Fake It Till You Make It

      A professional in any type of industry knows that knowledge comes from learning. Learning comes in many different ways, such as, hands on, text books, surveys, experience and so forth. I know that a lot of my learning come through my attitude. I have always been happy. If I have not been happy, I fake like I am happy until I am happy. Happy and cheerful attitudes will invite people to come back to you again and again. I know that I have failed when my attitude gets the best of me. This week I struggled with being happy. Fake it till you make it was the hardest task I had this week. The one and only reason was because I was sick. However, I made it through this week.

       As a professional makeup artist, you make others happy, when you are happy and giving them all the attention. I am working on The Count of Monte Cristo. This show has been a really big success. Everyone who has seen the show is really impressed with the production. As the head makeup supervisor, I am in charge of the whole cast I am there to be happy and solve problems. I am there to ensure that everything will be taken care off and that the cast is ready to go by call time. I have learned, this week that solving problems and getting people ready on time is really difficult when you feel sick. However, even though I was sick, I faked happiness till I believed I was happy. I had to make others believe I was happy and excited for the show, rather than let them know I was sick. The entire cast believed my fake it till you make it scene. Even when my voice started to struggle, they believed my attitude. With the happy attitudes of the crew, we were able to get everyone prepared and ready to go for curtain call. There were a few nights this week that we struggled with time, but with our attitudes and happy fingers we were able to get everyone ready to go.

       Also, with a happy attitude, the happiness spreads around. As the happiness spreads around then the show goes well. If there is ill, or intense feelings then the show can be off balance. Something always goes wrong. As a makeup artist, I influence how well these actors perform. I always interact with them. If they are having a bad day, I am there to make it better. I want them to do their very best. Even though I may not feel like I am at my very best, I fake my best to ensure that they will do their best. As a professional sometimes attitudes are the best things to learn. Learn to be happy, or at least fake it till you make it.

Many Hands Make Light Work

       The Count of Monte Cristo started this week. I have had a wonderful and interesting experience working on the Count of Monte Cristo. I am the Supervisor over nine other students who help with the hair and makeup for the show. Now, some might think that 18 hands would be enough to help do all that is required. However, I am here to tell you even though we have 18 hands we are still a little tight with time. We have a cast of 37 people and only one hour to apply everything. 

                                                                    Some of the responsibilites we complete are:

       Getting all the cast into their wigs for the show. There are 18 wigs for the females and 5 switches (a small wig that is applied to a certain area of the head) for the men. The wigs and switches take about 15-20 minutes each to apply, depending on hairstyle, length of hair, pin curls, french braids and ability (talent of crew).  

       While the wigs are being applied the actors and actresses are putting on their makeup. They learn to put their own makeup on, so that when they graduate they can add that to their resume. As a crew, we make sure they apply the makeup correctly and with the right intensity. For a show held in the Dejong, the makeup has to be applied very heavily inorder for everyone to see. If the actors and actresses are not intense enough we tell them to apply more makeup. Once the makeup is complete, we spray them off with a final seal (a product that sets the makeup). 

       We have some pirates with tattoos. We apply a makeup that is alcohol base that creates the tattoo effect. The reason behind the alcohol base is because the product does not sweat as easyly as a cream or powder makeup. We hand draw the tattoos on. We do not use a stencil or a tattoo sticker. We do everything professionally. This application for one person can take up to 15 minutes. We have three pirates. 

       We have several facial pieces to apply as well. We use spirit gum (adhesive) for some of the facial pieces to stick to the face. On other facial pieces we use facial tape (adhesive). Depending on how quick they change facial pieces throughout the show will depend on which adhesive they use. The facial pieces take a few minutes to apply, because some of the adhesive has to get tacky before the actual application. 

        As a team we divide and conquer. We make sure that everything happens and is done within an hour. However, this past week we have been short a couple people. They have been gone for different reasons, but the work has been much heavier. At least, the work seems to be heavy, because there are less hands to prepare everything. I have learned, this week, that when we have everyone together the work seems lighter. Plus, everything gets done quickly and efficiently. Teamwork makes all the difference.

