Aladdin Education Pack

Education Pack
Page 1
Introduction
Dear Teacher,
CONTENTS
Welcome to our pantomime education pack. It has been
written to give you a range of extended ideas and activities
for use in your classroom to support your visit.
We are delighted to present Aladdin as our 2015
pantomime, a classic Eastern folk tale which has been
adapted into plays, musicals, cartoons, films and of course…
Pantomimes!
This education pack has been designed so that you can dip
in and out as you like. It has been divided into subject areas
which can be easily navigated through using the contents
list opposite.
In this pack you will find a background to pantomime, an
insight into the staging of a production, the background of
Aladdin and a good range of practical and educational
activities that you can use in your lessons before and after
your visit.
Best wishes,
Craig Sanders & Joanne Eltringham
Special thanks go to all our work experience students who
have contributed ideas to this education pack throughout
2015.
Page 2
The History of Pantomime
Stock Characters of Pantomime
The Story of Aladdin
Staging a Pantomime
The Lighting Designer
The Choreographer
The Director
3
4
5
8
8
9
10
Activity Sheets
12
Useful Links and Resources
19
The History of Pantomime
Pantomime is a unique British tradition
commonly found in theatres up and down the
UK throughout the winter holiday period. In
fact, Pantomime has become a British institution
but its origins are from beyond British shores.
The Pantomime we see today can be
distinguished by its dramatisation of a classic
fairytale told through the use of eccentric
characters and absurd situations. It’s a place
where blokes dress as women and women dress
as young princes, where good triumphs over evil
and the audience are as much part of the action
as the pantomime cow, the beanstalk or the
magic carpet. The stories are told with a gigantic
emotional heart through the use of acting, song,
dance and intriguing illusions and magic. This is
no surprise considering the word Pantomime
means ‘all kind of’ (panto-) ‘mime’ (mime);
although ‘mime’ is a performance of actions and
not words.
Dan Leno
Harlequinades
Harlequinades were comical sequences found in
pantomimes were the lead characters (the harlequin and
the clown) would perform a mimed sequence, often
slapstick was involved, and could be identified as a magical
transformation or chase scene. They began as short
sequences after dramatic action, later expanding into
longer versions, and the lead characters of the
Harlequinade became firmly embedded in the structure of
pantomime.
Joseph Grimaldi (Clown)
Joseph Grimaldi is recognised as one of the most famous
pantomime clowns. His contribution to the genre was huge
and many of his developments are still present in today’s
pantomime, such as cross-dressing (which the Dame and
principal boy characters do), comic musical numbers and
slapstick.
Commedia dell’arte
This quirky British tradition has its origins in the commedia
dell'arte. Commedia dell’arte actors performed
improvisations in the streets of Italy using a range of stock
characters that were recognisable to audiences with the
use of distinctive masks. Like commedia, pantomime uses
stock characters and familiar scenarios and in particular the
‘harlequin’ and the ‘clown’ are typical commedia characters
often found in pantomime.
Dan Leno (Victorian Dame)
Dan Leno was a music hall performer who became one of
the most famed dames in pantomime history. From 1886,
Leno played the role of the dame in every pantomime at
the Theatre Royal, Dury Lane for the next 15 years!
Page 3
Stock Characters of Pantomime
The Villain
Much like the traditions of Commedia dell’arte,
Pantomime is made up of similar and
recognisable characters in each story. We call
these ‘stock’ characters. Below, you can discover
the traditional stock pantomime characters and
what they are called in ‘Aladdin’.
The evil Villain in Aladdin is called Abanazar.
Traditionally in pantomime, the baddie always has a
scheme to defeat the hero. Their plans may be to
steal the heart of the princess, destroy the hero or
claim some much sought after treasure. This character
is often welcomed with a sea of boos and hisses from
the audience.
The Dame
The Clowns
The dame in Aladdin is called Widow Twankey. It is a
female character but is always traditionally played by
a male actor. The dame is often the comic driving
force behind the pantomime and she encourages
audience participation throughout.
The clown characters in Aladdin are the two
policemen. Traditionally these are called Ping and
Pong. In our version they are called Cop and Nick. The
Policemen characters date back to a Victorian
tradition of chase scenes.
