Download \\Office4\bitesize\Scripts\Teach Packs\panto tpk

Teacher’s Pack
BITESIZE
THEATRE
COMPANY
BITESIZE THEATRE COMPANY
Pantomime
Pantomime, or Panto, is a Christmas tradition - in Britain only! Many other
countries don’t know/understand Panto. Panto was originally derived from the
Commedia del Arte, which is where many of the stock characters of Panto
have evolved from.
Commedia del Arte
was a burlesque theatrical style that became extremely popular in Italy in the
sixteenth century. Performances took place in the streets or on squares during fairs
and festivals. The use of masks was one of its most distinguishing features.
To keep the audience’s attention from wandering, the performances were
interspersed with comic scenes: the lazzi. These lazzi often had no connection with
the contents of the play at all. It has been said that as they became increasingly
popular, the lazzi drew larger audiences than the plays themselves.
Pantomime developed from this type of travelling street theatre called Commedia
dell'arte which came from Italy in the 16th century. Commedia is a very physical
type of theatre that uses dance, music, tumbling, acrobatics and buffoonery.
Commedia dell'arte troupes had a repertoire of stories that they performed in
fairgrounds and market places. Often the touring troupes were made up of family
members who would inherit their characters, costumes, masks and stories from
their parents or grandparents. Commedia spread across Europe from Italy to
France and by the middle of the 17th century began to be popular in England.
Commedia Characters
Like pantomime, Commedia dell'arte had set types of character called stock
characters. Each character had set movements and gestures that represented his
or her personality. The characters included the old man (Pantalone); naughty
servants including Arlecchino, the lover, his lady and her servant girl (Columbine)
who was in love with Arlecchino. There was also a clown or Pierrot character.
The actors wore costumes that depicted their
character. Originally they also wore leather half masks
over their faces. Commedia actors did not have a
script but would improvise within the outline of a story.
Commedia stories were often satirical and would poke
fun at contemporary issues or ideas.
From the 1660s Commedia dell'arte characters began to appear in English plays.
Such was the success of Commedia in England that an intense rivalry soon sprang
up between the theatres producing it. Within two days of a new performance
opening at Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre in 1716, a show with an almost identical
title opened at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.
It was John Rich, an actor manager who performed under the name of John Lun,
who gave pantomime its name. His pantomimes were composed of music, dance
and song, interspersed with dialogue. The pantomimes were in three parts:
A short introduction on a serious theme, sometimes based on a classical myth.
A popular tale, a legend or a folk story which later developed into the
pantomime stories we recognise today.
After the second part of the pantomime the actors would transform themselves into
the Commedia characters for the Harlequinade. These transformation scenes
became more and more elaborate, using stage technology to thrill the audience. In
time the transformation scenes became hugely popular and established audience
expectation for spectacle in pantomime.
John Rich's first pantomime at Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre was called Harlequin
Sorcerer and was in two acts, one serious and one comic. It was billed alongside
other kinds of entertainment, and pantomimes continued to be part of mixed bills
until the middle of the 19th century.
Pantomimes made John Rich the most successful theatre manager in England. He
earned so much money that he built a brand new theatre, the Theatre Royal,
Covent Garden which opened in December 1732. It became famous for its
pantomimes, with elaborate tricks and technical effects.
For over 150 years the character of Harlequin was the star of the pantomime and
pantomime was dominated by the Harlequinade, a comic chase scene telling the
story of Harlequin and Columbine. The Harlequinade was in mime with music and
lots of slapstick and tomfoolery. Every pantomime had a Harlequinade as part of
the bill.
The story of the Harlequinade had the same basic format; a chase scene where
the two lovers, Harlequin and Columbine, are kept apart by the girl's father,
Pantaloon, whose servants play tricks on him. In the chase the two lovers are
pursued by her father and his servant, Clown. At this time actors had a repertoire
of stock characters with whom they were associated. John
Rich's character was Harlequin and he developed the
character into a mischievous magician. Rich also developed
the drama of the chase scenes.
John Rich's Harlequin used a Slapstick or wooden bat which he would hit against
the scenery to make the scenes change by knocking down a series of hinged flaps.
The chase scene would take the characters to many different locations all
controlled by Harlequin's magic bat. The locations of the chase were often places
that people would recognise - named streets or areas of London for example. They
also included mythical locations.
The pantomime traditions of slapstick (meaning a certain type of clownish physical
comedy), chases, speed and transformations were developed from Rich's
Harlequinades.
