Everyone always talks about the opening night of a musical — the first night a show is officially put on in front of an audience, the culmination of weeks, if not months, of hard work — but you know what no one ever really seems to talk about? The day after. Not only are you reveling in the experience from the night before, but you’re also gearing up to do it all again the next night — and, if you’re in college, you also have to wake up, go to class, and keep up with all the other responsibilities that come with being a student.
I’m Maddy, a freshman music theatre major at the University at Buffalo, and I’m going to take you along with me for that day — Friday, April 24, to be specific, the day after the opening night of UB’s spring musical, Into the Woods, Stephen Sondheim’s musical of fairy tales, growing up, and learning to be careful what you wish for. In the show, I play Lucinda, one of Cinderella’s stepsisters. The show has been a huge deal for me — my mom and nana even traveled up from Long Island to come support me. But it’s not the only thing going on in my life. He’s how I balanced it all, from waking up to making it through curtain call.
9 a.m.: Wake up & get ready
If I’m being completely honest, my day technically began at midnight, sitting in a McDonald’s with some of my castmates post-opening night (theatre kids, IYKYK), but in terms of waking up for the day, we can go with 9. Obviously, I was exhausted. But I had a planned brunch date with my mom and nana. Plus, if you’ve ever been in a show before, I’m sure you would know that my room at this point was a mess. So I got out of bed, tidied up, showered, and got ready. It’s also worth noting that this was a GRWM of doom and despair, because the soundtrack to my morning was Noah Kahan’s The Great Divide, as the album dropped at midnight.
Outfit No. 1 of the day was a simple crewneck and jeans, my scent of the day was Ariana Grande’s MOD Vanilla, and my saving grace product was REM Beauty’s Blurring Undereye balm. You may notice I put absolutely no makeup on, but trust me, there is a lot more to come later.
10:30 a.m.: Brunch
My mom and nana picked me up from my dorm and we headed to a lovely brunch at the Original Pancake House in Williamsville. My apple pancakes were absolutely phenomenal… though probably counted as more dessert than breakfast.
1 p.m.: Class
After brunch, I got dropped back off at the Center for the Arts for my one class of the day: Intro to Theatre. We have a lot of fun in this class, specifically on Fridays. Today we talked about different forms of innovative theatre.
2 p.m.: Shopping & Coffee
After class, I brought fellow University at Buffalo Her Campus board member and Long Islander Gio to meet up with my mom and nana. We made stops at the campus bookstore, the Paper Store, Barnes and Noble, and then of course to Dunkin’.
As a certified Dunkin’ girlie without a car on campus, anytime I have access to wheels, we are going. I am a creature of habit, and my drink order (a Medium Iced Brown Sugar Shaken Espresso) has been the same since Sabrina was “shaking that ess” all over TikTok.
4 p.m.: Relaxing & Resetting
Before every show I’m in, I like to have just a bit of quiet time to relax before I have to get ready. My mom and nana dropped me back at my dorm around 4 so I could do just this. My plan for today’s reset was threefold: hydration, a healthy snack, and listening to more of The Great Divide. I traded my jeans and a crewneck for some cozy sweatpants, our company hoodie, and of course, my Crocs.
5:30 p.m.: Head to the theatre
My friend Lily picked me up to head back to the Center for the Arts for our 6 p.m. call time. I do most of my makeup in the dressing room for the show, but I get to the theatre with my base done and my hair in braids for my wig prep. Fun Fact: Lily plays Little Red in our production of Into the Woods and I am her understudy! I had never gotten to understudy a track before, and it has been one of the coolest things I’ve done in college. We did a full understudy run of the show just before we got into tech.
6:40 p.m.: Mic Check
We have mic check, and then fight call right after, just to make sure all of our stage combat is running smoothly before every show. I finish getting all of my makeup on, pinning my wig, and putting on the many layers of my gorgeous costume, so I’m ready for our group warmup.
7:30 p.m.: Showtime
It’s places! Time for a phenomenal night!
9:45 p.m.: Act 2
Spoiler warning if you’re someone who doesn’t know Into the Woods: Act 2 gets dark, and some characters (like the stepsisters and Jack’s mom) die pretty early on. That means I got to spend most of Act 2 playing Cards Against Humanity and giggling in the dressing room with some of the cast and crew. And for anyone keeping track of the Noah Kahan chronicles: Yes, I was backstage when he announced the extended album and yes, I did freak out… a lot.
10:45 p.m.: After The Show
By the time the show ended and I was out of my costume and wig, I was starving. So my mom, nana, and I headed to Applebee’s for a post-show debrief and some mozzarella sticks.
12 a.m.: Wind Down
My day ended only just a bit earlier tonight than the night before — with a whole lot of makeup remover and a sweet treat. I went to bed soon after I said goodbye to my family (who were heading back to Long Island early the next morning). The next day featured a 2 p.m. matinee with a 12:30 call time, and every blonde stepsister needs her beauty rest!