Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Rhinestones and Lashes and Glue, Oh My!

I'm the one on the right :o)

Yesterday was the first full dress rehersal for the play I am in.  Anyone like to hazard a guess as to what it might be?  Anyway, I got to wear false eyelashes for the first time in my life.  Not only that, they were lined with rhinestones.  My eyelids have never looked so blingy!  You can't really see them in this pic, but I'm assured they look amazing under the stage lights.  My friend (standing next to me) was bound and determined that Glinda was going to sparkle, even on her eyelids. 

The best part is, I get to dress up like a fairy princess for several more dress rehersals and six performances.  Living in cattle country, I don't often get the chance to dress up really girlie and I'm lovin' it.

I'm an active member in our local theatre.  We are so lucky to have a real theatre in our tiny town.  I believe it was built in the 1920's.  But when I found out they were doing my favorite musical this year, I did everything, short of bribing the director, to get the part I was born to play.  Performances start next week and I'm so excited.

Being in the theatre surrounded by all that creative energy is something I relish.  I decided to give my writing a whirl during rehersals while not on stage. To my surprise the story just flowed with all that energy around me. I open up my laptop and my fingers just fly across the keyboard.

There's usually a fun anecdote or two to share during this time, also.  For example:

Something chuckle-worthy happened at rehersals on Monday.  I haven't lost any of my English accent, even after living in the States for 10 years, so playing the part of Glinda enables me to 'ham it up' a bit on stage.  Well, backstage I was talking to one of the Munchkin's mothers when a teenage lad (who obviously didn't know me) butted into our conversation with "You can stop talking like Glinda now, you're not on stage anymore."  When I told him "this is how I talk" he gave me a strange look and walked off.  I'm still not sure he believed me.

Do you have any all time favorite characters you would like to play?

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Admission

Okay, I admit it, I'm a hopeless blogger!  It's been over a month since I shared anything with you.  But, in my defense I would like to state that in that time I have moved, been remodelling, having an addition built, rehearsing for the part of Glinda in The Wizard of Oz, been running my business, and, oh yes, let's not forget, writing the 3rd Custodian Novel.  Phew!  So I ask forgiveness if my blogging isn't up to par.  I'm not complaining, though.  I do admit all this stuff going on at once can get a little overwhelming but it's also very exciting.

But enough about my hectic life.  I would like to tell you the story of what happened when I was down in the dungeons of Norwich Castle (as promised).

To get to the dungeons you first have to walk through a room filled with all kinds of torture instruments *shudders*.  Then through a room where 'my' talking heads reside, along with a couple of cells with manequins in, just like I described in The Emerald Staff.

My guide was about to take me down into the actual dungeon when she noticed the lights were off.  I looked down the stairs leading to the god forsaken hole in the ground and it was black as pitch down there.  I really did shudder then.  My guide explained that the light switch was up in the guard's office and told me to stay where I was, while she went and turned them on. 

She left, leaving me all alone surrounded by cells and unsavory looking wax heads, which just got my imagination flowing.  After a moment I started to hear chains rattle and people moaning.  It was the most forlorn sound I'd ever heard.  Suffering and misery was apparent in the sounds resonating around the room.

The strange thing was I wasn't spooked.  My first thought was that the guide had turned on a CD while she was up in the guard's office to add to the atmosphere.  She had told me there would be a guided tour of the dungeons shortly after my private one. I just assumed they did that to give people a better idea of what it would have sounded like in the days where people were locked away and forgotten about.

A while later the guide returned and I mentioned to her how I thought the CD of moaning voices and rattling chains was an excellent idea.  She gave me a strange look and said, "We don't play any CDs down here."