Journal logo

Behind the Curtain

Mishaps, costume malfunctions & other fun backstage stories

By Kat KingPublished 4 years ago 4 min read
1
Promotional Poster (2011)

Picture It: Opening Night.

We’re all ready!

Before we open, Chuck warns us against pulling any stunts or shenanigans. Who, me? Never! (No, really, never).

Am I worried? Hell naw! Let’s do this! I’m 100 af right now.

The show begins. I’m on Cloud 9!

I open the show with a line on entry, announcing wonderful news...!

....and I’m on the stage for most of this first act.

No exits for 30 minutes.

What could POSSIBLY go wrong?

Well! Lemme tell you.

The gentlemen callers I’m hoping to marry my daughters off to will be here any moment, & Mrs. Bennett is just so excited, she suddenly -without any warning-LOSES HER BLOOMERS AS SHE RUNS UPSTAGE!

There is an audible gasp of surprise!

The safety pin holding securing my bloomers & petticoat had come undone-I had to think FAST!

So, what happened?

Well. Let me TELL YOU!

I’m seated on the chaise down left when I feel the pin pop loose. I realise I’m the comedic relief of the show, so I make a backup plan quickly in case the whole “secure bloomers by pinching your butt cheeks together as tightly as possible for as long as possible” idea doesn’t work. And it doesn’t. It NEVER works.

I decide they’re coming off MY WAY, so I stand up quickly, hurry upstage, & step right out of my bloomers at dead center stage as I greet the gentleman suitors. It was like butter...! Perfect execution! No tripping or stumbling even!

Success!

Bloomers off, audience is gasping and laughing heartily, and the girls have also reacted and whisked the offending undergarments offstage before rejoining me up center.

Me, pretending to be ok.

My brain begins firing off about a thousand thoughts during the rest of my time on stage in Act I. The ENTIRE time.

Me, Secretly Dying Inside

“Am I fired? I’m fired.”

“No. He knows.”

“He HAS to know! But how do I know if he knows?“

“Why me?!”

“It’s a curse! It was that Mummy’s Claw wig that started it all—back in high school!”

“Shit!”

“Fuck!”

“Shit!”

“Fuck!”

Now, I had 4-5 different costumes for P & P and one or two quick changes if I remember correctly, so I decide I had better get to my dresser right away once I’m free.

In order to do this, I have to exit stage and leave the building, then re-enter through another door that leads to the dressing rooms. As I shuffle my heavily-wigged and costume-laden self through the double doors, my heart rockets upward into my throat and I suddenly feel extremely dizzy.

It’s Chuck. Our Director. My boss.

He’s been waiting for me in the hallway.

“This is it,” I say to myself, “brace for impact!”

Chuck looks me dead in the eye says something along the lines of:

“In all my 25 years in the business, I have NEVER—“

Wait for it.

Wait for it.

“-seen anyone handle a situation like that with such grace and professionalism! And—!”

And quite frankly, I can’t remember exactly what all he said because I am quite sure I’ve blacked out or dissociated at this point.

Suddenly, he stops talking and asks if I’m alright.

Here is a man who has been riding me the entire run about my diction, a man I’ve been thinking cannot wait to be rid of me this entire time, and he is telling me how much I impressed him. I’ve been preparing to turn in my costume and go home this whole time and he’s standing here calling me all kinds of wonderful things. I could hardly believe it!

I manage to find the words to express my relief that he didn’t think I had tried to sabotage the show or defy him.

Suffice it to say, the rest of the show turned out lovely and everyone seemed to think the whole bit had been staged like that on purpose. They had no idea! Well, until now.

Ironically enough, the real Mr Bennett married the lovely young lady who played our daughter in the show. You can just imagine my reaction when I learned of their engagement!

When I look back on that moment now, I thank my years of high school drama, during which I suffered nearly every type of costume malfunction imaginable and somehow always managed to recover. I thank my high school drama teacher, Meridith Stempinski, every day for helping me understand how to use Improvisation as a tool-not just for funsies! And also, thanks for casting me in the roles that made these malfunctions purposefully meld into the show.

#OpeningNightStories #BehindTheCurtain #CostumeMalfunctions #Drama #LeaveTheDramaOnTheStage

Follow me (on social media) and together (on social media) we shall rule the entire galaxy!

IG & Twitter: @katharynrking

workflow
1

About the Creator

Kat King

Change agent. Writer. Actor. Director. Producer.

[Follow] IG @stardatetoday @glass.stars.project | Twitter @stardatetoday

#LeaveNormalBehind

www.katharynking.com

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.