Transformation scenes started as a way of moving between the different sections
of the pantomime. Rather than just stopping one section and starting another,
actors found creative and imaginative ways to transform the story into the
Harlequinade. During the transformation scenes the actors would take off the giant
head masks that they had worn for the story and remove their costumes to reveal
themselves as the Commedia dell'arte characters.
As pantomime developed and stage technology became more advanced the
transformations became events in themselves. It was designer William Beverley
who first used the transformation scenes to alter stage sets. Scenery was flown in
from above on wires or changed by a series of hinged flaps. Trick objects turned
around to become another object. Beverley introduced a 'fan effect' where the
scenery collapsed sideways and inwards, like a folding fan, to reveal a view from
behind. Soon audiences expected to be impressed by the stage technology of a
pantomime. The names of scene painters and other technicians began to appear
on playbills. A good transformation scene was as big an attraction to an audience
as a famous actor. By the 1890s pantomimes were lavish affairs and audiences
expected fabulous sets and fantastical transformation scenes.
The character of Harlequin originated in the Commedia dell’’arte plays of the
Renaissance. ‘‘Arlecchino’’, as he was then called, was a wily and unscrupulous
servant whose clothes were covered in patches. His face was covered with a black
half-mask which also had a bushy moustache and whiskery beard. Through the
centuries, Harlequin’’s costume became increasingly stylised, and the tatty patches
became a regular diamond pattern.
The Commedia dell’’arte plays involved a great deal of physical humour and
acrobatics and this aspect of the characters was carried through to the British
counterparts of the 18th and 19th Centuries. An actor playing Harlequin had to be
an acrobat as well as an actor. Some of the famous Harlequins of the past such as
Tom Ellar did themselves permanent physical damage from playing the part.
Another attribute of Harlequin is his ability to do magic. The French version of the
character could turn himself into different people. The English Harlequin of early
pantomime could transform the things around him by striking him with his magic
bat or ‘‘slapstick’’.
Shakespeare's Clowns
The English clown was descended from the Vice character of the
medieval mystery plays, a buffoon and prankster who could sometimes deceive
even the Devil. Among the first professional stage clowns were the
famous William Kempe and Robert Armin, both whom were
connected with Shakespeare's company. William Kemp was such
an important star that he was a part owner in both the company and
the Globe Theatre. He specialised in playing stupid country bumpkin
type characters, a style that would later become known as the
Auguste. Robert Armin specialised in playing court jester style fools.
He wrote a book on famous court jesters, one of the first histories of
clowning to be published. The style of Shakespeare's plays
changed when Armin replaced Kemp so it is known that he tailored
them to the style and abilities of his clowns. Scholars believe that
part of the existing scripts were actually ad libs by the clowns that
were written down after they proved popular. According to tradition,
Hamlet's order that clowns speak only what had been written down
for them was in reality Shakespeare's criticism of Kemp's ad libbing.
The White Face
The traditional whiteface makeup of the clown is thought to
have been introduced by the character of Pierrot, the
French clown with a bald head and flour-whitened face. He
first appeared during the latter part of the 17th century.
Created as a fool for Harlequin, Pierrot was gradually
softened and sentimentalized. The pantomimist JeanBaptiste-Gaspard Deburau took on the character in the
early 19th century and created a famous love-sick, pathetic
clown, whose melancholy has since remained part of the
clown tradition.
The First Circus Clown
The earliest of the true circus clowns was Joseph Grimaldi, who first appeared in
England in 1805. Grimaldi's clown, called Joey, specialised in the classic physical
tricks, tumbling, pratfalls, and slapstick beatings. In the 1860s a low-comedy comic
appeared under the name of Auguste, who had a big nose, baggy clothes, large
shoes, and untidy manners. He worked with a whiteface clown and always spoiled
the latter's trick by appearing at the wrong time to mess things up.
The Auguste Clown
There is a widely told story about the origins of the Auguste clown –– where an
American acrobat named Tom Belling was performing with a circus in Germany in
1869. Confined to his dressing room as discipline for missing his tricks, he
entertained his friends by putting on misfitting clothes to perform his impression of
the show's manager. The manager suddenly entered the room and Belling took off
running, ending up in the circus arena where he fell over the ringcurb. The
audience laughed and yelled ‘‘auguste!’’ which is German for fool. The manager
commanded that Belling continue appearing as the Auguste.
