the desired key.

Jane Erwin Hammett draws from over 30 years in professional theatre as singer, actor and director to help performers communicate effectively with ease and joy. Currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Integrative Health Studies with Sound Healing Focus at The California Institute of Integral Studies, she combines her background as an award-winning artist with a healing mission to transform the world through resonance.

June 8 - Baker Peeples: Your Song from the Page to the Stage

Learn how to deliver your best vocal interpretation

The composer of a piece of musical theater is the ultimate stage director. With the musical setting of the text, the composer tells you where the high points are; where the emphasis, tension and relaxation are; and with melody, rhythm and harmony, establishes mood and meaning.

Our job as performers is to study the score, interpret what the composer has put on the page, and then to build our performance on that foundation, turning what is on paper into sound.

Baker Peeples draws on over four decades of experience as an award winning stage performer, singer, pianist, conductor, and teacher to elicit the best from singers. Bring a couple of songs or arias from opera, operetta or musical comedy (preferably one before 1975), or an art song or standard. Do you use the same vocal approach for all of these? What's the difference between the diction for an opera aria and for a Gershwin song? Baker will explore with you how you can use your voice – with attention to diction, dynamics and articulation – to arrive at your best vocal interpretation!

Bring two prepared, memorized songs or arias, with a copy of the accompaniment in your key. If pieces are in a language other than English, please bring a word-for-word translation.

June 15 - Shelley Lynn Johnson: Opera / Musical Theatre Audition Master Class

Auditions are the Job Interview of the entertainment profession

Make that 16 bars really work for you: Ace your next job interview! Singers, learn the tools to use this process as a showcase for what you do best.

The audition process is covered in detail:

• General vs Targeted auditions: know the difference
• How to choose an audition piece
• How to edit songs
• How to effectively work with an audition accompanist
• Audition etiquette
• Callbacks
• How to view the process from a director & conductor's perspective
• Monologues

Singers will perform prepared pieces and receive individual coaching. With the support of colleagues as audience, each singer will benefit from the impact of how simple adjustments have an immediate effect on his or her audience.

Class requirement is two prepared & memorized songs, with a copy of the accompaniment in your key.

This master class will polish your audition skills in a workshop setting.

Meet our new Artistic Director - Rick Williams

We are very pleased to announce the appointment of Rick Williams as our new Artistic Director. A member of the Lamplighters company for 35 years, Rick begins his tenure on March 1, 2013.

Rick expressed his feelings upon being appointed to this position: “It is a profound honor—and deeply humbling—to accept appointment by the Board as Artistic Director of this great Company we all love so deeply. Thanks to the dedicated and tireless leadership of our retiring Artistic Director Barbara Heroux, the Company is now in great shape. It's going to be a challenge to fill her shoes. My goal is to reach the Lamplighters' 75th Anniversary in even stronger shape than we are now.”

In his 35 years with the Lamplighters, Rick has performed every G&S patter baritone role, often multiple times. He won a Bay Area Critics Circle Award in 1986 for his Ko-Ko (The Mikado) and appeared as King Gama in our 1995 award-winning Princess Ida in England. He performed Higgins (twice) in My Fair Lady and was Fredrik in A Little Night Music, for each of which he was nominated for Critics Circle Awards. Other roles with the Lamplighters include Dick Deadeye (H.M.S. Pinafore), both Baron Zeta and Njegus (The Merry Widow), Pangloss (Candide), Captain Andy (Show Boat), Frosch (Die Fledermaus), Horace Vandergelder (Hello, Dolly!), Spettigue (Where's Charley?), Lutz and Toni (Student Prince) and George Grossmith (the first patterman) in Gilbert & Sullivan à la Carte. He stage directed our 2000 production of Cox & Box and is featured on our company CD.

Rick is the winner of three other Bay Area Circle Awards for Best Actor in a Musical, for the title role of Man of La Mancha (2003) and twice for John Adams in 1776 (2000 and 2006), all with the Willows Theatre, as well as the 2010 Arty Award for Best Lead Actor in a Drama (for Dodge in Buried Child, with Bay Area Stage). In addition, he has appeared as an actor and/or singer with Shotgun Players, Ross Valley Players, 42nd Street Moon, Willows Theater, West Bay Opera, Pocket Opera, Berkeley Contemporary Opera, Peninsula Civic Light Opera, Piedmont Light Opera Theater, Hayward Little Theater, Palo Alto Players, and as a featured performer in the Christmas Bracebridge Dinner at the Ahwahnee in Yosemite.

