A Wedding Tale

Chapter 18: Queen Hermione

     I arrived at the theatre for opening night at 4:00. First, I went to my dressing room. I dug through my pile of shoes and found three pairs to wear for the show. I picked out a soft pair to wear for the Prologue and up to Hermione's Arrest. I then grabbed a brand new pair for the Trial and the Finale. I also grabbed a pair of emergency shoes that were not too strong and not too soft to put downstairs if I needed them. I quickly changed into a leotard, tights, my warmup vest, trash bag shorts, leg warmers, flat shoes, and warm up booties. I checked my costumes- to make sure I didn't need to ask Mrs. DeMette to fix anything- and grabbed my phone and AirPods before going downstairs.

     Once I was in the green room area, I made sure all of my props were set. I checked for my green necklace- there were three laying on the prop table because there was one for me to wear, one for Callie Ann to give to baby Perdita, and one for Luna to wear. I then made sure that Skylar's toy boat and the book for the Nursery scene were where they needed to be.

     At 4:30, I began my usual warm up on stage. I began with some Pilates and gentle stretching just to get the blood flowing. I then began a short barre which included pliés, tendus, dégagés, ron de jambes, frappés, fondues, and grand battements. To make it go quicker, I did very short and simple combinations of each movement. After I was warm, I stretched some more. This time with more intense stretching such as deteré and splits.

     Before my mother began a center warm up, I slipped on the pair of new pointe shoes that I would be wearing for the show that night. I quickly tied them as Mother demonstrated and adagio. During the adagio, I focused more on getting on my leg than getting my working leg high. I wanted to save my energy for the show. We then learned a short petite allegro, a waltz, and a grande allegro before my mother gave us her pre-show talk.

     "Okay, guys! Opening night! I'm sure you are all a little bit nervous, but I know that you will all do great. I am so very proud of all of you. Isabella, Harper, Mila, Genesis, Kennedy, and Brielle, this is your first show as part of the company and we really threw you to the wolves with all of this choreography. It is hard stuff and I couldn't be more pleased with your progress. McKenna, Emma, Kenzie, and Madison, you have all done wonderful with developing characters of your own. I am also very proud of how you all handled us having to re-block all of the choreography after Cassie left. Now, Senior Company, you guys have absolutely excelled in everything. I was very scared to do this because of how mature it is, but you guys have pulled it off. You have all dug deep into your characters and really put yourself out there. You weren't timid or scared to do something wrong. You tried it and if it was wrong then you tried something else. That is something I cannot teach you; you have to learn it for yourselves. That said, good luck tonight! Merde! Now go get ready. Places in an hour and thirty."

     I went back upstairs to my dressing room and began my makeup. I had already applied my foundation, so I began with my regular contour and highlight pattern. I then moved to my eyes. I blended a white shade on my lid and a dark brown shade in my crease. I drew a small wing above my lash line and below my bottom lashes. I then glued on a pair of fake lashes and let them set for half a minute. I blended my lashes together with a layer of black mascara. I then moved to my brows. I first shaped them with a brow gel and finished by filling them in with a brow pencil. To finish my makeup, I added a layer of natural, mauve lipstick.

     After makeup, I went downstairs for Mrs. DeMette to fix my wig. Alexys did my usual pin curls and put a wig cap on my head while Mrs. DeMette finished wrapping a ribbon into Callie Ann's hair to match her dress. After she had finished Callie Ann's hair, she began pinning in my first wig. I told her it when it felt secure. She then took some spirit gum and glued the lace front part to my forehead.

     Once she was done, Nova called thirty minutes till places. I knew that at that point the audience was open and people were flooding in for our opening night. Butterflies filled my stomach as I went upstairs to my dressing room.