Getting psyched for this semester

Went to new student orientation last Friday and got a preliminary schedule.  I'm waitlisted for two classes I need, so they gave me two others to fill out my hours.  Today I met with someone in the Theater dept. about registering for one of the four 1-credit practicums I need for my degree.  She sent me to the costume shop to get a contract for the 40 hours I need to put in.  I'm now slated to spend 4 hours every Monday afternoon during the semester working in the costume shop, learning some tricks of the trade and, if I'm lucky, being trusted to work on some of the fancier projects.  

Poor me - "forced" to work in the costume shop.   When I got home and told the Chief, he teased me about staying past closing so I can continue to play in the costumes.  That's probably not too far from the truth - I full expect to have NO trouble getting in my 40 hours.  At 4 hours a week, I'll probably hit that number before the end of the semester.

They also have an arrangement they call a "fire sale".  Instead of spacing your 40 hours over the semester, you do a single 40-hour week during the week before classes start.  You get the same credit, but knock it out in a single week.  Not all of the technical shops offer this arrangement, but it's nice to know it's out there, in case I want to get a jump-start on my semester.

Costume party!

The Chief & I didn't hand out candy last night because we had an invitation to a costume party.  He was less than thrilled about getting dressed up - that's my thing, not his - but agreed to wear a few pieces that came together as a pirate costume.  He liked it better when I was able to give him a facial scar (collodion is great stuff for that!).  It was a rush job, done before dinner on the night, but not bad, considering.

My costume was vaguer.  I've got this royal-blue dress which I augmented with a bling-y necklace, a water-color-y scarf with fringed ends that I tied around my head, and a skirt made of tulle strips knotted onto another length of tulle.  I also took some blue, teal & purple eyeshadow and painted swirls on my face and neck.  (Wasn't the greatest make-up job in the world, but I was in a hurry.)  Guesses included the Blue Fairy and Tinkerbell.

Good for my ego

Got a Facebook message this afternoon from one of the women in the first production for which I did hair & make-up, nearly 2 years ago.  She's producing a play that'll run this fall and wanted to know if I'd design hair & make-up for it, or even audition for it (nine roles for women 40+!).  It's quite far - probably 25+ miles one way - but more importantly, it opens a week after Mattress does, so no way.  When I offered to send her names of other hair & make-up people, she said she was looking for an excuse to work with me again. Given that I didn't really work with the cast that much - came to a couple of rehearsals, then worked with them during Tech Week through Opening Night, then didn't show up again until strike - it is very good for my ego to realize that I managed to make such a good impression on at least one cast member. :)

A few notes on last Friday's concert

Last Friday I sang in a benefit concert that R organized.  Six women (5 singers and our VERY gifted accompanist), so R had all of us wear black dresses.  I had a great little vintage number, which I took to the run-through to get some opinions on which jewelry to wear with it.  Unfortunately, the zipper broke when I went to put it on.  I mean really broke - a few zipper teeth broke off.  Vintage, remember, and this was obviously the original zipper.  Yike!  I ran out and made an emergency purchase of a back-up LBD, in case the local dry cleaner's tailor couldn't replace the zipper in time.  Fortunately, the tailor came through for me (and replaced the silver zipper with a black one - even better!) so I could wear my smashing little vintage number.  Good thing, as my Plan B dress was the very same one R was wearing!

We had fun singing, the program had a good variety, and the audience seemed to enjoy it.  I was even sounded out afterward by someone prospecting for potential Ms. Senior (neighboring state) contestants!  I had a good chuckle over that - I NEVER considered entering a beauty contest!!!  The Chief thinks I should consider looking into our state's program once I hit 60 (the minimum eligible age).

My next show - "Once Upon a Mattress"

This audition round was a tough one - I went into it Monday night with a touch of laryngitis (thank you so much, tree pollen!), started my monologue and drew a blank just 1 or 2 lines into it.  But I managed to sing decently, and pulled off my monologue when I restarted.  The dance combo was a short, very easy one - just 3 sets of 8.  I obviously didn't do badly, as I was called back the next night.  I was one of seven candidates for Queen Aggravain, and I know at least 2 of the "competition" are strong performers, so I wasn't exactly surprised when I didn't get the role.  I didn't get cast as any of the named ladies in waiting, either, presumably because those went to young women.  'S OK; I'll have fun in the ensemble, and I've already offered my assistance to the costumer.

