Southend Scout and Guide Gang Show are delighted to launch their new monthly feature 'Catching up with'. Here we will catch up with cast past and present as well as the adult volunteers who make It's a Date and SHINDIGS possible. 

This month we start with Southend Gang Show ASU Manager, Daniel Wanna. 

1. Introduce yourself and tell us what your role within Southend Gang Show is?
   
   Hi, my name is Daniel Wanna and I have various roles within the Southend Gang Show. As well as being in the cast, I am the Southend Gang Show ASU Manager, I assist in the production team and helped produce two items for the 2014 & 2016 shows as well as also sitting on the Southend Gang Show Executive.
    
2. When was your first Southend Gang Show and how many shows have you now been a part of?
   
   My very first show was 2006 and I have been in the cast right up until 2016 - so 6 shows in total. Unfortunately, due to age, 2016 would have been my last show as cast however, I shall be returning in 2018 as staff.
    
3. Best moment of being a part of Southend Gang Show? 
   
   For me, it was getting to finish my Southend Gang Show cast experience with the 2016 show! For me, I believe that was the best show we have done and that I have been in, so to leave on such a ‘high’, was brilliant!
    
4. What do you get out of being a part of Southend Gang Show and why do you think people should get involved in SHINDIGS 2017?
   
   Southend Gang Show offers you a number of benefits - from meeting new friends and building relationships for life to trying something new, working together as a team and watching others go on a journey and build confidence along the way. SHINDIGS is a great opportunity to have a taster of what it is like being in the Southend Gang Show. Unlike Gang Show which requires 5 months of solid commitment, SHINDIGS is just 1 day which means it appeals to those who have work commitments and cannot be in the Gang Show.

5. Favourite Southend Gang Show item? 
   
   This is slightly bias but for me, it has to be ‘The Projectionist’. Having performed in the sketch twice and hearing the audience reaction, it is a great sense of achievement.
    
6. What have you been up to in the past few months since It’s a Date 2016?
   
   Since Southend Gang Show finished, I have been working hard alongside others, to head up the It’s a Knockout zone at Essex International Jamboree 2016. It was great to see so many Southend Gang Show cast and staff there, supporting such a fantastic event #backtotheknockout

7. What are you most looking forward to about the next SHINDIGS/It’s a Date? 
   
   For me, this will be the next step in the journey. My time of being a cast member has come to an end, therefore, it will interesting to see which direction I end up going in and what role would be available for me to try something new and get involved in