Seventh Week of Cinderella - First Two Shows

If you missed it I've already written a post about the four tech rehearsals on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. So go back and read that before reading this post. 

We had our first show on Friday and it was wonderful. I was worried I'd be nervous on stage, but honestly I've done this show so many times now that it just felt like another rehearsal - with an audience. It helps that I don't have any lines. I just need to show up, smile, do my little parts, and move on. 

And even though this was my first play it's not my first time on stage. I was in orchestra from 5th -12th grade. There were so many concerts - and since I played String Base I'd often be the only one standing on the stage so I'm used to kind of sticking out. 

I also was in social dance in highschool and we would do dance concerts with all the other dance classes. Those dance concerts are some of my favorite high school memories. 

I also was in a musical my Sr Year. I was in the orchestra for Once Upon a Mattress. My high school had a pit that lowered up and down, but they wanted to use that space for dancing during the show. So the orchestra was actually put on stage as "court musicians." We even had tunic style costumes. 

And I also really enjoy public speaking. 

So yeah, this might have been my first show, but it was hardly my first time on stage. 

The best thing about Friday night was that we had the audience. When we are in the greenroom/dressing room area downstairs we have speakers that play the sound from the show. (We are also supposed to have a TV showing a video feed of the show, but that's currently not working.) On Friday night it was wonderful to sit in that room and hear the applause coming through the sound system. 

I joked that it was like that part in A Bugs life when the circus bugs hear applause and they are like, "What's that sound?' We could also hear the audience laughing at the jokes. 

And honestly the laughter and applause were what we needed that night. I was kind of feeling burned out on doing this play over and over and over again. It was so nice to get feedback from the audience. It was like, "Oh right, this play is actually really good."

I'm going to give you a run down of all the things I'm doing during the play. This is kind of a memory exercise for me and I'll probably look over it again when we do our next show. 

So here we go. I'll put pictures in so it doesn't get too boring. Most of these pictures were taken during rehearsal on Wednesday. (Or maybe it was Thursday - things are running together.)

I start the show with the rest of the cast behind the curtain. We sing the prologue. It's always fun to stand back there with everyone. Even the principal actors are mixed in and singing with the ensemble. We stand back there through the whole overture so we kind of dance and sway to the music. Then we start singing. Before that is even fully over we are exiting the stage so that next scene can start. 

There's dramatic music that plays and me and Charlotte and Lydia book it downstairs during that music. This is my only time downstairs in the whole play and so I use the time to go to the bathroom one last time and get a drink of water. I also try to sit as much as possible because I will be standing the rest of the show. 

I took this picture while we were chilling out in the dressing room on Saturday night. Charlotte and Lydia were not amused. We are poor towns people so our make up notes say we are supposed to be dirty looking. But I just learned how to do my make up all pretty and I don't want to mess it up. 

When Cinderella sings In My Own Little Corner I go back up stairs. Here's Cinderella singing.

  We keep all the costumes on a rack just off stage on Stage Right (the audiences left side.) That's where we do most of the changes. But for this one we do the change on Stage Left because that's the side that Cinderella exits from. This is when we put Cinderella into her ball gown and then hide it under a pocket/skirt that folds up to hide the ball gown skirt. We put a special bodice on over the top of the ball gown. This bodice looks just like the one that Cinderella usually wears, but it's sides are sewn up with fishing line. There are washers covered in embroidery floss hanging from the fishing wire. When it's time to transform Cinderella pulls on the washers and her bodice falls off reveling the ball gown. 

But that doesn't happen for a few scenes. 

As soon as we have her ball gown covered it's time for The Prince is Giving a Ball. I enter from stage Left after helping Cinderella change. I think that's one reason we do the change there. 

This is one of only three times the whole cast is in a scene. I think the only person who isn't there is the Fairy Godmother. This is the only time we all dance. So it gets really crowded. But its also really fun. 

Here's the scene where we are listening to the character Jean-Michel tell us that poor people are having their land taken from them. I'm in the back with my hands over my mouth. The lady on the right with the red and gold dress is my friend Kerri. My friend Rachel is on the other side of me in a beige dress. You can see Lydia over her shoulder. 

Here is one of the only pictures of my and the girls "together." I've just finished my little dance section and I'm walking off on the right. They are doing their dance section.  If you look at Cinderella's dress you can see that the tan part of her skirt is very puffy. That's because there's a ball gown skirt hiding in there. 

