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JUSTIN PECK |
I would have never imagined that I would be earning a salary by parading around stage in full drag make-up with 8 kids hidden underneath my oversized woman’s dress. But hey, anything is possible.
It turns out that this Nutcracker season at the New York City Ballet, I have been cast to perform the role of Mother Ginger. Here are the bizarre and unusual circumstances that involve playing the part, with photos shot by the beautiful, talented, and air-biting Gwyneth Muller:
Step 1: 40 minutes of make-up.
Each show I have to head down to the make-up room to get my gorgeous “face” painted on by make-up guru Michael Avedon (the head of the make-up department at NYCB who has a gift for the art of make-up application). This involves a heavy caked-on layer of foundation, painfully intricate eye lining and shadowing, and layers upon layers of outrageous fake eyelashes (step-by-step pictures of the process are shown below). I find getting my make-up done by another person to be unexpectedly therapeutic. However, I definitely don’t enjoy the added weight and discomfort of having fake eyelashes prodded and pasted onto my eyelids. Once the make-up is completed, I have my wig+bonnet strapped on before heading down for stilt application…
Shots of the Process:
Me, petrified of the make-up extremities to come
An ace bandage is tied around my head to cover up my hairline and for eye brow application
thick layer of base. My eyebrows have to be covered with bee’s wax and then painted tan in order to hide them
LASHES
The raised eyebrows
Final Product
Step 2: Stilts
The stilts are actually a fun perk of performing ‘Mama G.’ They give me an added 2 feet on top of my 6’1” body height, making me feel at home with the likes of Yao Ming, Lebron James, and Shaquille Oneal. The stilts themselves are actually more like metal platforms, and are surprisingly easy to walk on. I always do a warm up lap on my stilts around the backstage area, as sort of a good-luck routine, before heading over to the wings to watch a bit of the second act. I’ll just put it this way: no one standing in front of me in the wings will EVER obstruct the views of an 8’1” super-giant.
Step 3: Dress (I feel pretty)
I’m not quite sure how heavy the dress is, but it feels like its around 50 pounds. Its strapped onto my shoulders and upper torso using a harness, and sits at hip level. There is a top that goes on separately, and gives me the appearance of having a ‘D’ cup bra size (Sexy, eh?). There are all kinds of fun props attached to the dress to play with on stage, which include a tambourine, a mirror, a powder puff, and a fan.
Step 4: Oh, kids these days……
So there are 8 little girls that travel with me under my dress, as I attempt to maneuver the 50 pound, 9 foot long dress around the stage—all while on stilts. I’m always cautious of stepping on the kids, being as I have no way of seeing where they are under my dress, but the occasional child-squashing does occur (don’t worry though, no severe injuries to date).
Step 5: Choreography
NYCB is surprisingly relaxed about what sort of choreography one does on stage for the part of Mother Ginger. What they do is give some general guidance regarding cues and placement in relation to the music. All of the time in between, though, must be filled with one’s own creativity and imagination. Therefore, I am attempting to throw in new por de bra choreography for each performance, based on a new famous ballet each time. So far, I have incorporated the likes of Ballo Della Regina, Serenade, and Tombeau De Couperin (all Balanchine ballets). More to come soon!
So there you have it. A day in the life of an 8-foot-tall, 10-foot-wide, extremely fertile (8 kids! Ah!) drag queen. If anyone is interested in catching a performance of my Mama G, the days I am performing the part are listed in the casting section of NYCBallet.com.
