A Parent’s Guide to Professional Child Pantomime Castings

Key Takeaways

Participating in a professional UK pantomime is a rewarding, confidence-building experience for young performers, but it requires careful navigating of auditions, local authority performance licensing and intense winter schedules.

If your child is thinking about auditioning or has already been cast, it’s natural for you, as the parent, to have questions. This guide explains what to expect and how to support your child throughout the panto season.

The Positives of Panto for Young Performers

“I loved being four different parts in the show, and performing in the theatre. My favourite thing was making lots of new friends.” Zoe (age 7)

For many young performers, a professional pantomime is their first experience of working as part of a real theatre company. Alongside developing their performance skills, children learn how to work as part of a team, take direction, adapt quickly to changes and perform confidently in front of large audiences. They’ll gain a realistic insight into what working in professional theatre is really like.

Just as importantly, they’ll develop skills that reach beyond the stage. Learning to manage nerves, listen to feedback, support their fellow performers and commit to a shared goal can all help build confidence, resilience and independence.

“Doing a professional panto at such a young age sparked a love for theatre and definitely made me want to go into it as a career. It was so inspiring because you get to see the adult performers and hear about where they trained.” Tasha – currently training at Italia Conti

Of course, every child is different – some will come away determined to pursue a career in the performing arts, while others will just have enjoyed trying something new. Either way, a well-run professional pantomime can be a rewarding experience that leaves children with greater confidence, new friendships and memories they’ll treasure long after the curtain comes down.

The Panto Timeline: What to Expect

“I always do my best to create a fun environment so our young performers feel comfortable and able to get the most out of their panto experience. If anyone needs anything specific, I’d want to know as soon as possible after casting so that the production team and I can put the right support in place to help that child thrive.” Charlotte Peters, Pantomime Director

The panto journey stretches across several months of the year and is at its most intense over the Christmas holidays. Every production is slightly different, but most professional pantomimes follow a similar pattern. 

The below timeline, as a guide, will help you to manage the impact on your family life and ensures everyone knows what to expect.

1. Auditions (Summer–Autumn) These are usually high-energy, fast-paced open workshop calls where children will be expected to sing and dance. Directors and/or choreographers are looking for spark, performance energy and children who can take direction. It’s a brilliant environment for building resilience, regardless of the final outcome.
2. Administration (October–November) Once the cast is announced, performance licenses must be applied for through your Local Authority. This requires paperwork from you, your child’s school and the production company to ensure safeguarding measures are firmly in place before rehearsals start.
   • The production company or chaperone will be able to explain the licensing process and let you know exactly what paperwork is needed.
   • Check your Local Authority website for specific info on their licensing process.
   • Your child may be licensed under a BOPA (Body of Persons Approval) rather than an individual license: Learn more about BOPAs here.
3. Rehearsals (November) Pantomimes typically rehearse in just two weeks. Because the juvenile chorus is usually only called for a handful of after-school or weekend sessions, children are expected to pick up choreography and staging very quickly.
   • If your child has any additional needs you should write an access rider for them so the team knows exactly what reasonable adjustments they can put in place.
4. Tech Week (December) This is when the entire cast moves into the theatre, and the juvenile chorus rehearses alongside the adult cast for the first time. Tech weeks can be exhausting and stressful as the company adjusts to the scale of the real stage, lighting cues, set changes and costumes. It’s usual for children to spend long periods waiting between scenes: packing books, quiet games and snacks can make a huge difference.
   • Backstage, your child will be cared for by a professional, licensed chaperone who is responsible for their well-being and for ensuring the production legally adheres to strict adult-to-child ratios and working hours. Some production companies ask parents to become licensed chaperones as a condition of their child’s engagement – this is not best practice and so if this is the case proceed with caution.
5. Performances (December–January) The most exciting, but also the most gruelling, phase. Your child will be placed in one of two (or three) teams that rotate around the performance schedule. Depending on the performance schedule, children may also need to balance schoolwork, homework and rest alongside the production. You can expect a certain amount of disruption to the festive season as you ferry your child to and from the theatre.
   • Performing throughout the festive season is relentless (with performances on Christmas Eve, Boxing Day and New Years Eve as standard). While your child may thrive on it, they might also struggle with exhaustion or dysregulation from being in such a high-stimulus environment. Try to keep the time between performances as calm and low-pressure as possible.
6. The Post-Show Crash (January) When the run comes to an end, the sudden drop in excitement and adrenaline can trigger the common “panto blues.” After weeks of intense routine, applause and close friendships, returning to normal life can feel like a massive bump back down to reality. Be gentle with your child, and yourself, schedule a few low-pressure, fun family activities to help ease everyone back into their regular routines.

Red Flags

“What I wish parents knew was that your kids will be working in an adult environment and sometimes things won’t be ok. It’s really important to speak out and say ’No’ or report a problem. My Dad did this for me once or twice and it made a big difference to my wellbeing.” Darragh Mortell, lead actor in pantomimes from the age of 16. 

Because professional pantomimes are commercial, profit-making ventures, families should never be treated as a source of revenue or free labour.

Watch out for productions that:

• charge audition fees
• charge mandatory rehearsal fees
• require expensive production-specific costumes at your own expense
• expect parents to provide unpaid chaperoning as a condition of participation
• avoid discussing licences
• ask you to ignore licensing requirements
• don’t appear to be following working hour regulations.

However, if you have any concerns you can report them on the NNCEE website which will be anonymously reported back to your Local Authority Child Licensing Officer.

Alternatively, you can contact the host theatre directly to ask what safeguarding and compliance checks they perform on visiting production companies. 

Fortunately, the vast majority of professional pantomimes are run by experienced production companies who take safeguarding and child performance legislation very seriously.

Questions to ask before accepting a role

Before signing your child up to be part of the juvenile chorus you might want to ask some of the following questions:

• Who is producing the show?
• Who will be applying for performance licences?
• How many rehearsals are expected?
• How many performances will my child do each week?
• How many teams are there?
• What happens if my child becomes ill?
• Who are the licensed chaperones?
• Who is the safeguarding lead?
• What costs are parents expected to cover?
• Will there be a parents’ meeting before rehearsals begin?

Next Steps

For many young performers, they will remember this experience for years to come; the friendships, the backstage excitement, the first bows and the feeling of being part of something much bigger than themselves. With the right support and a well-run production, it can also be a joyful introduction to professional theatre.

Navigating the legalities of performance licensing, school absence permissions and contracts can feel overwhelming. To help you handle the panto season with confidence, Sensible Creative has put together a comprehensive information resource.

Download the Sensible Creative Professional Panto Pack

Useful Links

• NNCEE Child Performance Guide has detailed explainers on licensing
• NNCEE: BOPA Explained guide
• Spotlight and the Personal Managers Association’s Young Performers Guidelines
• Equity Under-18 Subsidised Membership
• Sensible Creative’s Professional Panto Pack

About the Writer: Rachel Barnett-Jones

Rachel is a writer, educator and arts advocate. As the founder of Sensible Creative, she is committed to dismantling the complexities of the professional arts and lecturing on the ethics of safeguarding to ensure that creatives, especially the most vulnerable, are protected, informed and respected. 

By merging her creative practice with a tireless commitment to practical kindness, Rachel is currently working on a variety of projects which, she hopes, will make the arts a happier and healthier place to work.