#crossdressingtimelord

omg,,, this is too kind ;; honestly, idk why people feel the need to send those sorts of messages, but eh, it’s alright ;u; i can always block them if they’re exceptionally rude. thank you so much aaaaa !!

For sure!

Some of it depends on the kind of show they’re doing - for instance, I was in a show where I played a character significantly older than I am, so I had on a lot of age makeup that I didn’t want to walk out wearing and getting that mess off my face was always one of my first priorities. Generally speaking, getting out of costume is the main thing. Everyone has to stay in costume for curtain call, so no one gets to do that ahead of time even if they’re done earlier in the show. You might use deodorant if you got sweaty during the run. Actors sometimes also check in with each other, especially if something went wrong during the performance. If you walk off stage with a prop you would either hand it off to one of the ASMs or other run crew, or reset it yourself depending on how controlling your props manager/ASMs are and how much of an entitled diva you are. The stage manager will make an announcement, usually over the dressing room intercom, thanking everyone for the performance and reminding them that the next show is X day at Y time, and the call will be Z time. If anyone had a friend/family member/anyone they knew in the audience, they’re usually in a hurry to get changed and get out to the lobby/stage door to see them. Friends and family would very rarely come backstage as that’s an invasion of privacy to the other members of the company.

Normally, after actors have finished with their acting, they clear out and go home pretty quickly. If the theatre company is REALLY small, they might also double as crew members - but usually people prefer not to pay professional actors extra to do that. The crew, though, whoever they are, will be busy resetting all the props and set pieces for the next performance, shutting down the light and sound boards and the projector if they used one, cleaning up anything that might have happened on stage (eg, if someone threw confetti or spilled water or anything like that), gathering up laundry (anything that’s a “skin piece” like undershirts, tights, socks, etc has to be clean every time you perform by equity rules and common courtesy to those who are not AEA, so you usually have one or two extras and you alternate which is in the laundry; other costume pieces get laundered anywhere from once a week to not at all. Spraying vodka water or febreze takes care of the smell for the costumes you can’t wash), and generally just setting the theatre back in order. If there’s been a problem, like a prop broke or a costume ripped, they’ll be assessing the damage and figuring out how to fix it (an actor might have just dealt with this on stage and then bring it to the attention of an ASM after the run is over, also). The crew always leaves later than the actors because they have to go through the theatre and the dressing rooms and make sure that everything’s in order once everyone is gone.

Other things would be food and water - most actors keep water bottles backstage, and the ASM might have cups of water to distribute as well. Some people have snacks (we hide them from the costume people and eat carefully, or we behave ourselves and wait until we’ve changed to eat them). Either way, most people want water and a lot of times food as well after a performance - particularly if, like your protag’s friend, they’ve been playing the lead and have presumably expended a lot of energy.

Random detail but if anyone is wearing a wig those things are expensive and a pain to deal with if they get messed up; the second it comes off your head it goes straight onto a mannequin head to make sure it keeps its shape.

The rain smells different here. People ask you how. You can’t even describe normal rain. Can’t even remember it

Border patrol stops you on your way home from the city. They ask if you’re an American citizen. You’ve been told you’re not, but say yes anyways. They let you go.

Archeologists say that an ancient people lived in the cave across the canyon. You’ve looked for them. There is no cave.

Strangers wave when they drive past you. you wave back. There are consequences for not waving but you don’t know what they are.

All of your neighbors are from Texas. You think you might be too.

You’re taking care of your neighbor’s dog while’s she’s away. She's been gone for months. The dog is skin and bones no matter how much you feed it. It looks afraid.

The weather forecast is always wrong. You read it everyday. If you didn’t, you wouldn’t know it was wrong.

There’s only one employee at the post office. He’s a little strange and sometimes the packages go missing, but he drives a Mustang. You wonder if you should get into the postal business.

You follow game trails in the forest. They always lead you home. The deer are watching you.

There’s a town here called Truth or Consequences. Supposedly it was named after an old-time TV show. The show is long gone but the name remains. It has a sinister ring to it. You avoid Truth or Consequences.

The old folks say they saw lights in the sky once. You never have. You wonder if they’ve gotten better at hiding.

You follow a drainage ditch in the desert until it turns into a steep-sided dirt canyon, branching off in different directions. You come back many times and each time take a different path. It never ends.

All the old men at your church were in the navy. There is no water here. You wonder what they’re running from. It won’t get them now.

Have you ever been peed on by a toad?