The Principal Boy
The Principal Boy is called Aladdin and he is the hero
of the story. Traditionally this role is played by a
female, however today in some versions of Aladdin is
played by a male actor. Aladdin goes extra lengths to
win the heart of the Princess and is portrayed as a
brave and chivalrous character.
The Principal Girl
The Principal Girl in Aladdin is called Princess Jasmine.
This role is always played by a female and is
sometimes the key focus of the story (like Cinderella
for example.) The Principal Girl always ends up
marrying the Principal Boy which is a glamorous
closing scene to the pantomime.
Page 4
The Story of Aladdin
are keen to get Jasmine back to the Palace as a
princess isn’t allowed out on her own. They leave and
Aladdin tells his mum he is in love with Jasmine – she
says he’s talking nonsense and makes her boys go
back to work.
ALADDIN at Buxton Opera House
(Synopsis)
Abanazar is fed up with being the Sultan’s deputy: he
plans to get rid of his boss and marry the Sultan’s
daughter, the beautiful Princess Jasmine. To be allpowerful, he must find a special magic lamp with a
Genie inside who can help him carry out his plans.
Sc2 – The Palace
Abanazar tells princess Jasmine off for leaving the
Palace on her own and threatens to keep a closer
watch on her in the future. Seconds after Abanazar
has left, Aladdin arrives to see Jasmine. He has
sneaked into the Palace so he can talk to her again.
Abanazar suddenly comes back and finds them
together. He calls for Cop and Nick to arrest Aladdin
but he escapes once again. Abanazar sends Jasmine to
her room and calls up Layla, the Slave of The Ring, to
ask where he can find the boy she told him about (not
realising that is the person he has just seen with
Jasmine). Layla mistakenly tells Abanazar where
Aladdin lives and Abanazar leaves to find him.
Abanazar already has a magic ring that commands
another Genie, called Layla. When he calls her up, she
reluctantly tells him where the lamp is hidden but says
he will need a clever boy called Aladdin to get it for
him.
ACT I
Sc 1
Aladdin and his brother Wishee Washee are meeting
their friends in the market place. Aladdin has set up a
market stall without the Sultan’s permission and two
policemen, Cop and Nick, want to arrest him for
breaking the law. They chase him off stage and leave
Wishee alone. Wishee chats to the audience then
hears his mother, Widow Twankey, approaching and
runs off in case she wants him to work in the Laundry.
Twankey stays on to make friends with the audience.
Sc3 – Twankey’s Laundry
Widow Twankey gets Wishee to help her with the
washing. They get into an awful mess and ask an
audience member to help (who gets soaked as well).
They all go off to get cleaned up.
Cop and Nick come back and tell Widow Twankey they
are looking for Aladdin. She leaves to warn her son
while Cop and Nick go on searching.
Sc 4 – A Baghdad Street
Abanazar arrives on the street where Aladdin lives
and sings a song to celebrate his evil plans.
Princess Jasmine enters in disguise. She tells the
audience she is bored with life in the Palace. Now her
father the Sultan is away she only has creepy old
Abanazar to talk to. Aladdin turns up and talks to
Jasmine, not realising she is the princess. Their chat is
interrupted by Cop and Nick, who once again try to
arrest Aladdin. The noise attracts Twankey and
Wishee.
Sc 5 – Twankey’s Laundry
Widow Twankey and Wishee are back in the laundry
when Abanazar arrives. He charms Twankey, making
her think that he will help her and her family to
become rich if Aladdin helps him. Aladdin turns up
and Widow Twankey insists that he goes off with
Abanazar to find the lamp. Before he leaves, Aladdin
asks Wishee to pass on a message to Princess Jasmine.
Jasmine stops Nick and Cop from arresting Aladdin,
showing them who she really is. The two policemen
Page 5
The Story of Aladdin Cont’d
Sc 6 – A Baghdad Street
Wishee is on his own, chatting to the audience when
Princess Jasmine turns up in disguise. Wishee has
arranged to meet her so he can pass on Aladdin’s
message. Aladdin has asked his brother to say that he
loves Jasmine and will be coming back for her after his
adventure with Abanazar.
