Product review- Oil of Olay ultra hydrating moisturizer

I just completed my third nine show week of Christmas Carol. Only twelve more shows to go before it is off to the next.
The other day one of the kids from the Want and Ignorance scene asked if she could use some lotion on her face since her skin was getting so dry from the make up and then scrubbing the make up off during a quick change. I said that was fine. I think I thought she was going to put it on after our change but she put it on before the change. Brilliant.
Now I remember that part in Stage Make Up 101 in college when we put moisturizer on before applying all the stage make up.
So the kid, Want, gets dirt on her face so she can look really needy and poor. It is some kind of black make up and another dresser applies it with a sponge. I never know how much is going to be on and I have maybe a minute to scrub it all off so the kid can go back to her role as a Crachit kid.
Enter the Oil of Olay moisturizer. Now the make up comes right off with very little scrubbing at all. Just a quick wipe with the wash cloth and it's gone.
So I need to remember for future dirtying- Oil of Olay equals speedy dirt removal.

Holiday pet dress up

The other day at Target I found myself staring at an end cap full of holiday cat costumes. I would buy one but I think that I will take the $5 and donate it to the adopt a family fund.
The costumes, for cats, included a hat, a collar piece and then some sort of leg warmers- brown for the reindeer costume and red for the santa costume.
OK so anyone who owns a cat knows ho difficult it is to get them to wear just the hat. So really, leg warmers? I know my cat would be hiding under the bed before I got the collar and hat on.
Thankfully my cat is 20 pounds and the idea that cats come in different sizes has not occurred to Target so my cat will be spared the humiliation of a reindeer costume. Maybe I will just cut and his face in an Elfyourself video.

Friday Beads

Every Friday as I look at my non-theater friends' status updates on Facebook there seems to be a theme. TGIF. Countdown to leaving the office. Only two more hours of work.
This is not the case for people in theater. This is our busy time. Fridays usually begin the start of a four or five show weekend. One Friday, two Saturday, two Sunday or maybe only one on Sunday. But right now I'm working on Christmas Carol so that means five show weekends.
One of my friends wanted to make Fridays more exciting for those with five show weekends to look forward to on Fridays instead of only two more hours at our desk. And so the Friday Beads were born. They are black beaded necklaces, cause backstage people wear black. They are usually plastic and purchased at second hand stores. You can take them out and wear them on Fridays cause it is fun and it makes Fridays special. If you aren't into wearing them you can just take them out of your locker and shake them in the air for a second, like "yay bead Friday".

For whom does the alarm clock buzz? It buzzes for thee.

This morning when the alarm rang it was dark and it was early. I think that the offending alarm ended up getting relocated from the night stand to the floor in an effort to put some distance between me and the buzzing.
Why would a wardrobe girl have her alarm set to go off at O' Dark thirty you may ask.
The answer is a 10:30 matinee.
There were two of these this week and two last week and there will be two more next week.
I used to be a waitress. I worked the lunch shift and would often go in and open and get cut after the lunch rush. This could mean getting done with work by 1:30 or 2 depending on how busy the place was and how many servers were on. When I first started working on student matinees it always reminded me of working a lunch shift. You went in for a couple hours and then you were done and you had made your money for the day.
Even though I get up early to get to the gym and work out and spend part of my day writing there is a difference between getting checking my facebook at 9 and being at work at 9.
So I have been going to work early, sometimes before people who work during the actual day get there and I have been done with work by 1.
The writing schedule that I had been so good at sticking to is long forgotten although I did write a little today.
This morning the sound guy actually said "morning" instead of grunting a greeting like yesterday.
Next week is our last 10:30 matinee of this run which is celebrated by Jammie Breakfast in which the Wardrobe girls cook eggs and bacon for the cast, crew and well pretty much anyone who is drawn in by the scent of bacon.

Showtime Repair Kit

Today my friend KT called me to see if I wanted to go to Michael's for craft supplies for the Grown up Shrinky Dink Party she is hosting this week.
I'm always up for a visit to the craft store so I said yes.
When we went to aisle 11 to find the grown up scissors I found this little gem.

That's right, it's the "Showtime Repair Kit" Ideal for Recitals, plays, cheer and dance events and other performances.
As a seasoned wardrobe girl I can say that this does include the basics that any good wardrobe girl or boy would need.
This kit includes buttons, bobby pins, double sided tape, hook and loop circles, pre-threaded needles, safety pins, scissors, seam ripper and straight pins.

Although I have my own all of these things in my station I was sucked in by the pink packaging, the promise of being perfect for plays and cheer performances and the amazing folding lint brush.
I'm not sure I can actually imagine using this tiny lint brush but I guess it could do in an extreme emergency
But now I have a pair of scissors and a seam ripper in the preferred color of wardrobe girls- black.
So I give this kit a thumbs up for the folding lint brush, the pink packaging and the supplies.

The trip to the $1 section at Michael's also inspired me to participate in CC Secret Santa game. So whoever is lucky enough to have me as their SS will get totally awesome Santa Soap, Santa Pez and a candy cane striped journal. Now all I need is some candy and I'll be set to go.

90 minute cardio workout

So it it back to that holiday classic, A Christmas Carol, this year. Actually we opened about a week ago.
The big change in this year's production is the fact that it has been cut to 90 minutes with no intermission. Apparently patrons wanted a shorter play so we gave it to them
The first time we ran this show it was total chaos backstage. From the front no one could tell that it looked like a herd of Victorian college kids had moved in and thrown their clothes every where backstage. Things were in discard piles that actually needed to be tracked. There is a great deal of do or die tracking in this show.
I missed three changes upstairs because I was trying to convince an actor downstairs that it was indeed time to change.
Fortunately the second time was better and it is up and running smoothly now.

It does still feel a little like a 90 minute cardio workout. I signed up for something called the Frosty Challenge at work. The Challenge is not to gain weight between Thanksgiving and New Years. I'm kinda thinking with this show it isn't going to be a problem. Not only do I go up and down the stairs about 4 or 5 times while doing my presets but I go up and down the stairs three more times during the show. Needless to say when they asked if I wanted info on walking or climbing stairs in the building as part of the Frosty Challenge I declined. Not only am I running around backstage I also don't have time to eat during the show at all. No time to stop in the crew office and have doughnuts or cookies. Maybe I should look into those Goo packets that runners "eat".

40 years of Sesame Street

Well Sesame Street turns 40 this week.
When I first graduated from college I worked at a place making costumes for the Sesame Street Live tours. I remember ten years ago celebrating 30 years of Sesame Street and 25(?) years of Sesame Street Live tours.
My time there was fun but I was so young. I remember when I first got the job out of college thinking that working with Sesame Street Live things was like a dream come true and I guess that for a while it was. But after a while it became a little mundane for me. I was also young and hadn't yet learned how to balance work and social life yet. I ended up quitting after two years when I came to the realization that I was making more money at my evening and weekend waitress job. After completing years of school and college I think I just wanted to have fun.
When I quit it was sort of sad for me. I had gotten a couple bad reviews at my annual review times. Partially I think it is because I wasn't properly trained in on the processes they wanted us to use and partially because I was having a lot of boyfriend drama that was leading to depression. When I left there I thought I would never work in theater again. I was sure that even if I wanted to the two years I spent there would haunt me.
That did not happen. After waiting tables for about 6 months I got slowly back into theater and realized that it was still a passion. I think that because of those two years I try to maintain a level of professionalism where I work. I always try to give my best because I feel so thankful that I was given a second chance at theater. When I'm having a bad day I just think about how lucky I am to be where I am.
So Happy Birthday Sesame Street.