Gotta go Wii

Hah, now I know why my husband couldn't find a Wii to buy for my Christmas present!

Every night, the Dame invites six children up on stage to help the heroes complete a task, but before that she interviews each one briefly (hilarious to watch). Before Christmas, she asked each one what they wanted for Christmas (Hannah Montana merchandise was coveted by the girls) but now that Christmas is passed, she asks them what presents they got.

So far it seems like about ten percent received toys, sixty percent got a Nintendo DS, and the rest got a Wii. Children, hah.

Of course, this means that pretty much every night, the Dame gets to make jokes about needing to go Wii. I won't repeat what she said after a little boy reported receiving a joystick.

Matinée = Pasta Buffet

Today was our first matinée show, which made for a long day with a show at 3pm and another at 8pm. That's about ten hours in the theatre and twenty costume changes if you're in the chorus.

The first show was fun but we weren't looking forward to doing it all over again a second time – however our spirits were lifted by the pasta buffet provided by Island Caterers. The dining area was set up at the other end of the theatre-tent. Large round tables covered with snowy white tablecloths (no paper or plastic here, oh no), china plates, heavy cutlery, four uniformed waiters, the works. Oh yeah, baby. The food was great, apparently the pasta was cooked in situ by a chef, and it was al dente which is perfect. There were three choices – fusilli with a creamy sauce, farfalle with salmon, and penne with a tomato sauce. Also bread rolls and soft drinks. What a spread!

I really enjoyed my supper, and all that kept me from going back for seconds was the knowledge of the nine dances that lay ahead of me.

Just before the second show, we were a bit sluggish, but once the first Act started, we found ourselves caught up in the now-familiar rhythm of the show, and you'd never have guessed at the amount of half-digested pasta that was being whirled around the stage inside our bellies.

Already looking forward to the next matinée... *burp*

Auto-pilot

Now that we've been performing for a while (six shows and two dress rehearsals), the initial excitement is wearing off. Some nights I would rather curl up under a blanket than strut my stuff on stage. But not going on is not an option!

I have found, though, that once Act 1 gets underway, then I don't mind, no matter how tired or fed up I was to start with. A sort of auto-pilot kicks in between scenes - the mad rush off stage, scrambling out of the costume, scrambling into the next one, getting into position for the next entrance - but it's not really needed during the scenes. Even if I'm standing backstage wondering why I am about to get out there in front of a thousand people in a silly and unflattering costume... once I'm actually on stage, all I feel is exhilaration. And occasionally embarrassment if it's a belly-baring costume.

The song-and-dance numbers are the best - I love performing them so much that I enjoy each one every single time. Being able to sing and dance on stage makes all the boring and tedious rehearsal time over the last three months worth it. Oh yeah. Just call me twinkle-toes.

Merry Christmas!

I'm enjoying our two days off for Christmas - did some shopping, did some baking, and did a lot of hanging out with family, and it's nice to have quiet evenings. We've already finished a five-day mini-run, now I'm ready for the next five days, bring 'em on!

Painted lady

The promised stage make-up tutorial never materialised, so I have been picking up hints and tips from various people such as my dressing-room-mates and my sisters. This week I also surfed over to expertvillage.com and watched a twenty-part tutorial video about stage make-up, so now I feel a little better about my somewhat deficient make-up-application skills.

Until now, my make-up routine (say if we were going out to watch a movie) was this:

• Put on brown eyeshadow

For Panto, it has grown into this:

• Use cleanser
  
• Put on moisturiser
  
• Foundation
  
• Concealer
  
• White eye-shadow at inner corners of eyes
  
• Light colour of eye-shadow
  
• Medium colour of eye-shadow
  
• Dark colour of eye-shadow
  
• Shimmery colour of eye-shadow
  
• Liquid eye-liner on upper lids
  
• Pen eye-liner on lower lids
  
• Mascara, mascara, mascara
  
• Red lipstick
  
• Shimmery lip-gloss
  
• Bronzer
  
• Rouge
  
• Setting powder

I don't really mind doing it all, but it's a bit of a pain if I'm in a hurry or crowded with a bunch of other people around limited mirror space (try seven girls and half-a-dozen boys in front of two mirrors). When I do it quietly, it's actually kind of fun.

Before this, I didn't own much make-up, just a few basics that I rarely used. I have bought so much make-up in the last ten days, it's ridiculous (I now own everything in the list above). At least, given the amount of make-up that I usually wear (none), this lot will last me several years.

I did already have an eye-liner pencil but I'd never used it, and when I tried putting it on last week I couldn't get it to leave a mark. So I went and bought liquid eye-liner. I was practicing using it at home a couple of days ago when a retired neighbour rang the doorbell to leave a message – now when he sees me in the street, he still looks at me funny. I hope he doesn't think I eat kittens.

