That was a nice surprise

One of the companies I've designed for this year had their end-of-season awards last night.  The show I designed in May did very well indeed - nominated in almost every category, every nominee in Best in a Minor Role was a cast member, and we won in every category but one.  No surprise that we took Best Production (out of a 7-production season).  I ended up taking home awards for both hair and makeup design.  Given that one of the other shows was Kinky Boots, I expected them to get the makeup award.  After all, if you've ever seen drag makeup, you know it can be quite elaborate.  Nope, I got that award, too.  The Chief was confident I was going to take home both awards; I wasn't as confident, or maybe I just didn't want to get my hopes up.  My husband, however, is my biggest fan and told me on the drive home that he knew I was gonna win both.  

These things are at least 6" tall and heavy!  Drop that on your foot and you'll hurt or even break something.  They sure look pretty on our mantel, though.

One of the productions was School of Rock and the front row of the theater was filled with kids from that cast.  It was fun to watch them all bouncing and cheering and generally having a great time.  My favorite moment of the evening, though, was when 2 of their number, who had shared a role, won for Best Junior Performance.  They all lost their minds, jumping around, cheering, yelling, and mobbing the 2 honorees with hugs and congratulations.  I got a bit emotional seeing how thrilled they were for their friends.  And it was obvious that they were indeed friends, even if they hadn't met each other before being cast in the show.

All in all, it was a nice evening.  Award ceremonies can be tedious but in this case you could feel the love.  Several of the awards are named for past members of the company and in at least 2 cases were presented by family members.  It seemed like everyone was congratulating everyone else, people were dishing out compliments to friends and strangers alike, and if you were carrying one of the boxes the awards were presented in, you got congratulated.  At least one person told me at the end of the evening that they were really regretting not seeing "my" show.

I went home with a very tired throat.  Not from yelling & cheering - I knew not to compromise my recovery - but from trying to talk in a space full of very chatty people.  The evening's energy was so positive, though, that I'd say it was worth it.