As actors age in an industry with a regular flow of young, up-and-coming performers, casting opportunities can at times slim down as the years pass.

But for a group of South Whidbey-based actors, directors and producers, there isn’t a better time to take center stage.

Meet Never Too Late Productions, the theater group dedicated to providing casting opportunities for the 50-and-up acting crowd. The group is a collective of some of South Whidbey’s most seasoned performers, including familiar Whidbey Island Center for the Arts (WICA) regulars, Island Shakespeare festival performers and Whidbey Children’s Theater executives. The group doesn’t take itself too seriously, with jokes and laughter regularly exchanged during rehearsals, but its members have some serious acting chops.

“It’s so often that all the parts are meant for the younger crowd,” member and Whidbey Children’s Theater founder Martha Murphy said. “We have an aging population with a lot of fantastic performers, that’s why we all agreed that it’s never too late.”

After forming this past fall, the group’s first show is coming next weekend to Outcast Productions at the fairgrounds. They’ll be performing a traditional British panto called “Knight Fever!,” a comical and often ridiculous Shakespearean-esque show filled with cross dressing characters, pie-in-the-face fun and jokes for kids and adults alike. The audience is a character in pantos, and interaction between the actors and crowd is a regular facet of the show. Performers encourage audience members to cheer their favorite characters and boo the villains, and may even have props thrown at them. There are musical numbers littered throughout, although it’s not a musical. Tunes just add to the fun, ridiculous aspect of it all.

Evening showtimes are 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 20 and Saturday, Jan. 21, with matinee performances at 2 p.m. on Jan. 21 and Sunday, Jan. 22. Tickets cost $18 for adults, $14 for seniors and students and $8 for children 12 and younger. Tickets can be purchased at brownpapertickets.com, at the door or reserved at ocp@whidbey.com. Seating is limited.

“Panto is a British tradition that takes a well-known story or fable and reworks it with a lot of humor and music,” co-director and founder Melinda Mack said. “It’s a little cartoonish, which kids will love, but there are always enough double entendres for the adults that go over the kids’ heads.

The British panto seems like the perfect fit for the group. Most of the actors and actresses have worked together for years in the South Whidbey theater scene, so they’re well acquainted enough to exchange jokes to no end and have fun while doing so, somehow managing to stay on track during rehearsal.

Humor is also part of the idea that created Never Too Late Productions, according to Mack. The idea came one night when she was brainstorming play ideas at the kitchen table with her husband and daughter. They began to think about funny situations that could arise from casting an older crowd in plays that have young characters. But, the idea didn’t seem so farfetched on second thought.

“It’s an opportunity to do many things,” Mack said. “Why not? Why can’t I be Maria in ‘The Sound of Music’? Why can’t I be Rizzo in ‘Grease?’”

Despite the swirl of jokes and light heartedness, the group knows how to put on a show. Some members have 30 or more years of acting or directing experience under their belt. Murphy founded Whidbey Children’s Theater in 1981, and Mack has worked with the kids there for more than 10 years. Her husband, Keith Mack, has an acting history as well and will be playing the dame in the play. Jim Scullin and Kent Junge are regularly featured in WICA plays, and a number of the performers take part in Island Shakespeare Festival year after year. Newer South Whidbey resident and actor Kevin Lynch, who will play King Arthur, has been taking the stage for about 40 years.

“Everyone here has about 20 years of experience or more,” Lynch said. “There’s a natural vibe that enriches the productions because they know each other so well. I also noticed when you have an older group, everyone has an interesting voice, which you don’t always get with a younger group.”

Never Too Late Productions also offers benefits for an aging community. The theater group is open to bringing in people who have never set foot on stage but may have it on their bucket list. The founders want to make casting more accessible, hoping that makes people more comfortable with setting foot on stage. Mack adds that it keeps its members active and healthy while giving them a chance to flex their creative muscle.

“It’s good for people to be involved in something in their lives beyond what they think they should be doing,” Mack said. “My dad always said ‘You’ve gotta have someone to love, something to do and something to look forward to.’ We can at least cover two of those things.”

Kyle Jensen / The Record Kevin Lynch (left) and Kent Junge (right) rehearse their roles a week prior to the debut of “Knight Fever!” put on by Never Too Late Productions.