Panto 2016 - Youth Cast Info
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Crowborough Community Panto is an annual event, held in December and established in 2012. It involves a cast and crew of over 120 and attracts audiences of over 900 people in its 3 day run. Every year, the tickets sell out earlier and earlier.
Young People in Big Numbers The panto attracts more and more young people to the cast every year, which is a fantastic! In an acting cast of 50, we often have 45 young people. Add to this the 20 dancers who are under 18, and, while having so many young people in our community involved is a joy, you can see that we have to organise looking after the young people involved very carefully. With many of us parents ourselves, with our own junior and senior children involved, we are very keen to ensure that young people have a good theatre experience. Volunteers with a Professional Approach All cast and crew of the Crowborough Players are volunteers but this doesn't mean that we don't take theatre seriously. We are aware that we are asking people to watch our show and to pay to see it, so we do all we can to ensure we put on a show worth paying to see. The Youth Theatre means Fun for Everyone With the large numbers of young people involved, we work very closely with What You Will Youth Theatre (WyW). WyW offers a youth-friendly theatre environment to ensure young people enjoy the theatre experience. In addition, offering this tailored Youth Theatre experience ensures that, rather than spending time ensuring the safety, behaviour, and entertainment of the 40 or more young people in the cast, the volunteer adults in the cast and crew can enjoy the theatre experience, and concentrate on creating a show worth paying to see. |
About What You Will (WyW) Youth Theatre
WyW runs every Sunday afternoon in school term time for under 18 drama games and training. Although called 'games', these activities are professional performance theatre tools used at drama schools around the world and by professional theatre production companies. Activities include theatre games, warm-up, voice and character coaching, team activities, and in Sept to Dec Panto Term, extra youth scene rehearsals. Our emphasis is on having fun while respecting the art and craft of theatre. See www.wywtheatre.com for more information. Youth Cast Arrangements Summary
Members of the Senior Youth Cast have the option to join WyW in addition to rehearsing with the Adult Cast. They also have the option to choose Youth Rehearsal Times only. Both of these options are independent of each other. (This means; you can choose Youth Rehearsal Times without joining WyW and you can choose to join WyW and have Standard (Adult) Rehearsal Times.) The Junior Youth Cast is organised via WyW Theatre with guaranteed Youth Rehearsal Times. (Note that the Junior Youth Cast does not have a Director in 2016, as the Panto Director is also directing the Junior Youth Cast: There is a Junior Youth Cast Assistant Director.) |
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Youth Cast Arrangements in Detail
Junior Youth Cast (Yr 1 to 6 ) * Included: Drama Club - Join WyW for drama fun. * Included: Youth Rehearsal Times only - Sunday afternoon only rehearsals, Fast-track Tech Rehearsal. * Total Cost: £55 [£45 (no additional performance fee) + Crow Players Membership £10] NOTE: Junior Youth Cast WyW members are called for rehearsal during WyW times only. Senior Youth Cast (Yr 7 to Year 11) CHOOSE EITHER: * WITH Drama Club - join WyW for drama fun. (Recommended to get the most fun out of the experience.) Total Cost: £55 [£45 (no additional performance fee) to join WyW + Crow Players Membership £10] * NO Drama Club - not join WyW for drama fun. (We want everyone to enjoy themselves, so please note the Rules During Rehearsals, below.) Total Cost: £20 [£10 performance fee + Crow Players Membership £10] AND CHOOSE EITHER: * Option A - Youth Rehearsal Times only - Sunday afternoon only rehearsals, Fast-track Tech Rehearsal. (Recommended for children who don't like late evening rehearsals and can't sustain a 6-8 hour Technical Rehearsal.) (No additional cost.) * OPTION B - Standard Rehearsal Times. (This includes late evening rehearsals and a 6-8 hour Technical Rehearsal.) NOTE: Senior Youth Cast who are WyW members may be called for rehearsal during WyW times and outside of WyW times. Cost
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Rehearsal Information
NOTE: These rehearsals from the beginning of September to the performance dates. Unless you are a lead character, you are not likely to be called to every rehearsal or for the duration of the rehearsal. See also 'Important Dates' at the bottom of this page. Production Dates
Friday 16th (7.30pm), Saturday 17th (2.00pm & 7.30pm), 18th December (2.00pm) 2016 Panto Auditions
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Notes for Parents and Young People on non-WyW Panto Involvement
This guidance comes from 4 years of running large community pantomimes with a large cast of young people for whom we, as volunteers and parents ourselves, have responsibility.
If you've ever been involved with theatre, you'll know that rehearsals involve a lot of waiting around. This is tedious enough for adults, but incredibly tedious for young people and, understandably, young people get restless and bored. The Director, who is a volunteer, does not have a rest during rehearsals. S/he is there and working for the full duration of every rehearsal, including setting up and clearing away. It is a hard job and trying to look after bored young people while rehearsing makes the job even harder.
We take rehearsals seriously: We want young people to enjoy the theatre experience but we want the volunteer adults to as well. To facilitate this;
Legal, Financial, and Moral Responsibilities of Adult Members of Crowborough Players
The Community Centre and other Centre users deem the adult members of the Crowborough Players legally, financially, and morally responsible for under 16s joining our rehearsals. Given this, we have to be very precise about the presence of under 16s. There have been incidents in pantos-past of under 16s breaking Centre equipment, disturbing other Centre users, making a mess, and disrupting rehearsals. The resulting financial cost and loss of good faith has been borne by the adult members of the Crowborough Players.
