Rose Rose I Hurt You

The biggest challenge I'm facing with Rose Rose I Love You on stage is actually physical. Sure, there's definitely standards to maintain, expectations to live up to and the quagmire that is the production process. But really, the character I play does not require much emotional depth, nor verbal eloquence; and his greatest dramatic moment is already written into the script. So I don't have to worry much about lines or creating deep emotion. Much of the physical challenge lies in the gorgeous headgear that we open the show with:
(No, we don't open inside the dressing room with the toilet in the background.)
That's me and my wife. She's an accomplished dancer and choreographer - in fact, she helped choreograph some of the stuff in the show. The inside of the headgear:
Notice the demonic little staple-like things scattered about between the holes. A close-up to the demons within:
Just think of it as a mother-thick big staple that's there to hold up the fancy stuff on top of the headgear. Now imagine - there are 7 (or so) of those things, digging a hole in my skull. It's like one of those ancient torture helmets people used to clamp on victim's heads to render them rather stupefied with pain. Of course, it's a really dumbass thing to use for interrogations - they'd be too dumb to speak after it's been on for any length of time.

Also, part of my choreography involves shaking my head side-to-side to emphasize the gorgeousness of the headgear (and the beautiful head it rests on, obviously). Yerks. An additional exacerbation point: I need to wear a black wrap around my head to support the headgear. It's wound really tight. With lots of additional hairpins for support. And it's on the whole show. I really dislike it. It constricts blood flow to my head until it comes off, then all the waiting blood does a much-anticipated blitzkreig right back into my head. Ugh. And the hairpins are not cool, either.

It's no wonder I feel so nauseated, faint and generally unhappy just before curtains are open. Of course, then everything after that is easy-peasy shitsy-sneezy, so it's nice that way. One of those "suffer now, gain later" things. Anyway great experience for the next time I carry funky stuff on my head.