Actually I am rubbish at putting the liquid stuff on, so the eye-make-up sub-routine actually looks more like this:

• Forget about putting on eye-shadow first
  
• Put liquid eye-liner on right eye
  
• Blink
  
• Make a mess on right eye
  
• Say some rude words
  
• Put liquid eye-liner on left eye
  
• Observe shaky hand
  
• Make bigger mess on left eye
  
• Say even ruder words
  
• Look around to check if anyone is watching the entertainment
  
• Use eye-make-up remover to remove errant liquid eye-liner
  
• Put pen eye-liner on lower lids
  
• Apply eye-shadow
  
• Apply mascara

Forget practice makes perfect, I'm actually getting worse at this as time goes by. Oh well, I suppose that my fine motor skills could use the exercise.

Third Show

Wow, tonight was the best show so far!

There were two main reasons for this - first, the cuts.

It is usual in Panto that, at the beginning of the run, the show goes for about four hours. This is partly because the actors are still a bit slow in responding to eachother's lines, partly because the scene changes are also a bit slow, partly because of technical hitches, and partly because there's just too much material in the script.

Quite a lot of cuts have been made over this weekend, including my only line in the whole show, and a dance number that we put a lot of effort into. Oh well, there had to be casualties. The result, however, is a faster-paced show which keeps the excitement level high.

The second reason why tonight was great is that the audience was fantastic! Apparently, besides our expected visitors, there were also a lot of MADC people out there - people who know how to be good Panto audience members. The booing was great - they were the first audience so far to boo during the singing competition at the end (booing your opponents is considered good form in Panto). They also nearly blew the roof off the tent when doing the call-backs with the Dame - awesome!

So we had all this great energy rolling off the audience, which made us more excited and energised too - I don't know who was having more fun, the audience or the cast.

Three cheers for the best show so far, and here's hoping the remaining twelve are just as fun.

Painted faces on parade

Apparently tonight the cast of the 'rival' Panto are going to be in the audience - they have the night off and will open their show tomorrow.

We are a bit nervous because we want them to see us do a good job and be impressed *grin*.

A friend of mine asked me if I 'expected trouble' but my response was, 'as if!'. I don't think anyone from either cast would try to disrupt either show. At the first sign of rivalry several weeks ago, involving some unpleasantness from both sides, the heads of both companies spoke to each other. We all got a huge ħasla that day and I imagine they did too.

After being put through the Panto mill, I don't feel any animosity towards 'them', but instead respect and, strangely enough, solidarity, because right now we are all going through the same experiences of grueling rehearsals, tension-fraught shows, frantic costume changes and so on. We have too much in common!

I am planning on going to see their show after our run closes, because they will keep going a while longer after we stop. I am looking forward to it because I love Panto. I intend to be a model Panto audience member - I shall boo the baddie, cheer the heroes, yell "It's behind you!", shout the call-back, and sing the song at the end at the top of my lungs. Maybe if I'm lucky I'll even catch a sweetie - being in a Panto audience is so much fun.

I hope they enjoy the show tonight.

Social life status: on hold

To be in Panto, we have had to put our social lives on hold, especially those of us in the chorus as we have had rehearsals six days a week since mid-October. I haven't really minded myself because it's not like I had much of a social life to begin with, heheh, but now as Christmas approaches we also have to miss out on the social activities that the season brings with it - dinners with family, dinners with colleagues, school concerts and so on.

Well, the Panto veterans say that if you do Panto, you basically don't have a Christmas, but I intend to make the most of our two days off for Christmas proper. My mother said that she doesn't mind if I don't go over on Christmas day because I need to rest due to Panto, but I have assured her that nothing short of a natural disaster will keep me from being there.

Tonight is the second Christmas event that I am missing in order to be in Panto - I was invited, along with my husband's family, to a celebration thrown by a friend of their family called Leli. He's got a plot of land that is mostly fields but includes a small building with basic amenities including kitchen and bathroom, and also a large barn usually used for storage.

Leli invites a few dozen of his nearest and dearest, sets up trestle tables in the barn, and cooks the main dish in his outdoor wood-fired oven that will remain warm for twelve hours after the fire goes out. The womenfolk pitch in with ħobż biż-żejt, timpana, and other wonderful home-made food.

After everyone has eaten their fill (and drunk as much as they can safely handle of Leli's potent home-fermented wine), then we break out the instruments. Usually either my husband or Leli leads on guitar and sings, I play backing guitar and jump in wherever I know the words, my brother-in-law plays keyboard, and we work our way through a repertoire of folk-songs and hymns. I really like it when Leli sings spirtu pront, it's hilarious even when it's me he's making fun of. All this sounds a bit corny, but it's wonderful fun to be singing with a bunch of people who are just enjoying eachother's company.

