Monday night's fifth rehearsal is the dress rehearsal. I get to wear my big heavy dress and play around with stage makeup. I am "wigged" as a redhead and get to wear acute little hat with flowers and ribbons. The dress that should have been altered is still way too tight around the shoulders. They tell me that I need to get through the rehearsal, and that they'll fix it by the first performance. I am alone for this rehearsal, but will end up being the sole juggler during one of the performances anyway. The photographer is taking pictures this night, so I end up being the only one in the official photos. 

I decide to do three ball tricks first and then three clubs for the second and shorter round of juggling. On stage, I am surrounded by bearded men in tights with wonderful voices. Ah, sheer heaven! But as soon as I skip onto the stage I trip on my too-long skirt and barely catch my balance. My dress rips and is now exposing part of my backside! Hello! I find out later that the top of the back has also popped open during my warmup since the dress was too tight. 

When I'm finished with my part, the costume crew alters the skirt and shoulders. Once done with that, I decide to sneak out into the theater to watch the rest of the show. It's breathtaking. The woman playing Marguerite (Cynthia Clayton) steals the show, and I'm totally enchanted by the man playing Mephistopheles (William Powers), the devil, with his rich voice and mischievous grin. 

The first performance is a Wednesday morning student preview. It's just Wayne and me juggling. It's our first time with the orchestra, and the sound as they tune up makes the reality sink in. The dress fits great now, and a few extra snaps have been added to avoid any further accidents. We decide that I'll just do three clubs while he's doing balls. This works out great, we do well, and give each other a big high- five at the end. 

The makeup crew keeps me a bit afterwards because the director wants me to have a more "dramatic and humorous" look. They practice a more clown-like face on me, with round cheeks and high eyebrows. I get changed and go work my usual 10-hour evening-shift as a renal dietitian. How anti-climactic after performing in the opera!! 

The second performance is opening night, and I am the sole juggler on hand. The director wants me to be in a jester outfit instead of the dress. But the outfit is way too small, so I end up wearing Wayne's. I try not to think about what I'm doing, and the performance goes well. I have one drop, but it is perfectly synchronized at the end of the music, and more than one person tells me that it looks like it was on purpose. Madelyn Dinnerstein, who is in the audience this night, says it looked "cool" and the outfit was "cute." I'm pleased, but wonder what's going to happen the next night. 

All three jugglers are together again Saturday. I am in the dress once again, but the costume crew sews on some pom-poms and ribbons at the last minute to make it more clown-like. They put hearts on my cheeks (for "Sweetest Day," an obscure Ohio holiday) and wilder eye makeup. I think I look scary, but everyone says I look great. Scott gets wigged, and the longer hair really suits him. He has to wear a huge jester hat, but takes it in stride. Wayne totally charms the makeup ladies. 

This performance ends up being a comedy of errors! The sword that's supposed to break doesn't. (That might be my fault, actually, since I kick it accidentally during our scene.) The beer keg that the devil explodes gushes out way too much water. Fiery flashes don't happen as they should, and Marguerite drops the flammable Bible. There's one mistake after another, but the cast laughs about it. The audience seems to be enjoying it. Good thing, since many of them spent up to $55 for seats! 

Well, the jugglers aren't perfect either. Scott and I both take turns dropping. We haven't rehearsed in six days, so we are trying to pass accurately, smile, stand in the right place, and listen to our music cues for the double spin ending. My drop goes a bit too close to the orchestra pit for comfort, prompting the director to comment that perhaps we should be further upstage the next time... I'm not insured to replace any Stradivariuses! 

After costume change, Wayne takes off, but Scott and I sneak out to the company box to watch the rest of the show. More errors take place. Mephistopheles throws a mandolin over a wall to be caught by someone, it gets caught on a tree instead and hangs there for the rest of the scene. I laugh so hard I'm crying! 

When the lights come up, we look around with wide eyes and say "Oh my God - we juggled in front of all of these people!" I run up to the balcony to get the full effect and see just how tiny we must have looked from up there. 

The final performance is the Sunday matinee. The costume and makeup crew finally feel like they know what I am supposed to be, and prep goes smoothly. Scott and I figure out what we're doing with our cues, and give a flawless performance. Wayne's also pleased with his routine. Later on, the director admits to using a good luck charm - an envelope filled with used postage stamps - to ward off the "gremlins" for this performance. It worked! The entire opera went smoothly. 

I savor the last performance and am sad that it is all coming to a close. After living in this opera fantasy land, I'm not ready to return to normal life! We share lots of hugs goodbye with everyone, and a few of the cast and costume crew express an interest in coming to our Clubhead meetings to learn to juggle. Someone shows me the review of the opening night performance in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, which includes a comment about a "terrific juggler." Life is good! 

So, did I enjoy myself? Well, I guess you could say that the experience left me with a good "Faust impression" of opera!