by Priscilla

Aug.25, 2009, under Backstage Blog

I basically do everything from getting pins, buying stock and setting up the wig team. I make sure that everyone is happy and it is all working according to plan. There are 5 people in the wig team and around 100 wigs on Priscilla. All the wigs are made of natural hair, apart from a couple that are acrylic, which are in the funeral scene and one Oliver wears on top of the bus.

Sandra O'Brien

The wigs process starts with the designer will come along with drawings and a design. Then we will have to find the head block that has the same measurements as the actor’s head, which vary from around 54 to 60. I’m not saying who has the biggest head in this show! A lot of times we have reference to work from, because it has been done before, like Priscilla in  Australia. So we have an idea of the style, which we then create by putting the wigs in curlers so the hair curls the right way. The wigs are then baked in the oven for a hour or two and then we start styling.

Some wigs last better than others, if the wig looks fine it may only need a touch up after a show, but in this weather when it can be very hot some of the wigs just drop and may need to be redone everyday. When you set the wig you do so with setting lotion or water, so when you put it in the oven it seals the roller with the heat. This is how you get your bounce or curls.

I take care of Tony and his is my favourite wig, because I love the transformation that he goes through. The Diva’s wigs are the hardest, because they are so time consuming. There is a lot of hairspray involved and they are on and off a lot through the show. 

I’m Irish and came to England 13 years ago to go to college here. I was very lucky, because the first job that I got was not the usual trainee job so I skipped a few levels. If you are looking for a career in this industry I would suggest doing work experience. Send letters to the theatres and the shows and often they will take you on for a day or two and then if people see you have some experience that can snowball and lead to more work. Hairdressing is really important to get into theatre. Make up is a much smaller part. A lot of the time you teach the actors to do their own make up, because you don’t have time to do both make up and hair every night and with a show like Priscilla we use a lot a masks for the make up.  That is sometimes where people fall short their make up is very strong, but they don’t have enough hair skills.

My favourite part of the show is when we are behind the bus doing the wigs. It is a good laugh and fun to be on stage. It is just a very fun show where people have a laugh.