Roles include both Scrooge and Marley (A Christmas Carol), Ben Weatherstaff (The Secret Garden), Rev. Gardner (Mrs. Warren’s Profession), Alfieri (A View from the Bridge), Bauer (Pardon My English), Dickinson (1776), Og (Finian’s Rainbow), Mr. Lundy (Brigadoon), Magwitch (Great Expectations), Dr. Bartolo (Barber of Seville), the Sacristan (Tosca), Fagin (Oliver), and both the Baron and Madame Quimper-Keradec (Vie Parisienne). Rick is currently receiving rave reviews for his portrayal of King Gama in the Lamplighters’ award-winning production of Princess Ida.

Barbara steps down at the end of our 60th Anniversary Season. She has been a Lamplighters company member since 1974 with 13 of those years in a management role. Barbara will concentrate on her other positions as stage director for the Lamplighters and other companies around the Bay Area, and as Executive Director of Volti, a professional choir based in San Francisco. She states, “I’ll always be a Lamplighter – you don’t resign from your family! – but it’s time for somebody else to take the reins, somebody with the passion and energy to take this wonderful company to its 70th anniversary and beyond.” 

Oh, where shall we find another!

Barbara Heroux, our current Artistic Director has announced that she will be leaving the company next spring, at the end of our 60th Anniversary Season. She has been a Lamplighters company member since 1974 with 13 of those years in a management role. Barbara states, “I’ll always be a Lamplighter – you don’t resign from your family! – but it’s time for somebody else to take the reins, somebody with the passion and energy to take this wonderful company to its 70th anniversary and beyond.”

Barbara will concentrate on her other positions as Stage Director for the Lamplighters and other companies around the Bay Area, and as Executive Director of Volti, a professional choir based in San Francisco. Also a singer and actress, Barbara has received four Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle awards (one each as director and performer, two as playwright), as well as awards for Best Director and Best Production at the 1995 International Gilbert & Sullivan Festival in Buxton, England. She is a graduate of The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Board President Jim MacIlvaine, himself a Lamplighter company member since 1978 states, “On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I would like to thank Barbara for the enormous variety of work she has contributed over the years. With her spectacular creativity, devotion to the company and respect for our audiences, Barbara has propelled the Lamplighters to unprecedented stage presentations. I am pleased that she won’t be disappearing from the Lamplighter family but will continue to contribute as one of our stage directors.”

Ko-Ko's "little list" lyrics from our 2012 production of The Mikado

We've had many requests for a copy of these lyrics, so here they are! The first verse is the original by W.S. Gilbert. The rest is written by F. Lawrence Ewing, with help from Buck Greenwald, Chris Uzelac, and Jane Erwin Hammett.

As some day it may happen that a victim must be found
I’ve got a little list
I’ve got a little list
Of society offenders who might well be underground
And who never would be missed
Who never would be missed
There’s the pestilential nuisances who write for autographs
All people who have flabby hands and irritating laughs
All children who are up on dates and floor you with ‘em flat
All persons who in shaking hands shake hands with you like that
And all third persons who on spoiling tete-a-tetes insist
They’d none of ‘em be missed
They’d none of ‘em be missed

There's the senators and congressmen who send our boys to war
Perhaps they should enlist
I don't think they'll be missed
And the CEOs who cook the books behind the boardroom doors
They all should be dismissed
I've got 'em on the list
And those friends who only stop by when they want some food to eat
And of course there's Lady Gaga in her outfit made of meat
And those who hog the overhead compartment space on planes
All sanctimonious bicyclists who think they own the lanes
And that most annoying roadster, the texting motorist
On jail we should insist!
I've got him on the list

There're the battling campaign parties with their monied super pacs
They won't just coexist
I've got 'em on the list
And the healthcare mandate lawyers "is it commerce or a tax?"
Their arguments persist
I don't think they'll be missed
And that Cockney lizard mascot who does car insurance ads
All fans of Smart cars, biofuels, and other eco fads
The beauty pageant hopefuls who invariably make a gaffe
The omnipresent nobleman who never seems to laugh (indicates Pish-Tush)
Let's not forget Alaska and its lipstick twitterist
Yes, Palin's on the list
I'm sure she won't be missed

F. Lawrence Ewing as Ko-Ko, photo by Lucas Buxman

• Black = W.S. Gilbert
• Purple = F. Lawrence Ewing
• Blue = Chris Uzelac
• Green = Buck Greenwald
• Burgundy = F. Lawrence Ewing & Jane Erwin Hammett
• Red = Steven Ginzburg, with help from Christl Denecke and Allen & Shirley Ginzburg

The Third Annual Hidden Treasures - A Proven Delight!