(Aladdin spelt backwards) in order to surprise her with
his new-found wealth.
Cop and Nick - who are now working for Aladdin – go
to fetch the Princess and everyone leaves to get
changed out of their party clothes.
Abanazar enters and tells the audience he means to
get the lamp back. He hears voices and disappears.
Princess Jasmine enters Aladdin’s palace with Nick
and Cop, expecting to meet Prince Niddala. She tells
Cop and Nick that she doesn’t want to meet a prince,
because she really loves Aladdin. When Aladdin
arrives, dressed in fine clothes as Prince Niddala,
Jasmine does not recognise him. He tells her he is
looking for a wife but she tells him she loves someone
else – a poor laundry boy. Aladdin then shows
Jasmine who he really is. They declare their love for
each other and decide to get married, leaving to get
ready for the wedding.
Sc 7 – Outside the Cave
Abanazar gets Aladdin to help him perform a spell,
which opens the entrance to the cave. Aladdin is
scared, but he enters the cave to get the lamp.
Sc 8 - Inside the Cave
Once inside the cave Aladdin finds the lamp and
Abanazar asks him to pass it out to him, but Aladdin
thinks Abanazar may be trying to trick him, and so he
refuses to help. Abanazar loses his temper and traps
Aladdin in the cave.
Alone in the cave, Aladdin picks up the lamp and rubs
it. The magic Genie appears – he tells Aladdin that he
once enjoyed a wealthy lifestyle but a magic spell
trapped him inside the lamp, where he is forced to
serve different masters. The Genie grants Aladdin
three wishes letting him escape from the cave, marry
Jasmine and become rich.
Abanazar comes back, this time disguised as an old
man selling lamps. Widow Twankey spots him and
can’t resist his offer of “New Lamps For Old”. She
finds Aladdin’s lamp and eventually hands it over to
Abanazar in exchange for the new lamp. As soon as
he has the lamp again, Abanazar calls the Genie and
tells him to destroy Aladdin’s palace then fly him and
the Princess to Egypt.
Aladdin gathers up the treasures inside the cave with
the help of some magical spirits and the Genie flies
him back to Baghdad.
Sc 2 A Baghdad Street
The Palace has disappeared and Wishee, Twankey are
back in their ragged clothes again. They realise what
has happened and Aladdin says he will get Jasmine
back. But how? Twankey says that she managed to
grab Abanazar’s ring in the struggle. Aladdin touches
the ring and Layla, the Slave of the Ring, is
summoned. Layla puts them on a magic carpet ride to
Egypt but tells them that she can only get them there,
she has no power to help them after that.
ACT 2
Prologue
Abanazar summons Layla, who tells him that Aladdin
has escaped from the cave and is having a party at his
new palace. Abanazar vows to get the lamp back.
Sc 1 Aladdin’s New Palace
Sc 3 Aladdin’s Magic Carpet Ride
Aladdin is shown flying to Egypt to rescue Jasmine.
Aladdin and his family and friends are enjoying the
party. Aladdin is especially happy as he has invited
Jasmine over, pretending that he is “Prince Niddala”
Page 6
The Story of Aladdin Cont’d
Sc 4 The Egyptian Desert
Aladdin, Wishee and Twankey meet up in the desert
having flown there on Layla’s magic carpets. They
stop to rest but are bothered by a group of Egyptian
mummies. The mummies run away, scared, when the
finally see Widow Twankey’s face. They call on Layla
again who helps them with a plan to enter Abanazar’s
palace in disguise.
Sc 5 Abanazar’s Palace
Abanazar tells Jasmine that she must marry him
instead of Aladdin. Cop and Nick (who have also been
captured and taken to Egypt) appear and tell
Abanazar there are two builders outside. Aladdin and
Wishee come in, dressed as builders, and try to make
Abanazar believe there is a problem with the palace
drains. They ask for a lamp to go and inspect the
drains but Abanazar realises who they are and chases
them. After much confusion Aladdin finally gets the
lamp. The Genie is summoned and Abanazar is turned
from a baddie into a goodie. The Genie is also
released from the lamp but just too late Aladdin
realises that he has no-one to help him return to
Baghdad. Abanazar, now a nice man, reminds Aladdin
that he can ask Layla and she appears and flies them
back home.
