The Costume Malfunction that Changed My Life: A Musical Theatre Story.
Imagine it. You’re on your high school stage. It’s your senior year. It’s the last musical you will ever be in. Or so you thought.
You’ve learned the craft in that auditorium. You played improv games and made friendships on this stage. You’ve grown into yourself here.
The memories you made here will stay with you, always. But you know it’s time to say goodbye. So you give it all you’ve got.
It’s the musical number you’ve been waiting for. You’re favorite. It’s the one where you get to wear your favorite costume.
You’re out there telling the story under the stage lights with your friends beside you. Then all of a sudden you feel a slight draft around your waist.
Surprise! Your pants are falling down.
Yup, you guessed it. This happened to me.
In my senior year of high school, we put on a production of Titanic: the Musical.
No, it’s not the one like the movie. There’s no Jack and Rose, but it did focus on the historical people in society on that ship.
It’s a charming coincidence that the movie and musical premiered in the same year - 1997. The musical made its Broadway debut on April 23rd. Shortly after, the film hit theatres that December.
Which role did I play? The spunky 2nd class passenger Alice Beane. Let’s call her the fangirl of 1912. That worked out perfectly for my 17 year old self, being an epically devoted Jonas Brothers fan and all. To a degree, I played myself - which is actually harder than it seems.
Ms. Alice knew who everyone in 1st class was. She knew every scandal. She gossiped the rumors all day long to her husband about the celebrities and rich people of the world. She may have even stalked them on the ship, but I don’t want to give away too much information.
In fact, she had a whole section of the Prologue dedicated to narrating the 1st class passenger boarding entrances onto the Titanic. It’s quite the fun one.
My senior year of high school was 2011, before Hamilton became the cornerstone of changing musical theatre culture forevermore.
I called this speedy song the “rap” of the show. It’s packed with rhythm and words that seamlessly connect together in a fast paced tempo.
If you know Stephen Sondheim’s Into The Woods, it’s much like the Witch’s section in the Prologue. You know - the beans! Beans!
It’s called “First Class Roster.” Look it up on the Titanic: The Musical Original Broadway Cast recording. I promise you’ll enjoy it.
Here’s Alice!
Thanks, Facebook.
Anyway, I digress. Back to the pants story. It’s Titanic, so we all know the ship hits an iceberg and ends up tipping over in the wee hours of the morning of that fatal day.
Most of the passengers are asleep when the ship hits, so naturally they are in their pajamas. Thus, the musical conveyed the astounding iceberg moment through a song called “Dressed in your Pajamas in the Grand Salon.”
Here’s a picture of me in my pajamas.
I was really into “thumbs up” back then.
Thanks again, Facebook.
My blocking was as follows:
Enter upstage left through the set stairs
Go down the center stairs to center stage
Cross to down stage left.
Park and Bark with the ensemble.
The blocking was simple and went smoothly. This was not a choreography number, so all I was directed to do was walk hesitantly to my spot.
The ship stopped. The motors were off. People wanted to know what the hell was going on in the middle of the ocean.
I got to my Park and Bark spot, barking the lyrics. A second later, something seemed even more peculiar than the abrupt halt of the ship’s journey.
I felt a temperature change around my waist. It was slightly cooler, which didn’t make any sense because the lights were shining on me. Lights are freaking hot, man.
I glanced down. The cooler air was taking up more of body space. It felt quite nice, not going to lie. But as soon as I realized my pants were almost to my thighs, I swiftly bent my knees a bit so I could catch my bloomers.
I didn’t miss a beat. I held them up for the rest of the musical number and thanked the universe that I wore a leotard and tights underneath my costume. And nobody noticed.
It's true. No one did. I asked all of my cast mates if they caught that embarrassing moment, but they had no idea it happened. They were staying as present as I was on stage - in character.
I asked audience members if they noticed the pants debacle as well. They also had no idea. That split second of embarrassment felt like 5 minutes of never-ending agony. Everything - every pause, every word - feels 10x longer on stage.
I got off stage, found a string, and used it as a belt for the rest of the show. What’s the lesson here, friends? Just because your pants fall down, doesn’t mean you do.
This embarrassing story changed something in me. I actually grew more confident on stage with my ability to roll with the punches. To go with the flow. Anything can happen on stage. It's up to the actors to keep the staged reality alive.
Anything can happen in life. Hiccups. Pants falling down. Mishaps.Tripping up the stairs. It’s all part of the every day journey. And there is no such thing as perfect because Chance is always going to pounce.
Let it Go to Let it Flow, my friends. On the stage, for the stage, in your life, for your life. This is the phrase that gets me through the day. It helps me so much that I designed a notebook to get all of my thoughts, ideas, and grooving flowing. You can too. Click here.
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Let it go to let it flow, friend.
xo,
Amanda