Lastly, there have been recent incidents at the Centre of theft from the commercial kitchen by users of the Centre. We are under very strict instructions to ensure anyone involved with the Crowborough Players could never be responsible for theft: We want to ensure that no-one in the panto could ever be in a position to be accused of theft.
Expectations During Panto Rehearsals
Joining WyW will give Youth Cast members the best possible experience but it is not obligatory for Senior Youth Cast members, so if you/your children choose not join WyW, please be aware of the rules in place during panto rehearsals no-one is disappointed by the experience. These rules apply to every rehearsal. Some are Senior Youth Cast specific, others are for Senior Youth Cast as well as Adult Cast.
We really enjoy having young people in the panto, and do encourage young people to join in; if you think your child (or you, if you are a Senior reading this), will be comfortable with sitting still and waiting quietly for a couple of hours, that's great (YAY!) but if you think they (or you) will get bored or frustrated with this, we recommend they (or you) join WyW Youth Theatre.
See: Panto Rehearsal Rules.
This guidance comes from 4 years of running large community pantomimes with a large cast of young people for whom we, as volunteers and parents ourselves, have responsibility.
If you've ever been involved with theatre, you'll know that rehearsals involve a lot of waiting around. This is tedious enough for adults, but incredibly tedious for young people and, understandably, young people get restless and bored. The Director, who is a volunteer, does not have a rest during rehearsals. S/he is there and working for the full duration of every rehearsal, including setting up and clearing away. It is a hard job and trying to look after bored young people while rehearsing makes the job even harder.
We take rehearsals seriously: We want young people to enjoy the theatre experience but we want the volunteer adults to as well. To facilitate this;
- WyW offers a youth-friendly theatre environment with games, activities, running around, singing, dancing and lots of noise for 1 to 2 hours every Sunday for 9 weeks at an additional cost of £35 and
- there are limitations and restrictions in place for under 16s during Standard (Adult) Rehearsals.
Legal, Financial, and Moral Responsibilities of Adult Members of Crowborough Players
The Community Centre and other Centre users deem the adult members of the Crowborough Players legally, financially, and morally responsible for under 16s joining our rehearsals. Given this, we have to be very precise about the presence of under 16s. There have been incidents in pantos-past of under 16s breaking Centre equipment, disturbing other Centre users, making a mess, and disrupting rehearsals. The resulting financial cost and loss of good faith has been borne by the adult members of the Crowborough Players.
Lastly, there have been recent incidents at the Centre of theft from the commercial kitchen by users of the Centre. We are under very strict instructions to ensure anyone involved with the Crowborough Players could never be responsible for theft: We want to ensure that no-one in the panto could ever be in a position to be accused of theft.
Expectations During Panto Rehearsals
Joining WyW will give Youth Cast members the best possible experience but it is not obligatory for Senior Youth Cast members, so if you/your children choose not join WyW, please be aware of the rules in place during panto rehearsals no-one is disappointed by the experience. These rules apply to every rehearsal. Some are Senior Youth Cast specific, others are for Senior Youth Cast as well as Adult Cast.
We really enjoy having young people in the panto, and do encourage young people to join in; if you think your child (or you, if you are a Senior reading this), will be comfortable with sitting still and waiting quietly for a couple of hours, that's great (YAY!) but if you think they (or you) will get bored or frustrated with this, we recommend they (or you) join WyW Youth Theatre.
See: Panto Rehearsal Rules.
Important Dates in 2016 for the Youth Cast
WyW Panto Term Dates: Sept-Nov 2016
Starting Sept 11th (No Sundays in the holidays)
Standard Rehearsal Dates
Sunday afternoons (between 3PM and 7PM - tbc):
All Youth Cast Important Dates: Nov-Dec 2016
WyW Panto Term Dates: Sept-Nov 2016
Starting Sept 11th (No Sundays in the holidays)
- Sept 11th, 18th, 25th
- Oct 2nd, 9th, 16th
- Nov 6th, 13th, 20th
Standard Rehearsal Dates
Sunday afternoons (between 3PM and 7PM - tbc):
- Sept 11th, 18th, 25th
- Oct 2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd, 30th
- Nov 6th, 13th, 20th
- Sept 8th, 15th, 22nd, 29th
- Oct 6th, 13th, 20th, 27th
- Nov 3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th
- Dec 1st, 8th
All Youth Cast Important Dates: Nov-Dec 2016
- Sunday Nov 27th (Run-though Rehearsal - start time from 2PM)
- Sunday Dec 4th (Tech Rehearsal - start time from 2PM) Fast-track (1-2 hours) for Junior Youth Cast and Senior Youth Cast who have opted for Youth Rehearsal Times, 6-8 hours for everyone else.
- Sunday Dec 11th (Dress Rehearsal 1 - start time from 2PM)
- Thursday Dec 15th (Dress Rehearsal 2 - evening - Senior Youth Cast only - No Junior Youth Cast or Senior Youth Cast who have opted for Youth Rehearsal Times
- Friday Dec 16th (Production - evening)
- Saturday Dec 17th (Production - evening)
- Sunday Dec 18th (Production & party - evening)