WHERE THE MAGIC HAPPENS

These are the questions often asked of me…

ARE YOU STILL DANCING? “Yes, on Monday nights from 6:00-7:30 and in my kitchen the remainder of the week”.

DO YOU MISS PERFORMING? “Nope, let the young ones have their turn”.

YOU REALLY DON’T MISS PERFORMING? “Hmmmmmmm…let me think…nope”.

NOT ONE THING? “NO. Oh wait…I do miss one thing (desperately) – the dressing room. God I miss the dressing room”.

When the previous show closes the dressing room is cleared of all remnants of what just was. You enter the space, claim your zone, and the transformation begins. Towel down and make-up placed like a carefully charted map. Application brushes lined up…eyelashes taking their place amongst the tissues, cotton balls and Q-tips. Hair accoutrements, brushes, curlers and sprays complete the initial arrangement.

On opening night, it is tradition to exchange small gifts or notes with fellow cast members and receive telegrams (I am that old) and flowers from special someones. Those are the items that begin to adorn and define ones’ unique space in the dressing room. As the ‘run’ of the show settles in, the fun ramps up with inside jokes and tons of ‘laugh till you pee hilarity’.

It’s the trivial sharing of make-up tips, the frantic can’t find my costume moments and the loving support during difficult times that create the bond of the dressing room experience. And thinking about it takes me right back to any one of my light-surrounded mirrors with photos of caught in the act shenanigans tucked along the edges – and all that joy.

I miss the camaraderie, the community and even the DRAMA
I miss the silly pranks and the paycheck ballet (when actual paper checks were still handed out)
I miss the yakking about what’s going on in the world and in each other’s lives

And while I am at it…I miss the green room where we would wait until needed on stage and where there was always an ongoing card game one would have to to leave in order to make an entrance. The entire cast would gather to celebrate special occasions and just hang out in that green room.

Oh wait… I also miss the sound of the orchestra warming up.

SOOOOO,  I kinda/sorta miss performing – just not the physically-actually-going-on-stage-8-shows-a-week part. But I would happily do the dressing room eight times a week! AND I’d do it for minimal per diem, an old fashioned telegram and an unlimited supply of Depends; required for resulting laughter.

~ image: my dressing room during “Evita” (circa 1985)