PA Panto has migrated to Sequimingham for a two-week run of “Cinderella and the Enabling Habit,” by local playwright Shannon Cosgrove. It is Olympic Theatre Arts’ first production of 2025.

Couldn’t try out for the play but want to participate? You will be very welcome in the OTA Gathering Hall, where the dramatic action occurs all over the place, from the small stage to an aisle down the center of the room between small tables and further.

The production runs from Feb. 7-23, Fridays and Saturdays 7 p.m. and Sundays 2 p.m. Tickets are $20, students $15, purchased on the OTA website or at the door. Thursday, Feb. 6 is a free preview night, with donations accepted. Seating is first come, first served.

The production is approximately two hours with an intermission. Drinks, popcorn and candy will be available to purchase.

What is Panto?

“Panto is a very old British theater tradition that blends fractured fairy tales, local actors, song and dance and a healthy dose of slapstick,” Cosgrove said. “It is above all things a celebration of community, and that is why I’m very glad it will continue in Dave’s (Herbelin, director of OTA) very capable hands. PA Panto was described by one British attendee as ‘Twin Peaks meets Monty Python.’ I can live with that.”

Cosgrove said that for 11 years she and creative partner Naomi Alstrup “funded, produced and directed all of our plays,” nine total, which took eight months of work a year. She said that “other projects and day jobs and side hustles caught up to us, and it looked like PA Panto would become a fond memory,” but then Herbelin requested her to write for OTA.

“His drive to support local art and artists has breathed new life into Panto, and we are lucky to have him here,” Cosgrove said. She projects that in the future “I will continue to write them and OTA will produce and direct.”

Herbelin also said he hopes the Pantos continue annually at OTA.

Richard Stephens, a stalwart member of the local theater community who is playing the cook/fairy godmother, said that Cosgrove “introduced Panto to the North Olympic Peninsula and she’s given us this kind of wonderful audience participation, family friendly interactive theatre.”

“It’s hilarious,” said Matt Forrest, co-director. “It has that flavor of classic first Panto, which is loud fun in your face.”

“Lots of good local humor,” Stephens said. “No holds barred.”

Actor Susan Cates said that in Pantos she has seen, been aware of or participated in, “There’s always like a fairy godmother, there’s always a villain, there’s always a sidekick, there’s always a hero or a heroine, and there’s always friends that guide the way.”

Sequim Gazette photo by Emily Matthiessen Writer Shannon Cosgrove recently created the Panto “Cinderella and the Enabling Habit,” for Sequim’s Olympic Theatre Arts, which runs from Feb. 7 to 23 at the OTA Gathering Hall.

Actors and crew

Local theater-goers are likely to recognize a number of the people involved in this multi-generational production, which features, according to Stephens, “a very strong cast. They’re very hard working. They take direction really well. We’re wonderfully supported by great directors and people in production making it happen in all the different facets.”

The production crew includes Nicole Mischke, costumes, hair and makeup; Ezra Whitaker, stage manager; Judith Griffin, assistant stage manager; Rebecca Orozco, lighting and sound; Marissa Meek, props and set dressing; and Pete Griffen, technical director.

Forrest said that many of the child actors “have never done a show before,” and “everyone is doing really well.”

Tilly Woods, 13, stars as the titular character.

“I didn’t expect to get it because I thought they’d choose someone older, but I was very happy when I got it,” Woods said. She said she has been in many local productions and plans to continue until she goes to college.

Cinderella is an enabler she said, explaining it as, “one who does stuff for other people so that they don’t do anything for themselves.”

Another experienced young actor, Donovan Rynearson, showcases his comedic timing in the role of Prince Lord.

Stephens is very happy with his role.

“I’m the Dame of the Panto,” he explained. “That’s a very, very old tradition that goes back to the 17th century, even earlier. There’s always a comic female role that’s played by a man, sometimes called the Auntie or the Dame. I’ve always wanted to be a Panto Auntie, and this is my first time.”

Making the experience even better for Stephens is that he gets to sing the Tina Turner song “Simply the Best.”

He said he has always admired her. “My formative years were the ’80s,” he said. “I remember rocking out to her on the radio all the time. Tina is such an incredible role model … such a strong, empowered woman who overcame so much.”

Consummate actor Susan Cates plays Lady Tremayne, the evil stepmother.

“She does an amazing job,” Forrest said. “She’s been in some of the previous Pantos when they were back in P.A., so we’re really happy to have her here.”

Cates said that the last time she did Panto, “it was very fun. It was a nice opportunity to just be the most exaggerated version of these familiar characters. Everything you’ve ever thought a fairytale person should do, you get to do it.”

“If I saw her just doing that somewhere,” said Woods, “and I didn’t know her, I’d think she was a really mean person.”

