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Father and daughter Kevin and Ali McCormack at their home in Kilworth. Photo: Sandra Quinn

At the tender age of 17, there aren't many students who could direct, run and manage a drama summer camp, but for Ali McCormack from Kilworth, taking over from her father at the annual Fermoy summer camp was a natural decision.

Earlier this year, Kevin McCormack announced his decision to take a step back from the panto scene and focus more on his life coaching, training and acting work, and with that decision came the news that there would be no one to direct the Fermoy Panto Productions summer camp for children aged between 9 and 17.

Kevin told The Avondhu that he will be guest facilitator this year, while Ali will direct it and Jenny Hoare will be the choreographer and Ali has been assisting on all of the summer camps for the past few years.

"She's been under my wing, she's been my right hand women and she's very talented. Even when I'm writing scripts, I will always bounce them off her," Kevin said.

While Ali admitted that she was a bit reluctant to take on the directing, as she feared her age would put people off, Kevin hastened to add that the duties will be split between Ali and Jenny and he's confident in both of their abilities to pull off a fantastic summer camp.

"I have 100% confidence in her, she has done so much on the pantos when I was producing and directing them. Outside of being an artist, she has a very good sense of logistics and she understands the stage and how things like lighting and sound work," Kevin added.

While her father has given her so much guidance and help over the years to hone in on her talents and develop what she has learned, she is now keen to step out on her own.

"It's time for me to become Ali McCormack and not be known as Kevin McCormack's daughter," she said.

Ali stressed that everyone at the camp will get the chance to try everything and be involved in the show and it's all about fun, enjoyment and making new friends.

Ali will be going into Leaving Cert next year in Colaiste an Chraoibhin and she has been on the stage since she was three - with a father like Kevin, it's impossible to have had a childhood that wasn't peppered with theatre, drama, dance and singing.

"I had my stage début on a stairs dressed up as a mouse when my Dad did a production of Cinderella in Ballyduff," Ali explained.

Her interest in all things dramatic would also have been triggered by Joy Alabaster and the camps she runs for very young children and as she grew older, she tried out different areas within dance, singing and acting.

The first big part she played was in her father's production of Aladdin as Gymkhana.

She always admired people like Brian O'Flynn who sparked her interest in the finer details of the stage.

"My plan is to work with every single person and make the production the best that it can be, so that every person doing the camp will go home with happy fun memories from the two weeks.

"I'm not nervous about directing it, but I am apprehensive. I hope that we get a full camp and that people aren't put off by my age or think that I won't be able to pull it off. I already have the script done and I'm working on the music now. I'm just really looking forward to it and can't wait to see how it pans out," Ali told The Avondhu.

The camp takes place from July 7-11 and from July 14-18 in Presentation Hall, Fermoy, from 10am until 3pm at a cost of €140 per child for the two weeks.

While many places have been filled, there are still places available. Places should be booked early to avoid disappointment, to book a place on the camp or for more information, contact Ail on 086-7342405 or email fermoypanto@gmail.com

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