On Sunday, May 22, friends and supporters of the Lamplighters gathered at the Montclair Women’s Cultural Arts Club to be indulged and entertained at Hidden Treasures – a special event that showcased the amazing diversity of our performers and raised funds for pressing artistic needs.

The afternoon began with a jolly “Tea-Cup Brindisi” from The Sorcerer. Among the 17 musical numbers was a generous sampling from Broadway and the great American songbook as well as arias and lieder. Gourmet dishes, served by company members, included petit sandwiches, savories, tartlets, scones and cookies. Tea and wine flowed freely.

Bidders at the auction eagerly competed for enticing adventures! 33 generous donors came forward to underwrite costumes and millinery for this summer’s H.M.S. Pinafore. They were richly rewarded with applause from the audience and even kisses from some of the performers!

In addition to raising spirits, Hidden Treasures raised nearly $16,000 for artist’s fees and the costume fund.The monies will be well spent. Thank you to all who participated!

Is Your Name Gilbert?

On May 29, 1911, William Schwenck Gilbert was giving swimming lessons to two young women in his lake at Grim’s Dyke, when one of the women thought she was getting out of her depth and called out for help. 74-year-old Gilbert dived in to help her, but died of heart failure in the middle of the lake.

To mark the centennial of this sad year, the Lamplighters are offering one complimentary ticket to any performance in 2011* to anyone named Gilbert. This can be your first name, your last name or your maiden name (sorry, no middle names). Just send us proof (copy of your photo ID, birth certificate, etc.) to P.O. Box 77367, San Francisco, CA 94107, specifying your preferred attendance date, and we will present you with one complimentary ticket to any 2011 Lamplighters performance*. If your name is Schwenck we will present you with TWO complimentary tickets!

* If your name is William - sorry, you will need to purchase your tickets!!
* This offer is subject to availability and not valid for any Sunday matinee performances.

Another Buxton Award for the Lamplighters

Logistics and finances have not permitted the Lamplighters to participate in the International Gilbert & Sullivan Festival in Buxton, England, since we swept away with top awards in almost every category for our 1995 production of Princess Ida. This year, however, the Festival presented new “Ko-Ko Awards” for groups unable to attend in person, and we are delighted to announce that Lamplighters Music Theatre’s 2010 production of Patience, directed by Jane Erwin Hammett, was the winner of the Ko-Ko Awards Most Entertaining Production category!

Gilbert & Sullivan themed ties, designed by the Lamplighters

Sadly, something you don't come by very often in this world is a Gilbert & Sullivan tie. For that reason alone it makes a unique gift for your favorite Savoyard but imagine having a whole collection! The Lamplighters are in the process of creating a full collection of fun ties depicting all 13 Savoy Operas, from Trial by Jury to The Grand Duke, and have 6 choices available now. Exclusive to and designed by the Lamplighters, these ties are 100% silk and cost only $25 each plus shipping. Choose between Patience, The Mikado, The Yeomen of the Guard, The Pirates of Penzance, H.M.S. Pinafore or Iolanthe for now. We'll have Trial by Jury and The Gondoliers designs available very soon. Email us at info@lamplighters.org or call us at 415-227-4797 to place an order while supplies last.

Lamplighters Opening the 2010 International Gilbert & Sullivan Festival in Gettysburg

The world-famous International Gilbert & Sullivan Festival sails into historic Gettysburg, PA this summer. Performers from across the USA will join artists from the United Kingdom for a week-long celebration of the comic operas and music of W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan in Gettysburg’s historic Majestic Theater. Tickets are now on sale for our June 20th performance of Gilbert & Sullivan: Straight Up With a Twist!, renamed The Gilbert & Sullivan Story for Festival purposes. Click here for more details and to buy tickets.