I'm sorry to be missing it tonight but I can't be in two places at the same time. For everything there is a season - right now this is my Panto season. I am determined to enjoy it fully, and so far it has been worth all the sacrifices that had to be made. And at Leli's next get-together I shall sing extra-loud to make up for this one.

In appreciation of the chorus

The current mood of the chorus is universal to each member. And it is almost exclusively expressed in unprintable words, so unfortunately I can't detail them here.

The chorus is unappreciated – but we can deal with that. We deal with it by communally commiserating with each other because, let's face it, no-one else wants to know. We work our socks off and hardly ever get praised – but we can deal with that. We praise each other, we congratulate each other, and we look out for each other. United against those who do nothing but criticise and verbally abuse us, we become stronger, muahahaha.

Today is one of those days when we feel hard done by. We were called in very early for an intensive rehearsal to clean up some straggly bits in the dances, two-and-a-half hours including the time spent standing around waiting for everyone to arrive. We are sweating, we are tired, we are wilting, we want supper and showers and we will get neither. And now we are expected to put on our happy faces and exude energy on stage. Well, we'll put on those happy faces because we know how to be professional, but backstage we are not at all happy. At least misery loves company and right now it's got lots of it.

First Night

Funnily enough, I didn't really feel nervous about the first night. Usually before a first show I feel sick to my stomach, just the same as before an exam, but that didn't really happen this time. Maybe it's because I was so excited to finally be going on stage and doing what we have been training for over the last two months that I didn't have enough emotional capacity left over to use for being nervous.

Having a dress rehearsal with an audience helped too I think - that was a good transition into the performance proper, so we went into first night knowing that we had already proved that we could do the scenes, do the costume changes, do the dances, and so on.

I enjoyed the show, it's a great feeling to be doing something that you have been working so hard towards. It was for this that I spent two months going straight from work to rehearsals to home to work, sacrificing almost all my free time and quite a lot of my sleep. At the time it was really hard, and often boring and un-fun, but now it's pay-off time and it's great.

Warning: theatre can be hazardous to your health

When you think about it, the physical conditions themselves are full of health-and-safety hazards. For example, in just one scene, we walk, dance and even run very close to a five-foot drop into an orchestra pit full of pointy instruments, in dim light, with smoke everywhere, and a black veil hanging in front of our faces. At any other place of employment, there would be a guard rail by the drop or safety equipment attached to the employee, but in theatre the normal rules are suspended for the sake of art.

Then there's the pyrotechnics that are set off three feet away from us, the drop-off at the back of the stage, the ramp that we run down at full tilt in black-out, the wires snaking everywhere offstage - loads of potential for accidents. So far everyone is still in one piece, more or less, but it doesn't help that recently an actor was in the news for nearly killing himself on stage.

A week ago, back in the relatively safe environment of the MADC clubrooms, our major problems were injuries that were either long-term and pre-existing or which emerged recently, perhaps due to all the extra exercise. These we struggled with during the intensive dance rehearsals. On one night in particular, the chorus laboured with two injured backs, a busted knee, a damaged shoulder, and a trapped nerve (very painful) - and that's just the ones I knew about. It was quite alarming to be dancing next to a guy who used the loud music to cover his shouts of pain - actually the grimaces might have been amusing, had I not had matching expressions on my own face (I was one of the injured). At least having injuries flare up during rehearsal helps us to learn how to treat them and dance through them, in preparation for when we are on stage.

Here at the theatre, we are accumulating even more injuries due to accidents. Only one person has had to be taken to hospital (she's fine, but had to be checked as a precaution) and the rest are minor cuts and bruises. There's one scene in particular which seems to be particularly hazardous, partly because there is a piece of scenery that is hard to see and people keep tripping over it, and partly because there are twenty-eight people on stage, brandishing heavy wooden weapons. In typical fashion, I got hurt due to a combination of these two factors - the person behind me tripped in the scenery, and bashed me in the head with her weapon as she stumbled. I had a bump, some blood, a fright, and a director calling me names for holding up the scene. Fun times.

My other 'injury' was a bit bizarre. I was in the (unheated) toilets, changing into my tights, when I sneezed and got a nosebleed. Strange, because I can't even remember the last time I had a nosebleed, maybe back when I was a child. From first-aid training I knew that I'm supposed to lean forward and pinch the bridge of the nose until the flow stops, but that didn't seem like a viable option given that I was half-naked and heading towards hypothermia. So I stuffed my nostril with toilet-paper and got on with trying to put on the tights without dripping blood all over them. The bleeding kept on for a couple of minutes until one of my dressing-room-mates came up with a solution - she held some cold metal scissors to the back of my neck, and the flow dried up within a few seconds. Very cool. Performing with toilet-paper up my nose would have been a bit strange.

