What Does a Panto Company Do Throughout the Year - August

Continuing our blog of what a pantomime company does ‘for the rest of the year’ here is a brief overview of what the Imagine team have been up to during August.

August began with the announcement that Imagine Theatre is now part of the Trafalgar Entertainment Group which will help unlock further growth opportunities for Imagine Theatre and allow us to build on our legacy of family entertainment that stretches back over 25 years.

For much of the team August is dominated by photoshoots. The final cast members needed for print and social media assets were invited to the Spa Centre in Leamington during late August where the team held four days of photoshoots with over 40 cast members travelling from all across the UK. It was a great week, and the team were delighted to see many familiar faces as well as meeting some of the cast new to Imagine this year.

Many of the team were involved the photoshoot preparations with the wardrobe team having to prep and create more than 40 costumes with the props team ensuring all props are in tip-top condition ahead of being photographed.

It has been a busy year for photoshoots with:

11 Individual days

18 pantos captured

26 Imagine staff and our support team

90 cast members attended

237 bottles of water drunk

335 sandwiches eaten

874 emails sent

4,773 photographs taken

22,050 miles travelled

The photoshoot week also provided the chance for the whole of the Imagine Team to get together for their seasonal meal. With some members of the team working remotely it is rare that the whole team find themselves in one place at the same time.

August also saw a return to Junior Ensemble auditions with the auditions for Jack and the Beanstalk in Kilmarnock and Sleeping Beauty in Inverness taking place. Both venues saw a high turnout of youngsters all keen to be part of their local panto this Christmas.

For the ops team they have been continuing painting sets and creating new sets pieces, such a giant books for Jack and the Beanstalk, and Dave made a trip up to Glasgow to meet with the team there and to examine sets and props for the Pavilion.

If you are interested in a further look behind the scenes check out the fortnightly Just Imagine Podcast which as well as interviews with the members of the Imagine HQ team includes guest interviews from the wide range of people we work with each year.