Sc 6 Songsheet
Wishee helps the audience sing a song and children
from the audience come up on stage to help him.
Sc 7 Walkdown
Everyone celebrates the marriage between Aladdin
and Jasmine and the characters tell the audience what
has happened since the story ended.
Page 7
Staging a Pantomime
The Lighting Designer
A lot of people are involved in the production of a
pantomime. We have asked the director, the
choreographer and the lighting designer some
questions about what is involved.
Questions answered by Guy Dunk, Lighting
Designer and Technical Manager of Buxton
Opera House’s Christmas Pantomime.
What is your involvement with the panto?
Technical Manager, Lighting Designer and Co-Production
Manager.
How many technical staff work on panto?
During fit-up and rehearsals typically as many as 13, usually
going down to 11 when the show is up and running.
What key technical roles work on a typical panto
performance at BOH?
Lighting Operator, Sound Operator, Follow Spot Operators,
Head Flyman and his team (three people), Stage Right and
Stage Left Stage crew (four crew), Wardrobe Mistress.
What do you do/consider when designing the lighting for
panto?
The Director’s wishes, the script, the scenery, costumes and
last but not least, the budget!
What’s it like backstage during a typical panto
performance?
Generally very busy, although there are some quiet periods
too!
How is panto different from other Buxton Opera House
shows?
This is the longest run of performances of the same
production – about 40, including major rehearsals, so
everyone gets to know each other better.
What’s been your favourite panto here and why?
Peter Pan – it was a great challenge to fly cast members
and the audience really loved it – however it is the most
expensive panto to put on – extra specialised equipment
and extra running crew – 16 in total, I recall.
Page 8
The Choreographer
for the dance, thinking about what steps I want to use. I'll
also think about the story being told on stage, and what
characters the dancers are playing in the song.
Questions answered by Sally Brooks,
choreographer of Buxton Opera House’s
Christmas Pantomime.
How do you work with other members of the artistic
team?
Before rehearsals begin, there will always be lots of
conversations between myself, the Director and the
Musical Director (MD) about what songs we would like to
use in the pantomime, which character could sing them,
how long they should be, and whether there should be an
instrumental dance break. When we know which songs we
are doing, I will also speak to the costume designer about
any ideas she has for the dancers costumes, as this will
affect the choreography. We also talk about which shoes
the dancers will be wearing in each number, as this will
influence the steps I put in the dance.
Why do you like being a choreographer for pantomime?
So many reasons! I love all the different musical genres we
cram into the piece, it gives me a chance to choreograph in
lots of different styles, and try out lots of new things. Also,
the pantomime at Buxton is great, as we have a cast of
professional actors working alongside a team of local young
dancers. I love choreographing for young people, and it's
great to see them working alongside our actors – not many
shows I've worked on have such a mixed cast, and I love
that!
What's the most challenging part of the job?
Definitely rehearsal timings. A pantomime is rehearsed
quite quickly, and our chorus of young local dancers attend
school every day before rehearsals. This means that we
only have two hours in the evening to work, and some
weekend rehearsals. Fortunately, the dancers are very
quick at picking up choreography, and have brilliant
memories. We also have two teams of dancers for the
show, so I need to make sure both teams have rehearsed
everything, and know what they are doing. I'll teach the
professional actors any steps they need to learn during
rehearsals in the day, and then add the dancers into the
number in the evening – rehearsals definitely go very
quickly for me!
How do you work with the chorus and actors during
rehearsals?
I will teach the dancers the choreography for a musical
number first. We learn the steps together as a group, and
then begin putting the dancers into particular patterns or
spacing, to make the dance more interesting for an
audience. Sometimes, I have to adjust my original
choreography at this point, as a movement that was great
in my head doesn't look so good on stage! Then I'll teach
the actors any movements they need to know during
daytime rehearsals, and add the dancers in evening
rehearsals. This is when I may adjust the spacing again, to
make sure that everyone can be seen, and to make sure
that the audience see a balanced picture in performance.