This is a very similar picture, but I'm putting it up because it's a really good one of Makeesa. She's on the left with the beautiful colored skirt. Makeesa is running the show with all the costume changes in the back and she is AMAZING. She's also super nice. When Brandon did Music Man he wasn't planning to be in the Shipoopie number. But Makeesa pulled him out of the audience during rehearsal and made him her dance partner. They had a lot of fun learning that dance together and Brandon was so glad she didn't let him sit it out.

Here are Charlotte and Lydia doing another section of their dance number. They have to get into a circle and that is easier said than done. They've figured it out really well. I always love watching Lydia zip into her position. That's Charlotte in the front there. She's holding hands with Sara - who was her mom in Music Man. Nate is on the other side of her. Nate is married to Kerri. Nate is the only male ensemble member who is not a Knight. 

Here are the girls doing their final pose for The Prince is Giving the Ball. 

I don't have a picture of my final pose. I end the dance by sitting on a box that Jean Michel left on stage earlier in the song. So it's my job to take that box off stage. We figured this out on the first night of tech rehearsal. At that time the box was a chair. The song ended and the curtain closed - while the whole front line was still on stage. So everyone was scrambling to get off. 

Meanwhile I'd realized that I should probably be responsible for that chair so I stood there and asked "Do you want me to take this chair off?"  I voice from the audience responded "yes."  And then I asked, "Um How? How do you want me to get through the curtain with this chair?"  So they talked me through holding the chair in one hand while I used the other hand to push the curtain away as I exited on the side of stage right. It was really funny. 

During the real show the exit is much more graceful. They don't shut the curtain too early and I'm able to just grab the box and get off stage. 

Back stage is CRAZY during that exit. People are switching the set around to make it the inside of Madame's Cottage. Other people are taking tables and chairs on stage. And there are people everywhere. So I just kind of find a spot to stand out of the way until the place clears out. 

This scene is the Step Family going to the ball. Gabrielle - one of the step sisters - starts the scene in a dressing gown. Then she leaves the stage to get dressed. We have everything ready for her to step into her dress and then come back on stage looking lovely. 

The other sister, Charlotte, is already in her dress, but later leaves to finish getting her hair ready. There are people who help her put on a wig while she's off stage. 

And the whole time Cinderella is running back and forth grabbing more props from back stage. On opening night we forgot to have Madame's cloak ready. So on Saturday night I was standing with it in hand just off stage. And then Madame never even called for it. Oh well. 

Cinderella is left home and the fairy godmother arrives. They do this part in front of the curtain because the set is being quickly transformed into the enchanted forest. When it's time for the transformations the stage curtain opens and reveals the carriage. The carriage already has the crown and the glass slippers in it. 

The whole ensemble sings as a Heavenly Choir for It's Possible. Then Cinderella exits in her carriage. Her backstage fairy godmothers are waiting for her on stage right. We put a hoop skirt under her dress and get her dress all fluffed out. There's a pink layer to the dress that we learned we need to fluff out which is really hard because it's semi dark back there and the only light that is shining is blue. The pink color is basically invisible. But we find it anyway and get it smoothed out.   

We also put on her shoes, crown, and mask.

While this is going on the stage has turned into a ball room and the fancy people are dancing. We have a shortage of men in this cast so there are a few ladies dressed as men in this scene. This is my friends Rachel and Sara dancing together. They've been in a lot of plays together. They were both Pickalittle ladies in Music Man and have done a lot since then. The are both staples of Magic Valley Rep. 

I'm trying to find a picture of the whole ball scene, but I'm not finding one. Instead here's one of Kerri and Nate dancing together. I want to do a show with Brandon so we can dance together. 

Cinderella is supposed to enter from stage Left. We had been letting her go over there by herself after she was all ready. But on opening night she brushed against something and her dress moved up over her hoop. So on Saturday Makeesa went with her and did one final check before Cinderella entered the stage. 

Here's the dress. (This was before we realized we needed to fully smooth out that pink layer.)

There's a lot that goes on at the ball. But it's actually a bit of a break for us quick change ladies. 

There is a set change moment when the ball room transforms into the palace steps. Lydia and Charlotte are each in charge of moving the "walls."  It's one of my favorite things to be back stage and see them both in position getting ready to move the walls. 

