Passing of a Panto Legend

Leo Greene one of the stalwarts of the Chrysanths sadly passed away yesterday.
Leo was always ever present with the society and played a major part in the development and continued success of the group.

My earliest memories of Leo and family go back as long as I remember. The Greene's back door backed onto our back door and our two families enjoyed various parties as I recall.

When I joined the Panto Leo was an experienced and accomplished performer.
I remember him as a Brokers Man, Simple Simon (or Idle Jack) and latterly as a Dame. Leo represented Amateur Pantomime as a Dame in a national Newspaper.

Afterwards Leo contributed mightily to the development of the scripts though many of his jokes were terrible and mostly unprintable. We certainly couldn't use them in the show but he was always whispering some risqué comment at rehearsals and having us in  stitches. Leo gave me and Jed many tips when it came to comedy on stage.

Leo for many years dealt with publicity and the programme. He was always popping into local shops trying to get adverts or sponsorship. He always managed to get Mcdonalds to supply us with soft drinks and vouchers as giveaways. Don't know how he did it but no one as been able to get anything out of them since.

Leo was a legend in the Panto. Even now he will be arguing with My Uncle George and Harry Bedson about who will play Wishie Washie in the Pearly Gates production of Aladdin.

Rest in Peace Leo and don't try and tell your jokes to the Angels, you'll get yourself kicked out.

Condolences to Miriam, Paul, Pam,Helen,and family.

Graham

Happy new Panto Year

So the Panto year has ended and I thought I should wrap up the blogs as well.

Successful show with good audiences who all seemed to enjoy it. Enjoyed my slapstick with my oppo and escaped without too many injuries. Good fun bashing him with plank though I think he got his own back sticking that paint brush in my mouth!

Ironic,with me going on at my Dame  mate all year about being careful with his rude material, that I should be the one to drop the rudest word of the week in the picnic gag! Still it was a Saturday night audience who were having a raucous time and the slip was completely accidental....honest.

Principals were all brilliant with great performances from our 2 debutants who are both under 18 and our other young principal playing the wolf who is just legal to drink.

We had a fantastic mix this year the right blend of experience and youth. Bringing in an experienced female performer to play principal girl also lifted the performances of our home grown female principals who were all on their top game. The kids were all top notch and were amazingly so well behaved. The logistics in moving 70 kids and young people around the theatre were handled with military precision thanks to the mums who took the time out to support the show.

Our back stage crew were also brilliant. In the end it was a very technical show with lots of complicated effects involving lighting, sound, pyrotechnics and props. To get these right takes an enormous amount of concentration and skill. I don't name names in this blog but all the people who work so hard so that a few of us step into a little lit box to perform, do a wonderful job and I hope take great satisfaction from a job well done.

The show continues to get better year on year and long may it continue. The  Chrysanthemums reputation is, I feel, growing steadily. We want to get to a point were local talent are cramming to get a part in our show, we grow our local support to a position were tickets become  difficult to get and we are an annual post christmas regular treat for Merseyside families.

So give it a week or so and then we're off again. Not sure about next years show yet. We have got our hundreth, hundreath hundredth (got it!) show coming up in 2018, so want to save one of our big shows for that. Cinderella is looming though, the one show where I can legally wear womens underwear. 

I can never understand, though,why my oppo has to wear Per Una silk knickers under his ugly sisters costume. No one can see it, though he says it makes him feel authentic. 

It takes all sorts....Happy Panto Year to all of you

Pantobloke

And So to the Show

Well the week of the show arrives and are we ready? You bet we are
Principals are chomping at the bit, repeating their lines over and over in the supermarket queue, songs are being repeatedly sung in the shower or on the loo, jokes are being practiced on sufferring partners (who tend to be ignored all week) and I am frantically trying to remember the box step while clearing out the garage.

Back stage preparations go into full swing, scenery ordered, special effects to be finalised, costumes fitted and the logistics of getting 70 odd kids safely onto the stage being efficiently organised.

