Student Ambassadors Style Hair & Makeup For Beauty & The Beast

March ’12

Student Ambassadors from all five Salon Success campuses volunteered to do the hair and makeup for the “Beauty & The Beast” production at Montclair High School in March. The students went above and beyond just styling the performers. They quickly established themselves as part of the crew, helping calm the performers’ nerves and change the scenery.

The director of the production heard about Salon Success from one of her friends, Cheri Denton, who is a graduate of the school and a former Student Ambassador. Cheri reached out to Sarah Baxter, the director of the Student Ambassador Program, who made it all happen in a short amount of time.

Two days before the production, the performers came to Salon Success Academies so the Ambassadors could be timed while styling their hair and makeup. The Director of the Esthetics Program, Nick Alaniz, who has done makeup for television before, helped coach the students. The rehearsal proved to be worthwhile. Jessica Skibel, who was doing the makeup for the “Beast”, found that the prosthetic nose wouldn’t stick to the actor’s face because of the heavy makeup. With the help of Mr. Alaniz, they decided to draw the nose on.

 

“The students came up with their own creative concepts. If I saw something was wrong, that’s when I would step in and offer suggestions. But the looks really came from the students’ own creative minds,” Mr. Alaniz said.

The day of the show, the Student Ambassadors showed up hours before show time to start styling and stayed backstage doing hair and makeup retouches during the entire performance. At one point in the show, one of the scenic backdrops collapsed. Two Ambassadors came to the rescue and held the backdrop up until the curtain closed. For the final scene, Jessica and Mr. Alaniz had just 30 seconds to remove the heavy makeup on the “Beast” and transform him into the “Prince”.

You can watch this video to see what it was like for the students working behind the scenes at the show.

“The Student Ambassadors worked great together! They had no problem adapting to the changes and being flexible. They were complete professionals,” Sarah Baxter said.

For Saturday’s performance, the Ambassadors knew what to expect and the show ran smoother. At the end of the show, the director of the show called all of the Student Ambassadors on stage to personally thank them for their hard work.

“The Student Ambassadors put the kids first and they quickly became like part of the crew. They took children’s theater to a whole new level with their hair and makeup skills,” Connie Morlett, a mother of one of the performer’s said.

Not only were the Student Ambassadors giving back to the local community, it was also a wonderful learning experience for them. The “Beauty & the Beast” production was the first time many of the students were doing theatrical makeup.

The director and the Student Ambassadors both said they hope to work together again in future performances.

 

Congratulations to Our New Student Ambassadors!

Congratulations to the new students who have been accepted into the Student Ambassador Program: Kim Pham, Karla Miranda, Edith Mungia, Jessica Moore, and London Saucedo

 

About Salon Success Academies

Salon Success Academy offers five locations in California’s Inland Empire, in Redlands, Fontana, Upland, San Bernardino, and Corona. Our mission at SSA involves caring for every student as a member of our family, furnishing the chance to finish their educational objectives as affordably as possible. SSA incorporates first-hand, real-world practice of the principles of cosmetology, skin care, and nail artistry. The campus teams with members of the beauty industry to educate our graduates on the technical and customer service skills they need to succeed in their careers.

For more information go to www.salonsuccessacademy.com or call 1-877-987-HAIR (4247).