What is a panto?

A traditional British pantomime is a fun, colourful stage play that is usually (loosely) based on a popular story or fairy tale. Pantos are full of song, dance, silly jokes and larger-than-life characters. They're completely child-friendly, but adults also enjoy the spectacle and have an excuse to be a bit immature for a couple of hours!

The most important part of a panto is actually the audience. There is no fourth wall in a pantomime, meaning that the characters often speak directly to the audience, getting them involved with what's going on in the story. The characters sometimes encourage the audience to shout out certain traditional phrases, such as "It's behind you!" when something horrible is sneaking up on the hero, and "Oh no you're not!" when someone needs a reality check.

The pantos we produce are usually written by AATG members, so they're often brand new experiences. We put our heart and soul into each production, and having our audiences respond so enthusiastically is our greatest treasure.

How do we do panto?

We usually hold our panto performances in one of the first weekends of December, but the production process starts as early as January! We spend lots of time planning and preparing, and then we hold the auditions for the main cast (principal roles) before the summer, usually May or June.

Rehearsals start in September, the main cast having two weeknight rehearsals at our Warehouse, and the chorus rehearsing on Sundays at the dance studio in the Warenar Theater in Wassenaar.

In the weeks leading up to the performances, we bring everything together! We run through the full play on Sundays, and get all hands on deck to finish off the set, props and costumes.

The performance weekend is jam-packed with activity. We start with a technical session and a dress rehearsal on the Thursday, then the first performance on Friday evening, with two more performances on Saturday and two more on Sunday. The atmosphere in the theatre is electric! The actors and crew can hardly contain their excitement and energy, which is a good thing since that's what the audience loves so much about us.

After the performances, we all take a well-deserved and desperately-needed break (after we leave the theatre clean and clear, of course!) and set our sights on the spring productions in the new year.

Which jobs are there to do?

As you can imagine, there are many different facets of panto production, and we need skill, talent and effort of all types to help bring the show to life. The AATG has a dedicated core of crew who come back year after year because they love what we do, and we call in helpers and specialists from all over our social circles.

If you're looking to get involved in panto production, here's a quick list of the typical jobs where we can always use some help:

• Set construction: physical building of the set pieces, including carpentry, metalworking and a little engineering as needed.

• Set design/painting: we have a head designer for our sets, but input is always appreciated, as is help with putting paint to canvas (or wood, in this case).

• Props: crafting and arranging of the physical props used by the actors on stage, including organising them all during the performances, because the actors sometimes don't pay enough attention...

• Costumes: sourcing and creating the costumes for the cast and chorus. We have a large repository of costumes and extras at our Warehouse, so the costume people's job consists of digging through the racks to find what we have, and then sewing or buying what we don't have.

• Makeup: design and testing of the makeup patterns for the various characters, and the eventual application of makeup before each performance. Bear in mind that panto makeup is more like face painting than 'normal' makeup, and your creativity can really shine through!

• Lights: design of the lighting scheme for each set and scene in the play, as well as running the light board during the performances.

• Sound: design of the sound effects throughout the play, as well as running the sound board during the performances. The actors use radio microphones when performing, so a crucial part of the sound crew job is to ensure that the mics are working properly.

• Stage crew: the people dressed in black who change the set and scenery as needed throughout the play.

Who can you contact to get involved?

If it's your first time with the AATG, we advise to attend the introductory panto meeting that we hold before the summer. This is the best place to meet the director, stage manager, producer and the other core panto crew members to see how you can get stuck in with something that sparks your creativity!