How do you plan the dances?
I always begin working on the dances before I arrive at
rehearsals. I'll listen to the tracks carefully, and will firstly
work out where I'd like our principal characters to be when
they are singing. Then I'll create the movement for the
dancers behind them, again being led by the music. If there
is a piece of percussion, I might want to add a movement
that emphasises it. If the music seems to grow in
instrumentation, or changes key, I might want to add more
dancers for that moment, to give the dance a feeling of
growing on stage. I'll also decide what style I want to
choreograph in, and plan some basic movement vocabulary
Do you still give notes to dancers after the show has
opened?
An important part of my job is making sure that every
audience see the best possible show, and so yes, if
necessary, I do still give notes to the dancers when the
show has opened.
Page 9
The Director
What traditional elements do you include?
There are certain traditional comedy routines that always
go down well, such as the “ghost scene”, where the
audience is encouraged to shout out if they see a ghost.
Other traditional elements are: Slapstick, comedy chases,
catch phrases, the Song Sheet, the Walkdown, local and
current references and finally spectacular sets and
costumes.
Questions answered by Philip Dart, Script Writer
and Director of Buxton Opera House’s Christmas
pantomime
What makes a good pantomime?
A good story with plenty of action, in which good triumphs
over evil. Most pantomimes are based fairy or folk tales
from around the world. Aladdin’s origins are Arabic, the
story of Cinderella dates back to the ancient worlds of
Egypt and Greece while Dick Whittington and Jack and the
Beanstalk are traditional English stories. A happy ending is
absolutely essential.
What’s the most difficult thing about writing a
pantomime?
Making it appeal across a wide age range. Pantomime is a
family show and the content has to work for small children
right through to senior citizens. It’s important to get the
balance right, so the script needs to contain some elements
that appeal to children and some that appeal to adults.
Strong characters – these are called “stock” characters
which means they are imitations of a certain type of
person. The idea comes from the Italian Commedia
Dell’Arte, where the actors wore masks and made up their
own lines. Each Commedia actor specialised in playing a
particular character such as the young hero, the beautiful
and lively daughter, the mean old man. Stock characters in
pantomime today include the young hero and heroine, the
good fairy, the daft but kindly old king, the villain and the
Dame (traditionally a man dressed as a woman). Some
pantos still follow the Victorian tradition of having a woman
play the young (male) hero.
How do you cast the pantomime?
We have to cast the “stars” in the spring before because
their image has to be printed on the posters and appear on
the theatre’s website in the Summer when we start to sell
the tickets. The other actors are auditioned in the summer,
but sometimes we employ actors we have worked with
before and generally they don’t audition.
There is a website called ‘Spotlight Casting Directory’ and
we use this when we want to audition actors. We put up a
list of the parts we are casting and actors’ names are put
forward by their agents. This year we had over 1,000
submissions for 4 parts!
Audience participation – pantomime is different from most
other theatre shows in that the characters often address
the audience directly. The audience is also encouraged to
hiss, boo and cheer and to talk back to the characters –
they often respond to an actor’s appearance with a
greeting learned at the beginning of the show.
We audition about 50 actors over two or three days. They
are asked to read from the script and sing a song. Normally
we call back about 15 of these actors to audition again
before we make our final choices.
Popular music and good dancing. Some pantomime
producers use specially written songs but others prefer the
actors to sing pop songs and pop classics, as these songs
will be familiar to the audience. It’s important that the
dancing is of a high standard and that the choreographer
creates interesting moves and patterns with the dancers on
stage.
What’s the most difficult thing about directing the
pantomime?
Co–ordinating the various elements that go into the show.
We only have two weeks to rehearse the entire show and
during that time we will try to squeeze in music, dancing,
and acting rehearsals. The technical side of the show is
Page 10
The Director
often complicated, with many scene and lighting changes as
well as special effects. Sound is important, too, and it
sometimes takes a while to get the balance between the
singers and the band sounding right.
Technical rehearsals are followed by two full dress
rehearsals when we aim to perform the show exactly as it
would be if there was a live audience. After that we are hopefully - ready for the opening performance!