Big year ahead

When I go back to work next week, I'll contact my HR rep and start talking seriously about starting my retirement paperwork!  I'm actually looking at setting a last day at work; currently May 1st.  I've been working for the same company (though in many different capacities) for over 35 years -  I can't believe this "retirement" thing is soon to become something more than an abstraction, a "someday, when I retire..."

The Chief has already started teasing me about accompanying him when he drives out to the Midwest for family functions.  "We can bond in the car, and sing camp songs!"  He didn't object or protest when I responded "And I can teach you some G&S so we can sing duets!" (he insists he can't sing; he can, he just doesn't wanna), so I'm not sure how serious he is about those camp songs. :D

My list of "when I retire" things is very ambitious, as it includes:

• taking piano lessons (I don't play a note, but would like to learn at least enough to plunk out new songs I want to learn);
• taking music classes, maybe even getting a degree - voice lessons haven't taught me music theory, for instance;
• volunteering - SO many desperately deserving causes!
• auditioning for a local community theater company which has a very heavy performance schedule - up to 6 nights a week!

I'll also continue to do community theater, in addition to the odd costuming, hair & make-up assistance, for which I may have more time (if I'm not practicing scales or serving food at a soup kitchen or traveling with the Chief). 

The Chief is looking forward to my retirement because I'll then be able to take back grocery-shopping duty, which he took over when he retired 6 years ago.  I tease him that he'll miss out on seeing all the babies shopping with their parents; apparently that's a sacrifice he's willing to make. :)

Regency project stalled

My Regency dress project is completely dependent on having stays that fit properly.  The ones I ordered seemed a bit small.  I notified the vendor but held off on answering her questions or returning the stays until I had my chemise roughed in and could try the stays on over the garment that would be going underneath.  I got to that point on Monday and finally tried the stays on over the (still-unfinished) chemise.  No good.  I took several pictures, emailed them to the vendor, and took the stays to the post office. 

I had hoped to wear the dress to Saturday's wedding; obviously that didn't happen.  Ah well; I now have lots and lots of time to figure out how I'm going to redo the neckline casing, which is too narrow to thread anything through it.  I've already trimmed the seam allowance, so I can't just pick out the stitching and reattach.  I may have to cut out a new one and replace the first one.  :(

I also need to come up with some petticoat fabric.  I wanted white microfiber but an hour spent searching on line turned up nothing suitable.  I ordered some "china silk" but, as I expected, it isn't what I had in mind at all.   It turned out to be that shiny, rather stiff lining fabric.  Now to send out an SOS to several costumers of my acquaintance and to the owner of Sense & Sensibility Patterns and see what they recommend.

"Here I come to save the day!"

Last week I got a somewhat panicked email from a director I've done a few shows with.  She's directing Sound of Music, opening in mid-July, and was there any chance I could play Frau Schmidt?  After checking with the Chief that we didn't have any plans, I agreed to do it.  Then I looked at the calendar; I'd just agreed to take a role (good thing it's a small one!) in a show that opened in just TWO WEEKS! =:o

I've now had 3 whole rehearsals and am already sorta off book.  Good thing, as we tech in this Sunday.  Monday we have an open rehearsal (i.e., with a paying audience), so I really want to be off book for that.

Costume fittings tonight.  I'll be wearing a brown dress, several sizes too large, but elastic at the waist will make it work.  Brown is definitely not my color, but I don't mind. After all, I'm the housekeeper, not the lady of the house.  My sartorial compensation is that I also have a walk-on as Fräulein Schweiger in the concert scene near the end, so I get to finish the show in my authentic Austrian dirndl.

Trying not to get discouraged

I brought a suitcase full of stuff to my first bellydance swap meet, full of hope that I'd come home with an empty (or nearly so) suitcase.  An hour and a half into the 3- hour event, I've sold exactly nothing.  Not the bargain-basement-priced beaded costumes, not the skirt sets, not even the dirt-cheap fabric remnants!  I need to sell something just to recoup the cost of my table rental; I'd really rather not go home with everything I bought and have spent the vendor fee (and my time and gas) for nothing. :(

But there's still an good hour to go - maybe someone will arrive who's the perfect size and coloring for one (or both) of the costumes, or for whom one of the skirt sets will be perfect.  I can dream...

