ISO Yuletide

My November and December were given almost entirely to the Indy Symphony Orchestra and their Yuletide show. Here's what I had to say about it in my non-internet journal:

I got brought in as the second assistant designer for Indy Symphony Yuletide—that’s their Christmas show—and it’s huge! And exhausting. I’ve worked every day for the last three weeks—sometimes up to 13 or 14 hours. And I was exhausted and sometimes frustrated but overall, I had so much fun working with the people I was working with! I’m sad that it’s done.

To fill you in a bit more, I got to work with the guy who played Shrek on Broadway and the woman who did the theme song for The Nanny and circus performers and loads of other very fun and cool people. I felt very at home with the Symphony and I had a blast working on the show. And I have to say, those folks know how to throw a party. It was the kind of show that made me sad to be leaving Indiana--although not sad enough to make me stay. And it was the kind of exhausting, rewarding, beautiful work that I love to do. That show took me right up to Christmas and before I knew it, I was back in AU opera country. The Crucible. My Everest. And the only thing that stood between me and California. (...Okay, I'm being melodramatic, but just wait...)

Madam Hooch master post

So much of the early days of this blog were dedicated to my Madam Hooch costume. You may be wondering what came of it. To be honest, as I got deeper and deeper into the project, I was mostly worried about finishing it on time and didn't take a whole lot of pictures of the construction. But here's a couple of finished product photos:

I'm fairly happy with the way it turned out. I threw the pants together like the week before Halloween and they were a little big in the waist so they kept slipping down. Also, the robe was too billowy. If I'd had the time and patience, I'd have opened it back up and taken in the back and side seams to remove like 10-20 inches. But those are things that only I would notice. Everyone else (who actually knew who I was dressed as) had nothing but complements.

Also, I made some tasty bloody cupcakes (and I don't mean that like the British cuss word). I mean this:

They were gross looking and very tasty--I was quite proud of them.

Long time no blog...

Well, if I've learned one thing about myself in the last 6 months, it's that I'm terrible at keeping up with a blog. Which is a shame because the last six months have been pivotal in for both my personal and professional development. Not to mention I had some darn good fun! I'll try to fill in the blanks for you a bit. So first of all, I Love a Piano was a blast. I had Irving Berlin stuck in my head for--actually, come to think of it, I still have Irving Berlin music stuck in my head. Here's what the show looked like:

Cute, right? It was good old-fashioned fun. Sort of 40s/50s inspired with a modern twist. The costumes were mostly bought and altered. My favorite part of this show was that I got to do hair for almost all the girls. It was all about twists and curls and (sort-of) victory rolls. And I had so much fun!

After I Love a Piano was over and done with, I took a trip to California to visit the Make-up Designory (or MUD, as we affectionately refer to it)--which I was interested in attending. I saw the school, checked out apartments, and pretty much made the decision that I was Los Angeles-bound. Of course, that makes it sound as if it was an easy decision. It wasn't, I assure you. I was getting rather comfy in Indianapolis--I had good friends nearby and fairly steady work coming in. But I couldn't shake the feeling that I wasn't where I was supposed to be. And so I made the decision to stop wishin' and hopin' and chase down my dreams. So I set a departure date (March 1st) and I started scheming.

But before any schemes could come to fruition, I had lots of business to attend to in Indianapolis. Including, but not limited to, finishing my Halloween costume!