This just in!

An interesting development in the Dinner Theatre scene. Mum has a gig with her band next Saturday, which she told the Theatre folks about a long while back. They'd said that they'd be getting someone to understudy for her. So mum asked them after the show last night whether everything was set with the understudy.

Apparently, they don't have anybody to do it. They'd completely forgotten about mum's gig. They have someone who could do mum's acting, but what they really need is a bass player.

So guess who got volunteered?

Because I've spent so much time helping mum learn her lines, I know them already. I need to memorize the lyrics for the song mum sings ("Those Were the Days"), buy strings for my (read: mum's) Music Master bass (which is at least 15 years older than me, BTW), and practice 10 or so songs. I learned most of them last night.

Have I mentioned that I've never played bass on stage before? Like, ever? So this would, in essence, be my first ever gig. With just under a week to prepare.

I am confident. I am stoked. I will rock their socks off.

And a further note...

So, the role I'll probably be playing - mum's usual role - is that of a 40-something woman. At least, it's supposed to be. First off, this is funny because when I was in in High School I was always cast as old ladies or fat girls. 40^* may not be old, but it's way older than me, at my spry 21. People often mistake me for 25. I don't think they'll readily accept me as being 40+.

So I have two favours of those folk on my friends list who are make-up inclined:

1) How can I make myself look older, for stage? I need something fairly subtle, since I'd also be close enough to people to wait on tables.

and

2) Help! I need to femme-ify myself. (Or, more accurately, heterosexual-married-woman-ify myself.) I have little idea as to how to do this. Y'all see my user icons. This is what I've got to work with. Help?


* Actually, I'm very tempted to change the supposed age of my character. They're supposed to have been married for around 20 years, but there's a line I can change that would make it much less, and much more believable. Besides, the original line goes: "We'd been married for 10 years at the time, and he was the nicest man I'd ever known." So I'd be sorely tempted to change it to: "We'd been married for two years at the time, and he was the nicest man I'd ever known." (beat) "Actually, he was the only man I'd ever known."