They look great!

The Arabian Nights opened Friday night.  The cast did a good job - good energy, story-telling and movement (and the director has given them a LOT of movement!).  As I expected, they look fabulous!  She built wonderful turbans and other headgear for men and women alike, put them in lovely, rich fabrics in both muted and vibrant colors. The set includes "oriental" rugs all over the floor of the performing space, which also makes it look richer than the usual black floor one always sees in community theater productions.

The cast also did a good job of getting their make-up up to the level we wanted to go with the rich-looking costumes.  Many of them had trouble getting used to applying as much eye make-up as I kept urging them to do, but by Friday they were there and are even starting to like the effect.  (One woman, who came in a nice dress for opening night, decided she likes the dramatic eye make-up for evening wear.)  The hairpieces are working well, too; everyone has gotten so comfortable with them that if I didn't know they were "add-ons", I wouldn't be able to tell.

Now that I have an award nomination on my resume, I'm eligible to be a presenter at next year's awards ceremony.  I'd love to be the one to present the award for Outstanding Costume Design in a Play to our costume designer.  I'd bet serious money that she'll get a nomination for this show, and I won't be AT ALL surprised if she beats out the competition.  No, it's not about the awards, but I'm THAT impressed with what she's done - gorgeous work!

Looking forward to my first production meeting

Tomorrow night is the first production meeting for "The Arabian Nights."  I've been itching to get started on this, have already collected the cast's headshots off the company's web site.  What really has me psyched about this production, though, is the costumer.  She's a longtime dancer, ethnographer, and ethnochoreologist.  We've already been exchanging emails; she's going for a "medieval Baghdad" look, including turbans and beards for all the men.  She's also asked about braids for at least a couple of the women.  I don't think any of the women have hair long enough, so I'll have to look into finding wigs.

One make-up feature that will nail the look will be "cupid's bow" eyebrows.  I'm hoping the director will let me put them on at least 2 or 3 each of the men and women.  We've got an attractive, ethnically diverse cast; they'll be gorgeous once Laurel and I finish with them.  :)

It's almost here!

Tech week, that is.  Saturday is the Sitzprobe w/ the orchestra and Sunday is load-in, with the cue-to-cue that evening.  Tech week!  When the theater magic happens!  I'm practically bouncing in my seat as I type, looking forward to seeing all the costumes (mine is navy) and the set, seeing how much luck I have projecting to the back row in my low register, finally being able to set spacing because we'll have the actual doors, "houses" and so forth.  There'll also be a "green room sweatshop", so I'll take my sewing machine to the theater along with the rest of my gear come Sunday.

I've always loved tech week, but for some reason I'm particularly excited about this one.  Maybe because this is my first role with this company?  Maybe because I'm psyched about the set & costumes?  Doesn't matter; gonna be fun.  Even better is the fact that I was able to take the week off work, so I'll be able to sleep in after getting to bed late after rehearsal every night.

TW is getting involved too.  He's already been out to the scene bay twice to help with the set and plans to help with load-in Sunday morning.  He's also planning to usher the last performance, then stay to help with strike.  What a great guy!

What a sweetheart!

The woman who has done hair & make-up for the company for several years came to rehearsal today to meet those of us new to the company.  She's seen me do many a show with this group, always in the ensemble (once or twice as a featured ensemble member).  She came up to me after my first featured number and kept repeating how "tickled" she was to see me in a lead.  She thought I was doing well, sounded good, but what really amazed me was that she actually had tears in her eyes, she was so happy for me!  What a sweetie!

It shouldn't surprise you to learn that, when she does your make-up, she "signs" her work with a kiss on your forehead. :)

Getting excited

We load in 2 weeks from today.  We started running the show at rehearsal (as opposed to running certain chunks) a week ago, which is always fun (if a little scary at first).  Today our producer/costume brought the first few costumes for fittings.  Some wonderful fabrics there - this show is gonna look beautiful!  Our director didn't have all that many notes for us after rehearsal, and those were mostly fine-tuning.  TW helped work on the set yesterday and told me it's essentially built except for the painting.

