Things that hurt, pt. 2, The stage

As promised, here is the second installment. I've been doing theater since middle school, and beginning in high school, there literally was not a play in which I did not injure myself. So....these are the highlights.

Freshman year, The Importance of Being Ernest. 

Ok, necessary background: this was being performed in a theater with wide steps for seats, but we switched it so that the steps were our stage and the audience sat on the actual stage at tables because it was a dinner theater. And we had three platforms built onto the steps. The girl that played Cecily and I had to go to the center platform for curtain call in the pitch black. During the dress rehearsal as we were practicing curtain call, I walked a bit too close to the edge of the platform and fell probably four feet. In heels. In a dress. Good times. The lights came up real quick. And there I was, spread eagle, bleeding through my tights. I developed a large, nearly black bruise on my knee that stayed there for a good long while. They put glow tape around the platforms after that incident. 

Freshman year, Into the Woods.

I was the witch double (she had to change from ugly to pretty in 30 seconds and so I went onstage in a dupe of her costume while she went and ripped prosthetics off her face) and I had to "faint," and the cast members surrounded me and I crawled off while she crawled on. I had to faint on this weirdly shaped wooden platform thing (damn you, platforms), and I frequently fell on the corner or on the edge, or even partway off the edge. My shins never quite recovered....and were made worse by...

Sophomore year, Beauty and the Beast.

We had a GIANT castle built, and during the scene where the villagers storm the castle I had to run up to the top and back down. Some ass hat left a piece of plywood over the top stair, I stepped on it and slid down the stairs and off the castle. Twelve feet, y'all. Twelve. My shins literally still hurt if I push on them too hard. I bruised them bones REAL bad.

Sophomore year, Dracula.

Ah, the cinder block. I was back in the fly cage helping move stuff that was in the way of rope access, and most of those things happened to be cinder blocks. Dunno why they were there. Because the universe was against me that day. But I picked one up to move it and dropped it. On my foot. From about two feet up. It was truly a lovely experience. I had such a colorful bruise on my foot....

Senior year, Oliver.

We had a rolling platform (Omg. It's like a theme.) that was huge and had on it two levels and a 70-pound old-fashioned stove. I had to jump on this while the people were rolling it on so I could be on it when the lights came up. I guess I didn't get on in time one night, cause they rolled it over my foot. And I couldn't do anything about it, cause it was a live performance. So I bit my hand really hard until the lights came up and then I did the scene and went offstage and found ice. The show must go on or whatever...

Ok....well I hope you enjoyed a glimpse into my clumsy life. I have many more stories where those came from. Let me know if you found them entertaining and I will do more!