Pantomime

Mandy-Jane · May 10, 2013

Firstly, I apologise that it's been an insane amount of time since I've posted on this forum (various reasons but the main one being that I stopped writing!), and that my first post back is a request for information, but .........I've done a search and either through my own inability to see things clearly, or my impatience to find what I'm looking for, I have been unable to find any threads/posts on the art of the Pantomime. Is there anyone out there who has every written one? Or who has any general information on structure, etc.

I know this is a very general and vague request but at this stage I'm just pulling as much information together as I can before I move on.

Thanks in anticipation!

dpaterso · May 10, 2013

Welcome back!

Gotta admit I can't recall ever seeing any conversations on pantomimes hereabouts.

I guess you've already searched Google or similar engines for the obvious, like "how to write a pantomime script"

-Derek

WriteKnight · May 10, 2013

Yes. I've written them. My wife studied mime under Marcel Marceau, in Paris.

Scripts were generally written out as descriptive narratives. More as a guideline for our own reference. They were 'worked through' and polished on stage. Any lighting cues were then added in, and given to the light/sound operators. They learned the piece in rehearsal.

That's pretty much it.

Mandy-Jane · May 10, 2013

Thanks both.

WriteKnight · May 10, 2013

John Townsends wonderful book "Clowns" - discusses the early history of pantomime, and the comedia del arte. Apparently there are still extant 'scripts' for the early Comedia shows. Of course, they refer to specific gags, or "Lazzi" - as if they were well known and understood. "Harlequin enters, and performs the ladder lazzi..."

paulcosca · May 13, 2013

The first thing that pops into my head are a couple of really entertaining pantomime scripts from Samuel Beckett. If you find a complete works of Beckett you will likely find them in there.

Pantomime

Mandy-Jane

venturing ever further into the unknown

dpaterso

Also in our Discord and IRC chat channels

WriteKnight

Arranger Of Disorder

Mandy-Jane

venturing ever further into the unknown

WriteKnight

Arranger Of Disorder

paulcosca

The Paulest of all Coscas