April’s Object of the Month is chosen by our Operations Director, Paula.  Paula retires this month after over 19 years at South Mill Arts and chose this programme from the 2005 Pantomime, Snow White; her first panto here.

“I look back fondly on all 20 of the pantomimes and Christmas shows I’ve been involved in here”, recalls Paula, “it’s such a special time in the theatre.” I’ve enjoyed helping to run all the events and performances we offer, but Christmas is a special time and Pantomime is such a team effort. I love it all – from the auditions in the summer to the opening night and the closing party. I joined as a Duty Manager (in a staff of three) in December 2005 so this panto was my first show, and got me hooked”.

“Everyone here reminisces about past pantos and can tell plenty of stories.  We can all mark our time here by number of pantos and ‘trade’ dates of our first or favourite ones. It’s a real group effort with everyone pulling together.  We have seen many past cast members, who started their career here, go on to appear in national shows, tv and film.  Lots of the local cast come and work for us whilst training or between roles, and it was fabulous to recruit our museum assistant, Emily, last year, who appeared in five pantomimes when she was younger.”

“ I’m exiting stage right (that’s the side the good fairy always uses) but look forward to coming back as a customer to see Snow White again this year and watching South Mill Arts go from strength to strength.”

To view the chosen object, please visit the first floor of Bishop’s Stortford Museum at South Mill Arts.