Openly wearing tights

It was a while... a whole year, until the next summer when I was at camp again.  The drama director got me hooked and I auditioned for a few plays.  I got into two of them, with the lead role in one that would have some interesting costuming involved.

Well, at one point I'm in medieval garb that consisted of a long blue tunic tied to the waist, coming down to just over my crotch.  On my legs?  White tights.  On my feet?  Brown boots.  Tights and boots.  I loved it.  Not only did I get to wear this, twice in dress rehearsal and once on the stage, I was wearing tights openly among other people.  I know... just a costume.  But nevertheless it was a kind of breakthrough for me.

The white tights were some no-name brand and the material kind of a typical rough nylon.  Durable, but not something I'd want to wear for very long.  So, I wasn't going to make a point of lifting any of these.  My co-star wore light blue tights that were of the DANSKIN brand.  The guy got confused with the toe seam, thinking it should go on top of the toes.  That meant the heel would be on top too, because DANSKIN cleverly put the seam on the underside.  I pointed this out to him, but he didn't seem to care.


Anyway, there were a few young boys in the play who also had to wear tights.  They were all a little perplexed on how to put them on properly.  I had to instruct a few of them.  After I left the dressing room for a few minutes, there was some commotion going on.  One of the little kids was struggling to put on his dark green tights, and he'd taken off his underwear.  So, he was sitting there in the chair all exposed while he struggled, and some of the other kids came over to laugh at him.  Man, the kid just about had a panic attack, he was so embarrassed.  I had to help him out and advised him to put on underwear first.  "But they show through!  I look like a baby with a diaper on!  Wahhhhhhh!"  Well, it was just his behind where the material stretched a bit opaque.  So, I got a swatch of black felt nearby, cut it to contour a bit, then had him tuck this in over his underwear.  When we checked it out in the mirror, he was satisfied that no white was showing.  Crisis averted.

So, the play.  Well, my long tunic wasn't so long, and when I sat down my crotch was rather exposed.  Yet, I couldn't really cross my legs based on the nature of the scenes.  I held my legs really close and pushed down on the tunic so that it would cover the space between my legs a bit more.  Now I knew what some women had to deal with!  Funny experience.

The production went without a hitch.  Everyone pretty much remembered their lines.  No wardrobe malfunctions.  And afterward, I got a couple of "cute legs" compliments from some of the girls.  A few said "nice tights, Nyle!" and giggled.  They weren't complimentary, more of a jabbing tease.  But I didn't really mind it.  Later, taking off the tights was kind of a relief.  I'd had my eye on my co-star's blue Danskin tights, but unfortunately his improper wearing of them put a hole in one of the legs.  The idiot!  (I know, just tights... but to me, they meant more).

All in all, it was a fun experience, one I'll always remember.  It was my first time in tights on stage.