The show also features Rain Nelson as Druzella, Amara Buggy as Anastasia, Joel Swenning as Bones the Bird, Mario Arruda as Lucifur the cat (there are no mice, Lucifur took care of that), Arius White as Manservant March, Shaun Hughbanks as King, Rebecca Maberry as Queen, Joodie Klinke as Herald and Mya Cowling, Roan Curran, Trinity Devlin, Willow Kilcullen, Sasha Larson, Rayna Loree and Gretel Maberry as villagers.

Sequim Gazette photo by Emily Matthiessen Susan Cates gives full rein to evil delight as Cinderella’s evil stepmother. Her cat Lucifur, played by Mario Arruda, looks on from OTA’s Gathering Hall stage. The Panto “Cinderella and the Enabling Habit” will be performed with audience participation.

Directors and music

“Cinderella and the Enabling Habit” has three directors, with Kyle LeMaire and Forrest co-directing and Morgan Bartholick as musical director.

Forrest explained that he and LeMaire would each take a group of actors and work with them separately and simultaneously. “Having two directors really helped in that sense, because now we’re at this point with the short rehearsal schedule where we’re looking real good, which is amazing. It’s only been a month. It’s been fast… I’m having tons of fun.”

Cates explored some of the difference in the two directors: “Matt’s done a lot of the deep characterization, or the physical presentation of the characterization…. He’s choreographed all the fight scenes. That’s Matt’s forte.

“Kyle has a vision,” she continued, “and he knows what he wants, and he will work a scene to death until he gets it where he wants it. He’s the big picture guy.”

Bartholick, musical director, said that Cosgrove takes “familiar pop songs and writes parody lyrics to fit the show/scene, with one exception …

“Part of my job as the musical director is to secure tracks for the show and cut/arrange as needed. I also take time to make sure that the key of the song sits well in the voice of the singer,” said Bartholick. “Sometimes, even if someone has the range a song calls for, it might not be in their “sweet spot” where their voice naturally blossoms/sounds the best.

“An example of that is ‘Mean,’ a parody of Michael Jackson’s ‘Bad’, sung by Lucifur portrayed by Mario Arruda. Mario is an excellent tenor with a great range. We tried the song in the original key, and while Mario sounded good and could hit the notes, it felt like Mario trying to be Michael Jackson. Taking the song down by a minor third allowed Mario to feel more comfortable with the song and show off his voice in the best way possible.”

Bartholick said that people sometimes say about musicals, “‘Well, it’s just not realistic that someone would just start singing.’ While understandable, we’re in a heightened world when on stage. In a musical, a character sings because simply speaking isn’t enough for that particular moment; they have to sing it.

“A solo number for a character is comparable to a monologue for them in a play,” he noted.

Every Panto Cosgrove has written opens with “a ‘If I Were Not In Pantoland song,’” Cosgrove said. “It’s ridiculous and good fun and different for every show.”

Sequim Gazette photo by Emily Matthiessen/ During a recent non-dress rehearsal, actors Tilly Woods as Cinderella, left, and Rain Nelson as stepsister Druzella discuss a private agreement in the kitchen as the cook, Richard Stephens, takes a snooze in OTA’s upcoming Panto “Cinderella and the Enabling Habit.”

Audience participation

Joel Swenning as the bird is the first entrance, said Forrest. He “comes in so high energy. He’ll be interacting with people, getting them all warmed up, and prepared to interact in the show, because it is a very different theater experience than sitting in the red seats just watching. People should expect it to be loud.

“We love loudness and that repartee back and forth,” he continued. “We’re using the center aisle a lot in this show… Whenever we want to interact with the audience, we’ll bring the show down into the aisle.”

“In England, where Panto is a long tradition, this is how kids get introduced to theater,” Stephens said. “This is a great way to introduce kids to theater; you create a lifelong love for theater.

“And it’s not considered a second grade, second level art form. It’s very sophisticated, very loved, and it’s slowly making inroads in America.”

Said Cates: “The idea with Panto is that there is a lesson to be learned along the way. Shannon’s always done a really good job with being funny, being appropriate for all ages, but with enough double meanings there that kids will enjoy it, and adults will also enjoy it for different reasons.”

Sequim Gazette photo by Emily Matthiessen Richard Stephens, during a non-dress rehearsal, belts out Tina Turner’s “Simply the Best” as the Fairy Godmother in OTA’s upcoming Panto “Cinderella and the Enabling Habit,” a role he is very excited to play.

Sequim Gazette photo by Emily Matthiessen During a recent non-dress rehearsal, actors Tilly Woods as Cinderella, left, and Rain Nelson as stepsister Druzella have a passionate discussion in the kitchen as the cook, Richard Stephens, takes a snooze in OTA’s upcoming Panto “Cinderella and the Enabling Habit.”

Sequim Gazette photo by Emily Matthiessen Susan Cates as the evil stepmother Lady Tremayne strokes her cat Lucifur, played by Mario Arruda, in OTA’s upcoming Panto, “Cinderella and the Enabling Habit.”