Yippee!

So before I get to the reason behind the Yippee title, I wanted to talk about what I did today. So I woke up and watched my 3 episodes of The Nanny to wake me up and then packed myself into the car and drove down to the theater to do some more costuming. Well I opened the door to send Jeremy off to work and found snow covered trees, steps, and banisters. So I was hesitant to leave, due to the lack of driving in this weather here. The problem with the snow here is that it usually starts as rain, then freezes and becomes snow. So there is that layer of ice underneath. But after a few adjustments driving in the parking lot, I made it out. I had to make a couple stops (gas, and parking money) then I was out on the road towards downtown. The roads were fine but the sprinkling became snow as I made it to downtown. I found my way easier and made it to the theater by 11 a.m. No one was in the costume shop however, so I waited, and waited, and waited, and just when I thought about waiting five minutes and then leaving, the two costumers showed up. So we set to work.

Today I sewed on 5 buttons to a bodice top. Also, I learn two more hand stitching techniques. The first is a slip stitch. Which is simple and I caught on quickly while sewing some trim on a dress. The second is a back slip stitch ( I think that is what it was called) which is a combination of the previous two stitches. The costumer was using it to stitch on lace trim on a dress. So after a while the same costumer switched with me and I began seam ripping out some Velcro and zig-zag stitching from a bodice top and a removed pocket from something (maybe a skirt?) We used the pocket as a two inch strip in between the front side pieces. It was a clever trick. Then we added 5 buttons to either side and poof! a new bodice that fits the actress. I learned to fasten buttons and hooks down to use 4-ply thread (two pieces of thread through the needle and tied together) to make a more stable and stronger hold.

Lastly, I got to meet two people from the cast and crew. First and coolest was the star, Chiara, she plays Anne in the play. What's really cool is that I've seen her before. She introduces the Masterpiece Classic specials that are running right now on the complete works of Jane Austin on PBS. So that is cool, she loved trying on the clothes, even those that weren't done. The second person I met was the Technical Director Larry. He had come in to ask if anyone responded to the notice about needing stitchers, and I was there! So that was neat. Overall it was a good day. One more day with them tomorrow.

This brings me to my news! I GOT THE ART INSTRUCTOR JOB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I will be starting training tomorrow, 9 - Noon. So I am going to be teaching kids to draw. I am so excited.

In other job related news I found another last minute ad for working on a current production. This one is an Assistant Stage Management position helping preset the stage for the show, change sets during intermission and help with costume changes. They only need me on Thursdays from January 31st through February 21th from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. It's for Seattle Public Theater. I just have to see if I can work both the Art Studio and this ASM job. It's another option for getting my name known by some people in the business...

So that's my good news. Yay!