let me tell you, its not. For one- theaters in NYC are, for the most part, very old and in poor condition. A smaller theater's building most likely started its life as something else like a fire house or a horse stable and was converted to a theater somewhere between the 1920's- 1970's. This means small awkward spaces, uneven floors, no insulation, and strange smells. There are usually mice and sometimes cockroaches. In many a theater I have started my daily routine by wiping tiny turds of my workspace. Why, just two days ago, during a show, a 2" cockroach dropped into a wig I was about to put on an actress. I had to flick it off quickly before she came off stage and had to put the wig on her head. Hey, the show must go on. Later I rolled over it with a roller skate. On top of this- my job requires the frequent touching of sweaty clothing and even sweatier bodies. In a show like Forbidden Broadway, where each actor is changing costumes every three minutes for 1.5 hours, there is no avoiding this. I have become accustomed to it over the years and I no longer flinch at the idea of having a damp dance belt flung at me or having to reach into a crumpled, moist knee sock. Its just part of the job. Glamorous? No. Yet, for some reason, I love it!
I love this illustration by blogger
Wilson Swain. A few years a go I developed my alter ego Euphimia McGillacutty. She is the personal dresser of a London theater star in the early 1900's. She is also secretly in love with the flower delivery boy who brings bouquets to the stage door. Euphi pretends they are for her. After the shows are over and the theater is empty she puts the ladies costumes on and dances on stage. She also sings a song- but that has to be done in person.
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