        I will never take for granted the hands of people. Working together is much faster than working alone. I feel liberated in learning this week that many hands make light work.

I have learned that as a makeup artist, taking pictures is always necessary. Having a profile, resume, and portfolio (pictures) are essential when I am looking for more opportunities in the field. 

I am always really bad at taking photos. I have been trying to work on finding photos that I have done to compile in a book for future reference for one of my classes. My class is helping me prepare for the future and a real job. I am trying to take the class seriously. 

I have tried to find pictures of the films that I worked on this past semester. I did not take any pictures. I had to ask for them, even though I was unsure they would be able to give them to me. I asked if they had any that I could use for future use. They sent me some still photos from the film. I am so glad that they can do this. I am thankful for modern technology. I am thankful that still photos happen. Here are some of the photos from the films that I worked on as the Head Hair and Makeup Designer and Supervisor. One film was very natural, the other very post apocalyptic. I hope that y'all can enjoy what I have loved doing. I love creating designs and then being able to see the result. I love makeup! I could do makeup all day long. I guess that is why I am in the Theater Art Studies Major. 

I think this year I am going to do better at taking pictures and building up my portfolio. 

I also learned that in the Harris Fine Arts Center (HFAC) when the fire alarm goes off there is no need to panic. Today, during Count of Monte Cristo Rehearsals the fire alarm went off. We were the only ones who did not evacuate the building, only because we knew we set the fire alarm off. We have some fog machines that we kept on too long. Hence, the reason the fire alarm went off. All the fog collected and set the smoke detector off. We tried to tell people, we were the ones that set the fire alarm off. We continued to do full rehearsals throughout the entire time the fire alarm was going off. We did not panic. We were calm and kept going moving the scenes along as if nothing was happening. I love the Theater. No one left and life kept going on, even through the whole entire fire alarm. 

Life seems to be always moving at a rapid pace. Sometimes, I wish life would slow down for a moment. However, as a student that is not the case. I am always going and doing something, such as, homework, work, theater productions, going to classes, makeup projects, and film projects. All these items keep me super busy and exhausted.

Some people have asked me, "How do you balance everything? How do you keep doing everything?" The honest truth is there are times where I cannot balance everything and feel overwhelmed. At times like these I have to remind myself that I cannot do everything all at once. I have to slow down and take one step at a time.

Most importantly, with each step I take, I create a moment of balance. Each moment takes some sort of connection with the world around me. That connection may be through body language, silence, talking, seeing, or even feeling. Most of the connections I make incorporate some form of communication. Over the past week, I have learned that communication is necessary in all things from doing homework to working on a production. For instance, my job took a turn from running smoothly like a well oiled machine to having a huge knot. There was a point where I felt I would never be able to get the knot out. Well I discovered the knot was created from  not being able to communicate clearly.

I am the Head Hair and Makeup Supervisor in the Costume Shop on campus. I have a lot of responsibilities with this job.The biggest responsibility I have is to train the actors on proper makeup application techniques, how to style their hair and how to follow the makeup design from the designer on the specific show they are performing in. In order to fulfill this responsibility well, I have to organize makeup students to help oversee the actors and make sure they are applying the makeup correctly according to the design of the show.

The show that Brigham Young University is currently working on is The Count of Monte Cristo. This show is an American Premiere show. This show has never been done in the United States before. This show is very big and intense. Since this is the premiere BYU is trying to get everything to work right and look good. My job is to make sure the hair and makeup look good on stage. I do this by communicating to my crew what needs to be done.

The show has not gone up yet, but we are two weeks from the first performance. The weeks before performances I get a crew together and train them on what needs to be done. I have been emailing my crew and informing them when when we have training, what we will be doing, and what is expected of them. I failed to include the designer on the emailing list. No one was communicating with her. Since she was not receiving any of my emails she went into panic mode. She started emailing everyone and told them when she wanted to do training. She was going to train them. My crew received half a dozen emails telling them conflicting things. They did not know who to follow. They were confused. Luckily, I was able to clear up the communication error, by learning that I had not included her in the emails I sent.

I cleared up the communication error. Today, I gave a nice training, while at the same time, everything went smoothly and the designer was pleased.

-The life of a makeup student