h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

This is work in progress at the moment!

Okay dudes it's finished now what do you think?

Hi,

This is a very good idea.... but

Firstly Pantomime is a pecularly British tradition and only performed around Christmas time.

You haven't mentioned that the "hero" is usually played by a GIRL! who is known as the "Principle BOY"

There is usually a pantomime animal - or animals! In Cinderella we had the Rat/coachman and Two horses for the Coach (who also performed in the Pantomime ballet. Aladin - a camel.

The Pantomime Ballet (the local ballet school is usually called on for choreography and performers) usually with a sequence under UV lighting.
One we did in Robinson Crusoe no Ballet school was available so we had Fluorescent painted fish on poles and an inflatable shark manipulated by people dressed in black chasing the Cook and comics to suitable music.

Under MUSIC - it is the lyrics that are re-written to a popular or well-known tune. Not the music itself re-written.
Also in this section could be mentioned that an audience participation song is a must - In "Peter Pan" we had the audience join in to "Who's afraid of the crocodile" with the audience led by the two comics and the Crocodile (me, incidentally).

Enjoyed this, despite the spelling.

Unfortunately our local theatre is closed for renovation so we have been unable to put one on this year.

Watermusic

Although I love the audience participation song it can be left out sometimes. Thanks for the spelling corrections. I didn't add the panto animal as my pantos don't normaly have the budget for one but it's a nice idea! Thanks for your comments. This is in peer review now so please help me get people talking about it!

Oh and could you please send me a list of spelling mistakes. I think I'll draft these articles of mine in Microsoft Word in future!

Arghh!!!
Wording - "all manner of dismals" do you mean disasters?

Line 2 "success"
Line 3 "controversy"

Wording - there are an awful lot of "different"s = 5 and Different elements twice
other words could be "alternative, diverse, varied, various, contrasting, disagreement" I would have to think about it more
Suggestion
" It is this controversy that makes all pantomimes unique.Different writers prefer only some of the essential elements and different audiences demand yet other contrasting components."

Spelling (each group is a section)
"Writing" a panto....."juggling" the Disney....."existence."
"Tolkein you are touchy" or "Tolkein you're touchy"
"Grimm Brothers' names"
""Revolting Rhymes" versions,"
"strategy"

"entrance"
"usually" (this is somewhere else as well)
"Celebrity"

"essential element"
"speeches"
"general concensus of opinion amongst"

"definite"

"its inclusion is an extremely"
"Who, ever since......"Blackadder", has" (punctuation)

"whose origins"
"experience"

"necessary"
"extremely"
"replaced"
"useful"

"don't necessarily need"
"deliver"

"character"
"direct"

"essential"
"piece"

"would not usually do"

I think that's the lot!!

Drafting in Word and then selecting all the text would mean less mistakes, as I am sure that sometimes it is the speedof thought acting throughthefingers that just leads to letters being leftout or the wrong way round.

Why not do it now - just to check. I have the fortune to be pretty good at spelling, but did have to check in the dictionary "necessarily"!!

There are two of us in our group that make the animal costumes. I only have the Crocodile and a Dragon to my credit, but my friend has made three horses, a camel, a cow, three dogs and a giant. Cats are the easiest. All using things like baseball caps as a base for the head, cardboard boxes, tennis balls for eyes (useless CD's for the dragon eyes. Then lots of cheap material and paint it all (except for the leggings)!

Braek a leg!
Watermusic

Thanks dude I think I've covered them now sorry about the usless messages!

Probably easier if I posted to one place! I think we have one conversation spread over 4 or 5 threads!

I don't think you picked up

"like Tolkein, you're..." and there are a couple of "'"s

"Grim Brothers'...."

I have not written any pantomimes, but other people in our group have, or rewritten pretty awful ones by someone else! We often find that some jokes get into the final performance by courtesy of the actors (suddenly the Baroness was called Monica in the Bill Clinton era).
We do have one chap who specialises in lyrics to popular tunes.
My backstage forte is scenery design and costume. On stage it is usually chorus (Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty), but as I said it was the Crocodile in Peter Pan. ... and the Magic Tree Spirit in Snow White.

Watermusic

Thanks dude. I knew I missed something! My backstage fortay is writing and producing and my onstage fortay is impressions and bad guys (usualy combined!)If you like I could send you a copy of "The Big Match a Triology of Two Parts" (damn that's my secret identiy blown)once I have finished work on it (It started life as two half hour charity shows, one of which I have just begun preparing for performance. Now with the suggestions of the H2G2 team of essential elements to incorparate I will merge the previous two shows into one. It is essentialy a spoof of a typical teacher's panto but it has a life of it's own in the novel panto writing devices it incorpartes. As someone with experiance of pantomime I would value your input!

Necessarily is a real blighter isn't it?