How do you rehearse?
Because we have so little time I draw up a schedule before
we start and everyone tries to stick to it. This means that if
an actor is not rehearsing with the director he or she can
use the time to learn a song with the Musical Director or go
through a dance routine with the Choreographer. They
may even have a costume fitting with the wardrobe
mistress.
During the first week of rehearsals the company does not
work in the theatre but in a rehearsal room. We start the
rehearsal process with a “read through” of the entire script
so everyone gets an idea of what the show is about. At this
point we will have a brief chat about the characters the
actors are playing and we’ll continue to discuss what the
characters should be thinking and feeling throughout the
rehearsal period.
After the read-through I “block” the scenes – this is a
process by which I work out with the actors where they will
enter and exit and where they will move during the scenes.
When this is complete, normally at the end of the second
day, I will go back to the start of the script and work
through the scenes in more detail. Over the first week I will
probably get a chance to rehearse each scene at least 3 or 4
times and the actors will learn their lines. As we rehearse I
will put in small changes that make the show better –
changing lines and using any good ideas the actors may
suggest.
At the start of the second week the music and dance
routines are fitted together with the scenes we’ve
rehearsed and we will begin to ‘run’ both halves of the
show: that’s going through them without stopping. We
then move into the theatre for the technical rehearsals,
where we put together the set, lighting and sound and
make sure everything works together properly.
Page 11
Activities
The next few pages contain different activities o
try with your class before and after visiting our
production of Aladdin. We haven’t tailored them
to fit particular key stages or age ranges, we
present them as ideas which can be adapted to
any level.
We hope you and your class enjoy the education
pack, and we would encourage you as much as
possible to integrate them into your usual
curriculum to help bring learning alive.
Page 12
English
PLOT:
The Magic Carpet Adventure
Imagine you have been given, bought or found a carpet
which can fly! Describe in detail how you came to have the
magic carpet and how you discovered it could fly. Who will
you take on the journey, who will you meet along the way,
what places of wonder will you visit and what adventures
will you have?
Jingling is a great metal shop worker. He can make anything
from lamps to lamp shades. One day he makes a lamp for
Emo the master wizard. When he asks for a lamp, Jingling
does his best work to make a magic lamp. This lamp was so
powerful it turned Emo into an evil wizard. Jingling tries to
stop him. To do that he needs help from Julie, and the King
and Queen. To save China he has to sacrifice himself and
absorb all the power of the lamp by being put inside it,
forever, unless a wish sets him free. When he is inside the
lamp he changes colour and becomes magic from the
power of the lamp. So Jingling changes his name to Genie.
Write an Alternative Pantomime Script
Throughout the year, we’ve asked our work experience
students to create a brand new pantomime inspired by
Aladdin. Using the characters and plot below, why not try
your hand at writing a new pantomime script? Use the
advice from Philip Dart to construct your pantomime. Are
there any other characters you would like to add?
Write a Review
Once you’ve seen our pantomime, why not try writing a
review about what you saw? A review is useful to many
people including theatre producers, the cast and crew and
audiences. Reviews are quoted in marketing materials and
audiences sometimes use them to decide whether to come
and see the show or not. A review is only an opinion but a
qualified opinion can help massively. Your review should
cover all aspects of performance so here are some
questions to think about:
CHARACTERS:
Genie - The leading role of this play. He is an out-going and
cheerful person who isn’t afraid to speak his mind.
Dame Julie - Despite being a woman, this role should be
played by a male. The Dame is a also very cheerful and also
quite loud.
What is the show called and where can people see it?
What is the show about?
Who’s in the show and who are the key people behind the
scenes?
What aspects of the production really stood out for you?
What did you like about the performances, the set, the
costumes, the music etc?
Master Emo (Devil) - At the beginning of this play, Emo is
just like every average wizard living in China until his
character changes and he becomes evil and mischievous.
His name, Emo, actually means ‘devil’ in China and people
tend to make fun of his name and this annoys him a lot.
King Dave - King Dave is your typical kind of king. He
expects everything to be done his way without failure and
he will not hesitate to punish anyone who fails to obey his
orders.
