Portland Center Stage

Backstage: The Wardrobe Crew

Posted by Katie Nolen | 15 December 2010 | Comments (0)

The Door to Wardrobe Headquarters: Wigs, Hair, & Makeup within!

You might recognize some of the inspirational photos tacked up to the Wardrobe door from seasons past and present (I know I do!). But what happens on the other side of the door, you ask? 

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TICKLE ATTACK!!!! 

I kid, I kid... let's try again. 

That's more like it.

From Left to Right: Jamie (Dresser), Bonnie (Wardrobe Mistress), Julio (Dresser), Dana (Wig Mistress), Susie (dresser). 

All five of these fine folks are backstage every night, doing laundry, taking and addressing costume notes, re-setting wigs, prepping wigs & costumes for quick changes, DOING the quick changes... (for this show that often means changing young actors out of a giant amount of snow gear and into footie pajamas, in as little time as possible).  

Additionally, both Dana & Bonnie work on each show months in advance--going through the script & anticipating crew needs for the changes, plotting out dressing space versus set space, researching and designing wigs/beards/hair pieces, and other prep work.  I could (and just might, eventually) write a whole blog on each of these staffers & their "track" for a typical show, but for now I'll just give a glimpse into some of what they do as a team, every night, for A Christmas Story.  

 

 

Here Dana attempts to tame Henry's hair pre-show. 

 

As Julio attends to Harrison's coiffure.  They do the hair of each of the nine children-actors each night, before anyone is on-stage.

 

The adult actresses help by getting their own hair into pin curls before Dana comes upstairs to help with their wigs. 

   "Laura-Faye is WAY faster than I am"

According to these ladies, they spend 20-45 minutes prepping their hair for wigs each performance.  

 

Dana spends 2 hours before each show retouching the wigs.  Apparently this is a light load for her.  In our last main-stage show, Sunset Boulevard, she had 25 different wigs to maintain, and she spent 4-4.5 hours before each show touching them up and/or re-setting them--and that was with a helper!  So this show seems a lot more relaxed in comparison.  The two wigs on the left in the picture are for Laura-Faye as Ms Shields, and the golden curls are for Val as Ralphie's Mom.  Ebbe gets the little man-wig in the middle, although he doesn't have to prep any pin-curls...

        

This is Ebbe in his wig! Can you see the netting along the hair-line? Nope, me neither.  You really can't tell this is a wig at all, even though I super-zoomed on his head (and tongue<--nice, Ebbe. Reeeeaaally mature).  But the point is, Dana is very good at her job.  :) 

 

Meanwhile... elsewhere.... 

   

Bonnie makes sure the kids are dressed in their top of show costumes as they file in for hair... 

After that we're in show mode and most of the changes of wig and costume happen in the dark, in the wings.  There are 86 costume changes (including wigs) in A Christmas Story: 54 changes in Act One, and 32 changes in Act Two. To me, that sounds like a lot, but Bonnie gave me some perspective.  In Ragtime, there were apparently 162 changes in Act One, and 68 in Act Two.  Which explains why every time I walked backstage to move scenery, I had to dodge a blurry army of flying dressers, clothes, shoes, wigs, and bodies. Go team!  

Knowing all that makes me curious about the next show.  I'll have to check back in with wardrobe when we get to The Imaginary Invalid...

Lack of light & (more importantly) respect for the actors changing clothes keeps me from posting pictures of the quick changes themselves, but if we're doing our jobs well, you shouldn't ever be thinking about moving scenery or costume changes during a performance anyway.  Instead, enjoy some general pictures of:

 Susie reorganizing after a quick change, underneath the house structure...

 

       Susie "bibbing-up" "Randy" preshow...

 

Burglar & Safari costumes stored until needed... Backstage, in front of a changing area.  

 

Inside the changing area.  This one happens to be for the young male actors.  Notice the chairs are lableled, one for each actor, and there are pictures up on the walls to help everyone remember what each costume should look like.  

 

Kids, fully costumed, "standing by" in the wings, waiting for the show to start.                                                                                  (Aliemah, your face is awesome! Sorry about the surprise flash.... )

 

Mr Potato Head, "manning" the wigs station... ?

 

 

 

 

Okay! Another good blog... I'll get better at this, probably.  Maybe. But, to summarize this blog installment: 

1.  There are 13 actors in A Christmas Story.  And so far with the blog we've met 9 of the many people working behind the scenes... 4 deck crew and 5 wardrobe.  More to come! 

2.  Wardrobe is interesting & fun, and staffed with wonderful and talented people. 

3.  Ebbe Roe-Smith thinks he's soooo funny, but does have an impressive wig. 

 

Need MORE?