Had a busy day yesterday. Me and my oppo did a live interview on the Radio Merseyside Breakfast Show at 8.20. Went well but strangely nerve wracking and much worse than going on stage in front of 800 people at the floral. Very difficult environment radio, just you, the DJ and the microphone in front of you. Anyway think it went OK and we got a couple of gags in.

Went back over to town later to meet the dame at the footie. He's raring to go and I'm sure his jokes will be as subtle as usual! Just like a bride, something borrowed, something new....something blue !

So my pantoblog ends for this year. Thank you all who have bothered to read it. I look forward to seeing you all this week. Unless you are that single blog reader from Kurdistan who,as a pig farmer , I am sure will  struggle to afford the plane ticket to get to the  Floral.

Me and the oppo now look forward to our usual week of mayhem, you know spitting water at each other, poking each other in the eye, having fights with paintbrushes, all the normal childish behaviour and then having to go on stage!

It's going to be a fun week.

Pantobloke

Good Will and All That

Well it's Christmas Eve. Blogs have slowed down a bit last few weeks, what with the house move, festive preparations and of course the panto coming up.

Been an interesting few weeks with the show, we had to make some late cast changes and that is always disruptive, but the principals have knuckled down to work and we are practically there.

Final rehearsals have been mostly fun and good humoured though we have had our stressful moments! Kids though have been great. We knew when we decided to cast 70 odd dancers including a larger number of tiny tots, that this would make Sunday afternoons a bit chaotic.

Rehearsals are a bit of a mix, you know Toy Story and The Sound of Music with a bit of Emmanuel thrown in when the Dame does his Stand Up! (Showing my age there)

I have still shed loads to arrange before the show. Mostly now getting special effects and sounds done. These are the things that elevate the show. You can have great acting, music and dancing but without a suitable fart noise or the right thud when I get punched in the face it all comes to nought.

Me and oppo should be busy working on slapstick but are both engrossed with other things. But as usual we will find the time to rehearse our comedy bits or just make it up as we go a long. That usually works.

So to all my friends old and new, family, readers who don't know me personally, stalkers and any other wierdo's who read my blog, have a Merry Xmas.

I'll see you all at the Floral Pavilion in the new year so get your tickets!

Pantobloke

Calvin Kline's or are they Primark

Been a bit lazy with the blog. Good excuse though as we've just moved house and clearing my cellar of 14 years of junk had to take priority. 

Talking of junk, rehearsals are progressing well with most principals now knowing their lines. Those who don't, we know who you are? It can be difficult though. I struggle and I wrote the stupid thing.

Me and the oppo have still some work to do on our slapstick bits. As usual we will keep it simple and I won't, at this stage reveal what we are going to do. Well I can't reveal it because we haven't written it yet. It will,however, probably involve blowing things up and oppo getting hit on the head several times with blunt objects. I like doing things last minute it keep things fresh.

Talking of fresh, the subject of whose sharing changing rooms rears its ugly head or stench.

Now me and the oppo's room is probably the most fragrant in the corridor ( You want to smell the girl's) Oppo always buys new Calvin Kline undies for the week of the show to impress any of the ladies who try to fight their way into our room. There not genuine CK's of course, I can tell by the fraying around the gusset. Not that I'm looking......moving on.

Busy weekend ahead, footy match with the Dame on Saturday which could be a heavy session being nearly Xmas. Just hope I remember which house to go back to!

Pantobloke

Sick Note

OK before we start, I'm not well, and no it's not Man flu it's a proper cold in fact it's a an acute disease of the upper respiratory tract that is marked by inflammation of the mucous membranes of the nose, throat, eyes, and eustachian tubes and by a watery then purulent discharge and is caused by any of several viruses (as a rhinovirus or an adenovirus) Glad we got that out the way.

Anyway,to use our Dames's standard pantomime segue,not to be confused with a segway which our Dame would love me to buy for him to make his entrance. Every year he wants to make his entrance on some motorised device such as a shopping trolley, lawn mower or this year a turbo charged wheel chair with go faster stripes. As usual I will have to ask oppo to make something, which he will..eventually.