The whole ensemble sings the 10 Minutes Ago Reprise which I think is the hardest song in the show. But it's also really pretty. 

Then there is a kiss on the top of the stairs. 

The clock starts chiming and Cinderella runs off. She's back stage already getting her hook skirt removed when the Prince yells, "Wait, I don't even know your name?"

And that's the end of Act I. 

We spend the 15 minute intermission getting prepped for the next act. Cinderella needs to run across the stage in her ball gown during a chase scene. Then there is a really quick change back into the peasant dress before she comes out and sings a song called, "He was Tall."

This is one of three changes we do on stage left. I don't like doing the changes over there because the stairs to the greenroom are on that side and things get really crowded with people walking by. But we have to do it there because she exits and then reenters from stage left. And there's not a lot of time for this change.

This is actually one of our most complicated costume changes - and not just because it's a complete change. There's a lot going on. It happens pretty soon after step sisters lament. In our version the women are all throwing their shoes during the song. So after they are off stage they are trying to find their shoes and put them back on. 

It doesn't help that there is a scene change from the palace steps to the forest right before the chase so there are people everywhere getting ready for that. There are also people running off the stage and then hurrying around the set to enter on the other side. 

Half of my job before the chase scene starts is clearing out unnecessary people and making sure there aren't a lot of things in the way.

One of my favorite parts of Friday night was when Charlotte and Lydia did their wall moving job and then BOOKED it down the stairs. They were out of there so fast. I was like, "GOOD GIRLS!"  Later I told them thank you and one of them said, "We knew we had to get out of there."

Oh and to top it all of there is zany music during the chase scene. It's funny, but it makes everything feel very intense back stage. During the rehearsals we would be struggling with a zipper or a tie or one time the mask was stuck in Cinderella's hair and that music was NOT helping at all.  

At first we had her still wearing everything from the ball in that little run across the stage. But it was a nightmare to remove the hoop, the gown, the shoes, the mask, and the crown, and replace it with the peasant skirt, the bodice, the black shoes, and the head scarf. 

But by the end of the week we'd learned to make it as simple as possible. We remove the hoop. We have her take off the mask and the crown. We even learned to put her back in her black character shoes so we don't have to worry about the glass slippers. 

All our tweaks paid off though. That complicated change now feels almost simple. 

We get something of a break for a few minutes while Cinderella sings He is Tall. Followed by two songs with her step family. 

Here she is singing with her step sisters. (I love how their dresses are the same colors as in the disney version.)

In this version of the play the prince decides to hold a banquet to try to see Cinderella again. Here is Lord Pinkelton and his page announcing the banquet. 

We have to take a minute to talk about the page. This part isn't in the play, but Jarod added it. Kerri's daughter Payton is the page and she is so dang cute and might possibly be stealing the whole show. 

It's also really good that this part exists. Crayson wasn't able to come to a lot of the rehearsals because he was directed a Jump Company show. So Payton was learning all the blocking and then filling Crayson in when he was able to be there. She also learned his part in the dance scenes because she was bored. The plan was to have Crayson learn the dance numbers when he was done directing. 

But then he hurt his knee. He was still able to do the show (thank goodness!) but he's mobility was very limited. So he couldn't dance. But luckily little Payton knew the dance numbers. So she just taking his place. 

She also has a lot of little bits. It's almost become a joke that if we need a little extra more time for a scene Payton is the one who gets a job that will stretch it out. 

One night during notes the actress playing Charlotte asked, "Payton, does your back hurt from carrying this show?"

The banquet gets announced and the set gets changed back to Madame's house and our most complicated costume change scene starts. 

Gabrielle starts in her dressing gown again. Then we change her into a simple dress. Lydia is part of this costume change. Her job is to hold Gabrielle's glasses while Rachel slips the dress over her head. As soon as Gabrielle is back on stage Cinderella is back stage and we are putting her in to the pink/gold dress. 

THIS DRESS IS STILL SO COMPLICATED. We are literally having a group chat conversation about this dress while I'm working on this post. 

The dress starts as a pink dress borrowed from Gabrielle. The step mother sees it and rips it into rags. Then the fairy godmother appears and turns the rags into a gold dress. So that means we are putting her into three dresses all with one costume change. 

