What Does a Panto Company Do Throughout the Year? - January
/We often get asked the question ‘what do you do the rest of the year?’ and so for 2023 we have decided to do a short monthly blog to let you know what the team have been up to.
January has seen the closure of our final shows, with the curtain coming down on the final one on 15 January and the team were out on the road seeing as many performances as possible prior to this. We are delighted that this year almost half a million people have watched an Imagine production.
As the productions closed the lorries began to arrive back at Imagine HQ as the sets, costumes and props were returned to their home. January has seen 35 lorries returning not only our shows but also the numerous hires we have out each season.
As everything arrives back it needs to be logged back in and then assessed to see what cleaning and maintenance is required before it gets put away and while all of this is going on we have still had sets, costumes and props going out on hire to those companies who begin their pantomime run in January.
Debriefs are ongoing with theatres and marketing departments to discuss the 2022 season to learn what was successful and what, if anything, we can adapt and improve on for the forthcoming one.
The team are also hard at work setting the budgets for the season, with star casting getting underway and set allocation being finalised so that script writers can be commissioned and briefed.
Last, but certainly not least, the 25 January saw the Imagine Christmas party! We have a tradition here at Imagine of curry with all the trimmings (ie samosas, poppadoms and naan bread!) and as always it did not disappoint. We also did our secret Santa which as always resulted in quite a lot of laughter and some very amusing gifts!
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.