Where was I, oh yes the pantomime. We move to full Sunday rehearsals this week, so now it's getting serious. Scripts must be binned. This is difficult for the cast as I am still writing it. Great when we start to do the material in the main hall with a bit of an audience. We can begin to see what works and what doesn't. There are some jokes I know will always work (You will all by now be very familiar with my if all else fails fart and fall over gag) but other more subtle humour has to be tried out. Now I know what your thinking, Pantobloke subtle humour I don't think so! But I can be subtle (please see clever segue/segway reference above)

Anyway from the look of this blog, I have obviously exceeded my 4 lemsip sachets in 24 hours so I will go and rest so I am fit for Sunday...not that you care

Pantobloke

No Twerking....no I mean it!

First Music rehearsal this week. Always difficult as we try out new songs and principals get used to Norman playing on his organ. (Ok will clean it up now)

Choice of songs is very important as it is a big part of the show and we like to make sure that cast members are comfortable with the song choices. If possible, especially with solos, we like to use suggestions made by whose going to sing it.

That is as long as it's not "On my Own" from Les Mis. If I hear that bloody song again  I will be on my own, standing on a bridge over the Thames following Javert.

We have to achieve the right balance for our audience and that , lamentably for me, means One Direction. Will draw the line at Miley Cyrus. The thought of our Dame trying to Twerk, puts me off my porridge.

Watched part of the video of our last production of Little Red Riding Hood. It was good show and only about 8 years ago. It's also quite painful watching yourself, it's a bit like Cliff looking at himself in Summer  Holiday. Except Cliff looks the same.

Ah well looks like it's weekly Botox injections for me and oppo right up to the show.

Pantobloke

Cows and Cottages

So we move into November and panto preparations are gathering pace. Rehearsals are going well now that we have the full cast available and as usual we are getting all the rude ad libs most of which will be too rude to put in the show.

Went down with stage manager, stage managers mate and my oppo to the lockup to look at scenery situation. I usually stand round and supervise while the others do the lifting. I let oppo think that I'm too weak to lift anything by occasionally dropping a flat on his foot. Seems to work and he hasn't cottoned on yet. Last time we were down there he broke a floresecent ( not even close with the spelling there) light fitting and blamed me...typical!

Main debate this year surrounds the cottage. As per normal we want to blow it up, so we are looking at ways to do this without giving the older members of our audience a heart attack. This will involve a loud noise, lots of smoke, debris and flame. Would like to use real flame but budget and danger to small children will unfortunately prevent this.

Tickets are going well and we will shortly be ramping up publicity. Our new poster looks great.

Oh I am also now looking to spend some money on a new Pantomime Cow costume. This should be a good use of raised cash unless I can think of an udder way to spend it.....sorry h

Just getting in the mood

Pantobloke

Page 3 it Ain't

Two things to mention this week. Firstly I went along with other committee members to Wirral Met to judge the poster artwork competition they had agreed to run. The submissions were incredibly high standard. When people love what they are doing they can be so creative and we had a hard job picking a winner. In the end we decided on quite a controversial choice, but the artwork was so eye catching we had to go with it. We will publicise the winning entry in the next couple of weeks.

Secondly we had cast photographs for the show program at rehearsals this week. Funny that some people who love showing their full wears on the stage don't like getting their picture taken. Me, I love it and my oppo could only look on admiringly as I posed sexily for the cameras.

It was obviously quite hard for me not to look too provocative, but I think I managed it and didn't show too much shoulder. I even agreed for my oppo to have a joint shot with me so that he could benefit from my professionalism as a glamour model. Unfortunately though, the collective glare from our heads damaged the camera and the photographer had to be treated for snow blindness.

Pantobloke

Is that legal...exactly?

Love rehearsals, really do. Much rather be standing in a church hall on a Tuesday, than sitting at home with a fosters watching the most important England match of the year!

Still we all have to make sacrifices. 

Went to see Wallasey Ops show this week, really well done but so different from our show in so many ways. My oppo was in the chorus and had to make 8 changes!. Particularly liked his nymphomaniac granny role and the other two gay characters which he seemed to pull off with consummate ease.