We did solve one problem on opening night though. Our problem was with the shoes. By the time the Fairy Godmother arrives and transforms Cinderella's rags into the gold dress the shoes have to be on Cinderella's feet. There's literally a line that says, "And the glass slippers already on your feet."

That means that Cinderella needs to be wearing them when she puts on the dress. But that means she's wearing them when the step mother sees her in the pink dress. And it doesn't make sense that she wouldn't notice the shoes on Cinderella's feet. 

At first the plan was to have the shoes hiding near the bench that Cinderella sits on. She could try to change the shoes while the Fairy Godmother did a big solo and had the spotlight. But before we tried that, Rachel Call whole plays Cinderella, and my friend Rachel, and Makeesa came up with a brilliant idea. 

They put black ankle socks on over the glass slippers. They put some hot glue on the bottom of the socks so that Cinderella still had grip while she walked on the stage. It was so easy to put those sock/shoes on Cinderella when we changed her into the pink/gold dress. Then she just had to secretly slip off the socks while the Fairy Godmother was singing. 

This worked so well that even the tech booth guys didn't notice what happened. They were like, "Oh shoot she doesn't have her glass slippers." and then BOOM there they were.

Here's Cinderella in the gold dress. 

I actually go back on stage after Cinderella changes into her gold dress. She brings the poor people of the town to meet the prince. Then we all go to a banquet. 

But really we go prep for the next costume change. Cinderella sings Do I Love You with the prince and then the clock chimes midnight and she runs off AGAIN. This time she leaves her shoe and the prince decides to use it to find her. So while Lord Pinkelton is announging that every lady can try on the shoe we are back stage hurrying to put her back into her peasent outfit. Lord Pinkelton has kind of a long monologe here that never made sense to me until I realized we do a costume change during it. 

As soon as Cinderella is back in her dress Makeesa and I run behind the stage and get in line to try on the shoe. I've actually worked that into my character. We run on stage like we were worried we'd be late for trying on the shoe - which is kind of true. Most people enter the stage with their shoes already off. But I'm literally kicking my shoe off on stage. It's really fun. 

I'm off stage again after the shoe doesn't fit. I run around again to the costume area and get ready to help change Madame. Other people are helping Gabrielle. The next scene is the wedding which is supposed to take place a month later so they want to be wearing different shoes. 

We are ALL on stage for the wedding. So our music director Cami comes back stage to help get Cinderella in her wedding dress. 

Here's the photo of the kiss at the end of the wedding. 

We all run off and then come back out for bows. Cami changes Cinderella from the wedding dress back to her ball gown before he bow. That way she's in that dress when they do pictures with the audience members. 

After bows are over the ensemble runs out to the lobby and the principals stay on the stage for pictures. We've had a lot of little kids that love coming up to see Cinderella. 

And that's the show!

For me Friday night and Saturday night were pretty similar. There were some differences, but they were minor. In fact, by the time we did the show on Saturday I was kind of feeling like I was stick in some sort of awful Groundhog Day time loop. We literally did the show 6 days in a row. 

But it was all worth it to hear the audience respond and to see them clapping after the show. 

And then the parties made it worth it too. 

On Friday night nearly the whole cast and crew went to Applebees. Brandon came too. We had a great time talking and eating and laughing and then it took forever to get our checks paid and that wasn't so fun. Brandon took the girls home around 11:30. I didn't get the check paid until 12:20. (There was something wrong with the computer system.)

As soon as I got it paid I was like, "I love you all but I'm leaving."

On Saturday night we went to Idaho Joes. The girls just wanted pie and so I figured I'd just get an appetizer and we'd be out of there pretty quick. But we were in a group room and they waited to bring out all the orders all together. So that plan didn't really work. But it was still fun. And we were done by 11:30 so that was better than Friday had been.

I keep joking that I went to a party and ended up in a play by accident. So it's nice to be back to the party part of this whole thing. I really love hanging out with these people. 

And yeah that basically sums it up.  If you are wondering what I did on Saturday the answer is  . . . not much. I stayed in bed until 11:00. Then I went to the library and picked up some stuff - including The Three Stooges movie. And then I came home and "watched" that with Derrick. (Mostly I kept falling asleep.)

Today is Sunday and we DON'T have a play. I'm so happy! And then we do it all again on Monday. 

Thanks for reading.