Many historians doubt that the legend is true, as the word Auguste did not exist in
the German language until after the character became popular. Another theory of
the origin is that Belling copied the character from the Rizhii (Red Haired) clowns
he saw when he toured Russia with a circus. Early auguste clowns had a
naturalistic appearance as if they had just wandered off the street into the circus
ring. The exaggerated make up associated with the auguste clown today was
introduced by Albert Fratellini, of the Fratellini Brothers.
The Tramp Character
One of the most well known figures is the tramp made famous by Charlie Chaplin.
The tramp clown was created by James McIntyre and Tom Heath in 1874,
portraying African Americans made homeless by the Civil War. They based their
characters on blackface minstrel clowns which is the origin of the white mouth used
by tramp clowns. Their idea may also have been inspired by the travelling hoe
boys (hobos) or itinerant farm workers, who rode the rails from one town to
another, wiping the soot away from their eyes & mouth.
The Tarot Fool
In the Tarot, the Fool is that part of ourselves that is wise enough to stand
awestruck before the mystery of creation, and bold enough to set off exploring. The
Fool is the only card in the major arcana that is unnumbered, and he has no set
position in the order of the cards. He symbolises the part of us that looks out upon
the thoughts, feelings and dreams playing across the shadow theatre of the mind.
Carrying the minimum of possessions and the pilgrim’’s staff, egged on by a
strange animal (sometimes a cat or dog) symbolizing the inner motivation that
snaps at our heels once we start to question the nature of reality, the Fool steps
toward the unknown –– the inner self.
Modern Clowns
Clown figures became popular worldwide with Hollywood films and especially silent
movies in the early 20th century, including Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Laurel
and Hardy, and the Keystone Cops amongst others. More recently on television,
the clowning tradition is continued by Basil Fawlty, Mr Bean and Blackadder and in
the theatre by artistes such as the French mime Marcel Marceau, and the Russian
clown Slava Polunin.
Multicultural Clowns
Most cultures have had their own clown character. Clowns have gone by many
names around the world throughout history including:
Auguste, Badin –– medieval France
Bobo –– Spain c 1500s
Buffoon, Cabotin –– Italy c 1500s
Cascaduer –– France
Charlie –– European Tramp Clown
Chou –– China
Claune –– France 1800s
Contrary –– Native America Plains Tribes
Excentrique –– Solo French Clown
Fool, Gleeman –– medieval England
Gracioso –– Spain late 1500s
Grotesque –– France, acrobatic clown 1820-1850
Hano –– Native American
Hanswurst –– Germany & Austria c 1700
Harlequin –– Commedia del Arte & English Pantomime
Jack Pudding –– England 1600s
Jester, Joey, Jongleur –– ninth century Europe
Koyemsi –– Native American Hope Tribe
Merry Andrew –– England 1600 & 1700s
Minnesinger –– Germany 1100-1400
Minstrel –– medieval Europe & America 1800s & 1900s
Narr –– Germany c 1600
Newekwe –– Native America Zuni Tribe
Pagliacci –– Italy
Pantalone –– Commedia del Arte & English Pantomime
Pedrolino –– Commedia Del Arte
Pickle Herring –– Holland & Germany 1600 & 1700s
Pierrot –– France
Tramp –– America
Trickster –– mythology of many cultures
Troubadour –– medieval France
Vidusaka and Vita –– India
Whiteface and Zany –– Italy
There are a number of stock characters which are common to almost every
pantomime. They are great fun to play around with during a drama exercise,
attempting to become them physically.
Principal Boy/Hero
Examples of these would be Aladdin, Robin Hood, or the Princes in Snow White and Sleeping
Beauty. They can be played by a man or a woman. Their physical stance is usually fists on hips,
legs apart with the head held up high. Their voice is usually quite deep with an RP accent.
Principal Girl.
Examples of these would be Snow White, Belle from
Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, Maid Marion, or Jill
from Jack and the Beanstalk.
They are usually the sensible character who is often at
threat from the ‘baddie’ (for example the Queen wanting
to kill Snow White). The Principal Girl usually falls in love
with the Principal Boy, and if so she will get together
with the right man at the end.
Many Principal Girls are quite mundane for an actor to
play compared to other characters in the play. Many
Principal Girls are drippy, naive and lack a depth of
character.
Physically, they are usually very graceful, mainly due to
their status as a Princess. They are light and courtly with
an air of elegance.
The Dame
Examples of these would be Widow Twanky, Cooks, Nurses, Ugly Sisters.
Almost always played by a man and usually the most comedic element of the Pantomime. Many
of the jokes are intended for the adults in the audience.