Panto can be much more anarchic than musicals, the constraints that exist for a director of a copyright musical play just don't exist. We can literally do what we like if you can think of it (and it is not that illegal and/or upsetting for small children or old ladies) we can do it and often will.

Don't read anarchic for unprofessional the best performers ad libs are usually remembered, recorded and rehearsed.

Right I'm in danger of sounding artistic here so I'll shut up. 

Joy of joys bag packing at Morrisons tomorrow, oh I just remembered,spray tan appointment, never mind.

Speak next week,

Pantobloke

What a load of bullocks!

Well we had our second principals rehearsal this week. We all stood up for the first time to deliver our lines. In my early days I always found this quite scarey. Having to stand up in front of your peers is always much harder than performing in front of an audience.

As we are doing Little Red Riding Hood, we have a couple of younger principals so we have to tone down the adult humour a bit. This is harder for some than others, pantomime rehearsals always bring out the childish innuendo in the cast "oo eh missis". This, however, is a really important part of the creative process with many bad jokes being invented ( or reinvented) as we  giggle our way through the evening with infantile ease.

So we will go right through Act 1 a few time until the story becomes ingrained and then I will start my Sir Laurence Olivier critique

"Say it louder like you really mean it"

"Where's your motivation for this character"

" Good now fart and fall over"

Will keep you all informed of the artistic progress

Pantobloke

Get the Whip out as we've cast off

Well we've cast and were ready to go. And what a line up we've got. Our regular followers will be relieved to know that there are a few familiar faces in the show and they will be even more relieved to know that one of them is me. My oppo obviously got a part by the skin of his teeth still you can't have everything.

Think we have some surprises in the line up for this show which always creates creativity as the show develops

We have a number of exciting new cast members this year. Auditions were amazing with a few X factor moments "oh my god I didn't see that coming"

Had some really good and talented people who we had to turn away and I hope that they are not too disillusioned (spelled that correctly amazingly) and will come back again. (Note to self too many ands in that  sentence). We really do like to strike a balance of experienced pantomimers (new word there!) and new talent. I think we have achieved it this year.

Rehearsals start on Tuesday, so I am going to have to dig the whip out.(don't really have to dig it out as I know exactly where it is, in the dungeon with my other props)

Blogs should get quite interesting from here on in.

Pantobloke

Who's got the X factor

Anguish, tears,shouting, conflict, pain, treachery, conspiracy, violence, no not world war 3 just the principal auditions.

And what a fun day we had last Sunday. We had a good mix of young and old which left us with a few difficult decisions to make. Bit like a football manager "we have a lot of competition for places but it is a good to be in this position and we are over the moon and it was a panto of two halves etc etc"

Anyway think their will be some surprises in team selection and hope that some of our key players will not be putting in a transfer request

Rehearsals start this week (for most of us!) and hope we are going to have a lot of fun amidst the moaning and groaning from the cast at having to learn their lines and remember which way they have to come on.

Also great to see all the kids at first dancing rehearsals last week. So many of them, it will be great to see the show start to develop over the next two months.

Right better go and write something funny which doesn't include farting and jokes about dog poo, well maybe a little

Blog should be back on track now panto season has started so stay tuned

PantoblokeE

Ready,steady and we're off

I admit I have been a bit lazy with the blogs for the past couple of weeks. This is however the quietest period of the year. Theatre has been booked, scenery hired and dancers auditions completed. You could however call it the calm before the storm or perhaps the squall in our case.

I need to now turn my attention to the principal auditions. For me one of the most important aspects of the whole production. Making sure we have the right blend of youth and experience. It never fails to amaze me how performers can do brilliant auditions and then promptly turn off their talent when they turn up at rehearsals, or worse even, to first night.

Contrary to popular belief we love it when new faces turn up at auditions, especially if their good.

Good news is that I will probably try again for a part. And yes if someone better than me (or us if oppo is not doing something more important that day,because I usually have to ring him at ten to four on auditions day only for him to say he's emptying his garage again!) they'll get the roles......probably.