Things are shaping up nicely - getting exciting! :)

I guess I did pretty well, especially for a maiden effort

The area community theater community (over 30 companies!) has a recognition organization that does our own little awards ceremony every year.  The 2013 nominations were announced last night and, to my shock, I was on the list!  I was nominated for hair design for my November show.  Surprised me because, of the 7 cast members, only 3 had hairstyles that needed any research or special attention.  (The others?  One military cut, one old-fashioned bun, one daughter in pigtails, one daughter in a snood.  No challenges there.)  As I told the cast, though, they had as much to do with it as I did.  After all, while I did the style design and showed them how to achieve them, they were the ones who did the actual styling the adjudicators saw and scored.

This didn't feel like nearly as much work as, say, when I costumed the Pirates I was in a few years back.  I certainly couldn't have styled 3 heads without making the owners of said heads show up as much as 2 hours before curtain.  Since I trained most of them to do their styles (one woman was already well versed in doing period styles), then left them to do their own hair, I really do feel that the cast earned this as much as I did.  I didn't see the other productions that were nominated, so I don't know what we're up against, but maybe Sybil's victory rolls will tip the balance and earn "my" cast an award.  We'll find out at the awards ceremony in March.  Good luck, ladies!

Hmm.  Maybe the awards ceremony would be a good excuse to buy a ballgown... ;)

Still auditioning

I auditioned for one production, got called back, had fun with the improv exercise, but wasn't cast.  I replied to the email that I'd be interested in helping on the tech side but haven't heard back.

Then last Saturday I auditioned for another show.  The director asked me on my way out if I could make callbacks; yes, of course!  Sunday was the 2nd day of auditions, with callbacks scheduled for Monday.  I was therefore a bit confused to get a "sorry, you weren't cast" call Sunday night!  Turns out I had too many conflicts (the show has a rather compressed rehearsal schedule), and the director was able to cast from auditions.  Once I got past my confusion, I consoled myself with having been called back, even if I didn't actually get to callbacks. :D  I also offered to help with hair; 1940s hairstyles should be fun.  I won't be able to do it alone, though - 6 women to coif?  I'd need to start around 4 p.m. to have them all ready for curtain!

Monday I have yet another audition.  I'm not too optimistic about that one, mostly because the women's roles consist of 2 grandmothers and one 20-something.  If the demographics hold true, there'll be plenty of us trying out for those 2 grannies - tough odds.  Later this month I can then, finally, audition for a coupla musical things - 2 G&S shows.  I'd love to get either Dame Carruthers (Yeomen of the Guard) or Ruth (Pirates of Penzance).  For someone my age, the only other option is ensemble, and I've already done ensemble in both shows (twice in Pirates).  I might do it for Yeomen, but not for Pirates - that'll be a summer show, and I try to keep the summer a "theater-free zone" so the Chief doesn't spend too much time as a theater widower.

I've been auditioning for things but not performing (unless you count the sing-out) since Daddy's Dyin' closed in January. This is the longest I've ever spent auditioning without being cast in anything.  I might have made Guys & Dolls had I been willing to take ensemble, but that group rehearses just far enough away that I wasn't eager to make the drive to repeat a "role" I just did last summer.  The artistic director of last summer's group asked me to replace someone in their production of Quartet, but I just couldn't make the schedule work.  I'm glad I got to work my "pipes" a little at the Sing-out; it was the first onstage singing I've done since last summer's Guys & Dolls, which is way too long to go without!

Time to take another look at what's being done this season to see what else I might want to audition for.

My first cowboy boots

My character wears cowboy boots for most of the show.  The ones our costumer found had pretty high heels for someone who lives in flats and very low (1/2") heels.  Last night I wore the boots for rehearsal for the first time, and I plan to wear them for every rehearsal from now on so I can be sure to get used to them.  for those of you who are thinking "So the heels are higher; what's the big deal?" - a higher heel shifts your weight forward, shifts your balance, and changes your posture as your feet, legs, hips & back adjust to a different angle. 

