Backstage at The New Emperor Clothes
People left Wednesday nervous for the upcoming days, but people brightened and smiled when they saw James enter the room on Thursday. The director finished her pep talk and walkthrough of the day with welcoming James back, followed by may cheers from the cast. Then, they got to work. They spent about half an hour changing, applying and reapplying makeup, doing hair, helping each other, frantically getting ready for the first full run through of the show with their main actor. With James still sick, the show wasn’t at it’s best, but it left everyone excited for what the next day would bring. The director, Marny Warren, finished giving her notes, “and I think I speak for all of us when I say, it’s really good to have you back James” followed (of course) by more cheers. People left that night with nerves and fear, but also hope for what lay ahead.
People trickled in on Friday handling nerves in different ways. Some were slightly louder than usual, or some quieter than normal. Most of them just wanted company. So people did things together. They set up the stage together. The bathroom was full of girls standing in groups around the mirror, helping each other with makeup. The backstage room was full of people running lines and perfecting their costumes. Finally five minutes till places was called. People rushed to grab props and get to their places. “Kayla you open the first show in all of Denali theatre. No pressure.” An actor jokes to his friend who has the first solo in the show’s first song. But there was nothing to fear. The performance was nearly flawless, with energy and wit, and excitement. As the actors exited after the bows, screams could be heard from backstage, “WE DID IT, WE DID IT!”
It only got better. Some got cocky and got ready closer to the deadline of the house opening, which didn’t helped anyone’s nerves. But the director agreed that though the first night was amazing, the second was even better. More used to an audience, everyone was at their best, and as the last show of 2017 Denali theatre ended, the same screams could be heard from the audience, “WE DID IT, WE DID IT!” That night the cast disabled the stage and met for pizza. Everyone was hysterical. They cried, they laughed, they sang, they hugged, they took selfies and made speeches, and celebrated. They were proud of how hard they had worked and their castmates.
