Emily Kemper | The Chronicle
Melodies sung by magical candlesticks and teapots play in the background as Mason High School Junior Elise Hartmann paints on a dark red lip and bold brown eyebrows. By the time the movie credits roll, she is completely unrecognizable in a brown wig and shimmering yellow ballgown. Hartmann isn’t getting ready for Halloween or a school play, but rather her job acting as a party princess.
“Getting into character is getting comfortable with being uncomfortable,” Hartmann said. “Once I have the wig on, I don’t look anything like myself; I don’t feel like myself being Belle or Rapunzel, I feel like I am Belle or Rapunzel.”
Since the end of her Sophomore year, Hartmann has been working at Crown & Cape Events to bring numerous princess, hero and fantasy characters to life, including Tinker Bell, Rapunzel, Anna, Belle, a Christmas Elf, Spider Gwen and more. Hartmann grew up on Disney, so this job has been her dream since childhood. For Hartmann, being a party princess requires far more than a convincing gown and hairdo – it requires acting, singing, improvising and working well with kids.
One recent event where Hartmann got to create magic and memories was the Live Like Maya Luminous Night Under the Stars prom. This event was a dance for kids, teens, and young adults with critical illnesses to experience a milestone they missed due to medical treatment, or simply a way to have fun and leave their daily battles behind. For the younger children’s dance Hartmann volunteered as Belle, and the night ended up being magical for her as well as the guests attending.
“One little girl was dancing with me the whole night,” Hartmann said. “She would go get food [or] go to the bathroom, but she would always come back to Belle and keep dancing with me. Her mom came up to me and [said] I made her night, which was really special to me.”
Hartmann said that these magical moments are what draw her to theater, so much so that she plans to pursue acting professionally. She plans on going to college to get a Bachelor of Fine Arts, which will include four years of 70% theater focused classes. Hartmann said that between singing, acting and dancing, it is like studying a triple major. She is just starting to prepare to audition to over 18 schools by adding additional musical theater and tap dance classes on top of vocal lessons, shows and her princess job to her resume.
“In [my] freshman year I got cast in my dream role, Annabeth from The Lightning Thief,” Hartmann said. “I knew this is what I wanted to do forever, because it’s important to me to play characters [myself] and others connect with. When I watch shows, read books or see musicals there are always characters that I can see myself in, that I can grow through, or just characters that comfort me. It’s very exciting to be that source for other people.”
Like any theater performance, Hartmann said it takes lots of preparation to be ready for a party or event. A few days before an event she will watch the movie her character is from to brush up on the character’s background and really nail their voice and mannerisms. For getting into costume, Hartmann says she follows the Disney Parks guidelines for princess hair and makeup. She says all of this is critical to make the character convincing for the kids.
“The first time I played Tinker Bell a little boy came up and asked me ‘why did your sister warn you?’ I had no idea what he was talking about,” Hartmann said. “The second time I [played] her there was no way I’d let someone ask me a question I didn’t know the answer to, so I watched a two hour long YouTube video about everything from [all of the Tinkerbell] movies, the books [and] even the video game.”
Photo of Elise Hartmann dressed as Disney princess Rapunzel, contributed by Elise Hartmann
Hartmann outlined that a typical character experience follows a similar format. First, she will meet the guests and take pictures, then play a “guess the princess” game and some form of a sing-a-long, and end the party with a coronation for the birthday guest. When the guests – namely the birthday celebrant – are engaged and immersed in the interaction, Hartmann feels it makes the event even more magical.
“Recently I went to a birthday party for an older woman who has autism and Disney is her whole world.” Hartmann said. “It was probably the best party I’ve ever had. It really makes the event when the person is so excited, you can tell it makes their whole year.”
Besides getting into character and preparing for a role, Hartmann has gained skills from this job like quick thinking and improvising. Whether it’s finding a way to deal with parents who “ruin the magic” by asking her personal questions while in character, or hiding from the kids that the braid on her wig has come detached from her head, Hartmann has to be prepared to continuously keep up the fantasy.
“The beautiful and terrifying part of theater is that literally anything can happen,” Hartmann said. “I’ve had multiple dress rehearsals where an actor didn’t come on for their scene and I was aimlessly wandering on stage for five minutes, making stuff up to fill the space. This job is going to be really helpful for situations like that.”
Hartmann doesn’t have a dream destination she hopes acting brings her to; whether she’s on Broadway, a national tour, a cruise line, or somewhere else entirely, she just wants to perform wherever the wind takes her. Being a party princess is her dream job come true and something she plans to continue in the future to keep growing as both a performer and person.
“I feel that [this job] has made me kinder, because that’s what makes a true princess,” Hartmann said. “That sounds cliche but it’s true; not focusing on how good you look or how popular you are, but [instead] how kind and helpful you are, staying true to yourself and following your dreams.”
