Have any of you ever won a contest before? I’ve won little prizes here and there, but nothing too significant. Does the candy bar I won in the fourth grade count? That was pretty exciting.
Anyhow, I entered a contest through Capital One and won! I got four tickets to see the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, a meet and greet session with the Rockettes, and - check this out - a walk on role in the show.:eek: It was one of the coolest experiences of my life.
When we first got there, two representatives from Capital One met me and my family (my husband and two kids) and escorted us through the labyrinth of corridors in Joe Louis Arena. They gave us goodie bags and free programs, and our first stop was wardrobe. A very nice lady outfitted me as a shepherd and informed me that I’d be in the Nativity scene. The costume consisted of a long, silky sheath-like garment, topped with a blanket-like very voluminous cape. A headpiece completed my ensemble, and they had me tuck my hair up for good measure. After the fitting was complete we were escorted to a private box, where our son was very happy to see all sorts of cookies, soda, and candy. Sugar heaven! The Rockettes came in and couldn’t have been kinder. They took photos with all of us, signed autographs, answered questions, and really made our son happy again (he is almost 14)
After that I was taken to see another one of the Rockettes, and she showed me what I would be doing. It was two moves really; the first one was when the cast was all to bow in unison, and the second one was a simple arm movement. We ran through it a few times and then I was out of there and on to the next thing.
We were then escorted to our seats, which I was very happy to see were main floor, third row center. My husband and son were interested to see that we were in essence sitting in the middle of the hockey arena. I was a little concerned that we were too close to see well, but it wasn’t a problem. The show was great, and before I knew it three reps from Capital One were next to me, ready to take me backstage. I jumped right up and we went back to wardrobe, where they were waiting with my costume. I was dressed and ready in no time and we went backstage.
Backstage was by far the coolest part of the whole experience. I got to see everything that goes on behind the scenes. Santa Claus was one of the nicest people I’ve ever met. Really, this guy had something special about him that’s hard to define - it was like kindness was just oozing out of him. It’s no wonder he was chosen to play that role. Well, he is Santa Claus, after all. I’m pretty sure I met the real one.
I was able to watch some of the show from the wings and meet a few members of the cast. Before I knew it, I was onstage. The rest of the shepherds had sheep with them. There were also two camels and a very cute donkey (I think his name was George). The sheep all had different textures to their (Fur? Hair? Wooliness?) whatever. Unfortunately, one of them got stuck in the curtain and started to panic.
Did you know that when a sheep panics, it poops? It’s just what they do. Poor Heather! Yes, the sheep was named Heather. Her handler became pretty upset and a stage hand appeared, working to free Heather. Another guy came up to clean up the poop, which is very small and pellet-like. Huh. Now that I think of it, it’s really weird that I remember the sheep’s name but have no recollection of who her wrangler is. At any rate, they freed Heather with just a few seconds before the curtain opened.
So there I was, standing on a fake rock and watching the show from the coolest perspective ever. I thought that I’d be able to see my family, but unfortunately the stage was so brightly lit that I couldn’t see much past the first row. I did the little arm movement and the bow along with everyone else with no problems, and before I knew it, it was over. Everyone congratulated me backstage and I was escorted back to my family. We said our grateful goodbye to the Capital One rep, and that was it.
They took pictures. I hope they came out better than my husband’s. He was a good guy and didn’t use the flash, so they are a little dark.