Second Dress

The second dress rehearsal was with an audience – and a heated tent! The heating made such a difference – having an exposed belly wasn't so bad any more.

Having a live audience was great because we got to hear them laugh and boo and so on. They were mostly kids so a lot of the political and adult humour didn't get a reaction, but the rest was fun.

There was a difference in how the cast performed too – some people (especially the main characters) have been performing in rehearsals just as though an audience was in front of them, but some people in the chorus weren't really. But with bodies in the seats, everyone suddenly became animated and started reacting to all the lines, interacting with other chorus members and generally hamming it up as you are supposed to do in Panto. That made it even more fun to perform.

The costume changes were OK, we have enough time for the most part, I only had one sticky moment. I was given braces to wear over a shirt, but they had to be safety-pinned to my trousers as they didn't have snaps. One of my dressing-room-mates was pinning them on when, to our horror, we heard the orchestra striking up the song that we were about to perform! We rushed out of the dressing-rooms and onto the blacked-out stage, and that's when I realised that the braces were still safety-pinned to the back of my trousers.

I didn't have any way to attach them to the front of my trousers, so they would have to go, but I had to work by feel and I couldn't get the safety-pin open. Tugging hard, the braces finally came off, just as the lights came up. *whew*

After the show, we were relieved that we had a complete performance under our belts, costume changes and all. Tomorrow we start for real!

First Dress - Misery, a new definition

Being in a very large tent in the middle of a chilly December at 11pm wearing an Arabian dancing girl costume, żaqqek barra, with no heating. I think that this was the worst Panto experience until now – freezing our arses off during the first dress rehearsal.

We looked enviously at the director, crew, and miscellaneous Panto people, all wearing nice warm jackets, and looked longingly at the empty heating ducts running overhead, but no, our request for the heat to be turned on was denied. This was a new experience for me, standing on stage and shivering, one I hope not to repeat.

The chorus girls especially were very glad to change into the next costume, which is by contrast very warm and not revealing at all.

I was also using dress rehearsal to get used to navigating the backstage area in dim light with no spectacles on. Rather than leaving them backstage (which would be a problem anyway because sometimes I exit on the opposite side of the stage than I enter on) I decided to leave them in my dressing-room. I had a few hairy moments because there are wires snaking all over the place, and crossing from one side of the stage to another involves a huge detour because there is a projector set up to project onto the backdrop from quite a distance behind the stage, and we must avoid the cone of projection. Well, I survived and learned how to get around well enough.

Dress rehearsal was also our chance to get used to having all our costumes in our possession and organising our dressing rooms. We are fourteen girls and thirteen boys in chorus, split between four dressing rooms. In our room there are seven girls, sixty-nine costumes and no rails to hang stuff on. Luckily for us, some of the chorus boys are very practical and handy with whatever they find lying around – they rigged improvised railings for themselves using lengths of pipe and cable ties, and then very kindly came over and rigged two pipes for us too.

It took ages to get the costumes organised, especially since each is comprised of a minimum of three pieces, and in some cases up to six or seven. I'm terrified of going out on stage missing bits of costume, so I made a chart showing all the components of each costume and taped it up in my section. I use it when I'm getting dressed for each scene, and as a last-minute checklist before I go out on stage. It's right next to a list of all the scenes in the show, which is very handy for figuring out which costume comes next, and how much time we have to change into it.

Next up is a dress rehearsal but with a small audience, which should be exciting.

Gone with the wind (not)

It's Wednesday night and the much-debated hurricane-speed winds haven't arrived yet. It's freezing cold in the tent, but that's the same as it was yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that. Very much looking forward to whenever the heating is going to be turned on.

We are doing technicals, which is when the sound is checked for all the scenes and dances, and ditto for the lights. The sound was done two days ago, so we're just finishing off the lighting. It takes ages to set just one scene, because the director is putting in lots of light changes. Once again, a case of pain-in-the-neck-now-but-will-look-great-later.

If you're on stage for a scene during tech, then it's long and boring, but the nice thing is that you also get long breaks during the scenes you're not in. I have figured out a way to lie down and have a nap – takes three or four seats, depending on whether I curl up or stretch out. The sides of the seat curve up a bit, so I get plastic digging into my ribs, but it's worth it to have a little pseudo-nap every now and then. Really helps me to keep going through the night without getting too tired or cranky.

