I.D Essay Book - I met 'Les Mis'... (part 5 of 6)

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I.D Essay Book - I met 'Les Mis'... (part 5 of 6)

I met the guardian spirit…

While I was thus preoccupied, the day we were to enter the theatre arrived in what seemed like no time at all. In rehearsals we had worn training clothes, without microphones or scenery, but from this day we would on stage with everything to hand as if it were the real thing.

It was the first time I stood on the Imperial Theatre stage. I’ve been there many times as an audience member but from the stage it looks like a different theatre. It was late in the day but I finally felt like I was truly standing on the stage of ‘Les Mis’.

The rows hold around 1,900 seats. Right now it’s deathly quiet but in a few days time there will be a person sitting in every one of those seats. The tickets have already sold out down to the last show. Every day for several months people will come here to see ‘Les Mis’.

The large barricade, as famous as ‘Les Mis’ itself, has a great power when you get up close to it. The students built the barricade across the allies of the city for the sake of the revolution. The scaffolding is not the easiest, so it feels like you’ll lose your footing if you’re not paying close enough attention. When I stood on the top it was higher than I thought it would be. I’m not that great with heights and at the start I couldn’t easily climb down to the second step. As Eponine I have to descend quickly, dressed in a coat so long I’m almost dragging it.

It’s a huge theatre. I wonder if I’ll be able to act and project my voice to the back of the balcony. With the revolving stage and large equipment, I wonder if we will be able to finish 30 performances without injury…I was full to the brim with these sorts of anxieties, but, strangely, I felt lighter than I had felt throughout the six months of rehearsals. I didn’t have any reason to think like this, but my heart was fluttering and I felt like something wonderful was going to happen.

I will never forget the first time I put on Eponine’s wig, her costume and makeup, and went out on stage. The person who had been reflected in the mirror was no longer me, and thanks to that I was able to get into character completely. The power of her costume and wig is incredible.

That day, I think I met the guardian spirit of the Imperial Theatre.

The scene where Eponine appears. After entering at the back, I was slowly walking to the centre of the stage when I felt myself trembling. There is a guardian spirit in this theatre, who has watched over the actors for years and years, he’s probably checking me out as a newcomer right now, I thought. I greeted him in my heart: please watch over me for the next two months.

On to the final part now...