Anyway there's loads of other parts to go for and if not, and if your really good, I'll write one for you.
Done that before and that's the beauty of pantomime,we can do what we like and often do. Just remember years ago Mr Blobby was written into the show on the morning of the first performance.

Keep your eyes peeled for audition dates which I think are 3rd Sept at St Pauls' and 8th Sept at Moreton Methodist. Hope that's correct, anyway check, this is an amusing blog not a dam notice board.

Pantobloke

Minute that, will you?

My blog's late again this week. Everything slows down in August, including me,as kids are off and everyone goes on holiday.

I am feeling pretty apathetic this week but know I will soon have to ramp up my enthusiasm as the important panto quarter  approaches. There will be lots going on from September, principal auditions, rehearsals starting and promotion planning to name just 3.

And of course meetings. Meetings, meetings, meetings. Lots of meetings with agendas, any other business, (yeah like what time does this meeting finish so I can go to the pub) and of course minutes. Which nobody reads and everyone agrees are right, and then votes on them for some reason. Minutes come from latin meaning small object or insignificent thing. Why then are they always 6 pages long!

Anyway enough of this negativity upwards and onwards. This isn't going to get the audition pieces done or the script finished.

Promise next week that blog will be funnier. I need to start thinking of some funny lines for the Dame's opening spot that won't' offend the mayor and also come up with some original comedy for me and the oppo to do. Not really worried about the latter, if all else fails one of us will fart and fall over. That usually does the trick.

See Yeah

Pantobloke

Jelly for Breakfast

OK, yes I have been on holiday. Did not want to broadcast it in case you all burgled the place.

Well, we've cast the Dancers (Congratulations) and we've also cast Red Riding Hood. Being a child part we have cast two RRH's this year. I hope this will not result in too much competition like Rooney and Van Persie at Old Trafford. Maybe we should introduce in-show competition for all the parts. It would be good seeing the Dames fight it out for the remaining slot. the one exception would be competition for the comedy duo parts, that would be just wrong.

So we've just got the principals to cast now and that will be done in September. I am sure we will have many familiar faces and hopefully some new talent.

Been over to the States to do Orlando. Third time I've been there and it does not change much. I love the tipping culture over there and how it encourages good service and friendly smiles.Some of our chain restaurants could learn a lot from over there.

I have, of course, put on 2 stone in weight due to over indulgence at the Ponderosa "all you can eat buffet breakfast".. typical menu for me (but only a small portion of what's available)

Fruit (notional)
Oatmeal (Again notional but added maple syrup as I was in holiday)
Steaky bacon, 2 eggs (over easy whatever that means) sausages, mushrooms, gammon, toast
Pancakes (more syrup)
Breakfast Pizza
Some strange corn beefy thing
Waffles with Mr Whippy ice cream, more syrup and hundred and thousands
Oh and a muffin and some blue jelly and pink blamange (Spelt that wrong)

As a type 2 Diabetic I am not endorsing this in any way but it was great fun.

Oh well back to the Kettlebells

Hope you all are having a good holiday

Pantobloke

Where would I rather be today!

Oh lovely, the day dawns of auditions for the very important part of Red Riding Hood. And good luck to all the kids who will be having a go today. I am sure that many of them will wish they were somewhere else. Can't imagine why, you would only be out in the sunshine or watching a Brit win Wimbledon for the first time in 77 years. We always seem to arrange auditions on a day where there is,very obviously,something much better to do. One year we even managed it on a Sunday when England were playing in the World Cup finals. I drew the line at that one and there was an empty chair where the nice one sits at the end of the table, something to do with a head cold. Anyway good luck again if you are auditioning and I promise not to be too grumpy

Saw The Who last week. Enjoyed it immensly (got the spelling wrong there) although I don't think my oppo enjoyed me singing Pinball Wizard down his right lughole. He's not a big Who fan like me and he was still sulking after having to pay me the 70 odd quid for the ticket. I had paid out for the tickets  months ago and had already recovered from the wallet shock!

