Design wish list

(Random thought prompted by my current reading, set in 1829). I would like someone to tap me to design a production set in about 1830, the Romantic era.  The women’s hairstyles were something else and would be so much fun to build!

Goodbye, Blithe Spirit

Tonight is the final performance of Blithe Spirit.  The Chief is watching the show tonight, after which we’ll collect my things and the wigs and head home.  Striking hair and makeup tonight means I can stay home tomorrow while everyone else strikes the set, costumes, etc.  While I’ll be glad of the break, I’ll be a little sad that I don’t have any further theater adventures on the calendar for the rest of the year.

This is the first time I’ve done different productions of the same show so close together.  I was able to apply what I learned last year, as far as a good gray foundation, while having fun designing slightly different hairstyles for the women.  Among other things, I got to use a couple of styles I didn’t use last year.  I really like how my version of this Bette Davis style turned out.  Better, I was able to find a good gray wig so I didn't need to dye one for Elvira.

As usual, I enjoyed the camaraderie in the dressing room.  This company does 4-week runs, so there was plenty of time for the ladies to cement their rapport.  This was obviously a cast who got along well and supported each other - no divas here.  One of the 2 gentlemen in the cast commented tonight that “this is obviously where the party is.”  Well, with only 2 in the men’s dressing room, it’s bound to be much quieter.

Weird post-op stuff

My system is definitely different since getting my thyroid yanked.  First of all, there’s all the weird breathing stuff because of that paralyzed vocal fold.  I have coughs that sound like sneezes, or occasionally like sobs, just for variety.  Then there are the little inhales that sometimes rumble in my chest and sound like snoring or growling.  And we can’t forget the gasping inhale, though those are becoming less common.  My speaking voice is still weird - high, in a cartoony way, or mid-range and glitchy.

In addition to the dizziness that just started today, I’ve been dealing with “evanescent urticaria” - the here-again-gone-again rashes I keep getting.  My energy level continues to be low, to the point that I told the director of my next show that I won’t be able to be part of the design team after all. 😢  I thought about that one long and hard, but in the end I just couldn’t justify staying on when I can’t guarantee whether I’ll be able to do good work.

On the other hand, my arthritis has been leaving me alone, even the arthritis in my neck, the MRI for which is what got me started on this adventure.

Dizzy

 Poor Chief.  I had a big dizzy hit so he had to drive me to the theater again today.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t a one-off;  I’ve had a few touches of dizziness, some while I was trying to wig someone.  Not enough that I fell over, but certainly enough to confirm that having him drive was the right decision.

3 weeks post-op

Three weeks ago today the surgeon slit my throat and did his best to remove as much cancer as possible.  The incision is healing up nicely now that we have the rash under control, and as of today I no longer have a lift restriction.  The Chief still helped me load stuff into the car to take to a different theater.  (They're doing a semi-staged concert production and asked me to style wigs for 2 of the principals.)

My body still seems to be adjusting to its new need for synthroid, and I've got another 10 days of prednisone to get through, which may be why I still run out of gas so quickly.  That, and the fact that talking is gonna continue to be work until that left vocal fold heals.

I really appreciate how responsive my surgeon has been.  He's answered all my questions within 24 hours and sent me a message this morning checking up on me after yesterday's adventure.

designing Blithe Spirit

 Most of the hairpieces I ordered for Blithe Spirit arrived today.  Once I have the last one, I’ll head to the theater and start styling the wigs.  The two for Ruth should be easy enough - slick them back into a bun and add the headband with a matching braid on it, to get something like this.  (Ruth gets 2 wigs; twin  styles but one is ghost-gray.) The Elvira wig shouldn’t need much - probably just a trim to make it more of a Louise Brooks style.  

The wig for Mrs. Bradman will take a bit more work.  I found one in the company’s stock that will suit; I just need to have at it with water, styling gel, and assorted styling implements to convey a sense of trying but not quite able to pull off something like this.

 I’m still deciding what to do for Edith, and I need to have a discussion with the director, costumers and actor about Madam Arcati’s hairstyle.  She’s an eccentric, which gives us a lot more leeway.

I need to get in the habit of taking photos of the wigs as I finish them, if only so I’ll have them for a portfolio.  I also should make myself take notes on what worked and what didn’t to achieve a particular result.

The makeup will be pretty straightforward.  I’ve already established that the special ghost makeup the director wants to use won’t trigger any allergic reactions.  Now we just have to see how it works under the special when the lighting designers get all their instruments hung in the theater.

So far in my theater year...

 1. I learned I'd won an award for the makeup I designed for a production of Blithe Spirit last fall.  

 2. I was in the ensemble of a production of Elixir of Love.  As the housekeeper, my costume was all black, which made me just about invisible backstage. I joked that I was a walking curtain leg!  I also bought myself a fancy chatelaine & a few accessories from Etsy, just because. And yes, I designed the hair and makeup, too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3.  I designed and was in the ensemble of a production of Patience, set in a 1950s coffee shop.  That meant 50s hair for the ladies.  I let mine grow out a little so I could approximate a period wave.  Unfortunately, I had to sit out the 2nd weekend for a weird reason.  I'd been battling recurring sinus infections since Elixir closed, so they had me on Bactrim, which elevated my temperature.  Weird!  I was able to come back for the final performance, but didn't have the energy to "suit up" and go onstage.  However, at the MD's request, I did sing from the wings.