When we ran the fight scene, I found the heels made a difference in my balance when I had to turn, bend, or walk into someone and push.  Not to mention that they made me a good 2"-3" taller than I am in the sneakers I've been wearing to rehearsal, so that I felt like I towered over the other women in the cast.

The boots are perhaps half a size too big, so I'll also have to experiment to see just how thick a sock I need to wear.  The pair I wore last night, the thickest I own, were thick enough that my toes felt a bit squished.

My first new 'do in YEARS!

I'd been getting itchy to change my hair, after wearing it long (sometimes "only" mid-back, sometimes down to my hips) for 25+ years. However, I had to wait until after Thebes closed, as I used my hair as a character prop. We closed last weekend, so today was the big day; Locks of Love gets another donation, and I have my first new hairstyle (styles I've worn for shows don't count) since the 1980s! The hairdresser whacked off my donation, then evened things out, then gave me some "long layers" so the end result wouldn't be "triangular". It'll take some getting used to - I have all this fluff around my neck but no hair even on my shoulders, because whacking off all that hair freed up my natural curl.




I can't help but wonder what I'll do with my hair the next time I'm in a show, but I'll worry about that when I'm cast in something. I may well grow it out again at some later date, if only to make use of all the hair "tools" (rollers of several different kinds, curling irons, that Vintage Hairstyles book) I've accumulated, but I expect I'll stick with this for a while, since the initial reviews have been favorable. ;)

Thebes is getting closer...

Last night we had a photographer taking headshots for the lobby as well as publicity shots. I didn't get the e-mail about bringing costume pieces, so all I had was my shawl. :( At least I looked presentable, since I'd slapped on some make-up so I wouldn't look all pale & washed out in my lobby shot.

We then did a full run, with the Guard filling in for Haemon (who apparently had an audition last night). Not bad - we timed out at about 1:20 or thereabouts, so once we get things tightened up, we should clock in at about 1:10 or 1:15. Given that the show runs straight through, without any intermission, we'll have our audience out in short order.

My shawl turned out quite nicely. Our director had found a white gauze shawl, but it was a bit too stark with the darker colors of my blouse and black skirt. I offered to tea-dye it; it turned out a lovely shade of darjeeling. ;) I can't remember the last time I tea-dyed anything, so I was pleased that I managed to get the color just right. It's still quite a light color - sort of a light ivory - which suits the other colors (of both my costume and the set) much better. And the blood will still show just fine.

I'm gonna wash sawdust right outta my hair...

Worked on the Thebes set for a bit this afternoon. We learned the hard way that the theater's circular saw produced more smoke & noise than sawdust; we stopped pretty quickly when it started sparking! I called the Chief to see if he'd be willing to bring his; he brought two (one was a battery-powered mini circular saw) and stayed to work on the set with us. The director and I held plywood while the Chief plied the saw; hence the sawdust in my hair. And in my clothes, face, shoes... We got a lot done, too - all the platforms are now built and were getting a base coat when the Chief & I left for dinner.

Starting tomorrow night, a good two weeks before we start Tech Week, we'll be able to rehearse on the actual platforms, so we'll have plenty of time to work out timing and spacing. Next weekend's set work will probably finish the back wall, including the doorway, so we'll get plenty of rehearsal with the actual entrances too. I'm excited - it's very rare in community theater to get so much time on the set before opening night; the more we get to rehearse on the actual set, the better we'll be when we open.

In other theater-related news, I did a (very) little thrift shopping yesterday for a blouse for Eurydice; the first blouse I tried on worked! Got director approval this afternoon, so that's taken care of. I stopped by Joann's on the way to the theater to get fabric for an underskirt (I'm wearing a thin cotton skirt which is a little thin and needs something under it both for modesty when backlit and to give the skirt some body and flow). I found some nice "peachskin" lining fabric that's just heavy and drapey enough for the purpose, won't catch on the cotton and - best of all - was 50% off! Seems I chose a day when Joann's was having a big, fat spring sale - no wonder the lines were so long! I won't have a chance to cut out the underskirt until Wednesday at the earliest, but I now have everything I need. This will probably be next weekend's project.