Learn About and Sing
Gilbert & Sullivan’s H.M.S. Pinafore
October 9 – 14, 2011
Celebrating a quarter-century of G&S at
Incarnation Center in scenic Ivoryton, CT
With facilitators Ralph MacPhail, Jr. and Deborah Lyon
Study the history and lore of this G&S favorite, write a parody of one of its most famous songs, and learn why H.M.S. Pinafore has delighted countless musical theatre-goers for a century and a quarter. Sing selections from this work and perform it in an informal setting.
Gilbert & Sullivan and H.M.S Pinafore
at Incarnation Center
October 9-14, 2011
| Date: | October 9, 2011 October 14, 2011 |
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| Time: | Sunday 2-4 PM Arrival Time
Friday 2PM Departure Time |
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| Price: | $585.00 Per Person |
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| Includes: | 5 Nights, 17 Meals, Snacks, Lodging,
5 days of classes, rehearsals
and one performance. |
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| Instructors: | Ralph MacPhail, Jr. Deborah Lyon |
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| Special Activities: | Evening Entertainment:
-Monday: TBD
-Tuesday: Silk 'n Sounds
- Wednesday: TBD
One afternoon, local trip, TBD |
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| For Program Information: | Amy Barrow, GSIvoryton@gmail.com |
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| For Lodging Information: | Peter Nygard, Conference Director |
Gilbert & Sullivan at Incarnation Center started over two decades ago as an Elderhostel program. In late 2009 the instructors and Incarnation Center decided to convert the program to an Incarnation Center conference in order to have more flexibility in programming and to make it more affordable to Savoyards who might like to spend a week in Connecticut studying and singing choruses (and for those that want to, solos) from the incomparable works of Gilbert & Sullivan. For a full history of the program, click HERE.
The programs are led by Ralph MacPhail, Jr. professor emeritus of theatre from Bridgewater College in Virginia, and Deborah Lyon, professional musician, educator, and accompanist. Deb and Rafe have over seventy-five years of combined experience in studying, directing, and teaching the Savoy operas, and have been working together at Incarnation Center for nearly sixteen years.
Incarnation Center has become an important part of their professional lives, and they treasure their friendships formed and the memories of hundreds of Savoyards, a number of whom return year after year, who have enrolled in their courses.
The following is an overview of this year’s course on H.M.S. Pinafore. Please write to Ralph MacPhail, Jr. (RafeMacPhail@Yahoo.com or c/o Box 114 Bridgewater College, Bridgewater VA 22812-1599), if you have questions on the course.
| DAY-BY-DAY SCHEDULE FOR 2011 |
| Week Days (General schedule; specifics are below): |
| Morning: | Breakfast: 8 AM
Class, Coffee Break,Rehearsal: 9 AM-12:15 PM |
| Afternoon: | Lunch: 12:30 PM
Rehearsal: 1:30–3 PM
G&S Video Matinees, Special Activity, Free Time: 3:15 PM |
| Evening: | Dinner: 6 PM
Special Entertainment or Activity: 7 or 7:30 PM |
| Day 1 (Sunday, October 9): |
| Afternoon: | 2-4 PM: Arrive and settle in
6 PM: Dinner in the Lodge |
| Evening: | 7:00 PM: Orientation in the Lodge.
Meet your instructors and each other. Informal visiting follows. |
| Day 2 (Monday, October 10): |
| Morning: | Classes will begin at 9:00 AM with an historical introduction to H.M.S. Pinafore, led by Ralph MacPhail, Jr., who will also hand out readings for later in the week to willing volunteers and encourage everyone to write a parody of a well-known song from H.M.S. Pinafore. A mid-morning coffee break follows, and then an organizational session for Thursday’s
concert, led by Deborah Lyon. |
| Afternoon: | Class will resume at 1:30 PM and finish at 3:00 PM. Work directly with musical director on chorus (and for those who want to, solo) selections from H.M.S. Pinafore with Deb. After 3:00 PM, enjoy our lake, nearby New England villages, museums, galleries, or one of the many G&S videos offered as an afternoon matinee, hosted by Rafe. |
| Evening: | Entertainment: TBD |
| Day 3 (Tuesday, October 11): |
| Morning: | Rafe’s class will begin at 9:00 AM and will focus on Act I of H.M.S. Pinafore, including a video. Mid-morning coffee break. Rehearse music from H.M.S. Pinafore and other operas with Deb. |
| Afternoon: | Class will resume at 1:30 PM and finish at 3:00 PM. Work directly with musical director on selections from H.M.S. Pinafore and other G&S selections for Thursday’s program. After 3:00 PM, enjoy a charter boat trip on the Connecticut River to Gillette Castle, or take in another G&S afternoon video matinee in the Lodge. |