 Drink seems to play a huge part for many attending concerts at the Arena. Many people get completely bladdered and spend the entire concert trying to dance,staggering in the aisles,dribbling, trying to sing with there arms in the air and cut a sad figure trying to bask in the reflected glory of the group on stage...anyway enough about me.

See you at auditions. If you don't know me, I'll be the one at the end without the grumpy face ,if you see a headphone in my ear, it's a hearing aid and not me listening to the tennis.

Be good and tuneful if you can manage it

Pantobloke

We Won't Get Fooled Again..oh yes we will!

So the day of our dancing auditions dawns and hopefully we will have lots of hopefuls donning their ballet,dance, jazz shoes or even Doc Martens. I don't give a monkeys what they wear, as you already know I steer well clear of dancing auditions,though I may stride in and try to look important for a few minutes.

More important things for me today as me and my oppo are going to see The Who tonight at the Echo Arena. Bit full circle for me, as I first saw them in Liverpool 40 years ago (yes FORTY !)and having watched Jagger on the box last night it made me sit down again and think about just how long you should go on as a performer. Is it better to look back at videos of shows 20 years ago when we stll had hair (and on our heads too) or do we continue. Do we get better like a fine wine or deteriorate like a rancid greek yoghurt. I certainly don't want to play an ugly sister, in a bathchair, claiming Attendance Allowance and with my carer in attendance. My oppo already has to put makeup on to make himself look less ugly to play this part.

Anyway we will enjoy the concert and I am certain it will be a very mature (that's polite for decrepit) audience who will rock along to Won't Get Fooled Again and other anthems from their youth.

With auditions starting the panto year will now start rolling like a runaway train with me and my fellow production team trying to deal with the many issues that come along on the trip. Like what colour cotton to use on the  tutus, or what meat to put in the batches or what mixer should I have with my vodka. It never ends.

I'll go now as I need to decide what trendy gear to wear for the concert as I am sure that my oppo will make an effort and I saw him eyeing up a nice blue cardy in Moss Bros last week.

Pantobloke

Bubonic Plague

Right, got a cold this week and am suffering. Before you start,you all need to realise that this is not your usual cold. This, obviously, is something far far worse. You see even Mrs Pantobloke doesn't realise that the minor virus that she had last week, which was probably very mild, has now mutated into something far more insidious. I am sure that there is scientific proof that when the microbes, that were probably passed on this very ipad, go from female to male hosts,they grow ten fold. I need intensive nursing and comfort and I am simply not getting it! And it simply is s'not fair.(sorry about that little mucas pun, snot is not fair but greenish grey)

Anyway enough about my suffering (pause for coughing fit and sneeze) One of our cast members appeared in a real musical this week having won a national talent competition to appear in the Rocky Horror Show. Don't name people in my Blog, as you know, but well done Queen Rat.

If I manage to shake off this serious condition, I will give you a panto update next week. Leave you with a little known fact

The term bubonic plague is derived from the Greek word βουβών, meaning "groin." 

Pantobloke

Tchaikovsky or Hawkwind?

The panto year is now gaining pace. Auditions for dancers coming up at end of month and I spent some time creating an advert to go in the local paper. I resisted the temptation to include a picture of me on the advert opting instead for a photo of some dancers from a previous show.

This is because we are not trying to attract 50 odd year old balding men as dancers for the show but young talented local individuals. We could of course introduce a troop of male dancers in my age group but we would then have to pay people to come and see the panto and I'm not sure we could afford it.

We had a meeting with the choreographer this week to discuss the dance numbers and the script. Choosing music is so important. My choices of Hawkwind, Motorhead and Blue Oyster Cult were again dismissed. My fellow production team failing to visualise how good ending the first half with a mass ballet to Ace Of Spades, could be. Never mind.

Script is coming on. I am very protective of the writing at this stage. It is like a baby, needs nurturing and developing but without the projectile vomiting. But we are determined to evolve the show into something special. Shorter, faster, and funnier...bit like me really.

Anyway as year moves on this blog will start to get really exciting and I won't ramble on so much. So keep reading.

Pantobloke