When the house lights are up, or there's enough light coming off the stage, then I'm reading Arthur C. Clarke's Tales of Ten Worlds, which is vintage science fiction of the best kind. If the lights are down and it's too dark to read, then I blog on my laptop and don't surf the internet, and the rest of the time I either take a nap or chat with my friends. Occasionally, in the wee sma's, when it gets too cold to do anything except sit quietly and conserve body heat, I contemplate life, the universe, and everything, but I haven't come up with any profound thoughts yet.

Right now I'm not feeling too cold. I've removed my gloves because we just teched our most vigorous dance number and that warmed me right up. I'm wearing two pairs of trousers, two long-sleeved tops, a scarf, and my Panto zipper, which is a fleece jacket that zips up and proclaims me as a member of the 'Sinbad (the tailor)' cast. Actually the cold brings back childhood memories of going camping with the Girl Guides, which involved a lot of freezing too. The difference is that since then, I have discovered the wonder that is fleece. I love fleece. It keeps me warm. If I were the President of Malta I would institute a national holiday in honour of fleece. Which I'm sure has a lot to do with why I'm not the President.

Coming together

At the MFCC, the crew is basically building a theatre around a stage inside a tent.

The orchestra pit has been constructed, and access to the stage from various points. The framework inside the tent is handy for hanging things from (like lighting rigs), but additional framework was needed to form the wings where the sets, props and actors are kept until needed. The seating had to be constructed too – that's where I'm sitting right now. The seats are all right, and I'm pleased that there's decent legroom.

The whole thing is really taking shape – what a difference to how it looked a couple of days ago!

Although I got to see a lot of the sets and props while they were being made in the clubhouse back in Santa Venera, the final assembly is only being done now, and I'm having lots of 'aaaah!' moments as I see bits and pieces put together to form something big and incredible.

Right now we're having a lighting rehearsal. The opening scene looks absolutely spectacular. Seeing the main elements together with the lighting and the special effects (even without the costumes, sets and music) is already magical. This is going to be a great show!

Interview: Clive

Name: Clive Piscopo
Panto Role: Chorus member
Non-Panto Role: Teacher of English language and literature, and writer

How did you come to be in the theatre scene?
It started at school concerts, if you can count them. I remember going to Catechism classes at age ten, and I was cast as a drug dealer for a performance. I don't know what the teacher saw in me, because I was always a bit of a quiet boy, but this might explain why I have been fascinated with evil characters from an early age! After I finished my second degree, I felt it was time to get back to theatre, so I started again by debuting on the Manoel theatre stage in 'Caravaggio l-Inkjesta'. I haven't stopped since!

How about Panto, how did you come to be involved in it?
I got involved almost straight away, I auditioned while we were already rehearsing Caravaggio. I wanted to experience musical theatre, so I emailed Alan Montanaro, and he suggested that I audition for Panto because they needed chorus boys. I did, and was chosen, so I got to be in last year's Panto, 'Pirates of the Mediterranean'.

What is your favourite genre in theatre?
Rather than a genre, I like good plays and good theatre. I've always thought that a good play touches the mind and/or the heart, and should be both enjoyable and challenging.

What has been your most embarrassing theatrical moment so far?
I nearly fell down the steps during a Panto walkdown last year. Then of course there's this year's embarrassing costumes...

What has been your best theatrical experience?
Whenever I have learned something new, and thus hopefully moved forward in becoming a better actor.

And what has been your worst theatrical experience?
I have to mention my horrible nerves when I'm about to go on stage! They disappear once I get on stage, but just before I go on it's terrible.

And finally, what has been your most special theatrical experience?
It was the performance of a school play. I had had a story on my mind for five years, and it was a huge relief to finally write it, direct it, act in it, and be able to talk about it. It was a very personal story and the performance seemed to have touched many people in many different ways. Since I believe that a good play touches the mind or heart, that made it all very rewarding.

If you could play any role at all, in any production, what would it be?
I've never really thought about it, but now that I think about it, I would love to play a fully-fledged baddie in a Panto, because I love playing. I'd love to play a manically evil character because that would be so very different to my own personality. Aside from that, I would like to go for challenging and unusual roles, for example Poor Tom in King Lear. Maybe one day even King Lear himself, when I grow old and have a white beard! I really love the scene when he goes mad on the heath – it's so deep and profound, and he finds himself in his madness.

If you could give one piece of advice to a person thinking about getting involved in the world of theatre, what would it be?
Well I'm still just starting out myself! But I would probably say, keep your feet on the ground and enjoy it. Also, be humble, because I believe that you have to be very close to people if you want to then act their emotions on stage. As performers we channel many emotions that we get from real life, so we shouldn't get a diva complex just because we get to be on stage!

Say something nice about someone else in the cast.
I really admire those people - all my fellow cast members - who don't let it go to their heads, and remain humble as performers, and stay sincere.


