Eating ice cream onstage: The Street Scene Experience

Just regained a sliver of my sanity after closing Street Scene this last Saturday night.  The show was pretty fun to rehearse and prepare.  Being a German woman (Mrs. Fiorentino) was harder than I was expecting, it took me a bit to get a hang of the accent (especially with an Italian and a thick Jersey accent around me all show).  I'm so glad I was able to participate in such a large ensemble piece- there were over 30 people in the cast, and we also added two kids, a dog, and some extras from the opera during tech week.  The whole thing was a bit overwhelming. (and yes, I got to eat real ice cream on stage.  And, yes I dropped some from the 2nd story window during the performance attended by the president of the university).

Me, Mrs. Jones and Lippo Fiorentino

The most entertaining part was the 3 modifications of fat suits I cycled through during the course of the run.  It started with just a belly (surprisingly comfortable), then shifted to a body suit comprised of a bunch of cotton fluffing in a wife beater sewn to a pair of men's boxer briefs (again, really comfortable, but that meant I couldn't do my pre-show pee without taking off my entire costume).  We ended up using two gold bean bags sewn to a wife beater, because my dress was too small for the first two options.  I do have to say, that taking off any of the three was definitely a confidence booster at the end of the night.  I got so used to extra padding that when I finally took it off I felt so skinny!  I definitely didn't think wearing an extra belly would be a confidence booster, but I'll take it.

I think I had the full body suit in this one.  At least, I hope.

It's definitely odd to think that I've finished my Lawrence performance career.  Next term I'm directing a show, so I won't have time for a show (other than improv).  I'm glad I got to do it with so many of my close friends and a wonderful director.  Still, it's definitely sinking in that my theatrical experiences are going to start becoming even more scary and challenging.  "I must go and make the coffee"

We're the "two-faced trio" according to Kathy