Dress Rehearsal - Carousel

Well, I wasn't on top form last night for our dress rehearsal of Carousel, but it went remarkably well. I think there were several hitches, which is usually a good sign for a better opening night. From a personal point of view, I think the most ridiculous thing I did was to wear my corset upside down. Funnily enough, only one person actually noticed, and by that time we were all on stage for the opening scene anyway so it was too late to change! Fortunately, I only wear it for the first scene so it wasn't that ridiculous. My defence was that I don't often wear corsets, so I just slipped it over my head and asked someone to lace me up from behind!

There were 3 incidents that I know of where someone tripped over or crashed into one of the stage lights rigged up in the wings, which must have been slightly distracting for the people on stage at the time, and I know that the straw bales created a lot more mess than anticipated. Sally, who is with me in almost every scene, was elbowed in the face by our Chairman in the wings at one point as he gesticulated over-enthusiastically about something or other. A few lines were missed here and there, I started singing at a time when it was only a solo part (but soon shut up) and at the curtain call I noticed that the backdrop had the word HITACHI across it because the scenes that had previously been played out across it were finished!

As they say, however, it will be all right on the night. If not, we've certainly had a good laugh as a team and I will never forget the experience. I've also made another good friend, as Sarah was proving invaluable to me last night helping me with my costumes (all our dresses fasten up the back with hooks and eyes - impossible to do yourself) and generally looking out for me in my slightly washed out state.

The outfit I'm wearing in the opening scene is the one shown here worn by Jo in last year's show - it's the cerise outfit and the pointy bit of the corset was therefore sticking up at the top rather than pointing down at the bottom!

You live and learn, eh?

If you haven't booked your tickets yet and still want to come along to watch one of the performances, we do have some seats left so you could turn up and get them on the door. Alternatively, ring Bob Harrison on 01482 327007 to book. Prices are £10 for adults, £8 for seniors and £5 for children. Performance times are 7.30pm tonight, 29th October, 2pm and 7pm tomorrow, 20th October, at the Middleton Hall, University of Hull.