Sunday Matinee – May 2, 2010.
Saturday Evening – May 8, 2010.

TMI or FYI?

Sunday Matinee was for the most part, uneventful. Susan sounded good, she felt good, she remembered what she was doing, she had proper hydration, life was good.

Saturday, not so much. The demands made on an artist are great; there are social obligations that sometimes bleed over into opera donor schmoozing and fundraising events, which sometimes require more talking than an ailing singer between performances might be comfortable with. Susan is good at these events, and as you would expect is very popular. Because she has contact with alot of people, I am comfortable telling her to use hand disinfectant after she touches people and things backstage, or to stop seeing visitors (and do unnecessary talking) before the show - things she doesn't need a reminder about, but I do it anyway. My controlling nature often kicks in after the show because singers need time to get out of costume, and dressed, which may mean me guarding the door.

So back to Saturday. Not sure if this falls into TMI or FYI, but it is a question I have gotten elsewhere, so here goes. After drinking all that water, and wearing all those costume pieces, what happens when they need to pee? The multi-talented Susan was very successful in that area on Saturday. We were all so proud of her – Mother Nature called during the Act III quick-change. Susan came into the dressing room for the change and said “I really need to pee” to which I responded “go ahead, we’ll make the change in time” so she did, coming out of the bathroom very proud that the measures put in place worked. So you ask, what were they? First of all, the shirt she wears has a snap crotch (pictured right as April is about to wash it), so she doesn’t have to worry about it coming untucked. More importantly, she wears pantyhose, specifically Spanx, which has an “open gusset” option. The Spanx are tucked under the “make her a boy" binding that I talked about earlier. Quite a few singers wear Spanx, it is comfortable hose/general body wear. Now there has been some discussion online about what this opening is truly for, and whether women really use it for its intended purpose. I can tell you that Spanx keeps things tight and in place, which makes taking them off, especially when you have been sweating, or your hose is tucked under costume pieces, a less than pleasurable experience. Only worse than peeling them off, is putting them back on. Think wet bathing suit, but covering more skin. Perhaps this image is too much information, but Susan was rather successful at using the hole for its intended purpose, and thus, making the costume change in time, and not having to sing with a distracting bladder. Not to forget, it is not healthy to hold it.

So now you know. Too Much Information? Or wow, I always wondered about that and think I am glad to know.