First person: 'Pirates of Penzance' shows the value of team work
By Lia Barnes | Staff writer
Augusta University Opera produced a show of Gilbert and Sullivan’s “The Pirates of Penzance,” under the direction of assistant music professor Courtney Kalbacker.
The large campus production of the comic opera on March 21-22 in the Maxwell Performing Arts Theatre required local and national help to make the play a fantastic experience.
Despite most of the AU student body being STEM students, Augusta University has a music program that has many well-rounded musicians. I have taken one of the elective music classes this semester, the AU Opera class.
As an ensemble member on stage, I started my practices at the beginning of this semester; however, the main cast had to start working on their parts, their lines and some of the blocking last fall semester. This proved very helpful because, at the beginning of the semester, AU closed several times due to storms and snow warnings.
Despite this, we were able to complete the blocking in the Rehearsal Room in the Fine Arts Center and get the dances together on schedule so we could start the polishing process. This included adding the University Singers to numbers and getting outfits together.
The University Singers, under the direction of assistant professor Marcel Ramalho, was a great addition to this production because it added a much larger sound to all of the musical numbers. There are almost 40 people in the University Singers alone, so their contribution with the production was much appreciated.
Kalbacker has said the finale of Act I was her favorite part of the entire show, so being able to add an explosive number of voices to that portion of the show was a great experience for everyone who had a part in the production and everyone in the audience.
The community members also really helped make the production a wonderful experience. Although all the main cast members were AU students, most of the ensemble cast members were played by community members and non-music majors and minors.
Most of the cast came from the August area with varying levels of music and acting experience. To name a couple, Heather Daugherty, who played a daughter, is a member of the Augusta Choral Society, and Karis Williams, who also played a daughter, helped a lot with the dancing portions and the blocking of the show because of her previous dance experience.
“What I love about opera is that it’s a team sport, and you can really see this in this production,” Kalbacker said.
I could not agree more.
Several moving parts were needed to make this production a success. The assistance on the AU Garage Makerspace was needed to 3D-print the batons the police men had, and Pat Curry, who played the governess and is also the owner of Buona Caffe, provided materials for the pirates.
Other major contributors to the production were the people who made the costumes. Most of the costumes were provided by a costume company in Florida called Costume World Theatrical. We had to have our measurements taken to make sure they were the right sizes, Kalbacker told them what was needed and what period the opera is in, and the costumes arrived two weeks before the show on March 21 and March 22.
The only missing piece was the robes for the pajamas the daughters and governess wore in Act II, so local costumer Mary Cleary, who is also a retired science teacher, made the robes for all nine ladies. Cleary and Kalbacker would not have been able to meet if not for the help of Cleary’s husband, Don Cleary, who has played with Wycliffe Gordon several times and taught at AU before.
Kalbacker had been planning this opera since 2020 while she was a professor at Towson University. However, it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 outbreak. After six years of waiting and years of replanning for the Augusta University stage in Maxwell Theatre, she was finally able to stage her favorite operetta with the help of many members of the Augusta community.
Being part of an opera production, especially one as large as “The Pirates of Penzance,” which was first produced in 1879, is a lot of work inside and outside of class time, but it is worth the experience and connections you make. The songs in the opera are quite catchy and there are lines int eh show that keep me laughing even after the show.
The turnout for the production was heartwarming for me as a cast member. There was a lot of love and admiration to receive on both days.
All proceeds of any music department sponsored concerts and events go straight towards music scholarships, including a scholarship you receive just for being part of the University Singers.
There is no need to be a music major or minor or have prior music experience to take the music classes. AU is encouraging people to join the ensembles through sponsoring scholarships for those who participate in a music department ensemble. For more information on how to join AU Opera, contact Kalbacker at ckalbacker@augusta.edu.
Note: At the top of the page, Dillon Deaguero (L) plays Frederic in Gilbert and Sullivan’s “The Pirates of Penzance,” with Emma Kelly (R) playing Mabel at the Maxwell Performing Arts Theatre. (photo by Lia Barnes/ the Bell Ringer)
Contact Lia Barnes at LIABARNES@augusta.edu.
The cast of “The Pirates of Penzance” takes a curtain call. Left to right on front row, Beatrice Jackson as Ruth, Dylan Deaguero as Frederic, Emma Kelly as Mabel, Olle Lindström as The Major General and Jamal Bogan as the Pirate King. (photo by Patricia Sikes/special to the Bell Ringer)
