A Wedding Tale

Chapter 22: The Final Trial

May 3, 2020

     After a wonderful to weekends of sold out performances, I must say farewell to Hermione today. She has taught me so, so much. I definitely believe that this was the right time in my life to play the role. She has taught me how to stay calm and poise in difficult situations; how to handle broken relationships; and how to forgive those who may not deserve it. I will forever miss this role and I wish that it would never end.

     Xoxo,
         Marilyn Danäe Minnelli

     After our matinee show, I grabbed a snack before taking off my makeup. Once I had a fresh face and ate a granola bar, I laid on the small bed. I lifted my legs and put them on the wall while I laid on my back.

     My alarm went off at 4:00. I slowly sat up and began my usual routine. I dug through my pile of shoes and found three pairs to wear for the show: a soft pair, a new pair, and a medium pair. I began to fix the new shoes how I liked. I shaved down the sides of the shank, and wet and stomped on the box to soften it. Once I found my pairs, I packed up all of my shoes in a tote so I could take them home tonight. 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 and grabbed my iPhone 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, Skylar's toy boat, and the book for the Nursery scene and made sure they 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. We continued the class with a short petite allegro, a waltz, and a grande allegro before my mother gave us her pre-show talk.

     "Okay, guys! Final show. I am so very proud of all of you. I could not have asked for a better cast and company. Isabella, Harper, Mila, Genesis, Kennedy, and Brielle, this was your first show as part of the company and we really threw you to the wolves with all of this choreography. It was hard stuff and I couldn't be more pleased with your performances. McKenna, Emma, Kenzie, and Madison, you have all done wonderful with developing characters on 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 succeeded my expectations. 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. I love you all so, so much. You guys are like my children almost. I couldn't be more proud. 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 started with foundation, and moved to my regular contour and highlight pattern. I then began 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.