There is a useful resource on the BBC website which will
help you to write your review:
LINK: http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/guides/zxs9xnb/revision/1
Queen Jill - She is a very bossy woman who will not take
orders from anyone. She even tends to boss her own
husband from time to time.
Jingling (Genie before)
Page 13
Maths
Problem Solving Scenarios
Producing a Pantomime Budget Exercise
In the story of Aladdin, each character at some point
encounters a problem which they have to solve. We would
like to encourage you to think creatively about the
problems and adapt them as numerical problem solving
activities. Here is an example to get you started:
Staging a pantomime is an expensive business. Like all
businesses, at the end of the day the production has to
come within budget. The amount of money available
determines some of the creative choices made in
production including what cast the production has through
to what scenery it can afford.
Lamps at the market
Ask your learners to create a budget for a production of
Aladdin. The budget sheet should have the following
headings:
There are 30 magic lamps at the market. Abanazar came
and took 3 away, 2 more were stolen by a thief, 5 more
were later sold in the day. How many magic lamps are left?
Writer
Director
Musical Director
Musicians
Choreographer
Principal Cast
Ensemble Cast/Dancers
Technical Team
Stage Set
Costumes
Props
Stage Effects
Lighting Equipment
Sound Equipment
Marketing
Widow Twankey’s Laundry
Widow Twankey has had a brand new washing machine.
The machine charges £5 per wash. Widow Twankey only
has the following coins: 8 x £1, 2 x 50p, 4 x 20p & 2 x 10p.
How many washes can she afford to do?
Produce cards for each heading with a total amount on.
Produce three for each (1 for basic, 1 for standard and 1 for
ultimate). For example, for a basic set the charge might be
£5000, standard might be £10,000 and the ultimate might
be £30,000.
Having the different amounts available will force learners to
make critical decisions about what their production will
prioritise to make it come within budget.
The budget for your pantomime is £100,000.
Good luck!!
Page 14
Art, Design and Technology
Design your own pantomime poster!
An eye-catching poster is essential to attract an audience for
the pantomime, just like the front cover of a book. Using our
Aladdin poster to the right and the top tips from our
Marketing Manager, try your hand at designing your own
pantomime poster. You could design an alternative poster
for Aladdin or why not pick one of the many other
pantomime titles, such as Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk
or Sleeping Beauty.
Emma (Marketing Manager) lists what makes a good
pantomime poster. Remember to consider these
when designing your own poster:
•
Use right colours that reflect the show. Set
the scene. What location is the panto set in?
•
Use characters with smiley faces wearing
costumes.
•
‘Sparkly’ magical bits.
•
Don’t forget to add the title of the show.
•
Who is staring in the panto?
•
Dates of the performances.
•
How to book.
DID YOU KNOW…?
We print 40,000 flyers and 200 posters
to promote our annual pantomime.
Page 15
Art, Design and Technology
Design your own Magic Carpet!
Page 16
Drama
Still Images
Tell the class they are going to create some “freezes” or “freeze pictures”. (These can also be referred to as still
images or tableaux).
Explain that freezes are completely still and silent pictures that show a scene and looks just as if someone had
taken a photograph.
Ask the children to form groups of five. Using the Synopsis in this pack, divide the story of Aladdin up into equal
parts so that each group makes four still images each.
Each group should be given 20 minutes to rehearse their still images, thinking particularly about body language,
facial expressions, transitions from one image to the next and proxemics.
Each tableaux should be given a caption spoken aloud by a nominated member of the group.
Once the still images are prepared all groups should show these to the class and the whole play will have been
performed.
Page 17
Pantomime Wordsearch
F
A
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Can you find the following words in the grid above?
Aladdin
Prince
Genie
Emperor
Dame
Princess
Clown
Peking
Fairy Godmother
Slapstick
Magic Carpet
Cave of Wonders
Page 18
Villain
Magic Lamp
Pantomime Horse
Glitter
Links and Resources
Here we have listed a few links to websites which
you may find useful to learn more about
pantomime:
www.its-behind-you.com
www.vam.ac.uk/page/p/pantomime/
www.pantoday.co.uk
www.commedia-dell-arte.com
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