Pathmaker Campbell-MacGregor is a visionary and somebody who believes in making his dreams come true.

  Pathmaker does so through sheer tenacity and hard work and has had a long cherished idea of creating a theatre to put on plays and performances for the audiences of sl.  The end result of this determination and effort and after many months of planning and finally getting together his first rate team, is that he has come up with an incredible show to both titillate, tantalise tease and torment and I was privileged enough to be invited to attend the final rehearsals ahead of the grand opening on Sunday, December 2^nd at 10 am.

Aware that Paths shows are somewhat ‘racy’ I posed my first question to him somewhat warily.

Mariella:  Path, What sort of entertainment can people expect when they come to one of your shows?

PATH: When people come to Paramount Playhouse, they'll see tasteful yet erotic performances by beautiful, talented ladies and of course our fabulous male lead, mixed with more light-hearted comedic acts similar to what you'd find in Vaudeville. Our sets are elaborate, the music carefully selected to fit the scenes, the costumes are fabulous and the theatre itself has an intimate 1930's Art Deco feel that is both warm and welcoming. We’ve worked very hard to create an ‘atmosphere’ so that people attending can be immersed in the overall experience. It’s not just ‘another’ show, it’s very professional, classy entertainment and yes, it’s a bit saucy, but that all adds to the fun.

Mariella: Will these shows be regular events?

PATH: Our shows will be performed on Sundays each week at 12 noon SL beginning December 9th. We also plan to bring in the occasional live performer/cover band during the week for additional entertainment as time allows.

Mariella:  I heard on the theatrical grapevine, that you might just be doing something very special in the new Year?

PATH: One of my personal goals in opening a theatre has been to perform Plays - - modified of course to fit in sl.  The first production planned is an extensively rewritten version of George Bernard Shaw's Caesar and Cleopatra.  In fact - I'm pretty certain Shaw would not want his name on it - so, just in case his ghost is bouncing around or turning in his grave, I've renamed it "Cleo and the Czar".  

I've borrowed from Shaw, a few pieces from Shakespeare and leaned heavily on the historians of the time, including Plutarch.  The end result is a Musical Sex Comedy in three acts.  And it really is funny.  And also ‘somewhat’ historically accurate,  provided of course - Cleopatra really did talk like an American Valley Girl.

 

To appeal to the broadest possible audience, the play will be performed using written emotes - probably in local chat - or possibly in group chat.  I would love to do productions using Voice - and that might be a possibility to explore sometime in the future.

 

Mariella: I understand Elvis might be around for your opening in event, what else do you have in store?

PATH: Well-known Elvis impersonator BubbC Johns and the Bubbetes, who were just nominated for Avi Choice awards for Favorite SL Music Group, will be performing at our Grand Opening celebration on Sunday, December 2nd at 10 AM sl. Our staff will be joining him on on stage for the final song of the act and from there we will go right into our opening performance. DJ Neil999 Slade will be MC'ing the show, which will last approximately 90 minutes of wall to wall entertainment. It promises to be absolutely fantastic as far as Grand Openings go, with a little bit for everybody.

 

Mariella: Describe what your dream is for the shows, are people going to be able to hire the shows you put on for performances on their own sims/theatres?

PATH:  Our dream is to produce shows that all avatars can feel comfortable attending....singles and couples alike. Our shows will be sexy and as they are burlesque acts there is quite a bit of nudity, but the show is also lighthearted and fun--a perfect place to bring a date. Our stage sets are portable and there is the option of performing at other venues as time allows.

 

Mariella:  Where do you get your inspiration for the shows themes?

PATH: Our inspiration comes from a variety of places. We have theme nights where all our acts revolve around a holiday/event or a certain place/subject...and then we have open nights without any particular theme at all. Our dancers usually start by finding a song(s) they like...come up with a concept for their performance and then put dances to the music....writing up their emotes to fit the concept. Each act is relatively short...1 to 2 songs generally, with a short break in between each act, giving our MC a chance to interact with the audience.

 

Mariella:  Who else is involved in working on this project with you?

PATH: The owners/operators of the Paramount are myself, Pathmaker Campbell-MacGregor, LeAnn Campbell-MacGregor and Lotta Difference.  Pathmaker's general job is "Producer" - he does the lighting for the shows, helps in any way he can and he's also responsible for sweeping up and keeping the bathrooms clean and well supplied with toilet paper.

LeAnn is the Director/Stage Manager. She selects the act lineups and is in charge of group acts/costumes, dancer placement and helps with prop finding.

As Art Director, Lotta is our Set Designer/Prop Mistress in charge of creative efforts---taking our dancers concepts for act and providing 3-D backgrounds that complement our dancers and their performances.  In addition to designing and building sets, she also does all the artwork for the theatre for decoration and publicity. 

All three help with writing emotes, finding appropriate dances and in any way they can to make the shows go smoothly. Furthermore, all three of the owners perform on stage along with the cast which includes several dancers with whom they have worked at other venues.

 

Having been to the recent rehearsal, I had indeed noticed the sets were very elaborate and not in fact that there is an atmosphere about the production that isn’t dissimilar to going to a Broadway Show. The set changes were instant, smooth and flawless and very professional indeed. I really understood what Path said when he alluded to ‘putting on a show’ as at each scene the curtain opened to reveal the next scene and the surprise in store awaiting from the dancers that stood posed behind it. What struck me was the expression of colour each time the curtain rose. This is by no means a drab show. Obviously, I do not want to spoil things by giving away too much, so I am keeping descriptions to the minimum about what actually goes on.  Suffice to say that the photographer I had taken with me, was having a very good time, whilst I of course was busily appreciating the artistry and costume design.  

I suppose if I had to designate a genre for the show, it might come under the title of Burlesque, but that would be doing it an injustice as it is substantially more than that. Perhaps, as Path said, it is more Vaudeville -Vaudeville with a touch of the Gypsy Rose Lee. It is very professional, very creative and in a lot of ways unlike anything I’ve seen before on sl. It has style and pizzazz and all the things that theatre should be about. I wouldn’t say I’d take my kids along, but I think Granny would get a thrill out of it.

Teleport to The Paramount Playhouse
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Spirit%20Marina/228/176/21

Photography by Icewilde