Panto Running of Act 1

We have now started running the first Act of our pantomime to our course tutor, as well as other people who are helping with the panto. After each run-through of the script we would be given individual notes and feedback. Our first run-through obviously didn't go very well as it was the first time we had gone through it without stopping. But the more run-throughs we did, the better it got. There is still a lot of work to be done but I do feel that we as a company are improving.


On one of the run-throughs I struggled with some basic moves of the opening dance, Live While We're Young which I am now in. I'm not in the whole dance but I do appear at the end when myself and other chorus members have to run on stage and carry on the dance alongside the other chorus members. My first mistake was that I thought when we had to run on stage, we had to clap. I also was unsure about what hand to click with and what leg to go across with. I did go up to the choreographer at the end of that run-through and she told me what was what.

For one of the guard scenes which I am in, in Act 1 myself and another guard have thought of the idea of playing Rock-paper-scissors to see who ends up being the Emperor's 'chair'. Whoever loses has the horrible task of being sat on by the Emperor. We got feedback that it was a good idea but we need to make a bigger thing of it.

I do feel that I have improved with being animated and more panto-like in the villager scenes as now I am starting to relax a bit more and join in with the interaction with other characters. I do feel however that I need to still make some of my reactions a little bigger and to not be afraid of exaggerating on stage.

Now that we have been going through Act 1 a lot now, I am now feeling really confident about the first half now. Usually I would have a script backstage which I would look at to see when I am on stage next. But now that I'm more familiar with Act 1 I know exactly when to come on and off stage.