They usually stand with their legs together, bottoms sticking out, and hands held underneath their
boobs. When walking, they tend to have a slight mince (but nothing too camp), and occasionally
kick a leg up behind.
Vocally, they sound like a man putting on what they think is a woman’s voice; trying to be high
pitched and effeminate.
The Double Act
They don’t always have specific names, but will usually be company or product names (for
example Black and Decker), or a saying (Rough and Tumble / Bubble and Squeak) or famous
figures (Bill and Ben).
They are usually both a bit dim, and their physicality matches this. They would scratch their
heads a lot, and their cowardice would be characterised with knees knocking together, or with
one jumping into the other’s arms. One is usually brighter than the other and will come up with
the ideas.
Quite often the double act are given the dirty work to do by a baddie.
The Baddie
Examples of these would be Abenazar, Fleshcreep, The Giant, The Sheriff or the Evil Queen.
The Baddies love to be booed! They hatch the plan that will make them rich and powerful, and
will land them in the arms of the Principal Boy/Girl. They often tell the audience their plans, which
leads to their downfall, and they always get their comeuppance in the end!
The physicality of the Baddie varies from show to show, but usually they hold themselves quite
well and always have a higher status than their minions (and think they have a higher status than
all other characters). There is the characteristic evil laugh with every Baddie.
The Comedy Figure
Examples of these would be Wishee Washee, Simple Simon, Buttons and Muddles. They often
are the audience’s friend, who tells jokes, gives out the sweets, but are always a low status
character - laundry boy, a butler, a servant. Usually, he will fall in love with the Principal Girl,
although her will not end up marrying her. He will usually find someone else, or be given a higher
status job so that he, too, has a happy ending.
He will have an agile physicality, and will include slapstick and circus skills into the act. Their
vocality will usually reflect the regional accent where the performance is.
The Good Fairy
Examples of these would be The Fairy Godmother (Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella) or the good
Sorceress.
Good Fairies are usually played by women, however there are a few exceptions to this rule! She
is usually instrumental to making the end a happy one. They are usually attached to one
character to make their dreams come true (for example, Cinderella’s Godmother provides the
carriage and gown so she can go to the ball to meet the Prince). She can also foil the Bddie’s
plan.
Quite often the Fairy guides the characters through a moral journey to become a better person.
Their physicality is usually very light, sometimes balletic, and they almost always enter with a
spin.
