HALLOWEEN!!!!!

So, here’s my Halloween. The day starts at around 3 in the morning. The preparation is insane. And the homemade costume means that it is entirely impractical, because you see, we didn’t have to stay within you standard human’s level of tolerance . . . we only had to stay within MY level of tolerance which – as a performer aware that if a costume is comfortable, something is wrong – is a little higher than the common trick-or-treater. And here, we start from the base. The beginning. The part of the costume that anyone can stand. Because it is simply

1. High heel boots, which will get a little uncomfortable in about an hour, but hey, women everywhere don’t give a shit what their feet feel like at noon when they still look good.

2. Spandex & a top – no problem here.

3. Fangs, which prevent eating & drinking (which would be a bad idea anyway as will be explained later) unless you’d want to take them out (which will later be prevented as well).

4. Lipstick, no biggie. A little freshening up from time to time.

5. Special effect contact lenses. Unless you’re Trish, Molly, or my script analysis teacher & can’t stand to touch your eyes, we’re still on your average costume tolerance level. Later, they’ll get more complicated . . .

Now, it’s later into the morning, still an ungodly hour, though. And I’ve moved up into another level of tolerance

6. Makeup. On my arms & face & neck. IN my ears. This makes the contacts a little more dangerous. Normally when makeup gets in my eye, there’s a little pain. With contacts it’ll hurt like hell until I take them out. Which I’ll be unable to do when I finish my hands as well. Oh, yeah. And no washing my hands today. Or taking the fangs out. Water-based make-up. Melts right off (which is it’s charm when it comes to cleanup).

7. Latex appliqués. Very frustrating, especially when they cover your whole face like this. They are HOT. Every Halloween I’ve spent in these has been relatively chilly, but I have sweat welling up at the bottom of these things (charming, eh?). They limit facial movement. The main piece is homemade. The horns on the jaw are not.

8. The collar. Homemade. Which in this case, isn’t necessarily a good thing. The grommets in the back have a few sharp edges. We did the best we could to fix them, but I just have to accept a level of tolerance to the scraping at the back of my neck.

Now I’m into the morning part of the morning . . . it’s no longer considered night. People are starting to wake up, but hopefully not come out of their houses, because I don’t like an audience when I spray my hair. This is yet another level of tolerance. You still with me?

9. The leather bracers. Hot. Also homemade. More grommets digging into my arm. I’ll have little crescent shapes up & down my arm for a week. The spikes make everything impossible. Simple things like swinging my arms when I walk become cumbersome & even hazardous.

10. The gloves. Again, hot. Not really uncomfortable though. The claws coming from the knuckles get in the way of writing, opening doors, & really anything else. These things can still be done, but more carefully.

11. The hair. Something you don’t even notice . . . until you take a shower. My hair is teased, sprayed with colour hairspray, teased a little more, & then touched up with more spray. The make-up may be water based & just melt right off of me, but my hair will keep me in the shower for a good hour. And my scalp will probably still be grey for another day or so.

We put off the final touch until we get to school . . . because I wouldn’t fit in the car. Here is the element that really pushes tolerance to a whole new level.

12. The wings. Operating wings. 20 pounds of wood, Masonite, & cloth rest on my shoulders with chains. Over the course of the day, the chains will dig progressively deeper into my shoulders. They will leave little red chain link – shaped welts on my skin for about three days. Wearing these, I cannot sit unless I spread my wings, very obnoxious in small areas, I usually just stand. And remember when I said things like drinking & eating would become no-no’s? Here’s where it happens. I can’t go to the bathroom. From 7 in the morning when I put that puppy on to 10 at night after the last trick-or-treater has left. So, no drinking the night before or during the day today.

