Coming up for air

December 28, 2010 by Shannon Fennell 1 Comment

Season’s Greetings!

It has been hectic around here. 

Tonight is closing night for Jack & The Beanstalk – and we are AMAZING!! Every show has been a full-house and the audiences are participating – I LOVE the interaction I get with the kids.  I love ad-libbing and am having a whale of a time!

Last night was crazy – my wand keeps coming apart which is fun as I can work it and I fell off my stool, accidentally, and could NOT get up by myself… cracked up half the cast as well as the audience.

My make-up changes each night as I am trying to get a “sweeter” face on the Fairy Godmother – the dress rehearsal I sort of slipped while doing the first eyebrow and looked more like Snow White’s step-mother than a good fairy!  None of the kids would come near me!

Photos from dress rehearsal appeared in the local paper – note the evil arch to the eyebrows?

Opening night was this – a softer look:

Last night was a bit different – I decided not to use black at all and I think it worked well:

My costume is big – I feel like I attract small planetary bodies into orbit!  The skirt is a bunch of panels and it is HEAVY… I have to wear suspenders to keep it up and the waist-band sits above my chest!

This dress was found in a large orange garbage bag in the storage area – it was about a size 12 or so and appeared to be a wedding dress.  We think – it may have been a design project instead because surely NO ONE would wear something this ugly for a wedding???? It is beautifully finished, well-made and quite amazing.

The costume lady, Arlene, who is a wizard and very creative took the “octo-dress” and cut it up and re-built it to fit me, created sleeves from scraps from the deconstruction… it should get a credit in the program!

I used face paint to add the purple and blue accents on the dress so it would match my wings – and break-up the white satin of the dress.

I used up about eight bottles of glitter fabric paint on my wings to glitter-ize them!  I sparkle… blindingly I’ve heard!

I was planning to wear my blond bob wig but the wings kept hitting it so I am simply spraying my own hair into a “troll” do and adding a lot of glitter.

Did I mention the glitter?

I did the Dame’s wig – “her” make-up is being done by one of my make-up crew.  Stewart is doing a great job acting in a dress and wig!

For those that don’t know, in traditional British Panto, the Dame is a man in drag – usually the role is the mother often called “the Widow Twankey” and often there may be more than one in a show.  The Ugly Sisters in Cinderella are usually Dames, sometimes the Good Fairy is a Dame… my part of a comedy fairy could be a Dame.

I cooked Christmas Dinner on Saturday for us and my uncle and aunt and our friends and their two-year old daughter.  Yummy as usual – it is always the same because, well, it is Christmas dinner!  Turkey and all the fixings.  Lots of leftovers – which makes it easy while I have to be at the theatre – don’t have to think about cooking.