We have just started Panto rehearsals again, people in the UK will know what that means, but some of my friends havent heard if it.
Pantomime has been a regular theatrical entertainment for many years. Sometimes it gets quite commercial and is sponsored by local shops or businesses but ours isnt. Which is good as It doesn’t affect the story.
Subjects include things like Jack and the Beanstalk, Cinderella, or in our case we are doing Robin Hood. So, then there is a lot of comedy, children telling jokes, people dressed as monsters or wolves or ghosts and chasing the cast about. There are pratfalls and custard pies, bad villains and silly goons.
Generally someone gets captured or kidnapped and has to be rescued, either on a magic carpet or using a magic lamp or some other magical trick. That’s what happens in the Second Act. We have to learn lots of songs, usually slightly rewritten to fit the story.
There are the usual things, “it’s behind you” when something or someone is creeping up on our hero /heroine. Or the “oh yes it is” “oh no it isnt” bit where the audience knows something and one of the principal cast is trying to tell them they are wrong.
We have a brilliant wardrobe mistress who kits us out in costumes. The picture above is one of the cast dressed as a pot bank. Our costumes are hard work for her, she and a small team make costumes for 30 to 40 adults and children.
There is also work making the sets and painting the scenery. It takes months to organise. Our show is usually on in January but that means rehearsing over Christmas week. So it has been decided to put it back till February 2019.
Maybe I will put some photos of it on here next year !
Mallaband-Brown 