First dress rehearsal

Tonight's preliminary dress rehearsal for Hoffmann was quite an adventure for me!

First of all, having come to the conclusion that I really needed to be able to see the conductor better than was possible without my glasses, I drug out my old contacts from my senior year of college (10 years ago). I haven't worn them at all since my wedding (7 years ago). I was impressed with how few problems they gave me, considering I previously stopped wearing them because they were fussy. I might have to reconsider the contacts idea.

The other thing that made the evening interesting was that I had some of the worst wardrobe malfunctions I can remember experiencing personally. The hat that I wear as a gondola in Act IV was so tight that we couldn't get it all the way onto my head, and the gals working in the wig room said they knew how to fix it, but would lose their jobs if they did so without express instruction from the head of the department. So, for the short term, we put it on as far as it would go and pinned it on. It didn't feel too bad at first, but it wasn't long before it was giving me a headache.

In Act IV, the first time I had to move off of my rolling staircase, the snap that holds my gondola piece around my middle unsnapped, causing it to fall off. I took the opportunity to step off stage to fix the problem - one-handed, since I had my cane in the other hand - and found myself in an even bigger pickle when my hat fell off, too. The stage hands finally came to my rescue and I made it back onstage for the next staging change. The gondola piece unsnapped again as I got back onto the stairs at the end of the scene, but in a sitting position, it was much easier to be discreet. Hopefully the costuming angels will have everything resolved by tomorrow night. Umm...okay, tonight!