The call time for everyone in HHS’s musical, Seussical, was two hours before it opened to the public. That is, everyone but the birds. They were required to arrive forty-five minutes earlier to start the makeup and costuming process required for their characters.

The directors Stan Swartz and Elana Swartz Stauffer, didn’t want the characters to look exactly like the animals they were cast as. Instead, the actors were dressed and made up with only slight influences of the animals from the Dr. Seuss books.

“They wanted [the makeup] to be birdlike, but there was also the extent of yes, we’re all people, which was the idea of the show. At the same time they wanted the idea that [bird girls] are birds and they wanted us to fit in with our costumes,” senior Rachel Cavoto said.

The Bird Girls, a singing narrator trio from the “Jungle of Nool”, were played by seniors Isabelle Burden and Rachel Cavoto, and junior Laura Ruple. Their makeup matched their dresses in bright blue, green and yellow.

“If I’m right it was about an hour [to put on the makeup],” Cavoto said. “They started with the eyes and then we would get our mics and our mic tape. Then we’d cover the tape [with makeup] so they could do contouring. It was hard core and super intense and not natural at all, but it looked cool from onstage.”

The other character with hour-long makeup was junior Jaymie Inouye. Inouye played Mayzie La Bird, a vivacious and self-involved star.

“It was different colors [from the Bird Girls] and the false eyelashes were different, but other than that it was pretty much the same,” Inouye said. “It took a pretty long time. We started at around five and we didn’t get done until six forty-five. It would irritate my skin but I did like it. It’s fun to have fun makeup.”

Gallery • 6 Photos

Ellie Plass

Senior Isabelle Burden begins the process.

A show is in the details, and the amount of time spent on just the faces of four characters was detailed to the extreme.