| Evening: | “Silk ‘n’ Sounds” returns to Ivoryton for another wonderful concert of a couple dozen women’s voices singing popular songs in close harmony. They may even ask us to sing along! And some of our regular Savoyards sing in this award-winning ensemble. Whoever said that ladies aren’t welcome in barber shops! |
| Day 4 (Wednesday, October 12): |
| Morning: | Class will begin at 9:00 AM and will focus on Act II of H.M.S. Pinafore, including a video. Mid-morning coffee break. Rehearse music from H.M.S. Pinafore and other operas. |
| Afternoon: | Class will resume at 1:30 PM and finish at 3:00 PM. Work directly with musical director on selections from H.M.S. Pinafore and other G&S selections for Thursday’s program. After 3:00 PM, enjoy our lake, nearby New England villages, museums, galleries, or another G&S video delight offered as an afternoon matinee. |
| Evening: | Entertainment: TBD |
| Day 5 (Thursday, October 13): |
| Morning: | Class will begin at 9:00 AM and will focus on numbers from H.M.S. Pinafore cut or changed by Gilbert & Sullivan, and some video highlights of unusual productions. Mid-morning coffee break. Rehearse music from H.M.S. Pinafore and other operas. |
| Afternoon: | Class will resume at 1:30 PM and finish at 3:00 PM. Short final rehearsal with musical director on selections from H.M.S. Pinafore and other G&S selections for tonight’s program. After 3:00 PM, enjoy our lake, nearby New England villages, museums, galleries, or take in a final G&S video afternoon matinee—or take a nap! |
| Evening: | An informal performance of the week’s work is given before a small invited audience in the Lodge Lounge at 7:30 PM. (Tell your friends! Admission will be free.) The performance will be approximately 1 ½ hours long, including an intermission. A wine (and soda) and cheese party/reception and sing-along led by the incomparable Deborah Lyon and Martha Atkinson will follow. |
| Day 6 (Friday, October 14): |
| Morning: | A final session with Deb and Rafe. The Great Gilbert & Sullivan Song-Parody Contest. Shreds and patches, nonsense and airy persiflage about H.M.S. Pinafore and other matters of Savoyard interest. Final questions and answers. And we’ll talk about next year’s opera as we make plans to return to Incarnation center in 2012 for another week of delight. |
| Afternoon (after Lunch): | Farewell! “We leave you with feelings of pleasure!” |
A History of Gilbert & Sullivan at Ivoryton
by Betty Ewen
[Note: Our late friend Betty Ewen attended many G&S sessions in Ivoryton, and she wrote this history of Gilbert & Sullivan at Ivoryton at several years ago. Thank you, dear Betty. We miss your cheerful presence—and also your virtuoso rendering of The Nightmare Song! And we’ll always treasure our memories of you.—Rafe]
An ambitious Elderhostel program to present entire, costumed G&S operettas in two weeks began at the Episcopal Camp and Conference Center [as Incarnation Center was then known] in Ivoryton in 1987. Bob Cumming directed, Deborah Lyon commanded the keyboard, and Lucy Weed hovered in the wings.
H.M.S. Pinafore in ’87 and The Pirates of Penzance in ’88 were performed at the Chester Meeting House. The Mikado (in ’89) and Trial by Jury (in ’90) occupied the charming Ivoryton Playhouse—all two-week wonders.
But participants began to find the intense activity needed to mount an entire production in such a short time was a bit much—especially when The Mikado was done in continuous 90-degree weather. A change was needed.
One-week formats began in ’91 with excerpts from H.M.S. Pinafore plus individually chosen selections by desire, not necessarily ability. The performance was held in the newly built cavernous barn built on the camp grounds. The barn was anointed on opening night by a thunderous storm pounding buckets on the tin roof (naturally amplified, no leaks).
The casting for H.M.S. Pinafore (’92) was so tight that a female was drafted to do Captain Corcoran. Bob was adept at using who was available.
The shortened format proved successful. Bob Cumming’s sessions in ’93 and ’94 emphasized Sullivan’s music without Gilbert—his sacred and secular songs, oratorios, operas, etc.
Enrollment took an upturn and was heightened by some experienced aficionados who inspired all to greater things. Performances shifted to the Chapel. We even had the premiere of an original one-act parody, The Curse of Confucius (using Sullivan’s music) written by Doris Asmundsson, a regular at G&S at Incarnation Center, until a few years ago, since the program’s inception.
But,
Time itself shall fade
And may do his duty
For nothing stays the same
And change comes truly.
In 1996, Bob Cumming found that pressing responsibilities needed his energies elsewhere. So Ralph MacPhail, of Bridgewater, Virginia, fame, is now, with Deb Lyon, carrying the G&S banner so ably hoisted and carried by the Cumming and Lyon team since 1997.
Deb continues leading devotees and neophytes through a musical delirium of delights, along with Rafe’s seemingly endless supply of “Geeandessoterica” and precious nonsense.
All in all, nothing could possibly be more satisfactory!