And finally... what's a phrase that will now forever remind you of this year's Panto?
Jaqaw I has a maħta?

In the tent/theatre

Today we got to move into the theatre as a cast. The backstage guys moved in a few days ago and began installing everything and building the on-stage constructions, so we stayed out of their way. Today though, we are in there too.

I would be blogging this live but the only connection available is provided by GoMobile, who charge an exorbitant 3 Euros an hour for the use of their hotspots (I pay that much for a week of internet access at home). Yeah, right. So I will be writing at the MFCC but uploading at home, thank-you very much.

We got to Ta' Qali early today, because we were scheduled to perform a dance number as part of the programme of events for the Christmas Village. The weather was relatively nice – a little chilly, but no rain and no wind to speak of. Our challenge was dancing on a very small stage with lots of microphone wires trailing across it, but we managed OK. I messed up one of my spins because I was distracted trying to find a space on the stage that wasn't full of other chorus members, and then trying to make sure I wasn't masking the people dancing upstage of me, but my partner was great and he adapted his move to cover my mistake. Then a little later I stumbled because I was right at the back and had to circle around my partner – and circled right into piles of cables! But as I staggered forward I recovered my balance and it didn't matter because the stage was so crowded I don't think that anyone could really see me all the way back there.

After the performance (which was fun) we handed out some promotional material and then went off to a restaurant in Mosta. It's a sports-bar type of place, with a massive projection playing football matches. I imagine that we will be seeing more of it since it's so close. The chicken wings look really good, think I'll try those next time.

Anyway, now we're in the tent/theatre. The stage is BIG! The massive, massive scenery is on it but the stage isn't crowded at all! Right now the cast is getting used to the stage, people are being called up in groups to get used to various features and functions but it's not our turn yet. So we are sitting around, talking, doing puzzles, not surfing the internet, and freezing because the heating isn't on tonight. The experienced performers are saying that's it's still warmer than the Manoel, which is a consolation. There will be heating during performances, so we are looking forward to that.

Excuse me, I'm being called to the stage...

OK, I'm back again. The director took us though a few scenes briefly, to check that the blocking still worked on such a big stage. He is satisfied, so we are free again. I've taken the opportunity to go put leggings on under my trousers, and footsies on over my socks, and now I'm actually feeling quite toasty. One does what one must to keep comfy.

Costume parade

Today we spent the early afternoon trying on almost every costume in the show – and with a cast of around forty people, that's a lot of costumes!

I am pleased with our chorus costumes – the one that exposes my belly is actually surprisingly flattering, and the one that's incredibly short is quite alright too (the tights help, heheh). The rest of the costumes are also comfortable, which is really nice and much appreciated. One of my costumes needs some minor tweaking, that's all. I haven't had made-to-measure clothes since my mother used to make my dresses as a kid, it's nice because everything fits well everywhere (and can be altered if it doesn't).

I have an emergency kit – white elastic and black elastic (tan elastic not available), and lots of different sizes of safety pins, and some needles and thread – but it looks like it won't be required.

The dame's costumes are INCREDIBLE, and the costumes for the other principal characters are also fantastic. I don't think I have ever seen so many sequins and so much glitter, and sparkly material and lots of other things that I'm not allowed to talk about before the show opens *grin*. I can't wait to see them all on stage, it's going to look great.

I have been warned by fellow chorus members who have been in Panto before that the costume changes between scenes will be madness. I guess that part of the problem is that if you have fourteen female chorus members, then that's fourteen look-alike costumes, which means fourteen skirts, fourteen tops, fourteen sets of peripheral costume bits and pieces, twenty-eight shoes... and there's several sets of costumes!

The main characters have troubles of their own, as their costumes are usually more elaborate (and uncomfortable!) than ours - and the dame is in a class of her own, with big dresses, big wigs, big everything. But it's all worth it in the end because a stage full of costume-clad actors is quite a sight. Come and see for yourself - tickets from http://www.pantomalta.com.

On the importance of looking one's best.

One day last week we worked for ages on just one dance. It's a song which, prior to Panto, I really liked. I liked it so much that I used to occasionally look it up on YouTube to watch. However if I hear it one more time, I just may commit a crime.

In this accursed number, the boys and the girls dance separately the whole time, which is unusual for us. The nice thing is that while the boys were being drilled mercilessly by Miss Alison, us girls got some girl time.

Talk turned to looking one's best on stage, as some of us don't have much experience and were asking questions.

