How to put on your own panto …. have you considered this?

Christmas cross-dressing and a dancing horse signal the start of the uniquely British tradition of the Pantomime Season. Bringing festive cheer to whole families, these magical adventures are often the first taste of theatre that children get. My kids went for the first time this year they are 4 and 7. Oh they adored it…as did i!

Susie McKenna, Creative Director of the Hackney Empire who are doing Cinderella this year, explains: “Pantomime is an important cultural step for children as it can be the only experience of theatre that they get until adulthood. Getting it right can mean a wonderful experience that lasts them a lifetime. We find the audience participation is crucial as it really engages the children and encourages their imagination.” It was lovely to hear my kids shouting out and joining in.

 

Photo credit : Roogi

But the economic squeeze may make a family trip to the pantomime beyond the reach of some. It costy me £80 for our 4 tickets…a fortune!  Lucy Quick, Principal of Perform Drama School says: “With many of us tightening our ‘Christmas belts’, some may find it too expensive to take the family to a traditional panto this year.

So we at                  * Perform have put together some top tips for creating the perfect panto at home.” Maybe you would like to give these a go with your kids?.

 

 

How to put on your own panto and save £80

• · Choose a favourite fairy tale that everyone knows – Cinderella is a nice easy classic I  also love Sleeping Beauty
• · Give out parts right at the start. You’ll probably need a Principal Boy (often played by a girl), the beautiful princess he falls in love with, a Dame (usually played by a man), the Fairy Godmother and an Evil Queen or Baron.
• · Make sure the evil panto characters enter from the left (from the right of the audience), and goodies from the other side. This comes from a Commedia dell’ Arte tradition which always placed the entrances to heaven and hell on these respective sides of the stage.
• · Encourage audience participation in the form of shouting familiar panto lines – “He’s behind you!” and “Oh, yes it is!” and “Oh, no it isn’t!” The audience is always encouraged to “boo” the villain and “awwwww” the poor victims
• · Add some popular songs and dances, including solos for the lead characters
• · Incorporate slapstick comedy including messy substances if you don’t mind a bit of clearing up. Otherwise, try the bucket of ‘water’ at the audience that is actually full of streamers
• · Costumes should be as colourful as possible especially the Dame’s outlandish outfit
• · Always end with a wedding followed by a finale at the end where all the characters come onto the stage and bow
• Whatever you do have fun!  Oh and do let me know if you save yourselves £80 and give it a go!

I have written about how to help your children put on a Christmas show or pantomime on my Chad Valley play blog Endless Play do come and take a look!

 

 

 

*Perform use a unique mix of drama, dance and singing specially formulated to bring out every child’s true potential. How to put on your own panto is easy when your kids are confident. Classes are kept small to ensure lots of individual attention from their experienced teachers – hand-picked for their warmth, energy and professionalism. Perform focus on your child’s enthusiasm and engagement in the activities rather than their precision and will support them every step of the way to guide, inspire and encourage. Perform is constantly growing with nearly 200 venues which encompass Perform for 4-8s, Mini Ps for 3 month – 3 year olds and Perform Plus for 8-12s as well as Perform Parties, holiday Experience courses and a thriving programme of workshops in primary schools – Perform4Schools

 

If you enhjoyed this post on how to put on your own panto you can  see more of my thrifty Christmas tips here