Winner of the 1998 Bay Area Theater Critics Circle Award for Best Original Musical, The Gilbert & Sullivan Story tells the fascinating story behind one of the greatest partnerships in theater history, told in their own words, with musical highlights from all 13 of their comic operas. You'll meet Sir Arthur Sullivan (Jonathan Spencer) and W.S. Gilbert (Bruce Hoard), overhear their creative infighting, and enjoy a large selection of their songs and choruses sung by principal Lamplighters performers - beauties from less-frequently staged productions as well as familiar hits. Longtime fans will learn something new, and it's a great way to introduce new friends to the world of Gilbert & Sullivan!

download a Lamplighters patron booking form (10% discount)

download a complete program of G&S performances and events

As some day it may happen that a winner must be found

Our competition to rewrite the little list was so popular, and had so many great entries, that we decided to take some of the best lines from five different submissions and meld them together. This daunting task was done with great success (and typical flair) by our Artistic Director, Barbara Heroux. We think you'll agree that she did an amazing job. Congratulations to the competition winners: Steven Ginzburg, Carolyn Meek, Edward Proffitt, Emily Gladstone Cole, and Curt Gowan. Their submissions are coded by color, scroll down for the color key.

SONG: AS SOME DAY IT MAY HAPPEN

KO-KO with CHORUS OF MEN

As some day it may happen that a victim must be found,
I've got a little list--I've got a little list
Of modern-day monstrosities on whom I've fiercely frowned,
And who never would be missed--who never would be missed!
There's the pestilential nuisances who wait for autographs
From idiot "celebrities" with self-important staffs—
Then health insurance comp'nies, that keep jacking up their fees,
And all the bailed-out bankers, who make sky-high salaries,
And every swine-flu-hyping epidemiologist,
They'd none of 'em be missed – they’d none of ‘em be missed!

CHORUS.
He's got 'em on the list--he's got 'em on the list;
And they'll none of 'em be missed—
they'll none of'em be missed.

There's the kids who dress in baggy pants with butt-cracks full in view; 
And the fundamentalist  -- I’ve got him on the list --
And rappers who just mix up words into a tasteless stew;
They never would be missed--they never would be missed!
Then the politician venal who proclaims his moral pride--
While all of us are sure he's getting plenty on the side!
And the athlete who sets records while he's juiced up to his ears,
And when he's caught he 'fesses up behind a veil of tears--
"My pharmacist betrayed me!" most sincerely he'll insist--
I don't think he'll be missed--I'm sure he'll not be missed!

CHORUS.
He's got 'em on the list--he's got 'em on the list;
And they'll none of 'em be missed—
they'll none of'em be missed.

Then the senators who’ve barely skimmed the bills they voted for, 
"Enough to get the gist!"  I've got them on the list. 
Toyota said the accidents were flukes and nothing more,
"No real faults exist!"  I parked them on the list.
Then the Savoyard enthusiast, whose purity's well known,
Who hears all "lesser" artists' songs and gives a mournful moan;
And linguistic mutilators who abuse their mother tongue--
For iterating "nucular" they really should be hung!
And the Championship golfing pro, who can't turn down a tryst,
Yes, Tiger's on the list, I'm sure he won't be missed!

CHORUS.
You may put 'em on the list—
you may put 'em on the list
And they'll none of 'em be missed— they'll none of 'em be missed!

ENCORE VERSE:
There’s Olympic commentators, who know nothing much of sports,
I’ve got ‘em on the list, I’ve got ‘em on the list,
And passengers on airlines who set fire to their shorts,
They never would be missed, they never would be missed.  
Then the despot from Iran, who claims that nukes are not his aim,
"I'm just enriching isotopes for science" is his claim,
And gub'natorial hopefuls, with obnoxious TV ads,
All fans of Smart Cars, bio-fuels, and other eco-fads,
And that singular anomaly, the vapid twitterist--
I don't think she'd be missed--I'm sure she'd not he missed!

CHORUS.   You may put 'em on the list—
you may put 'em on the list;
And they'll none of 'em be missed—
they'll none of 'em be missed!

• Black = W.S. Gilbert
• Orange = Carolyn Meek
• Purple = Emily Gladstone Cole
• Blue = Steven Ginzburg, with help from Christl Denecke and Allen & Shirley Ginzburg
• Green = Edward Proffitt
• Burgundy = Curt Gowan