At MADC there's always people available to apply make-up onto actors (even during the One-Acts when there's three plays a night!) But because there's so many people in the cast of the Panto, the chorus has to apply its own make-up as it would take too long to do everyone. So during our girl time last week, we got advice from someone who often does make-up for stage productions. She told us what to put on our faces, and very nicely agreed to hold a tutorial session for us girls, like the one usually held for the boys. Yes, girls wear make-up on a daily basis anyway, but some of us, like me, wear little or no make-up and therefore don't really know what to do - and even people who do wear make-up regularly presumably don't go out in 'stage make-up' (Directions: apply twice as much as normal).

I do actually own a basic set of make-up which I barely use but I'm lacking blusher so I had better go buy some.

After the make-up advice, we got some some of a different sort. Being on stage is fun, fun, fun, if you like performing, but the down-side is that... well... thousands of people will be LOOKING at you. And if you're a girl, you have skirts and dresses as costumes, which means that your legs will be on display, which means that all those people will be LOOKING at your legs. There's not much you can do about the shape of your legs, but there is something you can do about their colour. This is a subject of special concern to those of us whose limbs don't get out in the sun much, pasty-white appendages on stage, yuck. So we sat and listened avidly as our Panto veteran inducted us into the secrets of... tights!

Consequence of which, I bought four pairs of tights today. It took me ages to figure out all the ones that M&S have, I mean honestly. The lady at the counter was very helpful in explaining the difference between 'light support' tights and 'body shaper' tights (one pulls your tummy and thighs in a little, the other pulls your tummy and thighs in a lot, three guesses as to which I got). Still took me a while to figure out the handy-dandy size-and-weight charts on the back of the box. Also, did you know that the denier is 'a unit of measure for the linear mass density of fibres'? Neither did I. I love wikipedia.

Well, now I am all set in the tights department, and I'm all ready to learn how to apply stage make-up. I am very bad at doing eyeliner because I hate having stuff near my eyeballs, but I can do mascara now like nobody's business. Let me know if you have suggestions re: blusher.

Interview: Zepp

Name: Zepp Micallef
Panto Role: Chorus
Non-Panto Role: Maths Teacher

How did you come to be in the theatre scene?
I was always interested in theatre at school – I took part in plays and in the 6th form soiree. Later, some friends invited me to take part in Mamma Mia put on by De La Salle – I was one of the fathers – and that's how I got into theatre.

How about Panto, how did you come to be involved in it?
Some friends of mine from Voices were going to audition for Panto, and they invited me to go along and audition too.

What is your favourite genre in theatre?
Musicals because I love singing, and comedies because they're hilarious!



What has been your most embarrassing theatrical moment so far?
When I missed a cue and was late getting onto the stage!

What has been your most special theatrical experience?
In Voices there is a one-year voice scholarship, the Louis Naudi scholarship, offered each year to a choir member nominated by other choir-members for commitment, altruism and so on. One year I was nominated and shortlisted, I auditioned, and then later I found out that I won! For me that was a very special experience.

And what has been your worst theatrical experience?
Nothing really comes to mind!

And finally, what has been your best special theatrical experience?
Any time an audience gave a show a standing ovation!

If you could play any role at all, in any production, what would it be?
Anything would do, as long as I feel comfortable in the role!

If you could give one piece of advice to a person thinking about getting involved in the world of theatre, what would it be?
If you have a dream, whatever it is, believe in yourself and go for it!

Say something nice about someone else in the cast.
I think the chorus is great - we all clicked and I think that's nice. Well, I think that all of us are getting along well, the chorus, the mains, the backstage crew - I think all of us have become one big family!

And finally... what's a phrase that will now forever remind you of this year's Panto?
Salam everybody!

Public holiday... means extra rehearsal time...

We are currently in the middle of Orchestra Rehearsal. This means that instead of spending the rehearsal singing with our Maestro Paul Abela on piano, the Maestro is instead directing the orchestra musicians, who have brought in their instruments and set up in our rehearsal space.

The collection is impressive - saxaphones, brass, drums, guitars, keyboards. It's so cool to be singing to a live band, and I especially like the sound of the brass. Although today is a public holiday, it's not a day of rest for us Panto people - music rehearsal with the orchestra all afternoon, and dance rehearsal with Miss Alison all evening. At least this part, the music, is fun.

The dance rehearsals aren't fun any more because their nature has changed - instead of learning new routines, which is usually fun, instead we are 'cleaning', which means going over the same routines over and over and over again. The reason for cleaning is that when you have twenty-eight people who are all supposed to be doing the same moves at the same time, and one of them is doing something slightly different, then that twenty-eighth person sticks out like a sore thumb.

So in cleaning, Miss Alison checks that every single body/hand/foot/head is exactly where it needs to be, how it needs to be, when it needs to be. And then she points out which of them are not, and we do that piece over and over again until everyone has it right. And then, when everyone finally has it right, we do the next sixteen counts... tedius and time-consuming and BORING. But, necessary. It's this horrible cleaning process that will ensure that we look tight on the stage and not at all sloppy (the curse of ensemble dancing). So, although no-one enjoys it, we do it anyway as an investment in making this the best show possible.

