If you asked me what the one area in the theater I know the least about is it would be Hair and Wig Design.

That’s why I decided to do something about it and ask one of the best in the biz to help explain it to me, one weave at a time.

And who better than Charles LaPointe, the designer of everything from Hamilton to Holiday Inn.

Charles gave me a master class in Hair Design in this podcast, and since I have a feeling this is an area you may not know the most about either, I encourage you to listen in as we chat about:

• How he learned by doing, not by studying, and why this is important no matter WHAT you want to do in life, from making wigs to making musicals.
• Where do they get all the hair for these wigs anyway?  (I call this the “Cosette Question” – or “Do people really sell their hair on the streets?”)
• The process of designing a wig and how long it takes (not to mention why it is so expensive).
• Why do we need wigs on Broadway anyway when so many actors have fantastic hair?
• How a wig helps an actor find a character and how the hair plays into the storytelling of a show.

Broadway is about details.  Every light, every prop and yes, every strand of hair must come together perfectly to successfully get an author’s message across to an audience.

Luckily we’ve got people like Charles LaPointe keeping that hair in place.

Listen in and learn, like I did.  Because after my convo with Charles, I can no longer say Hair and Wig Design is what I know the least about!  (Now, if I can only figure out mechanical royalties of cast albums.)

Listen to it on iTunes here. (And if you like the podcast, give it a great review, while you’re there!)

Download it here.