Panto in progress
Tue 5 Sep 2017The summer is starting to wind down, it’s now the beginning of September and so of course we’re discussing this years production of Peter Pan at The Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury.
Many people are surprised to hear that panto preparation is a year round endeavour. With eight shows in production and a further seven sets going out to hire, panto really is 365 days a year for us all at Evolution Productions.
At this point in pre-production we have cast the principal roles, held photoshoots and our artwork is now complete. Most of the designs are finalised and the sets, props and costumes department are furiously labouring over the 15 sets and 1,500 costumes that will leave the store in just a few months. Hidden in the depths of the Kent countryside the store is a magical place full of everything from a giant Octopus to Peter Pan’s hideout, as you can imagine the team’s to-do list is rather eclectic, bizarre… and very very long!
It’s a busy time in our office as we’re talking to agents in preparation for auditioning further principal roles, dancers and of course there are the juvenile ensemble auditions to arrange, with some done already!
As ever I’m busy with accounts and have many, many spreadsheets on the go! They’re certainly ‘showbiz’ spreadsheets with some rather peculiar entries (I could tell you exactly how much we spend on our Dames’ rather large bras!) but it’s the only slightly more conventional side to running our business.
I really love this part of the year, everything is being pulled together and it’s all very exciting. We can also afford ourselves a little more serenity as our major deadlines feel comfortably far off… however I very much doubt you’ll hear me saying the same thing in a few weeks!