Srry ye korangs, I had been very busy annd the server had been down the whole weekend....Insyaalah, I akan update blog I selang sehari from now on. Thanks for reading and sharing my experience. :) were humans anyway. God's creature.*

Assalamualaikum

Journal304

It’s already April! Can’t believe it! How time flies. Well, did not have the time to pen down anything for my blog due to the shooting of Marina’s instructional video. Very tiring but rewarding.

I had stayed the night before at Che’ Wan’s house, because I had to be at the Gateway by 8 in the morning. I did, all right, reach Gateway on time. I then set up my make up ‘counter’. I had to do a white base make up for Tim (Rococo and Elizabethan). He was such a sport! I had to put the wig on him and voila, he was ready for the shoot for the day. The thing was, the beauty patch had to be pasted on the face using the white base as well. I could not find the spirit gum, as it was stored away elsewhere. Marina only found the spirit gum in the evening, after wrap that is!
The problem I went through making up Tim was that the white base did not go on as expected. I stippled it over his face with a sponge but it did not get an overall coverage. I should have tried it on him before so that I could trouble shoot the problem. I could have applied a white cream base on first. But thank god it turned out o.k. on screen. U can see some of the pictures on http://photos.yahoo.com/nurafifi77 in the ‘aktiviti Mac-April 2003’ album. After lunch we changed Tim’s make-up to Elizabethan where he portrays the image of Queen Elizabeth in a red tomato dress. I added on more white powder to his face and change the rouge position. It turned out even better with the wig being put on. On that day too, I was on studio duty, that is making sure Tim’s appearance is ok all the the time. I also had to change Tim’s headgear few times for the first shoot, that is the Flower Pot headgear and two more Rococo styled hats. That was for Tuesday.


Wednesday started out at 8 as well. I got in earlier and met up with Jess who already had her hair in curls. By 8.45 I started the make up on Jenny for the Gibson Girl shoot. It is late Victorian. Marina told me just to go for straight make up, with little reference to the look in the make up book. In about 45 minutes, she was done and ready for shoot. No problems occurred when I did the make up as I am used to do straight make up. The wig though, was a bit small. I guess that was due to the style of the wig originally, which was a mermaid’s wig.

Tim was also made up…a straight make up because he was a maid this time. I accentuate his features with shading his jawline. It really made him look good. And minus the lipstick for the Crinoline part.

Jess was next. I used her Mehron base. Never using this product before, I find it quite easy to apply as it was cream base. This time I was a bit in a rush as we were running against time. I managed to finish up Jessica’s make-up in half an hour and spent the next ten doing up her hair with Marina’s help. She looked brilliant with an Evening hair do and make up of the Crinoline era.

After lunch, I had to re-do Jenny’s make up and this time, for the Rococo costume. Marina does not want the white face, but she wants the make up to be a bit extra. I spent around 20 minutes to get Jenny ready for the Rococo Walking Dress. The shoot went well and we wrapped up at about 4, two hours ahead of schedule!

Nothing much happened on Thursday, we did not shoot anything as the production team (the film practice students) had some other things to do.

The last day of the shoot was on Friday. Jess in Tudor Costume (Elizabethan) and Jenny in a ‘Gibson Girl’ (turn of the century, 1890-1910) costume. We started shooting at about noon, but Jess was already tied up in her corset and had her make up done at 9! We did not check the schedule! Everything went well and we manage to finish off the shoot by 4 pm. We adjourned to the Windsor next to the school for drinks.

On Thursday as well, I started working again on Stars. I have to finish off with the textual studies, etc ASAP as I would have to present them on the 22nd of April.




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5 April 2003


This is a historic day for me. This is my first day for my usherer job at the Edinburgh Playhouse. I felt very privileged to be a member of the Front Of House team for the biggest theatre and receiving house in Edinburgh.

I was nervous about it at first, especially after the briefing and tour I attended last Thursday. I suddenly saw the role that I am going to play that would generate the image of the Playhouse, u know, First Impressions. As soon as audiences step into the premises, they would meet with the Front Of House staff first.

I got to the Playhouse at about 12.50pm and signed in. I went straight to the FOH room, and being maze itself, made me ask one of the staff manning the goods booth for directions. I finally was given my first task with shadowing under Kate at Circle High. Kate had been doing FOH for the past 2 years. She then showed me to the Changing Room where I had to pick my jacket. We then did a routine check of the Circle. This is necessary to make sure that the place was presentable and in order before the audiences arrive. I was lucky to get her as my guide for my first shift, which was the Saturday Matinee.

The Circle was quite a good place to start, as it is quite small, compared to the stalls below. I had to usher audiences to their seats or roughly guiding them. It was ok. We had a lot of children in because Beauty and The Beast the musical is on at the moment. It’s quite a tiring task as well. We were also selling programmes at 3pounds each.

Just after the show had begun, Kate brought me back to the FOH room to turn in the programme book money. Before the intermission, we went back again to the FOH room and grabbed our Ice Cream Tubs. I had to sell ice cream at Circle Low. Gosh, how one’s mind can meddle at counting money and giving the right change? I was sweating cold sweat! I tried to remain calm and put on a smiling face… How deceiving could one’s look be! After we were done with that, we went back to the FOH room to turn in the proceeds and the extra floats in. I even helped Kate and some of the other people to rearrange the Ice Cream Tubs.

The Out. We were supposed to give out balloons as the audiences leave the auditorium. Kate and I joined up with Juan at Stalls Low exit to give away the blue helium filled balloons. So, that was the end of my first shift as a Front Of House usherer.

I also went on the second shift for the usual show. Had to sign in at 6 pm. Went to China-China with Liam and bought take away dinner.

The second shift: Mark and Ester shadowed me. I was stationed at Stalls High. This is much a bigger space then the circle earlier (1,700 seats). Did the same routine as before, The Check. The doors opened at 7 and I greeted the audiences and showed them to their seats.

The routine was the same as the matinee. At intermission I was also given a Tub of ice cream to sell. Everything went fine until the supervisor called for me. I was short of 13 pounds! God! How shocked I was! As I was rummaging my jacket inner pockets, I realized I had a float of 10pounds! Thank god, now there I was, short of 3 pounds. I really felt bad because it was my first day. I checked the FOH room where the ice creams are being replenished. Nope. They did not find any loose change in any of the tubs. It was just not my luck then. I might have given wrong change to one of the audiences. How careless of me! Must be very careful next time.

I also had to check the toilets after intermission and replenish the paper towels and toilet paper if it is needed to. Then as the audiences were pouring out of the auditorium, I had Bucket Duty, which is holding out a bucket for charity. I stood by the main door and many people threw coins in the bucket. After returning the bucket, I then had to check the auditorium for booster cushions and plastic cups. After the Clear, we changed and signed out. That was my first day of work as an usherer at the Edinburgh Playhouse. The job is somewhat addictive. I cant wait to get on the other shift on Monday.