Wigs Up North

The show goes on!

For the 8th year running, I was asked to be wig and make-up supervisor for the Buxton Festival, one of my favourite jobs of the year. Not only is it my chance to get creative and take students on work experience but its right near home - hooray!

So what is involved? The Buxton Festival produce 3 shows a year for the July festival and these are full scale operas which go in the beautiful Opera House in Buxton. The Festival runs for 3 weeks, rehearses for 2 weeks in the theatre but for longer in London. I only get involved once the company come to Buxton then me and my team hit the ground running!

If I am lucky, a designer may have called me to talk me through their show or if I am even luckier, they will send me designs!! I won't have had chance to meet the performers or have any measurements for wigs so we have to work quick once the company come to The Opera House.

I may know some performers from previous years on the festival and they know how my team pull together to make the show look great in the short time we have. For those who are new to Buxton, it can be a worry. They do not know the level of capability of the wig team, or if indeed there would be one! This year proved that point as some of our singers had real worries about how their wigs would look. A good wig an make-up can play a huge part in how a performer feels and how they portray a character. Part of our job was to reassure them that by the dress rehearsal, all would be fine and as it turned out, they were thrilled with the end result. Job done!

So in the 2 weeks of rehearsals we have 7 rehearsals per show to get the whole thing looking good, bearing in mind we know nothing of the Opera or its staging. Seven shows may sound like a lot but it can be a challenge particularly as I count it as 6 rehearsals because the last one is a dress rehearsal where photos are taken and I am very fussy about them looking good!.

It is more than just making the performers look good at the top of the show, it involves taking account of quick changes, how long of we have, who does them and where. We then need to think about solving problems for quick changes and consider our budget as well. One year we created a burn on a nylon tight leg so it became a sleeve for a quick change.

Once we get through opening night, there may only be 6 performances of each show so the festival finishes just as we are getting into our stride. At the end of it, I feel proud of my team for playing their part in a great Festival and I love seeing how their confidence and skills improve. This year has been no exception so thumbs up and thanks to Cat Wild, Saskia Borra, Lorna and Laura.

Jackie