This will be an easy one.

I just joined the hair & makeup crew for Legally Blonde, working for someone whose work I've admired.  As it happens, this one will be easy - although they loaded in today, they won't need me again until Wednesday, two days before we open.  Only 4 wigs involved, as the cast are mostly wearing their own hair and the makeup is nothing out of the ordinary.  Given all that, I'll probably end up doing more to help w/ costume changes than with hair or makeup.  So far, all I've done was steam most of the curl out of a wig; that took all of about 10 or 15 minutes.  Because I'm not the one in charge, I don't have to schlep wigs, wig heads, hairpins, or any of the other styling paraphernalia, just my purse, water bottle and hoodie.  Yep, definitely light duty.

"Editorial" makeup

 I'm taking a Stage Makeup class this semester and this week's assignment, in preparation for our midterm, is "editorial makeup".  Apparently that refers to the really out-there kind of looks you see during, say, Fashion Week or other avant garde settings.  Here's what I came up with.

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!

The local version of the Tony awards

Last night was the awards ceremony for the local community theaters.  The venue, usually used for concerts (think Leo Kottke and Mary Chapin Carpenter), has an odd main space - broad but with a low ceiling.  Last night was packed, with about 500 of us at the various tables, nearly all of us in our glad rags.

I'd guess about half the non-black dresses worn last night were red, mine included.  A significant proportion of the remaining dresses were purple, with a few fuchsia and at least one turquoise dress that I could see.  I loved seeing everyone's finery.  There were even a couple of little girls there; one of them had on a turquoise chiffon dress, and her daddy had a matching tie and pocket handkerchief - very sweet.

I was one of six people nominated for Outstanding Hair Design in a Play (there was also a category for hair design in a musical).  In other words, the adjudicators put my work in the top six of the 72 hair designs considered.  Pretty good for my first time designing hair for someone besides myself!  I didn't win, but just being nominated is definitely encouraging!  Good thing, as I'm about to do more hair and make-up design, this time for more people.  Maybe the award nomination will paper over my lack of experience. :D

My next project

I've just been asked to design hair and make-up for a production of "The Arabian Nights", which should be fun.  The cast member who suggested me (we were in "Guys and Dolls" together) introduced me to the producer last night.   I mentioned that, after years of middle eastern dance, I've collected a few costume pieces and other things that might be useful as costumes or set dressing.

I've already started to think about how I want to style things, wondering what colors the costumer and lighting designer will be using, etc.  If I can't be in the show, working on the design team is the next best thing.  Not to mention that it introduces me to yet another community theater company.  I'm looking forward to this...