Ah, I see the orchestra is back from their break. Off to sing some more.

An unexpected present

Today's rehearsal was brilliant.

Mostly we did scenes involving the mains (the actors who have big parts) so us chorus got to take it easy, aaaaaaand... chorus got to go home early! We were so excited you'd have thought Christmas had come early (well I suppose you could see we were given a gift of unexpected free time).

The party animals immediately made arrangements to go clubbing or whatever it is young people call it these days. Call me old and boring, but I prefer to go home. (cue shouts of "You're old and boring!" from the wings).

So, since I found myself home with a spare hour and some spare energy, I set about attending to my neglected housewifely duties - I tackled the pending washing-up, hung up the load of laundry that I did early this morning before leaving for work, and put away the groceries that we bought last week-end. So domestic.

Now, feeling unusually virtuous, I am in bed with a laptop and two puzzled cats who are surprised that I came home so long before midnight. Aaaaaaah.


Today, right before we performed the last number in rehearsal, the director gave us a pep talk. Well, really he just warned us that these last couple of weeks before the show opens are going to be pretty hard, especially when we get to move into the MFCC in Ta' Qali and all the sets have to be installed (they are MASSIVE!). But even so, he still managed to make us feel excited about it - our hard work is paying off, the show is taking shape, and we are looking forward to having fun on that stage!

Today I learnt a new phrase - 'Costume Parade'. I asked one of my fellow chorus girls what it meant, because she's been in Panto before. She explained that it is part of the technical rehearsals - they kit out everyone in the costumes for each scene, and check everyone's placement on the stage, and the effect of the lighting. This is to make sure that there aren't any horrible colour clashes and so on. A good idea, but I'm not looking forward to the technicals because from my limited past experience, they mean hours of standing on the stage, unable to move around, while the light technicians work their magic. But hey, it's all part of the process!

Time to turn in... tomorrow's rehearsal schedule calls for much chorus involvement, and it's going to be a late night.

Interview: Marvic

Name: Marvic Okoh
Panto role: Assistant Stage Manager
Non-Panto Role: PSD teacher and mummy to Sam

How did you get into theatre?
A friend of mine was in a show, and I went to help with a quick costume change. Someone in the show fell sick and I was literally dumped on stage! I tripped and nearly choked... it was a non-speaking part, in a comedy, and I managed to do it. Eventually I was given a main part in the next show. After being on stage, later I shifted to working backstage because it gives me more satisfaction (but more responsibility!).

And then how did you get into Panto?
Lino knew me through theatre elsewhere, and he contacted me and asked me to be the ASM for a Panto, because I had already been doing ASM for several years in other shows. This will be my fifth Panto!

Why do you keep coming back to Panto?
Because it's fun!

What has been your best experience in theatre?
I don't have just one best experience, because every show has something that makes it great, each one is an experience!

What about your worst theatrical experience?
That would be Sound of Music – it was my first show as an ASM, and one night I opened the curtain for the curtain call with the actors still up on the mountain! Well, they were up still up there because of a technical problem, but it was still a bad experience for me.

How about your most embarrassing theatrical experience?
During last year's Panto, Pirates of the Mediterranean, I was really sick just before the show opened. On the first night, I signed myself out of hospital and cued the show while throwing up in the box...

And how about your most special experience in theatre?
That was also in last year's Panto. I was cuing the flying scene and it was magical to watch!

This is your chance to say something nice about someone in the cast or crew:
The backstage crew are great! They are always so helpful and they're a really good team!

What is a phrase that will, now and forever, always remind you of this Panto?
The chain call is NOT WORKING!

If you could give advice to someone just starting out in theatre, what would it be?
Never give up, always keep trying – you never know when it will be your turn!

Anything you'd like to add?
Come and watch us!!!

Panto Pandemic

Last week the cast and chorus one by one succumbed to coughs, colds, influenza and variants thereof. At its peak we had about a quarter of the chorus on the sick list, but anyone still upright dragged themselves to rehearsals anyway.

In amongst the usual detritus littering the side of the rehearsal room (bags, scarves, jackets, bottles of water, mugs of tea) there now appeared cough drops and paracetmol, while in between scenes we passed around tissues and swapped medicine recommendations.

Now it looks like most of us are recovered, or nearly so - *whew*. I still have an annoying cough but my nose no longer runs like it's training for the London marathon. Mind you, as one of the Panto veterans wisely said, better to get sick now than during the run! Because, of course, the show must go on regardless (and the costumes don't have pockets for tissues).