Base children join British youth troupe, stir up laughter at panto

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Kevin Wallace
  • 100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
RAF MILDENHALL, England --  "Mother Goose is so poor she can't afford to pay attention, let alone pay Squire McGreedy's high taxes."

That is one of many punch lines delivered by Bobby Mather, the director of Mother Goose, a pantomime carried out by a troupe of thespians at the Jubilee Center in Mildenhall recently.

Though typical during the Christmas season, local theater groups like the Bunbury Players Amateur Dramatic Group often perform their pantos year round.

One unique taste panto goers get in East Anglia that they may not get in other parts of England are American accents on stage.

"I started acting with the Bunbury Players about six months ago during a child production of the Broadway musical 'Hairspray,'" said Jazmin Chacon, who played a lead role as Jill, Mother Goose's daughter.

The daughter of Master Sgt. Rafael Chacon, 48th Operations Group first sergeant, was not the only American participating. Gregory Holmes, son of Master Sgt. Michael Holmes, 48th Munitions Squadron, played her brother Silly Billy in the play.

The storyline is simple:

Mother Goose was very poor but all that changed when she was given Priscilla, a goose that lays golden eggs. Despite her newly found wealth, Mother Goose craved youth and beauty. But, what would she do to get it?

Her daughter Jill and son Silly Billy soon learned to what extent their insatiable mother would go to fill her gluttony palate.

The Good Fairy battled the evil Demon Discontent for Mother Goose's torn soul. Just as Mother Goose began to fall in love with her dear Squire McGreedy, she submitted to the Demon's trap and found herself in the underworld. In the end, it all ended happily.

A simple story line doesn't necessarily mean acting didn't take hard work, said Mr. Mather. His troupe practiced several hours a week, including weekends, for months prior to opening night.

Ms. Chacon agreed that properly playing her part took discipline.

"My character was very quiet, serious and level-headed for most of the play and that can be a very hard state of mind to remain in," she said. "I'm not like that all the time, so acting and becoming the character is really important."

Ms. Chacon said self control was a big factor in her success.

"I did not have many comedic parts, but I had to learn how to control my laughter so I didn't laugh at things that were happening on the stage," she said. "My character was supposed to have a very sweet and pretty voice and I needed to be able to dance by myself and with a partner, so I would say that musical talent played a pretty big part, especially the singing."

Being in an amateur acting group expands a youth's worldly experiences, and gives them a truly British experience many others will not have the opportunity to partake in, said Ms. Chacon. It enhances them as peoples because they learn how to face their fears.

"If you are scared of performing in front of people, you get over that fear to perform. You learn how to be yourself and not care what other people think," she said. "Trust me, when you have a lead role you have a lot of people looking at you all the time while you perform on stage, and you have to keep going and not care how ridiculous or strange you look to people."

Having Americans in the troupe helps to expand it because it is a mix of people from different cultures who learn from each other on and off stage, said Mr. Mather.

"I would definitely encourage Americans to participate in this type of group because it really is a once-in-a-life-time experience," said Ms. Chacon. "It's a very welcoming and fun group, and you learn and grow in more ways that you could ever imagine. There are theatre groups in almost every town."

For Ms. Chacon, acting goes beyond just expanding her British experience.

"There's a bigger picture to be painted here too," she said. "You learn to follow your dreams. You find that anything is possible if you work hard enough for it."

Editor's note: According to Marriam-Webster's online dictionary a pantomime is a British theatrical entertainment of the Christmas season based on a nursery tale and featuring topical songs, tableaux and dances.