4. After I'd committed to Patience, I was asked to design Drowsy Chaperone.  1920s - fun period!  However, their dates overlapped, and of course I had rehearsals and such for Patience.  I told them that I'd love to design the show but had a prior commitment and gave them my lengthy list of conflicts.  They still wanted me, and found someone to help.  That worked out beautifully!  Diana & I worked well together, we got to work on a fun show that looked great, and I was still able to meet my commitments to Patience.  I wouldn't do overlapping shows again (I was home maybe 3 nights the entire month of May), but I'm glad I got the chance to do Chaperone.

5. I had so much fun with Blithe Spirit last year that when I found out that the Chaperone company was doing Blithe Spirit, I offered to design it. This time I get to put blacklight makeup on the ghosts, and do slightly different hairstyles; closer to mid-1930s than 1940.  (Another fun period to design.)

6. October will bring Caroline, or Change.  To my surprise & relief, the director has 2 of us doing hair & makeup: I'm doing the white folks and she's doing the Black folks. I'm looking forward to looking how to care for and style Black hair; there's always more to learn!  Not to mention this will be my first show set in the 1960s; guess I'll be "forced" to research styles for a period I haven't designed before. 😊

And I got to spend a day in a country setting singing G&S with about 3 dozen like-minded folks.  I haven't done that in ages - great fun! 

  

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.

Lady Bracknell

 I designed a production of The Importance of Being Earnest back in October.  Our Lady Bracknell is a big wig wearer, has an Instagram account where she models and discusses the many wigs in her collection.  When she was cast as Lady B, she bought herself a gray wig for me to style and asked me to take pictures of the steps in the process.  She used those photos to do a little video for her account, showing the before, during, and after.  Here's the link:  https://www.instagram.com/p/DBwPRdQuifV/

Getting caught up

I seem to be becoming more of a designer than a performer.  Two years ago I designed 5 productions (3 of them adaptations of Pride & Prejudice)  and garnered award nominations for 2 of them.  Last year I designed 5 more shows: Die Fledermaus, Tosca, Arsenic & Old Lace, The Importance of Being Earnest, and DOT.  Here it is barely February and I've already styled a wig for one show and am about to start styling 8 wigs (and possibly trimming a bonnet) for an operetta running in a couple of weeks.

As for getting on stage, there's been precious little being presented that a) I'm interested in, b) has at least one role for a woman older than 20 or 30, and c) fits my schedule.  Since doing Pirates 5 (!) years ago, the only time I've been onstage was for the 2023 Christmas Revels.  That wasn't as satisfying as I'd hoped - we rehearsed in an unheated ballroom, we only ran one weekend, and the cast was HUGE - close to 80!

The design work is coming along nicely - I keep getting the occasional award nomination (though that's probably a factor of far fewer designers than performers), I've gotten to do some really fun, rewarding projects, and worked with some lovely people.

But I wanna go back to swanning around a stage in a costume and singing choruses in public.  Not sure how to make that happen, with so few operettas and musicals having roles for older women.

"Wig school" was so much fun!

DePaul University's Theater dept. offers a week-long wig styling & maintenance class, which I attended at the end of June.  There were only 7 of us, plus 2 students who worked in the university wig shop and were assisting the instructors.

I was a little intimidated to learn that I was the only amateur in the class.  Everyone else was a theater professional, most of them in some aspect of costuming (cutter, draper, wardrobe) who wanted or needed to learn about wigs because they sometimes got tapped for "wig duty" for one show or another.  Two of us had also taken the wig-making class taught the week before.  I might consider taking it in some future year, but for now this was plenty.

They showed us SO MUCH!  The size curls you get from different rollers, ways to color a wig (temporarily or permanently), how to wash a wig, how to wear and clean the lace on lace-front wigs, how to do your own wefts, how to do fingerwaves, and so much more.  Most of our time, however, was spent on styling wigs - setting the styles, drying them, brushing them out, then styling them.  I wasn't terribly successful - only got 2 right on my first try - but I took a lot of notes on what I didn't like and how to fix it, which is probably more helpful.

It was very productive, in that sense - we each styled at least 5 wigs in just 5 days' time:  an 18th-century man's wig, a modern man's wig, and at least 3 add'l styles (1940s, 1640s, and pre-Raphaelite for me).  I took so many pictures that I actually maxed out the data usage on my phone, for the first time since I got it 3 years ago.

Now I want to re-do some of the wigs I styled for my spring shows - the 1920s curls would look better, the 1780s "hedgehog" wigs would be bigger, bushier, and generally better.  As for the Duke's buckles, well, my first lesson was to use yak hair instead of the slippery, silky, static-y stuff on the wig I was trying to work with.  (Those side curls were the bane of my existence - I had to reset them for every performance!)

Gimme a period show to style, somebody, please!  I'm itching to use all my newfound knowledge! 😁