The Lynden Players present their 2017 pantomime: CAMP – set in the early 1970s, when hair was long, platform heels were high and flares were wide.
The action takes place at Sandy Shores holiday camp, a family business struggling to survive. The highlight of the season is the grand talent contest, which attracts a young man who wants to be a star and with him a mysterious stranger who may not be all he seems.
My first foray into writing and directing a show for my village drama society was in 2015. Hood-The Panto was a great success ( oh, yes it was) and one of the best things that I have ever done, but I regret not recording more of the ‘journey’ ( cue schmaltzy background music triggered by the dreaded ‘J’ word).
My plan is to blog little and often between now and show week to capture the experience of putting on this year’s panto. Highs and lows; lessons learned; notes that may help me if/when I do this again, or possibly inspire someone else to have a go at writing or directing a show.
I *may* have said “never again” after Hood, but no-one believed me so here we go with the comic caper that I have called CAMP; a show packed with laughs, songs, romance, mystery and nostalgia which is completely, overwhelmingly, undeniably as CAMP as a row of tents.
The roles have been cast and we have a company of 38 actors, including a bunch of sassy teenagers with buckets of attitude and 8 juniors to melt the hardest heart with their sheer cuteness. Luckily, we have an equally massive supporting crew who will bring their expertise to music, movement, make up, costumes, props and set building, lights, sound, publicity and all the other vital components of the production.
I’M IN CHARGE #whoamIkidding
Week One:
- Highs: Our first read through of the script- everyone laughed at the jokes so from a writer’s point of view, very satisfying. As a director, bowled over by the talent in the room and have no doubt whatsoever that this show is going to be great.
- Lows: Lost a couple of cast members due to work/school committments. Inevitable, and better to find out at the outset, but still disappointing.
“To lose one cast member may be regarded as a misfortune, to lose two seems like carelessness”
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Find out more about Lynden Players on Facebook or at www.lyndenplayers.com
Down My Front 