perhaps it's the scotch and the goose that's rotting in my gut, but I had a fun idea for next year at Christmastide. How about all the aspiring actors here young and old alike putting on a PPRuNe panto possible as a fund raising event? Could be a fun occasion of cross dressing and cliché jokes. What's everyone's take on this? We could even do auditions as early as September!
Rupert the Thesbian
p.s. appologies if this is on an insuitable forum but i couldn't think of a better place for such a thread.
Location: Wherever my current employers wish to send me !!
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Being a former aspiring amateur thespian, a few years back, our local "am dram" group put on "BABES IN THE WOOD". I was cast as Robin Hood, and was given licence to play him any damned way I fancied....(The poor misguided fools !!) I thought..."Ok....lets play him as a repressed homosexual..."
..basing him on a couple of Stewards that I worked with, from LHR.... Maybe my research was a bit too realistic....I was actually propostioned by a male member of the audience after one performance... HO HUM...he's behind you....." I bloody well hope not !!!"
But Little Blue, that's against the point of a pantomime! The roles of characters like Robin Hood, Aladin or Dick Whittington should be played by gorgeous women in thigh high boots (slap me and call me a sexist) and rugged, middle aged men in drag should play their mothers.
If you guys are serious i think this could be great although logistically, probably a complete nightmare. I'm in London so rehearsals would have to be somewhere in the south east. I think it could probably done with some very thorough long distance line learning and just two weeks or so of solid stage rehearsal. But if enough of you are serious about wanting to do this, I can easily get hold of a panto script and will do my best to find a venue. If there's any interest bearing in mind the logistics, drop me a PM or better still, an email.
Nah, one sees oneself more as Captain Hook, only this time, no more Mr Nice Guy,one shall model ones part on the bards Richard the Third of course.
"Now is the winter of our discontent"
oops sorry, one gets carried away sometimes.
Just to bring the topic back to the top... Thinking about this, I actually quite like the idea. Any chance of having a sticky thread for a little while just to make people aware? My father, who's a theatrical type, has also agreed, should this panto happen, to write a few corny songs that intigrate PPRuNe and flying into the wonderful world of English theatre.
Rupert. A few ideas might help first. How many do you want in the panto? What one are you planning on basing it on? Do you bring your own costume etc, etc? A few more ideas here may well produce a better result, more details please.
Also consider asking PPRuNe pop if you can do it at the mega-bash next year at Gatwick. That will solve the problem of where it is going to be at and who pays for the hall and also the difficult part of sorting the date. If pop agrees then that will give the newly founded PPRuNe production company something to aim for..
Good luck.
(p.s. I can't wait for a certain aviator to see this.!!! )
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Private Flying Forum Moderator. paul@pprune.com
I've worked in stage and television production - did a full pantomime with Lenny Henry (Jack & the Beanstalk). Even when everybody had already learned all their lines (before we met) we rehearsed for six full weeks before going on with the show - and even then the first audience show was still another technical run through (we just couldn't get it down)....and that was a professional crew.
Phenomenally (sp?) expensive and a logistical nightmare for a crew from PPRuNe.
Ideally need a stage with a 'fly' tower and decent lighting and audio.
Rosters need to be sorted for next December - now - or you don't know who's available.
Would be great fun - and I've love to work on it - but really don't think it's going to fly. Apart from anything else, I'm not convinced that a "producer" and/or "director" is going to be listened to in the way that he/she needs to be to make the show work.
What do we wanna do?? AerBabes in the Wood? Danny and the Beanstalk?? Captain Sin-derella? Snowtam White?? Drapes and the Three Bears?? Dick Whittingham??
If it goes....can I be Baron Hardup. Owner of the Cockwell Inn. I'll organise the dance - as the Baron has the biggest balls in the land.
BRL, i think it could be a long night if it was integrated into the next mega bash and if we could get a west end theatre (god knows how) it would be wonderful... but down on paper for some very rough details. 1. I don't know what play it would be, it doesn't really matter though, they all end up essentially the same and we'll get the same jokes in 2. As for numbers a good ball park figure would be 2 lead roles, the dame, 4 supporting roles, 5 minor parts and then possibly make the numbers up to 20 or so with a chorus of between 5 and ten. Aside from that, as many stage hands as possible. 3. Re: Bringing own costumes - that would very much depend on whether we can get a budget of any kind from donations throughout the year but i would imagine most of any budget that we're able to muster together would go towards scenery. 4. Keygrip, as much as I like to be professional and as brilliant as a fly tower would be, I think we could get by without one. This would be, afterall, amateur theatre and I'm sure we could do with just a simple backdrop and some simple scenery (a la Stoppard). 5. Back to the issue of funding, if there is enough interest and the powers of PPRuNe that be agree, perhaps some of the budget could be covered by arranging advertising for the various organisations involved, but in saying this I realise I am treading on thin ice and should stop there.
Again if this were to happen I think it could be a lot of fun but it would take alot of heavy commitment especially if it were to be rehearsed in a very short period of time.
I think i've addressed most of the points there. Finally I'll repeat myself and say drop me an email (as well as posting here so others can see there's interest) if you're interested and can say, with at least a degree of certainty, that you will be around to do this next christmas.
