{"id":19665,"date":"2017-02-21T16:00:43","date_gmt":"2017-02-21T21:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/?p=19665"},"modified":"2017-04-11T11:11:19","modified_gmt":"2017-04-11T15:11:19","slug":"behind-the-scenes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/2017\/02\/21\/behind-the-scenes\/","title":{"rendered":"Behind the Scenes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hairspray fills the dressing room beneath Klein Theatre stage. Not one but two types \u2013 flex- and<\/em> firm-hold.\u201cHair is a character in this play,\u201d Kevin McCluskey, associate professor of theatre and dance, said during dress rehearsals for Steel Magnolias<\/em>. The UMW production runs through Feb. 26.<\/p>\n

\"Madeline
Madeline LeCuyer ’11, a makeup artist and hairstylist on Broadway, shared tricks of the trade with UMW students in preparation for the opening of Steel Magnolias. Photo by Joshua Dela Cruz<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Set in a small-town Louisiana beauty parlor, the show claims a six-person cast \u2026 and nine wigs, all lovingly created by LeCuyer, who brought them \u2013 along with her Broadway experience \u2013 from New York. A makeup artist and hairstylist, she\u2019s worked on one hit after another, from Aladdin<\/em> to Les Mis\u00e9rables<\/em>. But her return trip to Mary Washington, where she shared tips with students, brought her full-circle.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe bug had already bit, but this is where it really sank in its fangs,\u201d said LeCuyer, who found her calling during her own undergrad years.<\/p>\n

A native of Newport News, Virginia, she followed family members, including great-grandmother Bessie Satchell Amory \u201929, to Mary Washington, where LeCuyer majored in theater and classical studies. Two experiences \u2013 a master class on wig design for the 18th-ceuntry styles in She Stoops to Conquer <\/em>and a stage makeup course taught by McCluskey \u2013 helped her find passion backstage.<\/p>\n

\u201cI saw that spark in her,\u201d McCluskey said. \u201cWhen I challenged her to push herself, she did.\u201d<\/p>\n

At UMW, LeCuyer designed hair and makeup for Our Town<\/em>, Romeo and Juliet<\/em>, and Seascape<\/em>, and interned with the American Ballet Theatre. Now, with a master\u2019s degree in wig and makeup design from North Carolina School of the Arts and a cosmetology license from Empire Beauty School in Queens, she\u2019s pushing others.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’ve grown so much working with Madeline,\u201d said biology major Claire Stanchfield, who\u2019s on the Steel Magnolias<\/em> hair crew with international affairs major Delmi Fonseca-Portillo.<\/p>\n

The wigs LeCuyer delivered for this quick-change production sit on an overhead shelf, each worth hundreds of dollars. To make her masterpieces, she scours scripts for context clues, and researches colors and styles. Then she begins the hours-long process of ventilating, similar to latch-hook, to create natural-looking hairlines and custom foundations, one strand at a time.<\/p>\n

\"Madeline <\/a>
Madeline LeCuyer ’11, a makeup artist and hairstylist on Broadway, shares tricks of the trade with UMW students in preparation for the opening of Steel Magnolias. Photo by Jon Reynolds <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Madeleine <\/a>
Madeleine Dilley ’17 as Truvy gets some attention from Annelle, played by Lily Olson ’18. Photo by Geoff Greene. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Mandy <\/a>
Mandy Barnes ’17 plays Clairee. Photo by Geoff Greene. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Catherine <\/a>
Left to right: Catherine O’Meara ’17, Madeleine Dilley ’17, and Mandy Barnes ’17. Photo by Geoff Greene. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Madeline <\/a>
Makeup artist and hairstylist Madeline LeCuyer ’11, behind the scenes. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

In Steel Magnolias<\/em>, for example, LeCuyer frosted a wig for the role of M\u2019Lynn, to complement senior Gwen Levey\u2019s dark hair. Extra pins keep the hairpiece in place during nightly washings and rollings onstage.<\/p>\n

LeCuyer spins the same magic on Broadway, where she\u2019s worked on The Book of Mormon<\/em>, Cinderella<\/em>, Disaster!<\/em> and Phantom of the Opera<\/em>. On her current show, Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812<\/em>, a musical adaptation of Tolstoy\u2019s War and Peace<\/em>, she handles all manner of hair pieces, accessories and braids, even a fake bun that hides a mic.<\/p>\n

She finds time for her alma mater, too, returning to campus last summer to assist with UMW\u2019s first-ever TV commercial<\/a>, teaching a recent master class on prepping for wigs and helping Mary Washington students find their own spotlight.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a student,\u201d LeCuyer said, \u201cit\u2019s important to know that if this is what you truly love to do, there\u2019s a way to make a life for yourself doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n

For tickets to see Steel Magnolias<\/em>, call the Klein Theatre Box Office at 540-654-1111 or buy them online<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Meet the alum who brought Broadway hairstyles to UMW’s Steel Magnolias<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":90,"featured_media":19685,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"umw_cb_additional_links":[[]],"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_advisory_expires_time":"","_advisory_meta_include":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[4,81],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-19665","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-show","8":"category-umw-home","9":"entry"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBehind the Scenes - Great Minds<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/2017\/02\/21\/behind-the-scenes\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Lisa Chinn Marvashti\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2017\\\/02\\\/21\\\/behind-the-scenes\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2017\\\/02\\\/21\\\/behind-the-scenes\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Lisa Chinn Marvashti\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/eab3b9dd084c2488474792f0c391b8e7\"},\"headline\":\"Behind the Scenes\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-02-21T21:00:43+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-04-11T15:11:19+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2017\\\/02\\\/21\\\/behind-the-scenes\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":579,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2017\\\/02\\\/21\\\/behind-the-scenes\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/20\\\/2017\\\/02\\\/RevisedHomepage_SteelMagnolias.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Show on Great Minds\",\"UMW Home Page\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2017\\\/02\\\/21\\\/behind-the-scenes\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2017\\\/02\\\/21\\\/behind-the-scenes\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2017\\\/02\\\/21\\\/behind-the-scenes\\\/\",\"name\":\"Behind the Scenes - 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