As an adult this is my first musical theatre production. It was different from the normal cabaret/burlesque shows I've done in the sense that I actually had lines to learn this time around (and a line to FORGET! omg) I played Sarah O'Brien, personal maid to the Countess of Grantham, and ginormous gossip monger.
And here are O'Brien's boobies also known as "The Sisters". Weee.
If you know nothing about the show, the first episode begins the day after the Titanic sunk and is set in England. So, because it's set in England we had to learn to speak with English accents. I learned mine from watching British Youtubers, like the makeup artist 'Pixiwoo' Sisters, and interviews with Henry...
Seriously, I learned a lot from watching his interviews. Especially how he says his "R's". Ah. Aah. Ahh.
(Oh, c'mon,... you knew I had to throw him in here somewhere.)
Anyway, along with learning "9 to 5", "Every Breath you Take" (and mixing up all them rhyming words on stage - breath fake stay take make cake bake shake take face.) Even when it's perfect when you are singing alone, it all kinda gets jumbled up on stage when heavy nerves are involved), "One Less Bell to Answer", and a couple of other group numbers... add dance choreography and I was pretty much focused on nothing else.
Nothing else except for sewing this corset:
Ta'daaaaa!
And here's the inside for your viewing pleasure. I totally did the lining fabric just for me since it was a musical.
I wanted the corset the be multi-functional so I did a basic, and classic, sweetheart shape. I also wanted a little bit of an edge so I added the front grommets. For me it represents that little bit of hardness of spirit that O'Brien has. These also serve a different purpose as I can change the ribbon color there to suit my desires. So I can leave it empty and add a whip and leather for the dominatrix look, or a can add a powder puff pink ribbon to soften it up a bit.
Here is a pic during the middle of the project when I was adding the boning channels.
Because I made this specifically for the stage where I knew I would be dancing and singing, I decided to experiment. I didn't use the usual spring steel boning all over. Instead I opted for macrame chord. It helped with comfort of movement. I only used the spring steel in the front next to the zipper and along the center back so the fabric and grommets holding the lacing in back wouldn't buckle.
Anyway. I know you can't believe that I'm SUPER SHY and that taking to the stage is a traumatic experience to my poor nerves everytime. It is! And yet, I still do it. What can I say? I'm a sucker for punishment.
I'm thankful to my husband, family, and friends for supporting me with these things. I'm so thankful to CatrinaQ for letting me do these shows with her. It's fun doing these shows with friends and making new ones in the process. It really is why they call these things "Plays".
P.S. The afterglow of the show apparently is Oompa Loompa orange, but hey.... I'm smiling!
