Preparing for a Princess Event!

I'm lucky enough to have a job making magic. ✨ Princess performing is a culmination of many things I love: dress up, acting, and making people happy. I've attended events and birthday parties for children for over two years as your favorite Disney princesses, and I absolutely love it! Bringing these characters to life and giving the gift of magic to families is so special. It's an art that truly lights me up.

There is quite the process of preparing for each event, though, and I want to guide you along the journey.

CHARACTER PREPARATIONS

First of all, you must have a solid foundation of knowledge about your character. You should be ready to answer any question... and kids ask a lot of questions. This preparation includes re-watching your princess's movie and/or tv series and preparing dialogue that aligns with what your character would say. For example, if I were preparing to be Ariel, I would keep phrases like "have a fin-tastic day," "I hope you're having oceans of fun," and "don't be a guppy," tucked in my back pocket. It's cheesy, I know, but the kids (and parents!) love it. Another common question is "how did you get here?" I always have a backstory ready. Say, for Elsa, it's that she took a sleigh ride through Arendelle, a ship across the sea, and a ride in a new kind of "carriage" called a car. I like to have fun with that one and ask the kids whether they have ever heard of a car. 

Princess performing is all about improvisation and thinking on your feet, so it's important to have an understanding of how your character acts! This also goes for the posture, poses, and energy level for each character. Cinderella has more of a soft, regal composure than Rapunzel. With a princess like Snow White or Aurora, it is perfectly appropriate to pose for pictures with your hands clasped together, your hand on your heart, or holding out your skirt. With modern day princesses like Moana or Anna, it would be more appropriate to put your hands on your hips or cross your arms. 

ENTERTAINMENT PREPARATIONS

Once you've honed your acting and character skills, you can prepare the actual party agenda. Every event is different, so you may need a lot of activities to entertain or simply show up and take pictures with guests. My princess bag is typically packed with the following:

• 2-3 storybooks
• Stickers and stamps
• Speaker for song and dance
• Face paint
• "Magic mirror" for kids to see their face paint

Again, it depends on the type of event and age of the kids as to what you'll need to prepare. My go-to activity is reading a story. Everyone gathers around to hear about the far off kingdoms they love, straight from their favorite princess or queen. I always ask them questions as I read to keep them engaged. I am also ready to play games; freeze dance, limbo, and Princess Says (aka Simon Says) are always favorites. Overall, it's better to have more than you need than not enough prepared.

MAKEUP , WIG, & COSTUME

The final part is the actual process of getting ready! I have a full makeup routine for each character, but it generally includes: primer, foundation, concealer, powder, contour, blush, highlight, brows, eyeshadow, upper and lower liner, mascara, false eyelashes, and lipstick. I have much more detailed posts about how I do Anna and Elsa's makeup that you can check out, too. 

For the wig, I put my hair into a low ponytail and flip the hair on top of my head. Other performers like to braid the hair underneath to get it tighter to the head, but I've found that the ponytail works for me. Then I put on a wig cap and tuck in any stray hairs. I want to hide my natural hair color as much as possible. Then I pull on the wig and make sure it's tightly attached. I place about two U pins on the crown of my head to hold the wig in place, and then I put a few bobby pins around my ears and hairline where the wig tends to be loose. Finally, I make sure the style is just right and as natural-looking as possible. The biggest thing I've learned with wigs is to be gentle. Wigs are quite touchy and can take forever to style! It's best to treat them with great care so they will last as long as possible. 

The magic really comes together with the costume, and it helps me truly get into the mindset of each character. Putting on Cinderella's ballgown makes me feel so elegant and like I'm really the belle of the ball. Tightening Rapunzel's corset and seeing the cascading purple lace of her dress makes me feel energetic and adventurous, just like she is. Elsa's attire glitters from head to toe and helps me channel my inner power. 

Then I take to my carriage and am off to perform! ✨