Confessions of a Theatre Snob

Tuesday, December 06, 2011

Wherein I learn more than I ever knew about wig dressing

‘What do you mean you don’t know how to pin curl?!’ Dean sounds slightly aghast.

'Well, I don’t!'

A week or so ago, I bought a pretty cheap, and frankly rather chavvy, hair piece from a shop in Hull, more in hope than in expectation that I’d actually be able to wear it. It’s a pony tail, highlighted in brown and blonde, the closest that I could find to my un-natural hair colour. Taking it out of the box, I realised I didn’t have the first idea how to fasten it in to my own hair, which, though longer than in previous years, is still fairly short and layered. I set it aside, and planned on wearing my full wig, in something approaching a Victorian style.

On Friday evening, we’re having a trial run, of costume, accessories, jewels, and, of course, hair. Fuelled by wine, Dean starts twisting my hair into pin curls, prior to attaching the hair piece, clipping it towards the top of my head.

I stand up and look in the mirror. I have a long, straight pony tail hanging from the top of my head*.‘Oh my God, you’ve turned me into Sandy from Grease’. Dean says I look like a bar maid from Corrie.

I ask him to fix it lower, and he re-applies it towards the nape of the neck. It’s amazing. It might be cheap, but, from a distance, it could be my hair. I’m just wishing I’d had it like this a few weeks ago for the play. The fact that this can be done with my hair is a revelation.
I also ask him to dress my full wig, which I’m going to wear for the evening murder mystery, which he does. It’s also not dissimilar to my own hair, and he creates a partly ‘up’ style, with a few trailing ringlets. Perfect. What a star.

*No, you don’t get a photo. I have my standards.

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