It's Panto Season! (And Ross Petty Tackles The Little Mermaid. On Roller Skates.)

It's Panto season! While this time of year is usually awash with Cinderellas, Snow Whites, Jacks, Sleeping Beauties and Puss in Boots among other tales (tails?), this sea-son Canadian Panto-vet, Ross Petty, is tackling The Little Mermaid (sea-son: their pun, not mine).

Niagara Falls, roller skates, Canada's mythical lake creature and drag... it's all in there. Yup - definitely a panto! I can't embed the video but you can get a short preview of the (wacky) stage show HERE.

What is Pantomime? Here's a brief summary, which should also give you an idea of what Petty's Little Mermaid is like:

Pantomime is a curious entertainment - a form of ritual theatre staged around the winter solstice. Originally silent (a form of mime), it is now anything but, with extensive vocalisation from both the performers and the audience.
The stories are generally well-known (drawn from popular folk-tales and similar sources), populated with stock characters, including a principal boy, generally played by a young lady with shapely legs, the heroine, also played by a young lady (which gives an added edge to the inevitable romance) and a dame, played by a man as a comic exaggeration of a middle-aged lady. Scripts change from year to year, but generally contain four strands of humour: visual, topical, corny and, occasionally, downright rude. In the UK this is considered to be family entertainment.

While the US has more musicals and obviously G-rated family friendly stage plays touring at this time of year, it's usually the British (and their friends) that take the turn into Panto territory. With the emphasis on irreverence and layered (but still family friendly) fun, it's easy to see why it became a strong tradition back during the dark, cold and (sometimes too long) Winters of the Northern Hemisphere.

There's nothing like a belly laugh to take away your Winter blues!

As for how Mr. Petty "panto'd" The Little Mermaid... I'm just going to put the blurb here:

For over 18 years, Ross Petty has created one of the longest-standing theatrical traditions in Ontario with his annual holiday pantomime, a truly unique creation that brings Canadian stars together on stage for a remarkable run of theatrical fun. Ross Petty Productions has Toronto awash with excitement to catch The Little Mermaid, a must-sea this holiday season! 

Petty and his team mark their first-ever foray into the fishy fairy tale, and in true Petty fashion, anyFIN goes! Chilina Kennedystars as the Little Mermaid. With an aquatic collection of friends by her side, the title character’s quest for true love and happiness is aided by Dan Chameroy’s sea-lacious Dame Plumbum, returning to the Elgin stage with his perennial persona as the Little Mermaid’s aunt. Starring opposite Kennedy as the handsome Prince, and the buoy of her dreams, is actor and Canadian Idol Season 1 finalist, Marc Devigne, Second City funnyman Reid Janisse, who also penned the O-FISH-AL script .One radiant redhead by the name of Jordan Clark, winner of So You Think You Can Dance Canada Season 4,  while fan-favourite Eddie Glen returns as Petty’s reluctant sidekick. Petty himself is trading in his 
spanks for scales to tackle the role of Ogopogo, the evil serpent sea wizard.   

 

The Little Mermaid plays at the Elgin Theatre, 189 Yonge Street, Toronto from November 22, 2013 (opens November 28) to January 4, 2014. Tickets can be purchased online atwww.rosspetty.com by phone at 1.855.599.9090 or in person at the Elgin Theatre Box Office.

Fairy Tales Conference in Mississippi - Oct 1st & 2nd

Did you know there was a Group for International Fairy Tale Studies? (GIFTS)

They're having a fairy tales conference at the University of Southern Mississippi on October 1st and 2nd. The theme for this year (this is the 4th one) is "Fairy Tale Economies" but before you groan at the title, take a look at some of the topics being discussed:

From the article at hattiesburgamerica.com:

Conference topics include the cultural and material history of fairy tales and the oral adaptation of stories and folklore across cultures. Internationally renowned faculty will present from a variety of fields on a wide range of subjects, such as literature, print culture and anthropology. Events will include a workshop on how to teach a fairy tale, a reception at the Saenger Theatre and presentations by fairy tale scholars from around the world.

I don't see Dr. Tehrani, who recently announced the results of his studies into the origins of fairy tales, on the speakers list but hopefully he makes an appearance.

And here are a couple of other highlights:

Ellen Ruffin, curator of the de Grummond Children's Literature Collection at Southern Miss, has developed an exhibit of fairy tale artwork titled "The Alphabet of Fairy Tales" for viewing during the reception, which Hillard said will be a "feast for the senses."

Keynote speaker Dr. Jennifer Schacker, author of National Dreams: The Remaking of Fairy Tales in Nineteenth Century England, will deliver a highly visual presentation about Victorian fairy tale pantomime theatre. Schacker is an associate professor and director of undergraduate studies at the University of Guelph in Ontario.

Yay! I'm so please when a visual element is presented with fairy tales as I don't think anyone who grew up with a fairy tale book can completely divorce them from images of one kind or another. Illustrations are part of what makes fairy tales so impacting and resonant with people (I think) for so many reason (I'm sure someone's done a thesis on this topic somewhere!).

The first Panto production of Cinderella was at Drury Lane in 1804.

And you can find out more about fairy tales and pantomime HERE (complete with old posters, movie clips and historical tidbits).

You can read the rest of the details for the conference, including a program, HERE.

The best part about this conference? Anyone can attend - for free! Now if only I were in Mississippi at the beginning of October...