But it’s all worth it to me. And this year, it’s more than fun, it’s a FIX. I haven’t spent this long without being in a show since before I started acting. And not making it into the spring semester shows doubled that time. Oh, the children’s faces when they see me . . . and apparently, they all think I’m a decoration until they get close. But that’s for later. Now, I have the day ahead of me.
The wings are wrestled onto me (with the trench coat) in the parking lot behind the Center for the Arts at school. I lose two claws, so my frustration level is high. After half an hour of, “Mom, watch my horns! Mom, watch the bracers!, Mom, watch the wings! MOM! Watch it!” The wings are on & the chains are fastened around me. My mother & I wish each other a happy Halloween & after a few pictures, she leaves & I go to sit in the Center for the Arts. I don’t have a class for a while, so I sit. The costume is rather uncomfortable, so I’m pretty still. People walk by slowly . . . the building (and campus altogether) is fairly empty since it’s 7 in the morning . . . but my mother has to get to work. One by one, people pass me. I wait for reactions & they don’t come. People look at me, but don’t say anything. And the suspense is killing me. My first verbal reaction – is from a guy I used to have a crush on in middle school & now he goes to my college. Great. He walks by, does a beautiful double take, stops, moves a little further, & quietly says, “Nice Costume.” I thank him & he leaves & the whole thing was just so anticlimactic, I wonder if I’ll get any of the reactions I used to . . . I feel like I missed something . . . It’s Halloween, right? A few minutes later, a panda bear gave me a thumbs up for my costume. Yes. It’s Halloween.
Soon, I find out why I’m not getting any reactions or compliments. A girl comes up the stairs, sees me & jumps a little. Her friend follows closely behind & she says, “Oh that thing scared me.” She turns back to look at me & I turn to her & smile. She screams. Scared out of my skin, I jump. She apologizes, saying that she didn’t know I was a person. After that, I move just a little every time someone walks by. Cameras are whipped out, people want to have their picture taken WITH me, compliments come pouring out of people, & one of the professors tells her class that they must go see the spectacle in the hallway. Wonderful reactions all around.
So my mother picks me up at 2 & we come home. She goes out while I take off what I can (the chains on the wings are taking their toll on my shoulders) & prepare to get fully back into the costume later for the children Mwuahaha . . . my favourite part.

Brian sets up lighting & sound while I touch up my make up. Different approach to the shading this time . . .

As I rush to get ready before trick or treaters start approaching our gate, Brian finishes setting up the lighting & sound outside, my mother helps me back into the wings (which had to be removed to get into the car to come home) & I start to walk outside & a group of four children are just coming in through our front gate. I stop at the door & they see me. They stare for a while & LEAVE!!! They opted NOT to come get candy from THIS house because there's a monster INSIDE! So I mosey on out after they're gone & stand on my perch. Here's the idea.

My mother sits on the steps & hands out candy. Brian stands on one side of the sidewalk on the way to my mother. I am across from Brian, blocked by a tree so the children don't see me until they get relatively close. My mother gives them candy & tells them that If they dare the gargoyle, they can have another handful. I have my foot on a pot full of tootsie rolls (which, if you ask me, isn't the best bait in the world - anyway . . .) & they either come get some, or they don't. If they do, it's usually quite the sight. They lean in slowly, reaching out & watching me oh so closely. When they get just about there, I take my foot off the pot. It is an act of submission. whether or not it scares them (it almost always does) I do not look silly because I tried to scare someone & failed. MY dignity is not on the line. Some forget about the candy after all, some snatch it, some drop it. It's pretty amusing. And the carnage . . . half the tootsie rolls are in our yard. Brian works flood control when necessary, & when there are no other people coming, he steps out into the walk behind the trick or treater right after they pass him. It's rather amusing to hear the chuckles of the audience of parents down on the sidewalk as they spot the setup. Brian blocks their way & taps on my bowl. They usually brush past him so they don't have to face me.

Brian blocks an 11-year-old & taps the bowl. She says, "This really isn't optional, is it?"

The lady across the street brings her dog over . . . who is as wary of me as the children . . . he wanted nothing to do with me.

A guy poked me & i recoiled angrily & twisted away from him. In recoiling, I got my wing caught in a branch & when I twisted away it pulled a leafy veil right in front of my face. That was just kickass.

A mother brings her poor frightened little child up to our house & he's dressed up as a skunk. As she drags him up the sidewalk, he dissolves into tears & just cries & wails all the way up & my mother gives him candy. As they go back down, my mother yells out "Bye!" & the child (must have been 2 or 3) started yelling "Bye!" back at her & I raise a hand & waved goodbye - not trying to scare him, but to at least let him know that I was real - & friendly . . . not nightmare-worthy. And after I started waving he was absolutely mesmerized. The tears were gone, he called one drawn out Byyeee! after another, spending more time walking down our steps than he did getting dragged to the porch in the first place. How cute.

Brian took a few photos . . . rather a lot actually. Here's a few - others will be posted on my myspace later - when they're all fixed up & I've had a chance to really look at them.