Rocking Out To A Dream

Carolyn Dulac, formerly Carolyn Woodruff of Berlin, recently won and appeared as a walk-on in the Broadway show "Rock of Ages."

"Once a year Broadway Cares; Equity to Fight Aids holds a flea market that sells all kinds of Broadway items," Dulac said. "Each show sets up a table in Times Square and they sell earrings, autographs, and mementos from the shows. My cousin Michael Graziano is a producer for BCEFA and he helps to organize the flea market.  I have seen a number of Broadway shows and I love NYC. 

"My all-time favorite show was Rock of Ages. Michael mentioned that this year at the flea market they were having a silent auction that would be auctioning off a walk-on role in Rock of Ages. ROA takes place in 1987 on the Sunset Strip.  It’s a comedy/ love story that integrates all of the fantastic music that was the 80’s into this story about Drew and Sherrie and how the dreams you think you want may not be the one you get in the end but they 'still rock.' I was so excited. I put in a bid, knowing all of the money would be going to BCEFA. I got the call from Michael that I had won."

It was a surprise but the next phone call she received snapped her back into reality.

"I was contacted by the stage manager, Matt, to confirm which date I wanted to be on stage," she said. "I was able to give them three dates and then they told me which out of the three worked for them. He e-mailed me a few more times from there telling me my call time to be at the theatre and that the wardrobe designer would be contacting me. Wendall from wardrobe called me to welcome me to the cast and then asked me to e-mail him all of my measurements, including shoe size, if I had pierced ears and if I was allergic to any metals."

The day of the performance, Dulac included her entire family. The Woodruffs still live in Berlin and her dad was a former Berlin police officer.

"The big day arrived and my family and I took morning train into NYC," Dulac said. "There were 11 of us; mom and dad, my husband Jacques, my two kids Erica and Brian, my brother Dave and his wife Kim, my sister-in-law Cindy and her husband, Dave, my best friend Kelly and I. We toured Times Square and then it was time for me to go to the stage. 

"When I got there I went into the cast door and that in itself was so cool. I then was introduced to Matt, the stage manager and he brought me directly to wardrobe. I was shown a few different outfits that I could look at and the wardrobe director immediately picked out the one he wanted for me.  I tried it all on and the skirt was a little big and right there they took it in for me and then we tried on a few different accessories before the outfit was perfect. 

"Then I went into hair and make-up. The hair stylist made me look all 80’s like and while I was there several of the cast members came over to meet me. They were amazing people. They immediately made me feel like I was part of the cast and they went out of their way to include me and made me feel so welcome.  After hair and make-up I was brought up to the stage where we went through my scenes. I was going to be waitress number four

"For my fist scene I got to go out and stand by the bar and interact with the rest of the cast as we took shots and socialized. The next scene I was again at the bar watching while they interviewed Stacee Jaxx, the 80’s rock star who always gets all the girls, and again I was able to interact and respond as the interview went on. The third scene I was able behind a door with another cast member and we opened the door and screamed, 'yes' to Regina (the activist who is trying to save Sunset Strip). The fourth, final and best scene was at the end of the show after the actors take their bows they have a dance party to Journey’s 'Don’t Stop Believing.' And I was able to join the entire cast on stage to sing and dance. It is an experience I will remember forever."

Dulac said while she was only on the stage for a short time, she got to see her favorite show from back stage.

"When I wasn’t on stage I was back stage watching all that goes on, all the costume changes, warming up voices and legs - there is a lot of dancing," she said. "I also was able to socialize with all the actors as well. During the show I was able to take some pictures and learn about some of the actors. I was able to see them getting the scenes ready and watch Matt call the show, which is cueing the lighting guys, the band and the actors.

"One of the actresses makes earrings for ROA special events and she made me a pair and gave them to me in between scenes. They are all so talented, it’s great to see them being themselves and then in a nanosecond walking on stage and changing into their characters. It was a once in lifetime experience and I will treasure all of the memories I have."