The lights go down at 7:30 and the audience awaits the overture of another successful show. They are told to sit back, relax, and enjoy themselves while the actors tell a story. After a few hours, the cheers from the audience congratulate the cast and crew on their hard work on stage, but little do they know about the hours leading up to the final bows of the night.

All the months of practicing would be a waste if the actors didn’t have a few hours before every show to prepare for a night’s performance. For Wenatchee High School choral department’s Hairspray, the actors arrive at 5:30, and that is when the magic happens — getting into character begins.

The first stop is the makeup room. With a bag of eyeliner, mascara, and fake eyelashes, actors head to makeup to complete the first preparation of the night. Heavy blush and eyes are a necessity for the stage. All the girls are told to wear fake eyelashes, and the boys wear the eyeliner proud (to make sure faces are seen from the audience).

Across the hall to the hair room is next on the list of duties. Hair is ratted up high, styled with gel, or braided down tight and shoved into a wig cap. The show is set in the ‘60s, so the higher, the better. A line goes out the door as more volunteers work on hair, left and right. If someone were to walk in the room they would immediately hear and smell the misty spray of AquaNet.

Actors then move to dressing rooms to change into their first costume of the show. Body tights, squeezing into girdles, and all other appropriate undergarments required are usually put on at this point. Multiple quick changes are set up backstage for characters with several costumes.

Once dressed in costumes, actors with wig caps go to the wig room to get wigs bobby pinned  to their heads. The house (where the audience sits) closes at 7, and that’s the actors’ final time to get microphones or set props. It’s the actors’ job to set props before each show.

The most important parts of the preparation: 7 p.m. This is the time when all the cast join the same room to have vocal warmups lead by the music director. Without warming up the voice an actor might not sing to the best of their abilities, and they won’t be ready to perform full out. Some actors also warm up by themselves before arriving, and have friends help them go over all of their lines before the show (one of Tracy Turnblad’s pre-show rituals).

Once all the makeup is on, hair is done, costumes are dressed in, and mics, props, and voices are ready to go, the director has all the cast meet around 7:15 to get them pumped and thinking about the great show about to start. At WHS it is a tradition to sing “The Lord Bless You and Keep You,” before the cast departs for places.

The meeting ends, and it’s off to places for act one. The cast take their places for the top of the show, the lights go down, the music starts, and then the curtain opens — the show is off and running.

I’m back on the stage tomorrow night as Tracy Turnblad — See you there!