Good Fairies will often have an RP
accent, and will usually speak in rhyme.
Word Search 1
O
L
X
P
A
N
O
T
G
R M
T
BOBO
S
B
Z
J
E
S
T
E
R
A
A
G
FAIRY
Y
H
O
K
J
L
W M
A
M G
D
WAND
D
F
H
B
T
P
M
A
L
E
I
C
MAGIC
A
Q
E
U
E
R
S
D
X
Z
C
B
PRINCE
L
L
I
C
P
O
R
E
H
T
H
O
JESTER
T
L
E
D
N
G
S W V
M
T
L
PANTO
O
A
P
F
K
I
C
Y
U
N
D
G
LAZZI
R
Z
A
P
E
J
R
I
A
L
N
G
CLOWN
R
Z
A W P
I
T
P W U W
J
PIERROT
E
I
J
K
A
L
O
Y
U
R
O
E
LAMP
I
T
Y
F
A
N
R M
Y
A
L
R
HERO
P
W E
H
Y
R
D
O
L
C
F
DAME
I
Word Search 2
W
I
D
O W T W A
N
K
Y
E
S
C
T
Y
H
U
J
O
C
P
L
P
R
T
Harlequin
A
D W E
R W S
D
R
U P
R
I
N
C
I
P
A
L
G
I
R
L
H
U
K
Commedia
A
D W B
T
G Q
H
K
L
P
O
H
B
D
F
L
S
E W N
B
V
X
C
V
Pantomime
L
P
I
Y
E
R
D
F
G
J
L
E
C
V
B
A
S
X
D
R
D W E
G G
P
Slapstick
A W S
R
T
E
S
D
B
Q U
O
R
P
D
V
C
X
A
S
E
D
E
R
R
Columbine
D
R
H
T
J
K
L
E
P
N B
X
Z
D
V
B
F
D
A
S
R
E W N
Q
I
Pantalone
A
S
E
Q W H
A
R
L
E Q
U
I
N
R
Q
U
J
I
N
E
A
D
I
E
N
Auguste
S
T
U
Y
A
R
L
Q
N
Y
A
F
F
G
I
S
D
L
E
A
E
S
C
Principal Boy
Q W E
F
K
L
W E
T
E
G
H
J
E
S
D
Z
X
C
A
D
L
L
L
L
T
Y
A
S
I
Principal Girl
H
F
A
Y
T
R
E
R
V
B N
A
L
J
S
S
R
L
J
U
A
I
L
G
B
P
Fairy Godmother
D
A
S
Q W E
R
F
G
H N
B
K
J
P
L
B
N
C
X
D
S
A
D
H
A
Buttons
R
G
H
D
E
S
T
H
U
E G
K
L
P
I
N
B
V
C
X
A
S
A
F
B
L
Widow Twanky
E
D
E
E
T
G
L
H
B
J
K
L
P
M N
N
E
T
S
U
G
U
A
B
C
B
Abenazar
H
C
E
E
S
T
G
A
F
G
J
K
U
T
N
E
R W S
D
F
G
I
B
Y
O
Cinderella
T
C
D
E
I
R
G
H
P
T
R
E
B
F
I
H
J
K
L
P
O
Y
D
T
N
Y
Aladdin
O
N M G M D
F
R
T
S
E
U
S
D
N W E
T
R
B
N
J
E
U
Y
T
Wishee Washee
M D
F
G
P
T
H
L
M N
T
G
H
F
G
T
S
S
E
R
T
F
M G
H
B
Jack
D
C
D
S
L
A
S
E W T
T
I
Y
H W
J
K
A
L
M N
B
M
Y
T
L
Jill
O
F
R
E
E
M H
J
O O P
L
C
U
H
Y
J
E
K
L
O
P
O
Y
G
H
Beauty
G
D
E
T
S
D
E
N
S
G H
J
K
K
E
N
I
B
M U
L
O
C
O
L
U
Spinning Wheel
Y
R
D
T
I
Y
S
U
N
I
O
P
L
K
E
H
G
F
D
S
E
R W A
Q
U
Evil Queen
R
Q
U
E
M
E
N
J
O
I
K
L
P
H
L
T
Y
F
D
S
G
H
Y
U
I
O
Simple Simon
I
O
P
L
O
I
N
C
P
J
A
C
K
D
U
Y
O
P
T
R
E
Y
U
O
P
L
Enchantment
A
D
F
H
N
K
L
O
P
M G
H
T
U
P
L
E
M
I
M O
T
N
A
P
M
Genie
F
M
J
K
O
P
L
K
G
H
T
R
D
F
S
A
X
C
B
N
Y
U
T
R
I
O
Beast
J
K
L
P
P
A
N
T
A
L
O
N
E
Y
O
E
N
C
H
A
N
T
M
E
N
T
Puss in Boots
O
B
J
E
S
T
O
P
M
E
O
A
R
Z
R
Z
E
I
O
R
I
E
FAIRY
G
WAND
I
MAGIC
C
PRINCE
H
O
Y
W
I
A
P
A
N
D
O W T W A
N
K
PANTO
LAZZI
N
CLOWN
W
PIERROT
O
LAMP
L
HERO
C
DAME
Y
P
C
R
I
N
C
I
W
B
H
H
E
U
W
E
H
E
A
R
L
E Q
U
I
N
T
N
S
E
L
S
I
O
M
M
P
D
L
O
E
G
S
Y
I
R
M
I
O
A
N
B
P
B
S
U
T
T
I
O
C
N
K
S
J
A
C
Commedia
N
Pantomime
Slapstick
E
E
R
Columbine
R
N
I
Pantlone
J
E
I
N
Auguste
I
L
E
C
Principal Boy
L
L
I
Principal Girl
L
A
P
Fairy Godmother
P
A
Buttons
I
L
Widow Twanky
A
B
Abenazar
N
I
O
Cinderella
I
D
Y
Aladdin
R
N
A
L
P
S
N
R
G
A
A
I
Harlequin
D
Z
Y
T
F
G
D
S
E
L
D
E
E
H
A
A
S
R
P
L
I
A
JESTER
N
R
P
D
A
T
F
I
BOBO
L
N
I
W
A
D
C
L
R
M
B
T
E
M
E
T
S
U
G
U
N
T
E
Wishee Washee
G
S
M
Jack
W
A
M
Jill
H
E
O
Beauty
C
Spinning Wheel
E
N
I
B
M U
L
O
E
Evil Queen
L
Simple Simon
K
Enchantment
E
M
I
M O
T
N
A
P
Genie
Beast