by Kathy
(Atlanta)
I'm a female actor and singer and I'm in rehearsals for a musical right now. They are doing headshots (cast photos) next week and I wanted to get my hair trimmed just a little bit (it was getting to where it wouldn't even curl properly) and my eyebrows waxed so I'd look good for the photos. You are not supposed to change your look in any drastic way once you've been cast in a show, but I didn't think a few inches trim would be a problem, since I'm playing the role of a housekeeper and am going to be wearing my hair in a bun anyway. I showed the stylist what length I needed (bangs below the chin, then layered on down to the end in the back.) He proceeded to chop off my bangs at my cheekbones! I said, "No, no, that's too short, I have to be able to pull my hair up in a bun." He seemed like he understood and cut the rest of my bangs longer. After he finished with my hair, he started to wax my eyebrows---and next thing I knew a big chunk was missing out of the middle of one of them! He told me, "You can fix it when you put on your makeup in the morning." Well, in the first place, I shouldn't have to, but in the second place, I don't wear makeup except onstage! When I got up I also realized that he had cut five inches off the back of my hair, so I now can't really wear it in any kind of a bun! I don't know what I am going to do about this show---I have already written a desperate email to my assistant director and I hope they don't fire me! Not to mention, I have extremely thick, course, wavy hair that is totally unmanageable if there isn't a little bit of weight there to keep it from standing straight up---and he's chopped it of like a nineteen twenties chorus girl! I also have an audition in two weeks that I have to look decent for, plus it's also a period piece, so they'll be looking for female actors with long hair. So, not only is it just totally crappy to not listen to a customer and give them what they ask for (not to mention be incompetent and screw up someone's eyebrows), but this could potentially cost me work!