curtain call

I wore many hats in high school.  I was volleyball captain.  Sang in the choir.  Served on Student Council.  Sported my Elle Woods hat for the year I was on the mock trial team.  And even won a dinky pageant that landed me a very pretty tiara and a free meal at Arby's. However, my favorite extra curricular during my years as a Golden Hurricane was my involvement in the theater department.  That's right.  I was the tall, blonde theater kid who would practice her monologue in the middle of math class and everyone would just assume I was as weird as I dressed...

My acting class was my favorite hour of the school day.  I'd head out to the trailer, (literally...class was in a trailer...)  toss my bag into the heap of doodled on Jansports, and begin to create with some of my dearest friends.  Believe it or not my specialty in the class was improv.  My best friend Drew and I could turn the most obscure of scenarios into a four to six minute masterpiece.

Being the theater kid turned hopeful Carrie that I am, my utmost, most adored, most wonderful, number one, favorite aspect of the theater...the costumes.

The acting, blocking, and facial expressions could only take you so far.  It wasn't until you slipped into your costume that you truly believed you were someone else.  And I'd bet that more than 99 percent of actors have been taught that you can't convince the audience that you're someone else, until you believe it for yourself.

Yes, whether it was my pinstripe butch suit I had to wear as a Shakespearian futuristic police officer, or my fabulous vintage ensemble I wore in our Christmas musical, the costume always made the character...

I've graduated...Finished my first year and a half at this thing called college...And sadly, it's been that long since I've been in any sort of production.  However, from time to time, I still slip on a costume.  No, nothing for the stage, but a costume for Windom, for my day to day routine.

Don't get me wrong, I am very confident in my own skin.  But sometimes, it's fun to throw on a "costume" just for kicks and giggles.  It might be fooling the local barista by using "Georgia" as my Starbucks alias, or speaking in an Aussie accent as I checkout in Walgreens.  (Both of which I am guilty of doing on more than one occasion.)

We all have various costumes that we may strip from our closet now and then.  The shy girl.  The quirky girl.  The sporty girl.  (WARNING: if you're going to try this one, you better study up)  The flirty girl.  The I don't give a care who sees me dancing like a rabies ridden flamingo girl.  The damsel in distress girl.  The oh yeah, The National is my favorite band too, even though I can't name a single song girl.

Sometimes costumes are fun.  Sometimes they get us into trouble.  Sometimes we become so consumed with the costume, that we forget who's underneath.

That's the beautiful thing about a costume, it isn't permeant.  You put it on.  You take it off.  You appreciate the true you underneath the facade.

So every once in a while, put on a costume!  It might be for the night.  It might be for the hour.  It might be for the five minutes you're standing in line at Target.  Find out which costumes amp up your self esteem, and be sure to rid yourself of those that make you feel not so wonderful.

You don't NEED a costume.  The coolest costume one can wear is that of themselves.

But don't be afraid to experiment from time to time.  Find your favorite character.  Let her have her fifteen minutes of fame.  Call for the curtain to close, ditch the costume, and appreciate you!

xoxoxoox

W

aforementioned best friend / improv partner Drew featuring vintage glam Christmas musical costume