The photos in this project are of wigs I worked on for A Christmas Story: The Musical. The show was produced at The Cumberland County Playhouse in Crossville, Tennessee in November/December 2016. I worked under Jensen Crain, who served as the wig mistress for this production.
Wig 1 of 6--Before I brushed it out.
Wig 1 of 6--Completed from the side. This wig was worn by an ensemble member dressed in a prairie costume during the musical number, "Ralphie to the Rescue."
I was instructed by the wig mistress to do simple styles inspired by shows like "The Little House on the Prairie." With this wig I decided to do a low bun because after I brushed it out I felt that the length of the wig allowed for a full bun.
After I brushed out the wig I pulled the hair back in a low pony tail and tied it back with an elastic hair tie. Once the hair was pulled back I twisted the hair and wrapped it around to form the bun. I used various hair pins as well as another elastic to hold the bun in place.
Wig 1 of 6 on the actress from the side. This wig was too tight with the bun on her head, so after first dress I had her wear the wig while I fixed it. I decided to do a low ponytail because the bun was making the wig too tight.
Wig 1 of 6 on the actress from the front.
Wig 1 of 6 on the actress from the side again.
Wig 2 of 6--Before I brushed out and styled the wig.
Wig 2 of 6--Completed from the side. This wig was worn by an ensemble member dressed in a prairie costume during the musical number, "Ralphie to the Rescue."
I was instructed by the wig mistress to do simple styles inspired by shows like "The Little House on the Prairie." With this wig I decided to do a low pigtails.
After I brushed out the wig I parted the hair down the middle, and secured each pigtail with an elastic hair tie.
Wig 2 of 6--Completed from the front.
Wig 2 of 6 on the actress from the back.
Wig 2 of 6 on the actress from the side.
Wig 2 of 6 on the actress from the front.
Wig 3 of 6--Before I brushed out and styled the wig.
Wig 3 of 6--Completed from the side. This wig was worn by an ensemble member dressed in a prairie costume during the musical number, "Ralphie to the Rescue."
I was instructed by the wig mistress to do simple styles inspired by shows like "The Little House on the Prairie." With this wig I decided to do a single french braid to pull in/secure all of the layers of the hair while still maintaining the direction of style the wig mistress wanted me to do.
Wig 3 of 6--Completed from the front. This wig was worn by an ensemble member dressed in a prairie costume during the musical number, "Ralphie to the Rescue."
I had to ensure that I pinned back the bangs so they would not hang in the face of the actress. I teased the hair up a little bit to give the front a little more volume.
Wig 3 of 6 on the actress from the back.
Wig 3 of 6 on the actress from the side.
Wig 3 of 6 on the actress from the front.
Wig 4 of 6--Before I brushed out and styled the wig.
Wig 4 of 6--Completed from the side. This wig was worn by an ensemble member dressed in a prairie costume during the musical number, "Ralphie to the Rescue."
I trimmed the bangs, and pulled more hair into them from the sides to make them look more even. I believe in the past this wig had a side bang. Unfortunately I do not have an image of the bangs before I put them in the roller. After I put the bangs in the roller, I used a steamer to steam the hair. I let the bangs sit overnight before taking the roller out.
Wig 4 of 6 on the actress from the back.
Wig 4 of 6 on the actress from the side.
Wig 4 of 6 on the actress from the front.
Wig 5 of 6--Before I brushed out and styled the wig.
Wig 5 of 6--completed from the front. This wig was worn by an ensemble member dressed in a prairie costume during the musical number, "Ralphie to the Rescue."
With this wig I decided to do braided ponytails. I started the braids as french braids about halfway up the side of the wig to make them look a little more interesting, rather than a regular braided ponytail.
Wig 5 of 6 on the actress from the back.
Wig 5 of 6 on the actress from the side.
Wig 5 of 6 on the actress from the front.
Wig 6 of 6--Before I brushed out and styled the wig.
Wig 6 of 6 --completed from the front.
Wig 6 of 6--completed from the side.
Wig 6 of 6--completed from the back. This wig was worn by an ensemble member dressed in a prairie costume during the musical number, "Ralphie to the Rescue."
With this wig I decided to do a half up/half down with a french braid to ensure that I locked in all of the layers. This wig had been cut at one point with a great deal of layers, and after trying several different styles this one seemed to work the best. I did use some bobby pins in the french braid to secure the layers a little more. I had planned on spraying the wig with some sort of conditioning spray to make it less poofy, but the wig mistress liked the poofy-ness of the hair.
Wig 6 of 6 on the actress from the back.
Wig 6 of 6 on the actress from the side.
Wig 6 of 6 on the actress from the front.
